1973–74 Atlanta Flames season

The 1973–74 Atlanta Flames season was the second season for the franchise.

1973–74 Atlanta Flames
Division4th West
1973–74 record30–34–14
Goals for214
Goals against238
Team information
General managerCliff Fletcher
CoachBernie Geoffrion
CaptainKeith McCreary
ArenaOmni Coliseum
Team leaders
GoalsJacques Richard (27)
AssistsTom Lysiak (45)
PointsTom Lysiak (64)
Penalty minutesPat Quinn (94)
WinsDan Bouchard (19)
Goals against averageDan Bouchard (2.77)

Regular season

Season standings
West Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1Philadelphia Flyers78501612273164+109112
2Chicago Black Hawks78411423272164+108105
3Los Angeles Kings78333312233231+278
4Atlanta Flames78303414214238−2474
5Pittsburgh Penguins7828419242273−3165
6St. Louis Blues78264012206248−4264
7Minnesota North Stars78233817235275−4063
8California Golden Seals78135510195342−14736

Schedule and results
No. R Date Score Opponent Record Attendance [2]
1TOctober 10, 19731–1New York Islanders (1973–74)0–0–112,144
2LOctober 12, 19733–4Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)0–1–113,287
3WOctober 13, 19731–0@ St. Louis Blues (1973–74)1–1–118,836
4WOctober 17, 19734–3Boston Bruins (1973–74)2–1–114,498
5WOctober 20, 19734–2@ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)3–1–116,616
6LOctober 23, 19730–3@ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)3–2–115,570
7LOctober 24, 19734–6@ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74)3–3–18,367
8WOctober 26, 19733–1@ California Golden Seals (1973–74)4–3–1N/A
9WNovember 1, 19737–2California Golden Seals (1973–74)5–3–113,480
10WNovember 3, 19732–1@ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)6–3–117,007
11WNovember 4, 19732–0Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)7–3–113,659
12TNovember 7, 19732–2St. Louis Blues (1973–74)7–3–214,217
13TNovember 9, 19733–3New York Rangers (1973–74)7–3–315,141
14TNovember 10, 19734–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)7–3–411,342
15LNovember 14, 19731–3Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)7–4–413,123
16LNovember 16, 19731–6Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)7–5–415,141
17LNovember 18, 19732–5@ Boston Bruins (1973–74)7–6–415,003
18WNovember 21, 19733–2Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)8–6–412,889
19WNovember 23, 19734–1Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)9–6–415,141
20WNovember 25, 19734–3@ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)10–6–415,858
21LNovember 27, 19732–4@ New York Islanders (1973–74)10–7–412,016
22WNovember 29, 19734–3Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)11–7–413,128
23TDecember 1, 19732–2@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)11–7–510,413
24LDecember 2, 19731–3Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)11–8–513,892
25TDecember 5, 19733–3@ California Golden Seals (1973–74)11–8–63,137
26WDecember 7, 19732–0@ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)12–8–615,570
27LDecember 8, 19730–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74)12–9–610,535
28LDecember 13, 19731–6Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)12–10–613,220
29WDecember 15, 19733–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)13–10–617,007
30LDecember 16, 19731–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)13–11–612,510
31LDecember 19, 19732–4@ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)13–12–614,756
32LDecember 21, 19731–2St. Louis Blues (1973–74)13–13–613,454
33WDecember 23, 19733–1New York Rangers (1973–74)14–13–613,627
34WDecember 27, 19736–4Los Angeles Kings (1973–74)15–13–615,141
35TDecember 29, 19733–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)15–13–716,485
36LDecember 30, 19732–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)15–14–714,518
37WJanuary 3, 19743–2Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)16–14–714,002
38LJanuary 6, 19742–5@ New York Rangers (1973–74)16–15–717,500
39LJanuary 7, 19742–6@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)16–16–716,485
40WJanuary 9, 19743–0Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)17–16–712,522
41LJanuary 11, 19746–7Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)17–17–715,141
42LJanuary 13, 19740–1@ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)17–18–717,007
43LJanuary 15, 19743–4@ New York Islanders (1973–74)17–19–712,524
44WJanuary 18, 19746–2California Golden Seals (1973–74)18–19–714,118
45LJanuary 20, 19741–3St. Louis Blues (1973–74)18–20–714,247
46LJanuary 23, 19741–4@ New York Rangers (1973–74)18–21–717,500
47TJanuary 25, 19742–2Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)18–21–814,568
48LJanuary 27, 19742–5Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)18–22–813,192
49LJanuary 31, 19742–4@ Boston Bruins (1973–74)18–23–815,003
50WFebruary 1, 19745–3Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)19–23–815,141
51TFebruary 3, 19742–2Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)19–23–914,123
52TFebruary 6, 19741–1@ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)19–23–10N/A
53LFebruary 8, 19740–3Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)19–24–1015,141
54LFebruary 10, 19743–6Los Angeles Kings (1973–74)19–25–1013,652
55WFebruary 12, 19744–1@ New York Islanders (1973–74)20–25–1013,376
56WFebruary 13, 19743–2@ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)21–25–1016,581
57LFebruary 16, 19742–7@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)21–26–1016,485
58LFebruary 19, 19741–7@ St. Louis Blues (1973–74)21–27–1018,249
59TFebruary 21, 19744–4@ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)21–27–1115,858
60WFebruary 23, 19745–3@ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)22–27–1115,570
61LFebruary 26, 19745–6Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)22–28–1114,598
62LFebruary 28, 19741–3Los Angeles Kings (1973–74)22–29–1114,064
63WMarch 3, 19745–3Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)23–29–1113,126
64WMarch 5, 19744–1Boston Bruins (1973–74)24–29–1115,141
65WMarch 8, 19743–1Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)25–29–1115,141
66WMarch 10, 19744–0@ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)26–29–1112,193
67LMarch 13, 19741–5@ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)26–30–1114,886
68LMarch 15, 19740–3@ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)26–31–1115,570
69TMarch 17, 19743–3@ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)26–31–12N/A
70TMarch 21, 19745–5New York Rangers (1973–74)26–31–1315,141
71WMarch 23, 19744–3@ Boston Bruins (1973–74)27–31–1315,003
72LMarch 24, 19744–6New York Islanders (1973–74)27–32–1315,141
73TMarch 28, 19743–3Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)27–32–1415,141
74WMarch 30, 19744–1Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)28–32–1415,141
75LMarch 31, 19742–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)28–33–1410,518
76LApril 3, 19742–4@ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74)28–34–1411,519
77WApril 5, 19744–2@ California Golden Seals (1973–74)29–34–144,867
78WApril 7, 19746–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)30–34–1415,141

Playoffs

The Flames made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 1973–74, as they finished in fourth place in the West Division, setting up a first round playoff matchup against the first place Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers finished the season with a 50–16–12 record, earning 112 points, which was 38 more points than Atlanta.

The best of seven series opened up at the Spectrum in Philadelphia in front of a sellout crowd of 17,007, and the Flyers opened the scoring with four seconds remaining in the first period, when Gary Dornhoefer scored a shorthanded goal. The Flyers extended their lead to 2–0 in the second period after Tom Bladon scored on the powerplay. In the third period, Orest Kindrachuk gave Philadelphia a 3–0 lead, however, thirty seconds later, Bob Murray scored the first ever playoff goal for Atlanta, cutting the lead to 3–1. Orest Kindrachuk added a second goal later in the third to give the Flyers a 4–1 opening game victory. Bernie Parent made 31 saves for the victory, while Phil Myre took the loss for Atlanta.

In the second game of the series, the Flyers took an early 1–0 lead on a goal by Terry Crisp. In the second period, Rick MacLeish scored a natural hat-trick, scoring three goals in a row, to give the Flyers a 4–0 lead. Rey Comeau broke the Flyers shutout bid in the third period, however, Jimmy Watson scored for Philadelphia, as the Flyers won the second game 5–1, taking a 2–0 series lead.

The series shifted to the Omni Coliseum for the third game, as the arena was sold out with 15,141 fans for the first ever playoff game in Atlanta. The Flyers opened the scoring with two quick goals in the first period, as Don Saleski and Bobby Clarke scored in the first 5:02 of the game to give Philadelphia a 2–0 lead. In the second period, Larry Romanchych responded for the Flames, cutting the lead to 2–1, however, the Flyers regained their two-goal lead when Rick MacLeish scored his fourth goal of the series. In the third period, Bill Barber scored for the Flyers, as they took the third game 4–1, and now had a 3–0 series lead.

In the fourth game, facing elimination, and in front of another sold out crowd, the Flames opened the scoring 3:28 into the game, when Larry Romanchych beat Bernie Parent to give Atlanta a 1–0 lead, their first lead of the series. In the second period, the Flames took a 3–0 lead, after goals by Jean Lemieux and Rey Comeau, however, the Flyers Andre Dupont scored a late period goal to cut the Flames lead to 3–1. Early in the third period, the Flyers Gary Dornhoefer scored on the powerplay to make the score 3–2. On another powerplay, Tom Bladon scored for Philadelphia, tying the game at 3–3. The game went into overtime, and the Flyers completed the comeback, when Dave Schultz beat Phil Myre, as the Flyers won the game 4–3, and eliminated the Flames from the post-season

Philadelphia Flyers 4, Atlanta Flames 0
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordAttendance
1April 9Atlanta Flames1–4Philadelphia Flyers0–117,007
2April 11Atlanta Flames1–5Philadelphia Flyers0–217,007
3April 12Philadelphia Flyers4–1Atlanta Flames0–315,141
4April 14Philadelphia Flyers4–3Atlanta Flames0–415,141

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
Tom Lysiak12771945645440220
Bob Leiter16782626521040002
Larry Romanchych21732229513342244
Jacques Richard15782716434540002
Curt Bennett57117244134401134
Keith McCreary9761819376240000
Randy Manery778829377540224
Rey Comeau18781123341642136
John Stewart177418153341400010
Pat Quinn377527329440006
Leon Rochefort115610122213-----
Al McDonough†1435109191540002
Chuck Arnason‡1433761313-----
Noel Price462013133840006
Eric Vail252329113010002
Jean Lemieux632358631120
Arnie Brown19482682940000
Butch Deadmarsh104261789400017
Bryan Hextall Jr.†204024655401116
Lew Morrison8521450-----
Doug Mohns22803310-----
Bob Murray23620333441012
Ed Kea2430220-----
Bob Paradise‡61801113-----
Don Martineau2440002-----
Dwight Bialowas22110004-----
Phil Myre13600043
Dan Bouchard304600010110

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Atlanta. Stats reflect time with the Flames only. ‡Traded mid-season

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP TOI W L T GA SO GAA GP TOI W L GA SO GAA
Dan Bouchard304626601918812352.7716001404.00
Phil Myre13620201116611203.333186031304.19

Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1973–74 season.

Trades
May 29, 1973 To Atlanta Flames
Chuck Arnason		 To Montreal Canadiens
1st round pick in 1974 Amateur Draft
(Rick Chartraw)
May 29, 1973 To Atlanta Flames
Bob Murray		 To Montreal Canadiens
3rd round pick in 1977 Amateur Draft
(Pierre Lagace)
June 10, 1973 To Atlanta Flames
cash		 To California Golden Seals
Ted Tucker
January 4, 1974 To Atlanta Flames
Al McDonough		 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Chuck Arnason
Bob Paradise

Free agents
PlayerFormer team
PlayerNew team

Claimed off waivers
PlayerFormer team
C Bryan Hextall Jr.Pittsburgh Penguins

Intra-league Draft
PlayerFormer team
D Doug MohnsMinnesota North Stars
PlayerNew team
D Bill PlagerMinnesota North Stars
This sports-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

NHL Amateur Draft
See also: 1973 NHL Amateur Draft
Round Pick Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team
1 2. Tom Lysiak  Canada Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
1 16. Vic Mercredi  Canada New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
2 21. Eric Vail  Canada Sudbury Wolves (OHA)
4 53. Dean Talafous  United States Wisconsin (NCAA)
5 69. John Flesch  Canada Lake Superior (NCAA)
6 85. Ken Houston  Canada Chatham Maroons (SOJHL)
7 101. Tom Machowski  United States Wisconsin (NCAA)
8 117. Bob Law  Canada North Dakota (NCAA)
9 130. Bob Bilodeau  Canada New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
10 148. Glen Surbey  Canada Loyola College (CIAU)
10 149. Guy Ross  Canada Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL)
11 162. Greg Fox  Canada University of Michigan (NCAA)

References
  1. "1973-1974 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  2. http://www.flyershistory.com
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