1973–74 Chicago Black Hawks season

The 1973–74 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks' 48th 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 postseason before falling to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup final.[1]

1973–74 Chicago Black Hawks
Division2nd West
1973–74 record41–14–23
Home record20–6–13
Road record21–8–10
Goals for272
Goals against164
Team information
General managerTommy Ivan
CoachBilly Reay
CaptainVacant
Alternate captainsDoug Jarrett
Stan Mikita
Bill White
ArenaChicago Stadium
Team leaders
GoalsJim Pappin (32)
AssistsStan Mikita (50)
PointsStan Mikita (80)
Penalty minutesPhil Russell (184)
Plus/minusBill White (+51)
WinsTony Esposito (34)
Goals against averageTony Esposito (2.04)

Chicago started the season slowly, 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 battled with the Philadelphia Flyers all season long for the top spot in the West Division, as Chicago finished 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 thus ending Chicago's streak of four consecutive division titles. 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.[2]

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 scored 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.[3] Rookie goaltender Mike Veisor backed up Esposito, going 7–0–2 with a 2.23 GAA in 10 games.[4] Chicago tied the Philadelphia Flyers with the fewest goals against in the league at 164, as Tony Esposito and the Flyers Bernie Parent shared 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 Forum in Los Angeles for the next two games, and the Hawks continued to shut down the Kings in the third game, shutting them out 1–0. Los Angeles avoided 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, shut out 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 8–6 to even the series. The next two games were played in Chicago, and the Black Hawks re-took the series lead, defeating Boston 4–3 in overtime; however, the Bruins rebounded, winning the fourth game 5–2 to even the series 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 clinched the series in the sixth game, winning 4–2 on Chicago ice to eliminate the Black Hawks from the post-season.

Season standings
West Division[5]
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

Game log

Regular season
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1October 10Chicago Black Hawks3–0Los Angeles Kings1–0–02
2October 12Chicago Black Hawks2–3California Golden Seals1–1–02
3October 14Minnesota North Stars1–1Chicago Black Hawks1–1–13
4October 17Vancouver Canucks0–5Chicago Black Hawks2–1–15
5October 21New York Islanders3–3Chicago Black Hawks2–1–26
6October 24Chicago Black Hawks1–3Buffalo Sabres2–2–26
7October 27Chicago Black Hawks4–4St. Louis Blues2–2–37
8October 28Toronto Maple Leafs1–1Chicago Black Hawks2–2–48
9November 1Chicago Black Hawks0–1Philadelphia Flyers2–3–48
10November 3Chicago Black Hawks4–5Minnesota North Stars2–4–48
11November 4New York Rangers1–4Chicago Black Hawks3–4–410
12November 7Chicago Black Hawks1–1California Golden Seals3–4–511
13November 9Chicago Black Hawks4–0Vancouver Canucks4–4–513
14November 11Chicago Black Hawks3–0Los Angeles Kings5–4–515
15November 14Chicago Black Hawks4–4New York Rangers5–4–616
16November 16Chicago Black Hawks6–1Atlanta Flames6–4–618
17November 17Chicago Black Hawks4–1Pittsburgh Penguins7–4–620
18November 21St. Louis Blues1–4Chicago Black Hawks8–4–622
19November 24Chicago Black Hawks3–1Toronto Maple Leafs9–4–624
20November 25Montreal Canadiens6–4Chicago Black Hawks9–5–624
21November 28Boston Bruins3–3Chicago Black Hawks9–5–725
22December 1Chicago Black Hawks5–0Montreal Canadiens10–5–727
23December 2Pittsburgh Penguins1–2Chicago Black Hawks11–5–729
24December 5Chicago Black Hawks8–2Detroit Red Wings12–5–731
25December 9Minnesota North Stars3–5Chicago Black Hawks13–5–733
26December 12Philadelphia Flyers2–2Chicago Black Hawks13–5–834
27December 15Chicago Black Hawks3–3New York Islanders13–5–935
28December 16Chicago Black Hawks6–1New York Rangers14–5–937
29December 19Buffalo Sabres2–2Chicago Black Hawks14–5–1038
30December 22Chicago Black Hawks2–4Philadelphia Flyers14–6–1038
31December 23Vancouver Canucks2–6Chicago Black Hawks15–6–1040
32December 26Los Angeles Kings3–3Chicago Black Hawks15–6–1141
33December 29Chicago Black Hawks4–2Pittsburgh Penguins16–6–1143
34December 30Toronto Maple Leafs4–3Chicago Black Hawks16–7–1143
35January 2New York Islanders1–5Chicago Black Hawks17–7–1145
36January 3Chicago Black Hawks2–3Atlanta Flames17–8–1145
37January 6California Golden Seals4–9Chicago Black Hawks18–8–1147
38January 9Los Angeles Kings4–4Chicago Black Hawks18–8–1248
39January 10Chicago Black Hawks2–2Boston Bruins18–8–1349
40January 13Detroit Red Wings1–4Chicago Black Hawks19–8–1351
41January 16Boston Bruins5–5Chicago Black Hawks19–8–1452
42January 19New York Rangers3–2Chicago Black Hawks19–9–1452
43January 20Vancouver Canucks2–7Chicago Black Hawks20–9–1454
44January 24Chicago Black Hawks2–1Boston Bruins21–9–1456
45January 26Chicago Black Hawks1–4Montreal Canadiens21–10–1456
46January 27New York Islanders4–2Chicago Black Hawks21–11–1456
47January 31California Golden Seals1–2Chicago Black Hawks22–11–1458
48February 2Chicago Black Hawks3–1Pittsburgh Penguins23–11–1460
49February 3St. Louis Blues0–3Chicago Black Hawks24–11–1462
50February 6Atlanta Flames1–1Chicago Black Hawks24–11–1563
51February 8Chicago Black Hawks3–0Atlanta Flames25–11–1565
52February 10Pittsburgh Penguins3–5Chicago Black Hawks26–11–1567
53February 13Los Angeles Kings0–4Chicago Black Hawks27–11–1569
54February 16Chicago Black Hawks4–0New York Islanders28–11–1571
55February 17Toronto Maple Leafs1–4Chicago Black Hawks29–11–1573
56February 20California Golden Seals0–3Chicago Black Hawks30–11–1575
57February 23Philadelphia Flyers1–3Chicago Black Hawks31–11–1577
58February 24Pittsburgh Penguins4–2Chicago Black Hawks31–12–1577
59February 27Chicago Black Hawks3–1Minnesota North Stars32–12–1579
60February 28Chicago Black Hawks2–2Buffalo Sabres32–12–1680
61March 3Chicago Black Hawks6–6Detroit Red Wings32–12–1781
62March 6Chicago Black Hawks3–3California Golden Seals32–12–1882
63March 7Chicago Black Hawks2–3Los Angeles Kings32–13–1882
64March 9Chicago Black Hawks4–4Vancouver Canucks32–13–1983
65March 13Montreal Canadiens3–3Chicago Black Hawks32–13–2084
66March 14Chicago Black Hawks5–2New York Rangers33–13–2086
67March 16Chicago Black Hawks3–1Montreal Canadiens34–13–2088
68March 17Atlanta Flames3–3Chicago Black Hawks34–13–2189
69March 20Buffalo Sabres3–2Chicago Black Hawks34–14–2189
70March 23Chicago Black Hawks3–1Philadelphia Flyers35–14–2191
71March 24Minnesota North Stars0–6Chicago Black Hawks36–14–2193
72March 27Chicago Black Hawks5–3Toronto Maple Leafs37–14–2195
73March 28Chicago Black Hawks2–2Buffalo Sabres37–14–2296
74March 30Chicago Black Hawks2–1Detroit Red Wings38–14–2298
75March 31St. Louis Blues2–2Chicago Black Hawks38–14–2399
76April 3Boston Bruins2–6Chicago Black Hawks39–14–23101
77April 6Chicago Black Hawks6–3St. Louis Blues40–14–23103
78April 7Detroit Red Wings4–7Chicago Black Hawks41–14–23105

Chicago Black Hawks 4, Los Angeles Kings 1
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 10Los Angeles Kings1–3Chicago Black Hawks1–0
2April 11Los Angeles Kings1–4Chicago Black Hawks2–0
3April 13Chicago Black Hawks1–0Los Angeles Kings3–0
4April 14Chicago Black Hawks1–5Los Angeles Kings3–1
5April 16Los Angeles Kings0–1Chicago Black Hawks4–1

Boston Bruins 4, Chicago Black Hawks 2
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 18Chicago Black Hawks4–2Boston Bruins1–0
2April 21Chicago Black Hawks6–8Boston Bruins1–1
3April 23Boston Bruins3–4Chicago Black Hawks2–1
4April 25Boston Bruins5–2Chicago Black Hawks2–2
5April 28Chicago Black Hawks2–6Boston Bruins2–3
6April 30Boston Bruins4–2Chicago Black Hawks2–4

Season stats

Scoring leaders
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Stan Mikita7630508046
Pit Martin7830477743
Jim Pappin7832417376
Dennis Hull7429396815
Dick Redmond7617425969

Goaltending
PlayerGPTOIWLTGASOGAA
Tony Esposito704143341421141102.04
Mike Veisor105377022012.23

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Stan Mikita1156118
Dennis Hull106390
Jim Pappin1136929
Bill White1117814
Dick Redmond111788

Goaltending
PlayerGPTOIWLGASOGAA
Tony Esposito10584642822.88
Mike Veisor26501503.75

Draft picks

Chicago's draft picks at the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team (League)
113Darcy Rota CanadaEdmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)
229Reg Thomas CanadaLondon Knights (OHA)
345Randy Holt CanadaSudbury Wolves (OHA)
461Dave Elliot CanadaWinnipeg Jets (WCHL)
577Dan Hinton CanadaSault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHA)
693Gary Doerksen CanadaWinnipeg Jets (WCHL)
7109Wayne Dye CanadaNew Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
8125Jim Koleff CanadaHamilton Red Wings (OHA)
9140Jack Johnson United StatesUniversity of Wisconsin (NCAA)
9141Steve Alley United StatesUniversity of Wisconsin (NCAA)
10156Rick Clubbe CanadaUniversity of North Dakota (NCAA)
11165Gene Strate CanadaEdmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)

References
  1. 1972–73 NHL Season Summary – Hockey-Reference.com
  2. 1973–74 Chicago Black Hawks Games – Hockey-Reference.com
  3. "Chicago Blackhawks goaltending history : Tony Esposito". Archived from the original on 2008-02-17. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  4. "Chicago Blackhawks goaltending history : Mike Veisor". Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  5. "1973-1974 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.

Sources
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