1975–76 Chicago Black Hawks season explained

League:NHL
Season:1975–76
Year:1975
Team:Chicago Black Hawks
Conferencerank:4th
Divisionrank:1st
Record:32–30–18
Homerecord:17–15–8
Roadrecord:15–15–10
Goalsfor:254
Goalsagainst:261
Altcaptain:None
Goalsleader:Pit Martin (32)
Assistsleader:Dale Tallon (47)
Pointsleader:Pit Martin (71)
Plusminusleader:Keith Magnuson (+13)
Pimleader:Phil Russell (194)
Winsleader:Tony Esposito (30)
Gaaleader:Tony Esposito (2.97)
Divisionwin:Yes

The 1975–76 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks' 50th season in the NHL. During the previous season, the club had a 37–35–8 record, earning 82 points, and finished in third place in the Smythe Division. Then, the Black Hawks upset the heavily favored Boston Bruins in the NHL preliminary series before losing to the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL quarter-finals.[1]

Pit Martin and Stan Mikita were named co-captains for the season. The team had played without a captain, since 1969–70.

Chicago started off the 1975–76 regular season with a 10–4–11 record in their first 25 games and took the lead in the Smythe Division. The Hawks had a 15-game unbeaten streak (6–0–9) during that span. The team reached a peak of being ten games over .500 with a record of 21–11–16 through 48 games. Chicago then fell into a slump and found themselves under .500 with only four games left in the season, falling to 29–30–17. The club went unbeaten in their last four games (3–0–1) to finish the year with a 32–30–18 record, earning 82 points, which was enough to finish in first place in the Smythe Division. The Hawks 32 wins was their lowest toal since 1967–68, when they also won 32 games.[2]

Offensively, the Black Hawks were led by Pit Martin, who had a club high 32 goals and 71 points. Dennis Hull rebounded from a poor 1974–75 season to score 27 goals and 66 points. Ivan Boldirev scored 28 goals and 62 points. Defenseman Dale Tallon led the club with 47 assists, while scoring 15 goals for 62 points. Stan Mikita missed 32 games due to injuries; however, he still earned 57 points. Keith Magnuson had a team high +13 rating, and Phil Russell led the club with 194 penalty minutes.

In goal, Tony Esposito once again led the club with 30 victories and a 2.97 GAA, earning four shutouts in 68 games.[3]

Since the Hawks won their division, they were given a bye in the NHL preliminary series, and they faced the powerful Montreal Canadiens in the NHL quarter-finals. The Canadiens had a record breaking season in 1975–76 with 58 wins and 127 points and finished in first place in the Norris Division. The Black Hawks—Canadiens series opened with two games at the Montreal Forum. The Canadiens quickly took control of the series, shutting out Chicago 4–0 in the series opener, and then winning 3–1 in the second game. The series continued at Chicago Stadium for the next two games, where the Canadiens took the third game by a 2–1 score, and then swept the Hawks out of the playoffs with a 4–1 victory in the fourth game.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
1 October 8 Chicago Black Hawks 2–2 0–0–1 1
2 October 11 Chicago Black Hawks 1–2 0–1–1 1
3 October 12 Vancouver Canucks 0–3 Chicago Black Hawks 1–1–1 3
4 October 15 4–4 Chicago Black Hawks 1–1–2 4
5 October 16 Chicago Black Hawks 1–7 1–2–2 4
6 October 18 Chicago Black Hawks 3–1 Minnesota North Stars 2–2–2 6
7 October 19 Minnesota North Stars 2–3 Chicago Black Hawks 3–2–2 8
8 October 22 5–3 Chicago Black Hawks 3–3–2 8
9 October 25 Chicago Black Hawks 4–0 Kansas City Scouts 4–3–2 10
10 October 26 7–5 Chicago Black Hawks 4–4–2 10
11 October 29 1–2 Chicago Black Hawks 5–4–2 12
12 November 1 Chicago Black Hawks 3–1 Detroit Red Wings 6–4–2 14
13 November 2 Vancouver Canucks 1–6 Chicago Black Hawks 7–4–2 16
14 November 5 4–4 Chicago Black Hawks 7–4–3 17
15 November 8 Chicago Black Hawks 7–5 8–4–3 19
16 November 9 Minnesota North Stars 0–3 Chicago Black Hawks 9–4–3 21
17 November 12 Chicago Black Hawks 4–4 New York Rangers 9–4–4 22
18 November 13 Chicago Black Hawks 5–5 Philadelphia Flyers 9–4–5 23
19 November 15 Chicago Black Hawks 4–4 Montreal Canadiens 9–4–6 24
20 November 19 Chicago Black Hawks 4–2 Los Angeles Kings 10–4–6 26
21 November 22 Chicago Black Hawks 1–1 Vancouver Canucks 10–4–7 27
22 November 26 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–4 Chicago Black Hawks 10–4–8 28
23 November 29 4–4 Chicago Black Hawks 10–4–9 29
24 November 30 Kansas City Scouts 1–1 Chicago Black Hawks 10–4–10 30
25 December 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Chicago Black Hawks 10–4–11 31
26 December 4 Chicago Black Hawks 2–5 Philadelphia Flyers 10–5–11 31
27 December 7 2–0 Chicago Black Hawks 10–6–11 31
28 December 10 Chicago Black Hawks 7–2 Washington Capitals 11–6–11 33
29 December 13 Chicago Black Hawks 1–2 Minnesota North Stars 11–7–11 33
30 December 14 St. Louis Blues 4–3 Chicago Black Hawks 11–8–11 33
31 December 17 Philadelphia Flyers 4–2 Chicago Black Hawks 11–9–11 33
32 December 19 Chicago Black Hawks 2–5 11–10–11 33
33 December 21 2–5 Chicago Black Hawks 12–10–11 35
34 December 23 St. Louis Blues 1–4 Chicago Black Hawks 13–10–11 37
35 December 27 Chicago Black Hawks 4–1 Toronto Maple Leafs 14–10–11 39
36 December 28 Buffalo Sabres 2–2 Chicago Black Hawks 14–10–12 40
37 December 30 California Golden Seals 3–5 Chicago Black Hawks 15–10–12 42
38 January 3 Chicago Black Hawks 1–1 New York Islanders 15–10–13 43
39 January 4 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–5 Chicago Black Hawks 16–10–13 45
40 January 9 Chicago Black Hawks 1–1 Atlanta Flames 16–10–14 46
41 January 11 New York Rangers 6–2 Chicago Black Hawks 16–11–14 46
42 January 14 Chicago Black Hawks 2–2 California Golden Seals 16–11–15 47
43 January 16 Chicago Black Hawks 2–1 Vancouver Canucks 17–11–15 49
44 January 18 Philadelphia Flyers 0–2 Chicago Black Hawks 18–11–15 51
45 January 21 Chicago Black Hawks 3–3 New York Rangers 18–11–16 52
46 January 24 Chicago Black Hawks 2–1 St. Louis Blues 19–11–16 54
47 January 25 Kansas City Scouts 1–3 Chicago Black Hawks 20–11–16 56
48 January 28 Atlanta Flames 3–7 Chicago Black Hawks 21–11–16 58
49 January 29 Chicago Black Hawks 3–5 Boston Bruins 21–12–16 58
50 January 31 Chicago Black Hawks 1–2 Detroit Red Wings 21–13–16 58
51 February 1 Vancouver Canucks 3–2 Chicago Black Hawks 21–14–16 58
52 February 4 Chicago Black Hawks 3–8 Montreal Canadiens 21–15–16 58
53 February 6 Chicago Black Hawks 2–1 Atlanta Flames 22–15–16 60
54 February 8 Washington Capitals 2–4 Chicago Black Hawks 23–15–16 62
55 February 11 Los Angeles Kings 7–4 Chicago Black Hawks 23–16–16 62
56 February 14 Chicago Black Hawks 5–4 Kansas City Scouts 24–16–16 64
57 February 15 Boston Bruins 4–1 Chicago Black Hawks 24–17–16 64
58 February 18 Buffalo Sabres 4–4 Chicago Black Hawks 24–17–17 65
59 February 21 Chicago Black Hawks 1–10 Pittsburgh Penguins 24–18–17 65
60 February 22 California Golden Seals 5–2 Chicago Black Hawks 24–19–17 65
61 February 24 Chicago Black Hawks 4–1 Vancouver Canucks 25–19–17 67
62 February 26 Chicago Black Hawks 6–2 Los Angeles Kings 26–19–17 69
63 February 28 Chicago Black Hawks 1–4 New York Islanders 26–20–17 69
64 February 29 Chicago Black Hawks 1–4 Washington Capitals 26–21–17 69
65 March 4 Chicago Black Hawks 4–6 Buffalo Sabres 26–22–17 69
66 March 6 Chicago Black Hawks 4–7 St. Louis Blues 26–23–17 69
67 March 10 Montreal Canadiens 5–1 Chicago Black Hawks 26–24–17 69
68 March 13 Chicago Black Hawks 4–1 Minnesota North Stars 27–24–17 71
69 March 14 New York Islanders 5–3 Chicago Black Hawks 27–25–17 71
70 March 16 Chicago Black Hawks 6–3 Kansas City Scouts 28–25–17 73
71 March 17 Toronto Maple Leafs 5–6 Chicago Black Hawks 29–25–17 75
72 March 20 Chicago Black Hawks 2–4 New York Islanders 29–26–17 75
73 March 21 Detroit Red Wings 6–0 Chicago Black Hawks 29–27–17 75
74 March 24 Atlanta Flames 7–2 Chicago Black Hawks 29–28–17 75
75 March 25 Chicago Black Hawks 2–4 Boston Bruins 29–29–17 75
76 March 27 New York Rangers 6–5 Chicago Black Hawks 29–30–17 75
77 March 28 Minnesota North Stars 3–5 Chicago Black Hawks 30–30–17 77
78 March 31 Kansas City Scouts 3–6 Chicago Black Hawks 31–30–17 79
79 April 3 Chicago Black Hawks 3–3 St. Louis Blues 31–30–18 80
80 April 4 St. Louis Blues 2–7 Chicago Black Hawks 32–30–18 82

Playoffs: Montreal Canadiens 4, Chicago Black Hawks 0

Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 April 11 Chicago Black Hawks 0–4 Montreal Canadiens 0–1
2 April 13 Chicago Black Hawks 1–3 Montreal Canadiens 0–2
3 April 15 Montreal Canadiens 2–1 Chicago Black Hawks 0–3
4 April 18 Montreal Canadiens 4–1 Chicago Black Hawks 0–4

Season stats

Scoring leaders

PlayerGPGAPtsPIM
80 32 39 71 44
80 29 39 68 28
78 28 34 62 33
80 15 47 62 101
80 25 33 58 29
[4]

Goaltending

Player GP TOI W L T GA SO GAA
68 4003 30 23 13 198 4 2.97
15 797 2 7 5 57 0 4.29

Playoff stats

Scoring leaders

PlayerGPGAPtsPIM
4 0 2 2 4
4 1 0 1 2
4 1 0 1 4
4 1 0 1 0
4 0 1 1 17

Goaltending

Player GP TOI W L GA SO GAA
4 240 0 4 13 0 3.25

Draft picks

Chicago's draft picks during the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft at the NHL Office in Montreal, Quebec.

RoundPlayerNationalityCollege/Junior/Club team (League)
17Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
225Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)
343Kingston Canadians (OHA)
461Hull Festivals (QMJHL)
579Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)
697Tom Ulseth University of Wisconsin (NCAA)
7115Hull Festivals (QMJHL)
8141Michigan Tech (NCAA)

Awards, records and honors

Sources

Notes and References

  1. http://hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1975.html 1974–75 NHL Season Summary – Hockey-Reference.com
  2. http://hockey-reference.com/teams/CBH/1975_games.html 1974–75 Chicago Black Hawks Games – Hockey-Reference.com
  3. Web site: Chicago Blackhawks goaltending history : Tony Esposito . 2008-07-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080217053311/http://www.goaliesarchive.com/hawks/indexesposito.html . 2008-02-17 . dead .
  4. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0000351976.html Chicago Blackhawks 1975-76 roster and statistics
  5. Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009–10, p.424, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,

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