1970-71 NHL season

The 1970-71 NHL season was the 54th season of the National Hockey League. Fourteen teams each played 78 games. Two new teams, the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks made their debuts and were both put into the East Division. The Chicago Black Hawks were moved to the West Division. Prior to the start of the season, the Oakland Seals were renamed California Golden Seals. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup by beating the Black Hawks in seven games in the finals.

A new award for the most outstanding player as voted by the members of the NHL Players Association, the Lester B. Pearson Award, was introduced this season and the first winner was Phil Esposito.

Regular season

This season saw a marked increase in goal scoring, especially by the Boston Bruins, who shattered dozens of scoring records as they set the mark for most goals by a team (399) by nearly a hundred over the previous record holder. They also set records for most victories (57) and points (121). Phil Esposito set records for most goals in a season with 76 and for most points with 152. Defenceman Bobby Orr won his second consecutive Hart Trophy and set a new record for assists with 102. The Bruins also had the four league leading scorers, the first time in history this was achieved (the only other time being by the Bruins in 1974).

Boston won the East Division championship in a runaway. In the West Division, the powerful Chicago Black Hawks had been moved there partially to accommodate the expansion Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks (both of which were placed in the East Division) but more in an effort to provide greater balance between the divisions. Chicago broke St. Louis' stranglehold over the division, winning handily over the Blues and advancing to the Stanley Cup finals.

Billy Taylor and Don Gallinger, now middle-aged, were finally forgiven for their gambling in 1948 and were reinstated to the NHL. However, they did not return to the NHL.

Final standings

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Boston Bruins	78	57	14	7	121	399	207	1154
New York Rangers	78	49	18	11	109	259	177	952
Montreal Canadiens	78	42	23	13	97	291	216	1271
Toronto Maple Leafs	78	37	33	8	82	248	211	1133
Buffalo Sabres	78	24	39	15	63	217	291	1188
Vancouver Canucks	78	24	46	8	56	229	296	1371
Detroit Red Wings	78	22	45	11	55	209	308	988

West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Chicago Black Hawks	78	49	20	9	107	277	184	1280
St. Louis Blues	78	34	25	19	87	223	208	1092
Philadelphia Flyers	78	28	33	17	73	207	225	1060
Minnesota North Stars	78	28	34	16	72	191	223	898
Los Angeles Kings	78	25	40	13	63	239	303	775
Pittsburgh Penguins	78	21	37	20	62	221	240	1079
California Golden Seals	78	20	53	5	45	199	320	937

Scoring leaders

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Phil Esposito	Boston Bruins	78	76	76	152	71
Bobby Orr	Boston Bruins	78	37	102	139	91
John Bucyk	Boston Bruins	78	51	65	116	8
Ken Hodge	Boston Bruins	78	43	62	105	113
Bobby Hull	Chicago Black Hawks	78	44	52	96	32
Norm Ullman	Toronto Maple Leafs	73	34	51	85	24
Wayne Cashman	Boston Bruins	77	21	58	79	100
John McKenzie	Boston Bruins	65	31	46	77	120
Dave Keon	Toronto Maple Leafs	76	38	38	76	4
Jean Beliveau	Montreal Canadiens	70	25	51	76	40

Leading goaltenders

Stanley Cup playoffs

Playoff bracket

Stanley Cup finals

The 1971 Stanley Cup finals were played by the Montreal Canadiens and the Chicago Black Hawks. The series went the full seven games, with the Canadiens winning in Chicago despite trailing 2-0 halfway into the second period of game seven. Jacques Lemaire took a shot from centre ice that miraculously escaped goaltender Tony Esposito's notice, cutting the Black Hawks' lead to 2-1. Henri Richard tied the game just before the end of the second period, and scored again 2:34 into the third, giving the Habs the lead. Montreal goalie Ken Dryden kept Chicago off the board for the rest of the game, and the Habs won their third Stanley Cup in four years. It was the final game for Canadien superstar and captain Jean Beliveau, who retired after the season. To date, the Canadiens were the last road team to win a game seven of a Stanley Cup Final. The only other team to do so were the 1945 Toronto Maple Leafs.

NHL awards

Prince of Wales Trophy:	Boston Bruins
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:	Chicago Black Hawks
Art Ross Memorial Trophy:	Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Jean Ratelle, New York Rangers
Calder Memorial Trophy:	Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo Sabres
Conn Smythe Trophy:	Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy:	Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
James Norris Memorial Trophy:	Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:	Johnny Bucyk, Boston Bruins
Lester B. Pearson Award:	Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
NHL Plus/Minus Award:	Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Vezina Trophy:	Eddie Giacomin & Gilles Villemure, New York Rangers
Lester Patrick Trophy:	William M. Jennings, John B. Sollenberger, Terrance G. Sawchuk

References

The NHL on CBS

NHL 1970/71 | Saison LNH 1970-71

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