1973 – 74 Chicago Black Hawks season The 1973 – 74 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks ' forty - eighth season in the NHL , and the club was coming off their fourth consecutive first place finish in 1972 - 73 , as they finished on top of the West Division with a 42 - 27 - 9 record , earning 93 points . The Hawks defeated the St . Louis Blues and New York Rangers in the post season before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup final . Chicago started off the season slow , as they had a 2 - 4 - 4 record in their first ten games , however , the club then went on a nine game unbeaten streak to push themselves over the . 500 mark . The Hawks would battle with the Philadelphia Flyers all season long for top spot in the West Division , as Chicago would finish the year with a record of 41 - 14 - 23 , earning 105 points , which was their third highest total in club history . It was not enough though , as the Flyers dethroned the Black Hawks for top spot in the West , as they finished with 112 points . The 14 losses by Chicago was the fewest by the team in one season , while the 23 ties they recorded was a new team record . Offensively , the Black Hawks were led by Stan Mikita , who had a club high 50 assists and 80 points , while Jim Pappin led the team in goals for the second consecutive season , as he scored 32 goals , and finished with 73 points . Pit Martin had another very solid season , scoring 30 goals and 77 points , while Dennis Hull had 29 goals and 68 points . On defense , Dick Redmond emerged as the offensive leader , scoring 17 goals and 59 points , while Bill White recorded 36 points , while having a team high + 51 rating . Phil Russell had 10 goals and 35 points , while having a team high 184 penalty minutes . In goal , Tony Esposito led the club with 34 victories and a 2 . 04 GAA , along with ten shutouts while appearing in 70 games . Rookie goaltender Mike Veisor backed up Esposito , going 7 - 0 - 2 with a 2 . 23 GAA in 10 games . Chicago tied the Philadelphia Flyers with the fewest goals against in the league at 164 , as both Tony Esposito and the Flyers Bernie Parent would share the Vezina Trophy for their achievements . The Hawks opened the playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings , who had a record of 33 - 33 - 12 , earning 78 points , while placing third in the West Division . The series opened with two games at Chicago Stadium , and the Black Hawks used their home ice to their advantage , defeating the Kings 3 - 1 and 4 - 1 to take a 2 - 0 series lead . The series shifted to the The Forum in Los Angeles for the next two games , and the Hawks would continue to shutdown the Kings in the third game , shutting them out 1 - 0 . Los Angeles would avoid the sweep by easily handling the Black Hawks 5 - 1 to send the series back to Chicago . In the fifth game , the Hawks , led by Tony Esposito , would shutout Los Angeles by a score of 1 - 0 to eliminate the Kings from the playoffs . Chicago ' s next opponent was the Boston Bruins , who had finished the season with a 52 - 17 - 9 record , earning 113 points , and a first place finish in the East Division . The Bruins swept the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round . The series opened up with two games at the Boston Garden , but it was Chicago who struck first , doubling the Bruins 4 - 2 in the series opener . Boston responded in the second game , winning a wild game 8 - 6 to even the series . The next two games were played in Chicago , and the Black Hawks once again took the series lead , defeating Boston 4 - 3 in overtime , however , the Bruins once again came back , winning the fourth game 5 - 2 to even the series once again . The fifth game was back in Boston , and the Bruins took their first series lead , dominating Chicago by a score of 6 - 2 . Boston would clinch the series in the sixth game , winning 4 - 2 on Chicago ice to eliminate the Black Hawks from the post - season . Draft picks . Chicago ' s draft picks at the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal , Quebec .