# 1971–72 St. Louis Blues season

The 1971–72 St. Louis Blues season was the fifth for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri. The Blues finished the season in third place in the Western Division, with a record of 28 wins, 39 losses and 11 ties, good for 67 points, placing them in the playoffs, where they defeated the Minnesota North Stars 4–3 in the first round, before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins in four straight in round two.

## Regular season
### Final standings

West Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 78 | 46 | 17 | 15 | 256 | 166 | +90 | 107 |
| 2 | Minnesota North Stars | 78 | 37 | 29 | 12 | 212 | 191 | +21 | 86 |
| 3 | St. Louis Blues | 78 | 28 | 39 | 11 | 208 | 247 | −39 | 67 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 78 | 26 | 38 | 14 | 220 | 258 | −38 | 66 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 78 | 26 | 38 | 14 | 200 | 236 | −36 | 66 |
| 6 | California Golden Seals | 78 | 21 | 39 | 18 | 216 | 288 | −72 | 60 |
| 7 | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 20 | 49 | 9 | 206 | 305 | −99 | 49 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 9, 1971 | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | W | October 12, 1971 | 4–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | L | October 13, 1971 | 0–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 1–2–0 |
| 4 | W | October 16, 1971 | 9–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 2–2–0 |
| 5 | L | October 17, 1971 | 3–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 2–3–0 |
| 6 | L | October 19, 1971 | 1–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 2–4–0 |
| 7 | L | October 23, 1971 | 3–4 | New York Rangers (1971–72) | 2–5–0 |
| 8 | W | October 24, 1971 | 3–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) | 3–5–0 |
| 9 | L | October 27, 1971 | 1–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 3–6–0 |
| 10 | T | October 30, 1971 | 4–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 3–6–1 |
| 11 | L | November 3, 1971 | 1–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 3–7–1 |
| 12 | L | November 4, 1971 | 1–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 3–8–1 |
| 13 | L | November 6, 1971 | 1–5 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 3–9–1 |
| 14 | L | November 9, 1971 | 1–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 3–10–1 |
| 15 | W | November 13, 1971 | 5–1 | California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 4–10–1 |
| 16 | T | November 16, 1971 | 2–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 4–10–2 |
| 17 | T | November 18, 1971 | 2–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 4–10–3 |
| 18 | W | November 20, 1971 | 4–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 5–10–3 |
| 19 | L | November 21, 1971 | 2–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 5–11–3 |
| 20 | W | November 23, 1971 | 3–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) | 6–11–3 |
| 21 | L | November 24, 1971 | 3–8 | @ New York Rangers (1971–72) | 6–12–3 |
| 22 | T | November 27, 1971 | 6–6 | Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 6–12–4 |
| 23 | W | November 30, 1971 | 5–2 | California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 7–12–4 |
| 24 | L | December 1, 1971 | 2–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 7–13–4 |
| 25 | W | December 4, 1971 | 5–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) | 8–13–4 |
| 26 | W | December 5, 1971 | 2–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 9–13–4 |
| 27 | L | December 7, 1971 | 1–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 9–14–4 |
| 28 | T | December 10, 1971 | 4–4 | @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 9–14–5 |
| 29 | L | December 11, 1971 | 1–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) | 9–15–5 |
| 30 | L | December 14, 1971 | 2–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 9–16–5 |
| 31 | L | December 15, 1971 | 1–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 9–17–5 |
| 32 | L | December 18, 1971 | 2–5 | New York Rangers (1971–72) | 9–18–5 |
| 33 | L | December 19, 1971 | 0–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 9–19–5 |
| 34 | L | December 22, 1971 | 1–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) | 9–20–5 |
| 35 | T | December 25, 1971 | 4–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) | 9–20–6 |
| 36 | L | December 26, 1971 | 3–6 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) | 9–21–6 |
| 37 | W | December 29, 1971 | 6–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 10–21–6 |
| 38 | T | January 1, 1972 | 4–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 10–21–7 |
| 39 | L | January 5, 1972 | 1–9 | @ New York Rangers (1971–72) | 10–22–7 |
| 40 | W | January 6, 1972 | 3–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 11–22–7 |
| 41 | W | January 8, 1972 | 5–3 | Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 12–22–7 |
| 42 | W | January 11, 1972 | 7–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 13–22–7 |
| 43 | W | January 15, 1972 | 7–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 14–22–7 |
| 44 | W | January 16, 1972 | 4–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 15–22–7 |
| 45 | L | January 18, 1972 | 0–2 | Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 15–23–7 |
| 46 | W | January 22, 1972 | 1–0 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 16–23–7 |
| 47 | L | January 23, 1972 | 1–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 16–24–7 |
| 48 | W | January 26, 1972 | 2–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 17–24–7 |
| 49 | L | January 29, 1972 | 0–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 17–25–7 |
| 50 | L | January 30, 1972 | 2–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) | 17–26–7 |
| 51 | L | February 1, 1972 | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 17–27–7 |
| 52 | L | February 3, 1972 | 3–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 17–28–7 |
| 53 | W | February 5, 1972 | 6–5 | New York Rangers (1971–72) | 18–28–7 |
| 54 | T | February 6, 1972 | 2–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 18–28–8 |
| 55 | L | February 8, 1972 | 1–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 18–29–8 |
| 56 | L | February 10, 1972 | 1–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 18–30–8 |
| 57 | W | February 12, 1972 | 5–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 19–30–8 |
| 58 | L | February 15, 1972 | 2–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 19–31–8 |
| 59 | W | February 16, 1972 | 3–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) | 20–31–8 |
| 60 | L | February 18, 1972 | 2–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 20–32–8 |
| 61 | T | February 20, 1972 | 4–4 | @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 20–32–9 |
| 62 | W | February 23, 1972 | 2–0 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) | 21–32–9 |
| 63 | W | February 26, 1972 | 3–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) | 22–32–9 |
| 64 | L | February 27, 1972 | 0–2 | @ New York Rangers (1971–72) | 22–33–9 |
| 65 | L | March 1, 1972 | 1–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) | 22–34–9 |
| 66 | L | March 4, 1972 | 2–6 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 22–35–9 |
| 67 | W | March 5, 1972 | 6–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) | 23–35–9 |
| 68 | W | March 7, 1972 | 4–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1971–72) | 24–35–9 |
| 69 | L | March 9, 1972 | 1–5 | Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) | 24–36–9 |
| 70 | W | March 11, 1972 | 4–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) | 25–36–9 |
| 71 | T | March 17, 1972 | 2–2 | @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 25–36–10 |
| 72 | T | March 19, 1972 | 3–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 25–36–11 |
| 73 | W | March 22, 1972 | 4–1 | California Golden Seals (1971–72) | 26–36–11 |
| 74 | W | March 25, 1972 | 5–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) | 27–36–11 |
| 75 | L | March 26, 1972 | 0–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 27–37–11 |
| 76 | W | March 28, 1972 | 2–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) | 28–37–11 |
| 77 | L | April 1, 1972 | 0–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) | 28–38–11 |
| 78 | L | April 2, 1972 | 2–6 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) | 28–39–11 |

## Playoffs
### Quarterfinals: (W2) Minnesota North Stars vs. (W3) St. Louis Blues

* St. Louis won series 4–3

### Semifinals: (E1) Boston Bruins vs. (W3) St. Louis Blues

* Boston won series 4–0

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Garry Unger | C | 78 | 36 | 34 | 70 | 104 | -8 | 14 | 1 | 4 |
| Frank St. Marseille | RW | 78 | 16 | 36 | 52 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jack Egers | RW | 63 | 21 | 25 | 46 | 34 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Gary Sabourin | RW | 77 | 28 | 17 | 45 | 52 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| Mike Murphy | RW | 63 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 19 | -4 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Terry Crisp | C | 75 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| Barclay Plager | D | 78 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 176 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Phil Roberto | RW | 49 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 76 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carl Brewer | D | 42 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 40 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Christian Bordeleau | C | 41 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 6 | -13 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Brian Lavender | LW | 46 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 54 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Andre Dupont | D | 60 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 147 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Morrison | LW | 42 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 7 | -11 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Roberts | D/RW | 26 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Bill Plager | D | 65 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 64 | -15 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Plager | D | 50 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 81 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Hornung | D | 47 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 10 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wayne Connelly | C | 15 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | -6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Floyd Thomson | LW | 49 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 48 | -9 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Curt Bennett | LW | 31 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 30 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny O'Shea | C | 20 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 11 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Noel Picard | D | 15 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gene Carr | C | 15 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Sutherland | C | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Gerry Odrowski | D | 55 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Michel Parizeau | C | 21 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Shires | LW | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | -13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Caron | G | 28 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Lorentz | C/RW | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | -8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim McLeod | G | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ernie Wakely | G | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Arbour | D | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord Brooks | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Norm Dennis | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Evans | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gord Kannegiesser | D | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter McDuffe | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin O'Shea | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brit Selby | LW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Stephenson | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Veneruzzo | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Jacques Caron | 1619 | 28 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 68 | 2.52 | 1 |
| Ernie Wakely | 1614 | 30 | 8 | 18 | 2 | 92 | 3.42 | 1 |
| Jim McLeod | 880 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 44 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Peter McDuffe | 467 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 29 | 3.73 | 0 |
| Wayne Stephenson | 100 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 5.40 | 0 |
| Team: | 4680 | 78 | 28 | 39 | 11 | 242 | 3.10 | 2 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Phil Roberto | RW | 11 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Garry Unger | C | 11 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Frank St. Marseille | RW | 11 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Sabourin | RW | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Murphy | RW | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Egers | RW | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barclay Plager | D | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bob Plager | D | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Crisp | C | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin O'Shea | RW | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Larry Hornung | D | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny O'Shea | C | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Dupont | D | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Evans | D | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Curt Bennett | LW | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacques Caron | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Lavender | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter McDuffe | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Odrowski | D | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Plager | D | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ernie Wakely | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Jacques Caron | 499 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 26 | 3.13 | 0 |
| Peter McDuffe | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7.00 | 0 |
| Ernie Wakely | 113 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6.90 | 0 |
| Team: | 672 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 46 | 4.11 | 0 |
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Draft picks

The 1971 NHL Amateur Draft was held on June 10, 1971, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada.
| Pick # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 4 | Gene Carr | Center | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 38 | John Garrett | Goaltender | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHA) |
| 52 | Derek Harker | Defense | Canada | Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) |
| 66 | Wayne Gibbs | Defense | Canada | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |
| 80 | Bernie Doan | Defense | Canada | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |
| 94 | Dave Smith | Defense | Canada | Regina Pats (WCHL) |
| 108 | Jim Collins | Left Wing | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |