1971–72 Philadelphia Flyers season

Off-season

The Flyers fired head coach Vic Stasiuk on May 27, 1971, after heavy criticism by Flyers players. On June 2, the Flyers hired Fred Shero to replace him. In the previous two seasons Shero had guided two teams to league championships, the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League and the Omaha Knights of the Central Hockey League.

Regular season

Bobby Clarke continued to progress as he led the team in goals (35), assists (46), and points (81) in 1971–72 and he became the first Flyer to win an NHL award, the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. However, in the season's final game, the Flyers needed a win or a tie against the second-year Buffalo Sabres to beat out the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final playoff spot. The score was tied late in the game, but with just four seconds on the clock, former Flyer Gerry Meehan took a shot from just inside the blue line that eluded Flyers goalie Doug Favell. With identical records, the playoff berth went to the Penguins because Philly lost the season series 2–3–1.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|- | 1 || October 9 || 2–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins || Favell || 0–1–0 || 0 || |- | 2 || October 12 || 2–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks || Favell || 0–2–0 || 0 || |- | 3 || October 13 || 5–4 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals || Gamble || 1–2–0 || 2 || |- | 4 || October 16 || 1–0 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Favell || 2–2–0 || 4 || |- | 5 || October 21 || 0–7 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings || Favell || 2–3–0 || 4 || |- | 6 || October 23 || 3–5 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs || Gamble || 2–4–0 || 4 || |- | 7 || October 24 || 2–1 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks || Favell || 3–4–0 || 6 || |- | 8 || October 28 || 3–2 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks || Favell || 4–4–0 || 8 || |- | 9 || October 30 || 4–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Favell || 4–4–1 || 9 || |- | 10 || October 31 || 5–3 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens || Favell || 5–4–1 || 11 ||

| Legend:

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• • = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.*
• • = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.*

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Among the team records set during the 1971–72 season was a 19-game winless streak on the road (15 losses and 4 ties) from October 23 to January 27. On October 31, Simon Nolet became the first Flyer to score three goals in a single period and four points in a single period, both franchise regular season records that have been matched but not exceeded several times, the earliest instance occurring on March 9, 1972, by Bill Flett for the goals record and Flett and Bobby Clarke for the points record. On January 9, the Flyers scored six power play goals during a game against the California Golden Seals, a mark which was later matched during the 1988–89 season.

Milestones

Franchise firsts

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 19, 1971, the day after the deciding game of the 1971 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 11, 1972, the day of the deciding game of the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals.

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1971 NHL amateur draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, on June 10, 1971.

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Richmond Robins of the AHL, the San Diego Gulls of the WHL, and the Jersey Devils and Salem Rebels of the EHL.

Notes

References

References

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3. (June 3, 1971). "NHL Flyers Name Shero New Coach". [[The Daily Gazette.
4. "Flyers History – Philadelphia Flyer Game Summary". Flyers History.
5. "1971-72 Philadelphia Flyers Schedule and Results".
6. "Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy". National Hockey League.
7. "25th NHL All-Star Game". [[National Hockey League.
8. "Team Records: Longest Road Winless Streaks, Season".
9. "Skater Records: Most Goals, Period".
10. "Skater Records: Most Points, Period".
11. "Team Records: Most Power-Play Goals, One Team, Game".
12. "1971-72 NHL Debuts".
13. "Flyers History – All-Time Firsts". P.Anson.
14. "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions.
15. (June 14, 1971). "Flyers deal defenseman". [[Delaware County Daily Times]].
16. (September 9, 1971). "Flyers Sign Four Skaters". [[El Paso Herald-Post]].
17. (October 16, 1971). "Briefly". [[Brandon Sun]].
18. (November 17, 1971). "Flyers Get Keenan". The Logansport Press.
19. (January 29, 1972). "'We had to do something:' Allen". [[Delaware County Daily Times]].
20. Parsons, Mark. (August 6, 2012). "1971 NHL Intra-League Draft". Historical Hockey Stats & Trivia.
21. "1971 NHL Intraleague Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com.
22. (June 9, 1971). "Independent from Long Beach, California • 38". Independent.
23. "Frank Spring - Notes - NHL.com - Players".
24. (June 10, 1971). "Canadians Likely To Get A New Coach...In Addition To Players". [[Kokomo Tribune]].
25. "Don McLeod - Notes - NHL.com - Players".
26. "Orest Kindrachuk - Notes - NHL.com - Players".
27. (December 7, 1971). "Shero Hopeful Parizeau Can Help Perk Up Flyers' Offense". Philadelphia Daily News.
28. "Garry Peters - Notes - NHL.com - Players".
29. "Flyers A-Z: Gamble, Bruce".
30. (August 8, 1971). "Flyers Sign Pierre Plante". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
31. (August 17, 1971). "Flyers Sign Goalie Bruce Gamble". [[The Gettysburg Times]].
32. (September 3, 1971). "Philly Flyers Sign 3 More". [[The Gettysburg Times]].
33. (September 6, 1971). "Flyers Sign 10 Players". [[The Gettysburg Times]].
34. (July 1, 1975). "Flyers sign 5, to open practice". [[Delaware County Daily Times]].
35. (September 10, 1971). "Flyers Sign Pair". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
36. (September 11, 1971). "Lacroix OKs Flyers' Pact". Philadelphia Daily News.
37. (September 14, 1971). "Shack, Goyette Expected To Report To Sabres Today". The Standard.
38. (March 21, 1972). "Flyers sign Clarke to 5-year contract". [[Delaware County Daily Times]].
39. "1971 NHL Amateur Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com.
40. "1971 NHL Amateur Draft Pick Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions.
41. "AHL Franchise Statistics". Flyers History.
42. "AHL Season Overview: 1971–72". Flyers History.
43. "Non-AHL Affiliates". Flyers History.