1975–76 Atlanta Flames season

The 1975–76 Atlanta Flames season was the fourth season for the franchise. This season would mark a turning point for the franchise. After making the playoffs just once in their first three seasons, the Flames would miss the playoffs only once between 1976 and 1996 (that coming in 1991-92).

1975–76 Atlanta Flames
Division3rd Patrick
1975–76 record35–33–12
Goals for262
Goals against237
Team information
General managerCliff Fletcher
CoachFred Creighton
CaptainPat Quinn
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaOmni Coliseum
Team leaders
GoalsCurt Bennett (34)
AssistsTom Lysiak (51)
PointsTom Lysiak (82)
Penalty minutesPat Quinn (134)
WinsDan Bouchard (19)
Goals against averageDan Bouchard (2.54)

Regular season

Final standings

Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Philadelphia Flyers80511316348209118
New York Islanders80422117297190101
Atlanta Flames8035331226223782
New York Rangers802942926233367

[1]

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record Attendance [2]
1LOctober 8, 19753–4California Golden Seals (1975–76)0–1–011,298
2LOctober 10, 19751–2New York Rangers (1975–76)0–2–011,886
3LOctober 15, 19751–3@ New York Rangers (1975–76)0–3–017,500
4LOctober 17, 19750–2New York Islanders (1975–76)0–4–011,259
5WOctober 18, 19755–3@ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76)1–4–07,036
6TOctober 22, 19751–1St. Louis Blues (1975–76)1–4–110,086
7WOctober 24, 19757–1Los Angeles Kings (1975–76)2–4–110,943
8LOctober 25, 19753–7@ St. Louis Blues (1975–76)2–5–117,314
9WOctober 28, 19753–2@ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76)3–5–115,570
10WOctober 31, 19752–0@ California Golden Seals (1975–76)4–5–14,793
11LNovember 1, 19751–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76)4–6–113,051
12LNovember 5, 19751–3Montreal Canadiens (1975–76)4–7–111,120
13WNovember 7, 19753–2Minnesota North Stars (1975–76)5–7–110,780
14LNovember 9, 19753–6@ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76)5–8–19,321
15WNovember 12, 19752–1Kansas City Scouts (1975–76)6–8–19,989
16WNovember 14, 19754–1@ Washington Capitals (1975–76)7–8–19,206
17LNovember 15, 19753–5Boston Bruins (1975–76)7–9–114,838
18TNovember 18, 19752–2Vancouver Canucks (1975–76)7–9–210,490
19LNovember 21, 19751–4Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76)7–10–211,160
20WNovember 22, 19756–3@ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76)8–10–29,463
21LNovember 25, 19750–4Montreal Canadiens (1975–76)8–11–210,825
22LNovember 26, 19753–7@ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76)8–12–217,077
23WNovember 28, 19756–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76)9–12–212,664
24WNovember 30, 19754–1@ California Golden Seals (1975–76)10–12–24,429
25LDecember 2, 19753–5@ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76)10–13–28,575
26WDecember 5, 19756–2@ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76)11–13–215,570
27WDecember 7, 19752–0@ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76)12–13–2N/A
28WDecember 9, 19757–1Washington Capitals (1975–76)13–13–29,877
29TDecember 12, 19753–3New York Islanders (1975–76)13–13–311,396
30WDecember 14, 19757–4@ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76)14–13–316,433
31WDecember 16, 19753–1Kansas City Scouts (1975–76)15–13–39,834
32LDecember 17, 19752–3@ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76)15–14–38,106
33WDecember 19, 19758–3New York Rangers (1975–76)16–14–311,673
34WDecember 21, 19752–1@ Boston Bruins (1975–76)17–14–313,678
35TDecember 23, 19752–2Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76)17–14–414,484
36WDecember 26, 19754–3Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76)18–14–413,120
37LDecember 27, 19752–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76)18–15–410,301
38LDecember 29, 19752–6@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76)18–16–416,485
39WDecember 31, 19758–1@ New York Rangers (1975–76)19–16–417,500
40WJanuary 2, 19767–1St. Louis Blues (1975–76)20–16–413,465
41WJanuary 3, 19766–4@ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76)21–16–49,139
42WJanuary 6, 19764–3Detroit Red Wings (1975–76)22–16–410,614
43TJanuary 9, 19761–1Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76)22–16–514,806
44WJanuary 11, 19765–2Vancouver Canucks (1975–76)23–16–511,467
45LJanuary 13, 19760–3Los Angeles Kings (1975–76)23–17–510,814
46LJanuary 15, 19763–5St. Louis Blues (1975–76)23–18–510,302
47TJanuary 17, 19762–2@ New York Islanders (1975–76)23–18–614,865
48LJanuary 18, 19762–4@ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76)23–19–615,459
49LJanuary 22, 19762–7@ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76)23–20–617,077
50TJanuary 23, 19763–3Buffalo Sabres (1975–76)23–20–715,141
51WJanuary 27, 19768–4Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76)24–20–714,118
52LJanuary 28, 19763–7@ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76)24–21–7N/A
53LJanuary 30, 19762–4Boston Bruins (1975–76)24–22–715,141
54LFebruary 1, 19763–5@ Boston Bruins (1975–76)24–23–714,574
55TFebruary 3, 19762–2@ New York Islanders (1975–76)24–23–814,865
56WFebruary 4, 19764–1California Golden Seals (1975–76)25–23–810,169
57LFebruary 6, 19761–2Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76)25–24–812,921
58WFebruary 11, 19765–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76)26–24–8N/A
59LFebruary 13, 19762–3Buffalo Sabres (1975–76)26–25–813,756
60LFebruary 14, 19763–5@ St. Louis Blues (1975–76)26–26–817,973
61LFebruary 19, 19761–3@ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76)26–27–816,433
62WFebruary 20, 19763–1@ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76)27–27–86,842
63LFebruary 23, 19761–7@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76)27–28–816,461
64TFebruary 25, 19763–3@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76)27–28–99,127
65LFebruary 28, 19762–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76)27–29–917,008
66LMarch 3, 19762–3Detroit Red Wings (1975–76)27–30–910,854
67WMarch 5, 19768–3New York Rangers (1975–76)28–30–913,323
68TMarch 7, 19766–6@ New York Rangers (1975–76)28–30–1017,500
69WMarch 9, 19769–0Boston Bruins (1975–76)29–30–1011,269
70WMarch 10, 19764–1@ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76)30–30–108,280
71WMarch 12, 19764–1Washington Capitals (1975–76)31–30–1012,154
72LMarch 14, 19761–6@ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76)31–31–1017,077
73LMarch 16, 19762–4Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76)31–32–1015,184
74TMarch 19, 19762–2Vancouver Canucks (1975–76)31–32–1112,930
75WMarch 24, 19767–2@ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76)32–32–11N/A
76LMarch 27, 19760–8@ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76)32–33–1111,540
77WMarch 28, 19763–1@ Washington Capitals (1975–76)33–33–119,563
78TApril 1, 19761–1@ New York Islanders (1975–76)33–33–1214,865
79WApril 2, 19764–2Minnesota North Stars (1975–76)34–33–1211,876
80WApril 4, 19765–2New York Islanders (1975–76)35–33–1211,798

Playoffs

Atlanta qualified for the post-season for the second time in franchise history, and would face the Los Angeles Kings in a best-of-three preliminary round series. The Kings finished with a 38–33–9 record, earning 85 points and second place in the Norris Division. They finished the season with three more points than the Flames.

The series opened at The Forum in Inglewood, California, and the Kings scored in the first minute of play, as Tom Williams beat goaltender Dan Bouchard to give Los Angeles a 1–0 lead. The Kings doubled their lead in the second period when Bob Nevin scored. In the third period, the Flames cut the Kings lead to 2–1 after a goal by Barry Gibbs, however, that's as close as Atlanta would get, as Los Angeles held on for the 2–1 victory.

The second game was played at the Omni Coliseum, as the Flames needed a win to force a third and deciding game. Both goaltenders played great games, however, the Kings Bob Berry scored with 1:44 remaining in the third period, as Los Angeles held on to beat the Flames 1–0. Kings goaltender Rogie Vachon made 27 saves for the shutout.

Los Angeles Kings 2, Atlanta Flames 0
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordAttendance
1April 6Atlanta Flames1–2Los Angeles Kings0–112,023
2April 8Los Angeles Kings1–0Atlanta Flames0–210,450

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 Lysiak12803151826020002
Curt Bennett5803431656120004
Hilliard Graves17801930491620000
Claude St. Sauveur11792424482320000
Eric Vail25601631473420000
Bill Flett9782317403020000
Dave Kryskow20/8791525406520002
Rey Comeau187917223942
Randy Manery780732394220000
Larry Romanchych2167161935820000
Barry Gibbs276821299221012
Bill Clement10311314272920110
Ed Kea19788192710120007
Gerry Meehan1048720278
Tim Ecclestone14696212730
Larry Carriere2375415199620002
Jean Lemieux633491310
Pat Quinn3802111313420112
Ken Houston24/63856111120000
Bob Leiter16262354
Guy Chouinard164022220000
Richard Mulhern4121014
Richard Lemieux201011020000
Cam Botting2420110
Phil Myre1370110
Dan Bouchard3047011102
Buster Harvey810000
Noel Price430002
Pat Ribble2330000
Willi Plett2240000
Rick Bowness1550000

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 Bouchard304726711917811322.54212002301.50
Phil Myre13721291616412313.47

Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1975–76 season.

Trades

June 5, 1975 To Atlanta Flames ----Dave Kryskow To Detroit Red Wings ----Bryan Hextall Jr.
September 9, 1975 To Atlanta Flames ----Curt Ridley To New York Rangers ----Jerry Byers
September 23, 1975 To Atlanta Flames ----Rights to Claude St. Sauveur To California Golden Seals ----Cash
October 1, 1975 To Atlanta Flames ----Larry Carriere
1st round pick in 1976
(traded to Washington Capitals;
Capitals selected Greg Carroll)
Cash
To Buffalo Sabres ----Jacques Richard
October 13, 1975 To Atlanta Flames ----Richard Lemieux
Future considerations
To Kansas City Scouts ----Buster Harvey
January 20, 1976 To Atlanta Flames ----1st round pick in 1976 (Dave Shand) To Vancouver Canucks ----Curt Ridley
January 22, 1976 To Atlanta Flames ----Bill Clement To Washington Capitals ----Jean Lemieux
Gerry Meehan
Sabres' 1st round pick in 1976 (Greg Carroll)

Free agents

PlayerFormer team
PlayerNew team

Waivers

PlayerFormer team
RW Bill FlettToronto Maple Leafs
This sports-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Nationality College/Junior/Club Team
1 8. Richard Mulhern (D)  Canada Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL)
2 26. Rick Bowness (RW)  Canada Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL)
4 62. Dale Ross (LW)  Canada Ottawa 67s (OHA)
5 80. Willi Plett (RW)  Paraguay St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
6 98. Paul Heaver (D)  United Kingdom Oshawa Generals (OHA)
7 116. Dale McMullin (LW)  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
8 134. Rick Piche (D)  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
9 150. Nick Sanza (G)  Canada Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL)
10 167. Brian O'Connell (G)  Canada Saint Louis University (NCAA)
11 181. Joe Augustine (D)  United States Austin Mavericks (MidJHL)
12 192. Torbjorn Nilsson (RW)  Sweden Skelleftea AIK (Grundserien)
13 216. Gary Gill (LW)  Canada Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHA)

References

  1. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/team_results.php?tid=235&sid=1976
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