# 1977–78 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1977–78 Detroit Red Wings season was the Red Wings' 46th season, 52nd overall for the franchise. The Red Wings returned to the playoffs after an eight-year absence. In the postseason, the swept the Atlanta Flames 2–0 in the preliminary round, in the quarterfinal round the Wings would lose in five games to the eventual Stanley cup champion Montreal Canadiens. The Red Wings wouldn't return to the playoffs again until 1984, and wouldn't win another playoff series until 1987.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Norris Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 59 | 10 | 11 | 359 | 183 | 129 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 32 | 34 | 14 | 252 | 266 | 78 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 31 | 34 | 15 | 243 | 245 | 77 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 25 | 37 | 18 | 254 | 321 | 68 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 17 | 49 | 14 | 195 | 321 | 48 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents

Norris Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Detroit
—3–2–11–4–13–2–14–1–111–9–4
Los Angeles
2–3–1—1–4–13–0–34–210–9–5
Montreal
4–1–14–1–1—5–15–0–118–3–3
Pittsburgh
2–3–10–3–31–5—1–4–14–15–5
Washington
1–4–12–40–5–14–1–1—7–12–5
Vs. Adams Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CLE
TOR
Total
Detroit
0–4–12–2–12–2–11–2–25–10–5
Los Angeles
0–50–3–23–1–13–26–11–3
Montreal
4–0–12–34–14–0–114–4–2
Pittsburgh
0–50–0–55–03–28–7–5
Washington
0–4–11–3–13–20–4–14–13–3
Vs. Patrick Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Detroit
2–1–10–41–2–11–2–14–9–3
Los Angeles
2–1–10–2–23–10–3–15–7–4
Montreal
2–0–24–03–12–0–211–1–4
Pittsburgh
1–31–2–12–0–20–3–14–8–4
Washington
2–1–10–40–2–20–42–11–3
Vs. Smythe Division
1977–78 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Detroit
1–32–1–14–03–12–1–112–6–2
Los Angeles
2–22–1–12–1–12–22–1–110–7–3
Montreal
3–0–14–02–24–03–0–116–2–2
Pittsburgh
2–1–12–1–12–22–1–11–2–19–7–4
Washington
0–3–12–1–11–2–11–1–20–44–11–5 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 13, 1977 | 3–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | L | October 15, 1977 | 2–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 0–1–1 |
| 3 | L | October 18, 1977 | 2–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 0–2–1 |
| 4 | T | October 20, 1977 | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 0–2–2 |
| 5 | W | October 22, 1977 | 4–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 1–2–2 |
| 6 | W | October 26, 1977 | 4–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 2–2–2 |
| 7 | W | October 27, 1977 | 3–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 3–2–2 |
| 8 | L | October 29, 1977 | 4–7 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 3–3–2 |
| 9 | W | November 2, 1977 | 3–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 4–3–2 |
| 10 | L | November 5, 1977 | 3–4 | Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 4–4–2 |
| 11 | W | November 6, 1977 | 4–1 | @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 5–4–2 |
| 12 | T | November 9, 1977 | 1–1 | Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 5–4–3 |
| 13 | W | November 12, 1977 | 3–1 | New York Rangers (1977–78) | 6–4–3 |
| 14 | L | November 13, 1977 | 0–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 6–5–3 |
| 15 | W | November 16, 1977 | 10–1 | St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 7–5–3 |
| 16 | L | November 18, 1977 | 3–5 | @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) | 7–6–3 |
| 17 | W | November 19, 1977 | 2–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 8–6–3 |
| 18 | W | November 23, 1977 | 4–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 9–6–3 |
| 19 | L | November 26, 1977 | 1–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 9–7–3 |
| 20 | L | November 27, 1977 | 1–4 | New York Islanders (1977–78) | 9–8–3 |
| 21 | L | November 30, 1977 | 4–6 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 9–9–3 |
| 22 | L | December 3, 1977 | 2–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 9–10–3 |
| 23 | L | December 4, 1977 | 1–6 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 9–11–3 |
| 24 | L | December 6, 1977 | 1–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 9–12–3 |
| 25 | L | December 8, 1977 | 4–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 9–13–3 |
| 26 | L | December 10, 1977 | 4–7 | @ New York Islanders (1977–78) | 9–14–3 |
| 27 | T | December 15, 1977 | 5–5 | New York Rangers (1977–78) | 9–14–4 |
| 28 | W | December 17, 1977 | 3–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 10–14–4 |
| 29 | L | December 18, 1977 | 2–6 | @ New York Rangers (1977–78) | 10–15–4 |
| 30 | L | December 21, 1977 | 3–5 | Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 10–16–4 |
| 31 | L | December 23, 1977 | 2–3 | @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 10–17–4 |
| 32 | W | December 27, 1977 | 5–2 | Colorado Rockies (1977–78) | 11–17–4 |
| 33 | T | December 29, 1977 | 3–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 11–17–5 |
| 34 | L | December 31, 1977 | 0–7 | Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 11–18–5 |
| 35 | W | January 5, 1978 | 2–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 12–18–5 |
| 36 | W | January 8, 1978 | 4–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 13–18–5 |
| 37 | W | January 11, 1978 | 6–3 | @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 14–18–5 |
| 38 | L | January 12, 1978 | 1–6 | Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 14–19–5 |
| 39 | W | January 14, 1978 | 6–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 15–19–5 |
| 40 | T | January 18, 1978 | 4–4 | @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) | 15–19–6 |
| 41 | W | January 19, 1978 | 4–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 16–19–6 |
| 42 | L | January 21, 1978 | 1–7 | @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 16–20–6 |
| 43 | W | January 22, 1978 | 6–3 | Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 17–20–6 |
| 44 | L | January 28, 1978 | 1–6 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 17–21–6 |
| 45 | T | January 29, 1978 | 3–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 17–21–7 |
| 46 | L | January 31, 1978 | 3–5 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 17–22–7 |
| 47 | L | February 1, 1978 | 0–2 | @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 17–23–7 |
| 48 | T | February 4, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 17–23–8 |
| 49 | W | February 5, 1978 | 4–3 | Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 18–23–8 |
| 50 | W | February 7, 1978 | 2–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 19–23–8 |
| 51 | L | February 9, 1978 | 3–5 | Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 19–24–8 |
| 52 | L | February 11, 1978 | 5–8 | @ New York Islanders (1977–78) | 19–25–8 |
| 53 | W | February 12, 1978 | 8–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 20–25–8 |
| 54 | W | February 16, 1978 | 5–3 | Atlanta Flames (1977–78) | 21–25–8 |
| 55 | L | February 18, 1978 | 2–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 21–26–8 |
| 56 | W | February 19, 1978 | 5–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 22–26–8 |
| 57 | W | February 23, 1978 | 4–1 | Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 23–26–8 |
| 58 | T | February 25, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) | 23–26–9 |
| 59 | L | February 26, 1978 | 1–3 | St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 23–27–9 |
| 60 | L | February 28, 1978 | 3–9 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 23–28–9 |
| 61 | L | March 1, 1978 | 2–3 | @ New York Rangers (1977–78) | 23–29–9 |
| 62 | W | March 4, 1978 | 3–1 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 24–29–9 |
| 63 | W | March 5, 1978 | 4–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 25–29–9 |
| 64 | T | March 9, 1978 | 2–2 | Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 25–29–10 |
| 65 | W | March 11, 1978 | 5–4 | Colorado Rockies (1977–78) | 26–29–10 |
| 66 | T | March 12, 1978 | 4–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 26–29–11 |
| 67 | T | March 16, 1978 | 3–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 26–29–12 |
| 68 | W | March 18, 1978 | 5–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 27–29–12 |
| 69 | L | March 19, 1978 | 4–6 | @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) | 27–30–12 |
| 70 | W | March 22, 1978 | 4–1 | Atlanta Flames (1977–78) | 28–30–12 |
| 71 | T | March 25, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 28–30–13 |
| 72 | W | March 26, 1978 | 4–1 | @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 29–30–13 |
| 73 | W | March 28, 1978 | 7–0 | Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 30–30–13 |
| 74 | L | March 30, 1978 | 0–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 30–31–13 |
| 75 | L | April 1, 1978 | 0–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 30–32–13 |
| 76 | L | April 2, 1978 | 2–5 | New York Islanders (1977–78) | 30–33–13 |
| 77 | T | April 5, 1978 | 5–5 | @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 30–33–14 |
| 78 | W | April 6, 1978 | 6–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 31–33–14 |
| 79 | L | April 8, 1978 | 1–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 31–34–14 |
| 80 | W | April 9, 1978 | 4–0 | Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 32–34–14 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Dale McCourt | C | 76 | 33 | 39 | 72 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 5 |
| Andre St. Laurent | C | 77 | 31 | 39 | 70 | 108 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Reed Larson | D | 75 | 19 | 41 | 60 | 95 | −8 | 7 | 1 | 4 |
| Dennis Hextall | LW | 78 | 16 | 33 | 49 | 195 | −5 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Nick Libett | LW | 80 | 23 | 22 | 45 | 46 | −3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Dan Maloney | LW | 66 | 16 | 29 | 45 | 151 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Paul Woods | LW | 80 | 19 | 23 | 42 | 52 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Bill Lochead | LW | 77 | 20 | 16 | 36 | 47 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Dennis Polonich | C/RW | 79 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 254 | −5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Vaclav Nedomansky | RW | 63 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 2 | −17 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Greg Joly | D | 79 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 73 | −4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Perry Miller | D | 62 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 120 | −5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Rick Bowness | RW | 61 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 76 | −8 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Terry Harper | D | 80 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 85 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Hull | LW | 55 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 6 | −20 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Larry Wright | C | 66 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 13 | −12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Cameron | D | 63 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 94 | −12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Hamel | D | 32 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thommie Bergman | D | 14 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Errol Thompson | LW | 14 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | −4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Grant | RW | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Al McDonough | RW | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Ritchie | LW | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | −1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rob Plumb | LW | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | −4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Giroux | D | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | −5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J.P. LeBlanc | C | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Rutherford | G | 43 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Bergeron | RW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Low | G | 32 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roland Cloutier | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ed Giacomin | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Hilworth | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fern LeBlanc | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Sheehy | RW | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Vasko | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Jim Rutherford | 2468 | 43 | 20 | 17 | 4 | 134 | 3.26 | 1 |
| Ron Low | 1816 | 32 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 102 | 3.37 | 1 |
| Ed Giacomin | 516 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 27 | 3.14 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 32 | 34 | 14 | 263 | 3.29 | 2 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Vaclav Nedomansky | RW | 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale McCourt | C | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Woods | LW | 7 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Libett | LW | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Lochead | LW | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Errol Thompson | LW | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Dennis Hextall | LW | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Andre St. Laurent | C | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thommie Bergman | D | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reed Larson | D | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Polonich | C/RW | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Cameron | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Harper | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Rutherford | G | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Bowness | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Giroux | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Hamel | D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Hull | LW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Joly | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J.P. LeBlanc | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Low | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Jim Rutherford | 180 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 4.00 | 0 |
| Ron Low | 240 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 4.25 | 0 |
| Team: | 420 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 29 | 4.14 | 0 |
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;  MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

## Transactions

The Red Wings were involved in the following transactions during the 1977–78 season.

### Trades

| Player acquired | Acquired from | For |
| Andre St. Laurent | New York Islanders | Michel Bergeron |
| Cash | Philadelphia Flyers | Terry Murray |
| Dennis Hull | Chicago Blackhawks | Red Wings' 4th round draft pick in 1980 |
| Errol Thompson, 1st and 2nd round draft pick in 1978, 1st round Draft Pick in 1980 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Dan Maloney, 2nd round draft pick in 1980 |

### Free agents

| Player | Former team |
| Player | New team |

## Draft picks

Detroit's picks at the 1977 NHL amateur draft in Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/junior/club team (League) |
| 1 | 1 | Dale McCourt | Center | Canada | St. Catharines Fincups (OHA) |
| 3 | 37 | Rick Vasko | Defense | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHA) |
| 4 | 55 | John Hilworth | Defense | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) |
| 5 | 73 | Jim Korn | Defense | United States | Providence College (ECAC) |
| 6 | 91 | Jim Baxter | Goaltender | Canada | Union College (ECAC) |
| 7 | 109 | Randy Wilson | Left Wing | United States | Providence College (ECAC) |
| 8 | 125 | Raymond Roy | Center | United States | Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) |
| 9 | 141 | Kip Churchill | Center | Canada | Union College (ECAC) |
| 10 | 155 | Lance Gatoni | Defense | Canada | University of Toronto (CIAU) |
| 11 | 163 | Rob Plumb | Left Wing | Canada | Kingston Canadians (OHA) |
| 12 | 170 | Alain Belanger | Left Wing | Canada | Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) |
| 13 | 175 | Dean Willers | Right Wing | United Kingdom | Union College (ECAC) |
| 14 | 178 | Roland Cloutier | Center | Canada | Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) |
| 15 | 181 | Ed Hill | Right Wing | United States | University of Vermont (ECAC) |
| 16 | 184 | Val James | Left Wing | United States | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) |
| 17 | 185 | Grant Morin | Right Wing | Canada | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |