March/April 1972 in the NHL
The playoff races close with a whimper as eight teams prepare for the chase after the Stanley Cup.
Editor’s note: This is a fictional account of the history of the NHL beginning in 1966–67. This narrative was created by playing Franchise Hockey Manager 4. For an introduction to this dynasty, visit: https://medium.com/historical-sports-gaming/re-writing-nhl-history-an-introduction-9ade4d8fe652.
FINAL 1971–72 NHL STANDINGS
East Division Final Outlook: What was a tight race for the East’s last playoff race became less so when Toronto came apart in March, winning two of its last 10 games. The streak ultimately cost them a playoff spot and helped New York and Detroit qualify. Boston repeated as Prince of Wales winners, passing Montreal with a nine-game win streak in the month.
The first round will pit the defending champion Bruins against Detroit for the second time in three years. Boston defeated Detroit in six games in the first round of 1970. The other series appears to be the best on paper: the resurgent Montreal Canadiens will take on a New York Rangers team that is now healthy and playing much better over the past two months. It is the first postseason meeting between the two teams since the 1950s.
West Division Final Outlook: There’s little to talk about in the West as there was no real race for playoff spots or seeding this year. Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Minnesota pretty much coasted into the postseason with little trouble. For the North Stars, the appearance is big as it is the team’s first since 1969. Chicago fell short of a record-setting 60-win season when the team rested players and stepped off the gas down the stretch, but they still outpaced Boston by 10 points for the NHL’s top record.
Two familiar foes will face off again in the first round as the Flyers and Blues will meet for the third time in four years. Philadelphia has had no problem with St. Louis in the past and it would be a major upset if the Blues even make it a close series. The same goes for Chicago-Minnesota. Fans will get to see Minnesota’s new young star, Bobby Clarke, make his playoff debut, but otherwise the Black Hawks should run away with this series.
5+ POINT GAMES THIS MONTH:
Bobby Hull (LW) Chicago and Stan Mikita, C, Chicago — The Black Hawks utterly decimated Montreal, 8–2, on March 29 with the first line doing most of the work. Stan Mikita tallied three goals and assisted on two more, while Bobby Hull had a six-point night with a goal and five assists.
Bobby Orr (D) Boston — Bobby Orr’s month of March was absolutely incredible (more of that below). He had not one, not two, not three, but FOUR games where he tallied five points in March alone! In two of the games, all five of Orr’s points were assists.
Dennis Hextall, C, California — In a game between the NHL’s two worst teams in Oakland, Dennis Hextall had the game of his life with a goal and four assists in a wild, 5–4, Golden Seals win over in-state rival Los Angeles.
4+ GOALS GAMES THIS MONTH
Bill Goldsworthy (RW) Boston — On March 2 at the Boston Garden, Bill Goldworthy had perhaps the best game of any player all season. Goldsworthy managed to score four goals and assist on two others as the Bruins broke open a 3–3 tie in the third period and won, 7–3.
PLAYER STREAKS:
Rod Gilbert (RW) New York — Gilbert put together the NHL’s only 5+ game goal streak in March when he scored in six consecutive games from Feb. 23 through March 8. Gilbert’s seven goals in that stretch helped him soar up the NHL’s goal scoring leaderboard.
Dave Keon, C, Toronto — Despite Toronto’s collapse down the stretch, Dave Keon had a strong finish to the year. Keon pieced together a 13-game point streak that stretched for more than a month from Feb. 8 through March 13. Keon ended the season with 81 points.
Johnny Bucyk (LW) Boston —Bucyk suffered a down year compared to his outstanding 1970–71 season, but he did finish the year on a high when he assisted in nine straight games from March 5 through March 26. Bucyk tallied 17 assists during the streak.
MILESTONES REACHED THIS MONTH
Phil Esposito, C, Chicago —On March 12 in a 5–4 Chicago loss to the Red Wings at the Olympia, Esposito scored twice to pass the 300-goal milestone. He is the 16th player in NHL history with 300 or more goals. More than half of the 16 members in the club are still active.
PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Editor’s note: These selections were for March. With only a few games played in April, player of the month selections were not made.
Skater of the Month — Bobby Orr (D) Boston —Orr’s March production came in spurts, but when he was on, he was unstoppable. His month included five goals and a whopping 20 assists, bringing his total for the year to a league-leading 83. Orr also had four games with a perfect offensive game rating.
Goalie of the Month — Rogie Vachon, New York — This was an interesting selection as Vachon missed the last two weeks with a leg injury (he will be back for the playoffs). Vachon was solid before the injury, holding every opponent he faced in March to two goals or less and recording a pair of shutouts.
TRADES THIS MONTH
As always, there were too many trades to count at the March 6 deadline. This year, there were a ton of trades involving minor leaguers and 1-star potential guys. The only three trades of note are below.
Chicago trades D Dennis Kearns to Vancouver for D Randy Legge — This is interesting, as in real-life, Kearns also went from Chicago to Vancouver via the waiver wire. Long-term, Kearns gives the Canucks someone to build around on the blue line. This a great trade for rebuilding Vancouver. Chicago clearly wanted to add depth on the blueline, but this is a bad deal. Legge is at best, a third pair defenseman.
St. Louis trades G Jack Norris to Vancouver for D Connie Madigan and LW Hank Nowak — Another good trade in Vancouver as the goalie-starved Canucks pick up a decent backup for essentially nothing. It’s a mystery as to why the Blues practically gave away Norris when other goalies fetch early round draft picks. Vancouver comes up with a steal again.
Chicago trades C Guy Charron to Los Angeles for D Paul Hurley — This trade was included because Charron has the potential to be a solid, second line attacker down the road and the Hawks gave him to the Kings from a 0.5-star blueliner. Desperate to add defensive depth, Chicago has made a series of bad trades that could hurt them in the future. The Kings, meanwhile, get some much needed future talent.
NHL League Leaders
Goals — Rod Gilbert, New York and Frank Mahovlich, Toronto— 48—For the first time in three years, no player in the NHL reaches 50 goals as scoring takes a slight dip overall. The 48 goals from Gilbert were by far a career high.
Assists — Bobby Orr, Boston — 83 — Orr‘s assist total this season is much lower than the 94 he recorded in his record-setting 1970–71. However, it is still the second-highest single-season total ever recorded.
Points — Bobby Hull, Chicago— 120— After coming up just short the last two seasons, Hull finally wins his sixth scoring title in spectacular fashion, outpacing Orr by 14 points.
Penalty Minutes —Bryan Watson, Buffalo — 341
Shots — Bobby Hull, Chicago — 444
Plus-Minus — Bobby Orr, Boston — +63—The single-season plus-minus record falls for a third straight season. Orr is the first player ever with a +60 or better in a season, easily breaking the old mark set by Doug Barrie of Chicago last year.
Game-Winning Goals — Phil Esposito, Chicago — 15
Hits — Brian Glennie, Toronto —195
Shots Blocked — Don Awrey, Los Angeles — 229
Game Rating (a stat in FHM4 that factors in how well a player has performed overall) — Bobby Orr, Boston — 88
Wins — Gump Worsley, Chicago — 45 —Even with Chicago resting him down the stretch after clinching the West Division title, Worsley still managed to break Terry Sawchuk’s single-season wins record of 44 on the second-to-last day of the season. Sawchuk won 44 times in 70 games played. Worsley broke his record in just 62 games played.
Goals Against Average —Phil Myre, Montreal — 1.98 — The surprise of the season was Myre’s outstanding play as he snatched up the starting job in Montreal. His 1.98 GAA is only the third time in the last five seasons a goalie finished below 2.00.
Save Percentage — Gilles Villemure, Buffalo — .927 — One season after save percentages were insanely low across the league, they rebounded in 1971–72. Villemure led the pack with the second-highest save percentage of the expansion era.
Shutouts — Phil Myre, Montreal — 11
