1973 – 74 Los Angeles Kings season Offseason . Forward Serge Bernier ( 22 goals , 46 assists ) jumped to the Quebec Nordiques of the WHA . Regular season . After finishing strong in 1972 - 73 and barely missing the playoffs , the Kings had high hopes for the 1973 - 74 season . But the team started slowly and by the end of November , they were 5 - 14 - 3 and in last place . Then they made a blockbuster trade , sending their best defenseman Gilles Marotte to the New York Rangers for defenseman Sheldon Kannegiesser , forwards Mike Murphy , and Tom Williams , and speedy center Gene Carr . They improved a little , but were still 9 games under . 500 at the end of February at 21 - 30 - 10 for 52 points and 7th place in the 8 team Western Division . The Kings then went 9 - 0 - 2 over the next 3 weeks and climbed into 3rd place , passing the Atlanta Flames , Minnesota North Stars , Pittsburgh Penguins , and St . Louis Blues . Going into the final game of the season , the Kings had clinched 3rd , but needed a win to finish . 500 and needed to outscore the Vancouver Canucks by 8 goals to finish even in goal differential on the season , which was one of coach Bob Pulford ' s goals at the beginning of the season . Not only did the Kings win , they won 11 - 1 to finish . 500 and with a plus goal differential for the first time in their history . Playoffs . The Kings were heavy underdogs against the Chicago Black Hawks but put up a strong showing . While Kings goalie Rogie Vachon was excellent , the difference was Chicago goalie Tony Esposito who was brilliant . Game one saw the Black Hawks score in the 3rd period to take a 2 - 1 lead and they added an empty net goal to win , 3 - 1 . Game two was similar ; this time Chicago led 3 - 1 when they scored an empty net goal late to make it 4 - 1 . Game 3 in Los Angeles was the Kings first home playoff game in 5 years and was one of the strangest games in post season history . Chicago scored a first period goal and then went into a defensive shell , practically daring the Kings to try to beat Esposito . Almost the entire rest of the game was played in the Black Hawk zone with the Kings dominating the action . But try as they might , they could not get the puck past Tony Esposito . Their best chance came midway through the 3rd period when Bob Berry pounced on a rebound and shot it over Esposito but hit the cross bar . With the 1 - 0 win , the Black Hawks had a commanding 3 - 0 series lead . Game 4 was played the very next day so both coaches rested their # 1 goalies ; the Kings played Gary Edwards over Rogie Vachon and Chicago went with Mike Veisor over Tony Esposito . The Kings were so relieved to have Esposito out that they dominated in a 5 - 1 win , their first playoff victory since a game 7 win over the Oakland Seals in the 1969 quarter - finals . Another defensive struggle ensued in game 5 with Vachon and Esposito back in the nets ; both made a number of brilliant saves and the game was 0 - 0 midway through the 3rd period . The Black Hawks won when Cliff Koroll scuffed the ice on a slap shot ; the puck acted like a knuckleball change up and fooled Vachon for the game winner . Transactions . November 30 , 1973 - traded defenseman Gilles Marotte to the New York Rangers for defenseman Sheldon Kannegiesser , forwards Mike Murphy , and Tom Williams , and center Gene Carr