1971 – 72 Chicago Black Hawks season The 1971 – 72 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks ' forty - sixth season in the NHL , and the club was coming off a first place finish in their first season in the West Division in 1969 - 70 , as they had a team record 49 victories and 107 points . The Black Hawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers to earn a berth in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1965 , however , the were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in seven games . Regular season . Chicago had an excellent start to the season , winning their opening five games , and the team never let up throughout the season , as they had an unbeaten streak of ten games in December to take control of the West Division . The Black Hawks would then finish the season off on a twelve game unbeaten streak to win their third straight divisional title , as they finished the year with a record of 46 - 17 - 15 , tying the club record with 107 points that was set during the 1970 - 71 season . The Hawks finished 21 points ahead of the second place Minnesota North Stars . Offensively , the Black Hawks were led by Bobby Hull , who scored a team high 50 goals and 93 points , which placed him seventh in NHL scoring . Hull also led the club with a + 54 rating . Pit Martin led the club with 51 assists , and finished second in team scoring with 75 points . Dennis Hull had 30 goals and 69 points , while Stan Mikita was just behind him with 26 goals and 65 points . On defense , Pat Stapleton led the club with 41 points , while Bill White and Doug Jarrett had 29 points . Keith Magnuson once again led the team in penalty minutes , as he accumulated 201 . In goal , Tony Esposito led the club with 31 victories and a 1 . 77 GAA , along with nine shutouts while appearing in 48 games . Backup goaltender Gary Smith was also very good , winning 14 games while having a 2 . 42 GAA , and five shutouts . They helped the team have an NHL low 166 goals against , and were awarded the Vezina Trophy for their efforts . Playoffs . The Hawks opened the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins , who had a record of 26 - 38 - 14 , earning 66 points , while placing fourth in the West Division . The series opened with two games at Chicago Stadium , and the Black Hawks , who had a record of 28 - 3 - 8 at home , continued their dominance , as they defeatd the Penguins 3 - 1 and 3 - 2 to take a 2 - 0 series lead . The series moved to the Pittsburgh Civic Arena for the next two games , however , it was the Black Hawks who continued to stay hot , as they shutout the Penguins 2 - 0 in the third game , and finished off the series sweep with a 6 - 5 overtime win in the fourth game . Chicago ' s next opponent was the New York Rangers , who had finished the season with a 48 - 17 - 13 record , earning 109 points , and a second place finish in the East Division . The Rangers defeated the defending Stanley Cup champions , the Montreal Canadiens in their first playoff series . Since the Black Hawks won their division , they were given home ice advantage in the series . The series opened up with two games at Chicago Stadium , however , it was the Rangers who struck first , defeating the Hawks 3 - 2 , then taking the second game in Chicago by a score of 5 - 3 to take an early 2 - 0 series lead . Chicago could not get themselves back in the series , as New York won the third game 3 - 2 , and the Rangers completed the sweep of the Black Hawks with a 6 - 2 thumping in the fourth game . Draft picks . Chicago ' s draft picks at the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal , Quebec .