1972-73 NHL season

The 1972-73 NHL season was the 56th season of the National Hockey League. Sixteen teams each played 78 games. For the first time since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926, the National Hockey League had serious competition. A new professional hockey league, the World Hockey Association, made its season debut with 12 new teams, many of which were based in the same cities as NHL teams. Unlike the Western Hockey League, though, the new World Hockey Association would not challenge for the Stanley Cup. In response to the new league, the NHL hastily added two new teams in an unplanned expansion, the New York Islanders and Atlanta Flames, in an attempt to exclude the WHA from newly constructed arenas in those markets.

Prior to the start of the season, the 1972 Summit Series, which was the first ever meeting between Soviet Union and NHL calibre Canadian ice hockey players, took place. Canada expected to easily beat the Soviets, but were shocked to find themselves with a losing record of one win, two losses, and a tie after four games in Canada. In game four, which Canada lost 5-3, Vancouver fans echoed the rest of Canada's thoughts of Team Canada's poor performance by booing them off the ice. The final four games were played in the Soviet Union. Canada lost game five, but won the last three for a final record of four wins, three losses, and a tie.

The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup by beating the Chicago Black Hawks four games to two in the finals.

Regular season

The Canadiens took over first place in the East Division and the league from the Boston Bruins while for the third straight season the Chicago Black Hawks dominated the West Division.

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
Montreal Canadiens	78	52	10	16	120	329	184	783
Boston Bruins	78	51	22	5	107	330	235	1097
New York Rangers	78	47	23	8	102	297	208	765
Buffalo Sabres	78	37	27	14	88	257	219	940
Detroit Red Wings	78	37	29	12	86	265	243	893
Toronto Maple Leafs	78	27	41	10	64	247	279	716
Vancouver Canucks	78	22	47	9	53	233	339	943
New York Islanders	78	12	60	6	30	170	347	881

West Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Chicago Black Hawks	78	42	27	9	93	284	225	864
Philadelphia Flyers	78	37	30	11	85	296	256	1756
Minnesota North Stars	78	37	30	11	85	254	230	881
St. Louis Blues	78	32	34	12	76	233	251	1195
Pittsburgh Penguins	78	32	37	9	73	257	265	866
Los Angeles Kings	78	31	36	11	73	232	245	888
Atlanta Flames	78	25	38	15	65	191	239	852
California Golden Seals	78	16	46	16	48	213	323	840

Scoring leaders

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Phil Esposito	Boston Bruins	78	33	75	108	87
Bobby Clarke	Philadelphia Flyers	78	37	67	104	80
Bobby Orr	Boston Bruins	63	29	72	101	99
Rick MacLeish	Philadelphia Flyers	78	50	50	100	69
Jacques Lemaire	Montreal Canadiens	77	44	51	95	16
Jean Ratelle	New York Rangers	78	41	53	94	12
Mickey Redmond	Detroit Red Wings	76	52	41	93	24
John Bucyk	Boston Bruins	78	40	53	93	12
Frank Mahovlich	Montreal Canadiens	78	38	55	93	51
Jim Pappin	Chicago Black Hawks	76	41	51	92	82

Leading goaltenders

Stanley Cup playoffs

Playoff bracket

NHL awards

Prince of Wales Trophy:	Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:	Chicago Black Hawks
Art Ross Memorial Trophy:	Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Lowell MacDonald, Pittsburgh Penguins
Calder Memorial Trophy:	Steve Vickers, New York Rangers
Conn Smythe Trophy:	Yvan Cournoyer, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy:	Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
James Norris Memorial Trophy:	Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:	Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo Sabres
Lester B. Pearson Award:	Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
NHL Plus/Minus Award:	Jacques Laperriere, Montreal Canadiens
Vezina Trophy:	Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens
Lester Patrick Trophy:	Walter L. Bush, Jr.

References

The NHL on NBC

NHL 1972/73 | Saison LNH 1972-73

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