1977-78 NHL season

The 1977-78 NHL season was the 61st season of the National Hockey League. Eighteen teams each played 80 games. The Montreal Canadiens won their third Stanley Cup in a row as they beat the Boston Bruins four games to two in the finals.
==League Business==
Clarence Campbell retired as NHL President, prior to this season. John Ziegler succeeded him.
A trophy for the top defensive forward, the Frank J. Selke Trophy, made its debut this season and went to Bob Gainey, who played Left Wing for Montreal.
The Cleveland Barons franchise dissolved at the end of the season and its assets and liabilities were transferred to the Minnesota North Stars, which moved to Cleveland's slot in the Adams Division.
==Regular Season==
===Final Standings===
====Prince of Wales Conference====
====Clarence Campbell Conference====
===Scoring Leaders===
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Guy Lafleur 	Montreal Canadiens 	78	60	72	132	26
Bryan Trottier 	New York Islanders 	77	46	77	123	46
Darryl Sittler 	Toronto Maple Leafs	80	45	72	117	100
Jacques Lemaire 	Montreal Canadiens 	76	36	61	97 	14
Denis Potvin 	New York Islanders 	80	30	64	94 	81
Mike Bossy 	New York Islanders 	73	53	38	91 	6
Terry O'Reilly 	Boston Bruins 	77	29	61	90 	211
Gilbert Perreault	Buffalo Sabres 	79	41	48	89 	20
Bobby Clarke 	Philadelphia Flyers	71	21	68	89 	83
Lanny McDonald 	Toronto Maple Leafs	74	47	40	87 	54
===Leading Goaltenders===
Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
Player 	Team 	GP	MIN 	GA 	GAA 	W 	L 	T 	SO
Ken Dryden 	Montreal Canadiens 	52	3071	105	2.05	37	7 	7 	5
Bernie Parent 	Philadelphia Flyers	49	2923	108	2.22	29	6 	13	7
Gilles Gilbert 	Boston Bruins 	25	1326	56 	2.53	15	6 	2 	2
Chico Resch 	N.Y. Islanders 	45	2637	112	2.55	28	9 	7 	3
Tony Esposito 	Chicago Black Hawks	64	3840	168	2.63	28	22	14	5
Don Edwards 	Buffalo Sabres 	72	4209	185	2.64	38	16	17	5
Billy Smith 	N.Y. Islanders 	38	2154	95 	2.65	20	8 	8 	2
Michel Larocque	Montreal Canadiens 	30	1729	77 	2.67	22	3 	4 	1
Mike Palmateer 	Toronto Maple Leafs	63	3760	172	2.74	34	19	9 	5
Dan Bouchard 	Atlanta Flames 	58	3340	153	2.75	25	12	19	2
==Stanley Cup Playoffs==
===Playoff Bracket===
===Finals===
Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
Date 	Visitors	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
May 13	Boston 	1 	Montreal	4 	
May 16	Boston 	2 	Montreal	3 	OT
May 18	Montreal	0 	Boston 	4 	
May 21	Montreal	3 	Boston 	4 	OT
May 23	Boston 	1 	Montreal	4 	
May 25	Montreal	4 	Boston 	1 	
Montreal wins the series 4–2.
Larry Robinson won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
==NHL Awards==
Prince of Wales Trophy: 	Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: 	New York Islanders
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: 	Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Butch Goring, Los Angeles Kings
Calder Memorial Trophy: 	Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
Conn Smythe Trophy: 	Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens
Frank J. Selke Trophy: 	Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy: 	Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens
Jack Adams Award: 	Bobby Kromm, Detroit Red Wings
James Norris Memorial Trophy: 	Denis Potvin, New York Islanders
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: 	Butch Goring, Los Angeles Kings
Lester B. Pearson Award: 	Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens
NHL Plus/Minus Award: 	Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens
Vezina Trophy: 	Ken Dryden & Michel Larocque, Montreal Canadiens
Lester Patrick Trophy: 	Phil Esposito, Tom Fitzgerald, William T. Tutt, William W. Wirtz
==All-Star Teams==
First Team 	  Position  	Second Team
Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens 	G 	Don Edwards, Buffalo Sabres
Denis Potvin, New York Islanders 	D 	Larry Robinson, Montreal Canadiens
Brad Park, Boston Bruins 	D 	Borje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs
Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders	C 	Darryl Sittler, Toronto Maple Leafs
Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens 	RW 	Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
Clark Gillies, New York Islanders 	LW 	Steve Shutt, Montreal Canadiens
==Debuts==
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1977-78 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
*Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks
*Barry Beck, Colorado Rockies
*Dale McCourt, Detroit Red Wings
*Vaclav Nedomansky, Detroit Red Wings
*Dave Taylor, Los Angeles Kings
*Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
*Ron Duguay, New York Rangers
*Glen Hanlon, Vancouver Canucks
*Murray Bannerman, Vancouver Canucks
*Robert Picard, Washington Capitals
==Last Games==
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1977-78 (listed with their last team):
*Johnny Bucyk, Boston Bruins
*Eddie Johnston, Chicago Black Hawks
*Jim Neilson, Cleveland Barons
*Dennis Hull, Detroit Red Wings
*Ed Giacomin, Detroit Red Wings
*Bill Goldsworthy, New York Rangers
*Dallas Smith, New York Rangers
*Ken Hodge, New York Rangers
*Rod Gilbert, New York Rangers
*Gary Dornhoefer, Philadelphia Flyers
*Derek Sanderson, Pittsburgh Penguins
*Claude Larose, St. Louis Blues
*Jimmy Roberts, St. Louis Blues
*Red Berenson, St. Louis Blues
*Cesare Maniago, Vancouver Canucks
==Gallery==
77-78SLBlues.jpg|1977-78 St. Louis Blues
77-78PitPen.jpg|1977-78 Pittsburgh Penguins
77-78DetRW.jpg|1977-78 Detroit Red Wings
1977-78NYR.jpg|1977-78 New York Rangers
==Video==
Over 30 minutes of the October 23, 1977 Pittsburgh-Cleveland game.
Penguins at Cleveland Barons Oct 1977
==See Also==
* List of Stanley Cup champions
* 1977 NHL Amateur Draft
* 31st National Hockey League All-Star Game
* National Hockey League All-Star Game
* 1977-78 WHA season
==References==
*Hockey Database
*NHL.com