1973–74 NHL season

League business

With owner Charles O. Finley unable to find a buyer, the league took over operation of the troubled California Golden Seals in February 1974. Fred Glover then resigned as general manager-coach. Garry Young, who had served as general manager from October 1971 to November 1972, agreed to return. Marshall Johnston, a defenseman for the Golden Seals, retired and took over as coach.

The 1973 NHL amateur draft was held on May 15 at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Denis Potvin was selected first overall by the New York Islanders.

Regular season

The Philadelphia Flyers, who developed the nickname "Broad Street Bullies" because of their physical style of play, dethroned the Chicago Black Hawks as the West Division champions behind the dominant play of Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent.

The New York Rangers were floundering under new coach Larry Popein and were in danger of missing the playoffs, and Emile Francis took over the coaching reins. The Rangers then improved enough to get into the playoffs.

Tragedy hit the NHL in the early morning hours of February 21 when 44 year-old Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tim Horton was killed in an automobile accident. He had been returning to Buffalo from Toronto at the time.

In the East Division, the Boston Bruins regained the top spot in the East and the league, behind an ongoing offensive juggernaut that saw Bruins' players finish 1–2–3–4 in NHL scoring (Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, Ken Hodge, and Wayne Cashman) for the second and most recent time in league history.

Final standings

Playoffs

The playoffs began on April 9. The New York Rangers defeated the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round for the third straight year, this time the Montreal Canadiens. For the first time since the inter-divisional semifinals were introduced in the 1971 playoffs, a 1967 expansion team eliminated an Original Six opponent when the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Rangers. The Flyers not only made their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance, but by defeating the Boston Bruins in six games, Philadelphia became the first 1967 expansion team to win the Stanley Cup and the first non Original Six team to win it since the Montreal Maroons in 1935.

Playoff bracket

The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series).

In the quarterfinals, the fourth seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. The semifinals were then inter-divisional matchups, with winner of each #1 vs. #4 series playing the winner of the #2 vs. #3 series in the other division. The winners of the semifinals then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.

| RD1-seed1=E1 | RD1-team1=Boston | RD1-score1=4 | RD1-seed2=E4 | RD1-team2=Toronto | RD1-score2=0 | RD1-seed3=W2 | RD1-team3=Chicago | RD1-score3=4 | RD1-seed4=W3 | RD1-team4=Los Angeles | RD1-score4=1 | RD1-seed5=W1 | RD1-team5=Philadelphia | RD1-score5=4 | RD1-seed6=W4 | RD1-team6=Atlanta | RD1-score6=0 | RD1-seed7=E2 | RD1-team7=Montreal | RD1-score7=2 | RD1-seed8=E3 | RD1-team8=NY Rangers | RD1-score8=4 | RD2-seed1=E1 | RD2-team1=Boston | RD2-score1=4 | RD2-seed2=W2 | RD2-team2=Chicago | RD2-score2=2 | RD2-seed3=W1 | RD2-team3=Philadelphia | RD2-score3=4 | RD2-seed4=E3 | RD2-team4=NY Rangers | RD2-score4=3 | RD3-seed1=E1 | RD3-team1=Boston | RD3-score1=2 | RD3-seed2=W1 | RD3-team2=Philadelphia | RD3-score2=4

Quarterfinals

(E1) Boston Bruins vs. (E4) Toronto Maple Leafs

The Boston Bruins finished first in the league with 113 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs finished fourth in the East Division with 86 points. This was the 13th playoff meeting between these two teams. Toronto lead 8–4 in previous meetings. Boston won their most recent meeting in five games in the 1972 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals. Boston won four of the six games in this year's regular season series.

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =No scoring |1-2-1 =No scoring |1-2-2 =04:22 – Gregg Sheppard (1) |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =No scoring |goalie1-1 =Doug Favell 32 saves / 33 shots |goalie1-2 =Gilles Gilbert 35 saves / 35 shots

|2-1-1 =Ron Ellis (1) – 14:24 Dave Keon (1) – 19:06 |2-1-2 =08:56 – Ken Hodge (1) 15:46 – Bobby Schmautz (1) |2-2-1 =Darryl Sittler (1) – pp – 15:01 |2-2-2 =03:31 – Johnny Bucyk (1) 13:13 – Wayne Cashman (1) |2-3-1 =No scoring |2-3-2 =07:34 – pp – Phil Esposito (1) 19:14 – sh – en – Gregg Sheppard (2) |goalie2-1 =Doug Favell 31 saves / 36 shots |goalie2-2 =Gilles Gilbert 36 saves / 39 shots

|3-1-1 =08:54 – Bob Neely (1) |3-1-2 =No scoring |3-2-1 =19:30 – Darryl Sittler (2) |3-2-2 =Andre Savard (1) – 01:59 Gregg Sheppard (3) – 05:44 Gregg Sheppard (4) – 16:46 Johnny Bucyk (2) – 17:00 |3-3-1 =02:20 – Eddie Shack (1) |3-3-2 =Wayne Cashman (2) – 01:22 Bobby Schmautz (2) – 11:42 |goalie3-1 =Eddie Johnston 24 saves / 30 shots |goalie3-2 =Gilles Gilbert 45 saves / 48 shots

|4-1-1 =14:56 – Ron Ellis (2) |4-1-2 =Terry O'Reilly (1) – 08:53 |4-2-1 =08:58 – Norm Ullman (1) |4-2-2 =Ken Hodge (2) – 06:51 |4-3-1 =18:43 – Inge Hammarstrom (1) |4-3-2 =Bobby Orr (1) – pp – 17:34 |4-4-1 =No scoring |4-4-2 =Ken Hodge (3) – 01:27 |goalie4-1 =Doug Favell 41 saves / 45 shots |goalie4-2 =Gilles Gilbert 30 saves / 33 shots

(E2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (E3) New York Rangers

The Montreal Canadiens finished second in the East Division with 99 points. The New York Rangers finished third with 94 points. This was the 11th playoff meeting between these two teams with the teams splitting the ten previous series. They last met in the 1972 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals which New York won in six games. Montreal won four of the six games in this year's regular season series.

|1-1-1 =Steve Vickers (1) -pp – 10:48 Bruce MacGregor (1) – 11:07 |1-1-2 =No scoring |1-2-1 =Dale Rolfe (1) – 02:43 |1-2-2 =08:59 – Steve Shutt (1) |1-3-1 =Brad Park (1) – 18:11 |1-3-2 =No scoring |goalie1-1 =Eddie Giacomin 23 saves / 24 shots |goalie1-2 =Michel Larocque 27 saves / 31 shots

|2-1-1 =Bruce MacGregor (2) – 12:51 |2-1-2 =No scoring |2-2-1 =No scoring |2-2-2 =05:03 – Steve Shutt (2) 18:11 – Yvan Cournoyer (1) |2-3-1 =No scoring |2-3-2 =11:53 – Yvan Cournoyer (2) 14:51 – Yvan Cournoyer (3) |goalie2-1 =Eddie Giacomin 27 saves / 31 shots |goalie2-2 =Michel Larocque 18 saves / 19 shots

|3-1-1 =No scoring |3-1-2 =Peter Mahovlich (1) – 03:38 Steve Shutt (3) – pp – 15:03 Yvan Cournoyer (4) – 18:47 |3-2-1 =No scoring |3-2-2 =Yvan Cournoyer (5) – 00:49 |3-3-1 =08:06 – pp – Pete Stemkowski (1) 11:48 – Jean Ratelle (1) |3-3-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Eddie Giacomin 28 saves / 32 shots |goalie3-2 =Michel Larocque 32 saves / 34 shots

|4-1-1 =09:35 – Ron Harris (1) |4-1-2 =Steve Shutt (4) – 00:46 Peter Mahovlich (2) – pp – 18:37 |4-2-1 =04:46 – pp – Rod Gilbert (1) 14:00 – Ted Irvine (1) |4-2-2 =Frank Mahovlich (1) – 02:56 |4-3-1 =01:18 – Ted Irvine (2) 15:06 – Bruce MacGregor (3) 19:18 – en – Pete Stemkowski (2) |4-3-2 =Serge Savard (1) – 13:57 |goalie4-1 =Eddie Giacomin 24 saves / 28 shots |goalie4-2 =Michel Larocque 32 saves / 37 shots

|5-1-1 =Bruce MacGregor (4) – 12:43 |5-1-2 =00:49 – Henri Richard (1) |5-2-1 =No scoring |5-2-2 =No scoring |5-3-1 =Bruce MacGregor (5) – 19:44 |5-3-2 =05:24 – Murray Wilson (1) |5-4-1 =Ron Harris (2) – 04:07 |5-4-2 =No scoring |goalie5-1 =Eddie Giacomin 25 saves / 27 shots |goalie5-2 =Michel Larocque 39 saves / 42 shots

|6-1-1 =No scoring |6-1-2 =Henri Richard (2) – 09:15 |6-2-1 =08:41 – Bruce MacGregor (6) 09:27 – Bill Fairbairn (1) |6-2-2 =Steve Shutt (5) – 02:07 |6-3-1 =11:04 – Jean Ratelle (2) 19:06 – en – Pete Stemkowski (3) 19:24 – en – Pete Stemkowski (4) |6-3-2 =No scoring |goalie6-1 =Eddie Giacomin 22 saves / 24 shots |goalie6-2 =Michel Larocque 22 saves / 25 shots

(W1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (W4) Atlanta Flames

The Philadelphia Flyers finished first in the West Division and second in the league with 112 points. The Atlanta Flames finished fourth with 74 points, the lowest points earned by any playoff team in 1974. The Atlanta Flames made their first playoff appearance in their second season after entering the league in the previous year. This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. The teams split this year's six-game regular season series.

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =19:56 – sh – Gary Dornhoefer (1) |1-2-1 =No scoring |1-2-2 =13:36 – pp – Tom Bladon (1) |1-3-1 =Bob Murray (1) – 09:29 |1-3-2 =08:59 – Orest Kindrachuk (1) 12:09 – Orest Kindrachuk (2) |goalie1-1 =Phil Myre 37 saves / 41 shots |goalie1-2 =Bernie Parent 31 saves / 32 shots

|2-1-1 =No scoring |2-1-2 =06:01 – Terry Crisp (1) |2-2-1 =No scoring |2-2-2 =03:26 – Rick MacLeish (1) 06:20 – Rick MacLeish (2) 18:26 – Rich MacLeish (3) |2-3-1 =Rey Comeau (1) – 01:31 |2-3-2 =11:52 – pp – Jimmy Watson (1) |goalie2-1 =Phil Myre 28 saves / 33 shots |goalie2-2 =Bernie Parent 20 saves / 21 shots

|3-1-1 =No scoring |3-1-2 =Don Saleski (1) – 02:51 Bobby Clarke (1) – pp – 05:02 |3-2-1 =08:47 – Larry Romanchych (1) |3-2-2 =Rick MacLeish (4) – 13:47 |3-3-1 =No scoring |3-3-2 =Bill Barber (1) – 02:20 |goalie3-1 =Dan Bouchard 22 saves / 26 shots |goalie3-2 =Bernie Parent 27 saves / 28 shots

|4-1-1 =03:28 – Larry Romanchych (2) |4-1-2 =No scoring |4-2-1 =05:33 – pp – Jean Lemieux (1) 16:19 – Rey Comeau (2) |4-2-2 =Andre Dupont (1) – 16:48 |4-3-1 =No scoring |4-3-2 =Gary Dornhoefer (2) – pp – 01:16 Tom Bladon (2) – pp – 06:34 |4-4-1 =No scoring |4-4-2 =Dave Schultz (1) – 05:40 |goalie4-1 =Phil Myre 35 saves / 39 shots |goalie4-2 =Bernie Parent 23 saves / 26 shots

(W2) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (W3) Los Angeles Kings

The Chicago Black Hawks finished second in the West Division with 105 points. The Los Angeles Kings finished third in the West Division with 78 points. This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. Chicago won this year's six-game regular season series earning eight of twelve points.

|1-1-1 =Gene Carr (1) – pp – 09:08 |1-1-2 =No scoring |1-2-1 =No scoring |1-2-2 =11:13 – Darcy Rota (1) 16:51 – Dennis Hull (1) |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =19:12 – en – Stan Mikita (1) |goalie1-1 =Rogie Vachon 29 saves / 31 shots |goalie1-2 =Tony Esposito 27 saves / 28 shots

|2-1-1 =No scoring |2-1-2 =12:21 – pp – Dick Redmond (1) |2-2-1 =Bob Nevin (1) – 04:03 |2-2-2 =18:13 – Stan Mikita (2) |2-3-1 =No scoring |2-3-2 =03:07 – Dennis Hull (2) 19:27 – en – Jim Pappin (1) |goalie2-1 =Rogie Vachon 24 saves / 27 shots |goalie2-2 =Tony Esposito 34 saves / 35 shots

|3-1-1 =No scoring |3-1-2 =Germain Gagnon (1) – 00:40 |3-2-1 =No scoring |3-2-2 =No scoring |3-3-1 =No scoring |3-3-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Rogie Vachon 9 saves / 10 shots |goalie3-2 =Tony Esposito 32 saves / 32 shots

|4-1-1 =No scoring |4-1-2 =Dennis Hull (3) – 03:07 |4-2-1 =04:04 – Gene Carr (2) |4-2-2 =No scoring |4-3-1 =03:24 – Juha Widing (1) 06:29 – Tom Williams (1) 10:27 – Tom Williams (2) 12:47 – pp – Tom Williams (3) |4-3-2 =No scoring |goalie4-1 =Gary Edwards 22 saves / 23 shots |goalie4-2 =Mike Veisor 28 saves / 33 shots

|5-1-1 =No scoring |5-1-2 =No scoring |5-2-1 =No scoring |5-2-2 =No scoring |5-3-1 =No scoring |5-3-2 =15:23 – Jim Pappin (2) |goalie5-1 =Rogie Vachon 27 saves / 28 shots |goalie5-2 =Tony Esposito 18 saves / 18 shots

Semifinals

(E1) Boston Bruins vs. (W2) Chicago Black Hawks

This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams with Boston winning all three previous series. Boston won their most recent meeting in a four-game sweep in the 1970 Stanley Cup Semifinals. Chicago won this year's five-game regular season series earning seven of ten points.

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =06:40 – pp – Phil Esposito (2) |1-2-1 =Stan Mikita (3) – 03:48 Darcy Rota (2) – 08:12 |1-2-2 =No scoring |1-3-1 =John Marks (1) – 16:56 Dennis Hull (4) – en – 19:39 |1-3-2 =09:08 – Darryl Edestrand (1) |goalie1-1 =Tony Esposito 46 saves / 48 shots |goalie1-2 =Gilles Gilbert 20 saves / 23 shots

|2-1-1 =Darcy Rota (3) – 09:04 Dale Tallon (1) – pp – 19:15 |2-1-2 =06:44 – pp – Johnny Bucyk (3) 11:56 – pp – Johnny Bucyk (4) |2-2-1 =Dennis Hull (5) – 04:40 Germain Gagnon (2) – pp – 12:38 |2-2-2 =01:28 – Terry O'Reilly (2) 17:34 – pp – Johnny Bucyk (5) |2-3-1 =Dennis Hull (6) – pp – 05:12 John Marks (2) – 13:52 |2-3-2 =02:59 – Phil Esposito (3) 07:56 – Bobby Schmautz (3) 08:40 – Don Marcotte (1) 11:53 – Gregg Sheppard (5) |goalie2-1 =Tony Esposito 27 saves / 35 shots |goalie2-2 =Gilles Gilbert 23 saves / 29 shots

|3-1-1 =No scoring |3-1-2 =Carol Vadnais (1) – pp – 13:18 |3-2-1 =03:09 – pp – Bill White (1) |3-2-2 =Gregg Sheppard (6) – 16:39 |3-3-1 =11:38 – pp – Stan Mikita (4) 19:18 – Stan Mikita (5) |3-3-2 =Ken Hodge (4) – pp – 04:53 |3-4-1 =03:48 – Jim Pappin (3) |3-4-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Tony Esposito 33 saves / 36 shots |goalie3-2 =Gilles Gilbert 36 saves / 40 shots

|4-1-1 =10:50 – Pit Martin (1) |4-1-2 =Gregg Sheppard (7) – 12:07 Ken Hodge (5) – 19:51 |4-2-1 =15:23 – Keith Magnuson (1) |4-2-2 =Phil Esposito (4) – pp – 10:29 Andre Savard (2) – 14:31 |4-3-1 =No scoring |4-3-2 =Wayne Cashman (3) – en – 19:31 |goalie4-1 =Tony Esposito 26 saves / 30 shots |goalie4-2 =Gilles Gilbert 22 saves / 24 shots

|5-1-1 =No scoring |5-1-2 =15:13 – Johnny Bucyk (6) |5-2-1 =Cliff Koroll (1) – pp – 06:02 |5-2-2 =00:47 – Johnny Bucyk (7) 02:09 – Phil Esposito (5) 03:35 – Dallas Smith (1) 06:50 – Phil Esposito (6) 17:25 – Gregg Sheppard (8) |5-3-1 =Pit Martin (2) – pp – 02:25 |5-3-2 =No scoring |goalie5-1 =Tony Esposito 17 saves / 23 shots Mike Veisor 12 saves / 12 shots |goalie5-2 =Gilles Gilbert 19 saves / 21 shots

|6-1-1 =07:16 – Cliff Koroll (2) |6-1-2 =No scoring |6-2-1 =No scoring |6-2-2 =Don Marcotte (2) – 05:59 Don Marcotte (3) – 10:05 |6-3-1 =04:18 – pp – Len Frig (1) |6-3-2 =Gregg Sheppard (9) – 18:11 Phil Esposito (7) – 18:44 |goalie6-1 =Tony Esposito 27 saves / 30 shots |goalie6-2 =Gilles Gilbert 25 saves / 27 shots

(W1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (E3) New York Rangers

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. New York won this year's five-game regular season series earning six of ten points.

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =19:03 – pp – Rick MacLeish (5) |1-2-1 =No scoring |1-2-2 =04:33 – Ross Lonsberry (1) 05:25 – Bill Barber (2) |1-3-1 =No scoring |1-3-2 =18:07 – Rick MacLeish (6) |goalie1-1 =Eddie Giacomin 19 saves / 23 shots |goalie1-2 =Bernie Parent 19 saves / 19 shots

|2-1-1 =No scoring |2-1-2 =08:13 – pp – Bobby Clarke (2) |2-2-1 =Jack Egers (1) – 18:36 |2-2-2 =10:37 – Ed Van Impe (1) |2-3-1 =Brad Park (2) – pp – 08:10 |2-3-2 =07:54 – sh – Ross Lonsberry (2) 16:20 – Rick MacLeish (7) 19:26 – pp – en – Ross Lonsberry (3) |goalie2-1 =Eddie Giacomin 25 saves / 29 shots |goalie2-2 =Bernie Parent 28 saves / 30 shots

|3-1-1 =14:28 – Bill Fairbairn (2) |3-1-2 =Rick MacLeish (8) – pp – 06:57 Andre Dupont (2) – 12:20 |3-2-1 =13:57 – pp – Steve Vickers (2) 18:44 – Vic Hadfield (1) |3-2-2 =Gary Dornhoefer (3) – pp – 11:33 |3-3-1 =08:53 – pp – Brad Park (3) 13:14 – Rod Gilbert (2) |3-3-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Eddie Giacomin 12 saves / 15 shots |goalie3-2 =Bernie Parent 34 saves / 39 shots

|4-1-1 =No scoring |4-1-2 =Joe Watson (1) – 15:32 |4-2-1 =18:13 – pp – Bobby Rousseau (1) |4-2-2 =No scoring |4-3-1 =No scoring |4-3-2 =No scoring |4-4-1 =04:20 – Rod Gilbert (3) |4-4-2 =No scoring |goalie4-1 =Ed Giacomin 19 saves / 20 shots |goalie4-2 =Bernie Parent 35 saves / 37 shots

|5-1-1 =Pete Stemkowski (5) – 06:16 |5-1-2 =No scoring |5-2-1 =No scoring |5-2-2 =06:49 – Tom Bladon (3) 17:39 – Rick MacLeish (9) |5-3-1 =No scoring |5-3-2 =08:05 – Simon Nolet (1) 19:27 – Rick MacLeish (10) |goalie5-1 =Eddie Giacomin 24 saves / 27 shots |goalie5-2 =Bernie Parent 27 saves / 28 shots

|6-1-1 =16:59 – Brad Park (4) |6-1-2 =Don Saleski (2) – 05:41 |6-2-1 =No scoring |6-2-2 =No scoring |6-3-1 =04:10 – Ron Harris (3) 05:48 – Ted Irvine (3) 19:39 – en – Steve Vickers (3) |6-3-2 =No scoring |goalie6-1 =Eddie Giacomin 24 saves / 25 shots |goalie6-2 =Bernie Parent 34 saves / 37 shots

|7-1-1 =Bill Fairbairn (3) – 13:43 |7-1-2 =14:40 – pp – Rick MacLeish (11) |7-2-1 =No scoring |7-2-2 =02:27 – Orest Kindrachuk (3) 11:26 – Gary Dornhoefer (4) |7-3-1 =Steve Vickers (4) – 08:49 Pete Stemkowski (6) – 14:43 |7-3-2 =09:01 – Gary Dornhoefer (5) |goalie7-1 =Eddie Giacomin 42 saves / 46 shots |goalie7-2 =Bernie Parent 31 saves / 34 shots

Stanley Cup Finals

Main article: 1974 Stanley Cup Finals

This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The Bruins made their thirteenth Finals appearance; winning in their last appearance in 1972 where they defeated the New York Rangers in six games. The Flyers made their first Finals appearance in their seventh season since entering the league in the 1967–68 NHL season. Boston won this year's five-game regular season series earning seven of ten points. Boston was the prohibitive favorite entering the series.

However, the Philadelphia Flyers stunned the Bruins in six games to become the first non-Original Six team to win the Stanley Cup since 1935 and the first expansion team to do so since the league began expanding in 1967.

|1-1-1 =No scoring |1-1-2 =12:05 – pp – Wayne Cashman (4) 13:01 – Gregg Sheppard (10) |1-2-1 =Orest Kindrachuk (4) – 07:47 |1-2-2 =No scoring |1-3-1 =Bobby Clarke (3) – 05:32 |1-3-2 =19:38 – Bobby Orr (2) |goalie1-1 =Bernie Parent 28 saves / 31 shots |goalie1-2 =Gilles Gilbert 26 saves / 28 shots

|2-1-1 =No scoring |2-1-2 =14:24 – Wayne Cashman (5) 17:22 – Phil Esposito (8) |2-2-1 =Bobby Clarke (4) – 01:08 |2-2-2 =No scoring |2-3-1 =Andre Dupont (3) – 19:08 |2-3-2 =No scoring |2-4-1 =Bobby Clarke (5) – 12:01 |2-4-2 =No scoring |goalie2-1 =Bernie Parent 37 saves / 39 shots |goalie2-2 =Gilles Gilbert 27 saves / 30 shots

|3-1-1 =10:27 – pp – Tom Bladon (4) 15:43 – Terry Crisp (2) |3-1-2 =Johnny Bucyk (8) – 01:03 |3-2-1 =No scoring |3-2-2 =No scoring |3-3-1 =07:53 – Orest Kindrachuk (5) 14:19 – Ross Lonsberry (4) |3-3-2 =No scoring |goalie3-1 =Bernie Parent 24 saves / 25 shots |goalie3-2 =Gilles Gilbert 23 saves / 27 shots

|4-1-1 =04:40 – pp – Rick MacLeish (12) 05:30 – Dave Schultz (2) |4-1-2 =Phil Esposito (9) – pp – 07:12 Andre Savard (3) – 11:24 |4-2-1 =No scoring |4-2-2 =No scoring |4-3-1 =14:25 – Bill Barber (3) 16:40 – Andre Dupont (4) |4-3-2 =No scoring |goalie4-1 =Bernie Parent 28 saves / 30 shots |goalie4-2 =Gilles Gilbert 27 saves / 31 shots

|5-1-1 =No scoring |5-1-2 =08:14 – sh – Gregg Sheppard (11) |5-2-1 =Bill Clement (1) – 06:04 |5-2-2 =12:06 – Bobby Orr (3) 16:55 – Bobby Orr (4) |5-3-1 =No scoring |5-3-2 =00:39 – pp – Ken Hodge (6) 18:59 – Don Marcotte (4) |goalie5-1 =Bernie Parent 33 saves / 38 shots |goalie5-2 =Gilles Gilbert 26 saves / 27 shots

|6-1-1 =14:48 – pp – Rick MacLeish (13) |6-1-2 =No scoring |6-2-1 =No scoring |6-2-2 =No scoring |6-3-1 =No scoring |6-3-2 =No scoring |goalie6-1 =Bernie Parent 30 saves / 30 shots |goalie6-2 =Gilles Gilbert 25 saves / 26 shots

Awards

A new award, the Jack Adams for the best coach, was introduced for this season. The first winner was Fred Shero of the Philadelphia Flyers.

All-Star teams

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Source: NHL.

Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

Other statistics

• Plus-minus leader: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins

Coaches

East

• Boston Bruins: Bep Guidolin
• Buffalo Sabres: Joe Crozier
• Detroit Red Wings: Ted Garvin and Alex Delvecchio
• Montreal Canadiens: Scotty Bowman
• New York Islanders: Al Arbour
• New York Rangers: Larry Popein and Emile Francis
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Red Kelly
• Vancouver Canucks: Phil Maloney

West

• Atlanta Flames: Bernie Geoffrion
• California Golden Seals: Fred Glover and Marshall Johnston
• Chicago Black Hawks: Billy Reay
• Los Angeles Kings: Bob Pulford
• Minnesota North Stars: Jack Gordon and Parker MacDonald
• Philadelphia Flyers: Fred Shero
• Pittsburgh Penguins: Ken Schinkel and Marc Boileau
• St. Louis Blues: Jean-Guy Talbot and Lou Angotti

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1973–74 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Eric Vail, Atlanta Flames
• Tom Lysiak, Atlanta Flames
• Peter McNab, Buffalo Sabres
• Darcy Rota, Chicago Black Hawks
• Blake Dunlop, Minnesota North Stars
• Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadiens
• Michel Larocque, Montreal Canadiens
• Denis Potvin, New York Islanders
• Chico Resch, New York Islanders
• Dave Lewis, New York Islanders
• Al MacAdam, Philadelphia Flyers
• Blaine Stoughton, Pittsburgh Penguins
• John Davidson, St. Louis Blues
• Inge Hammarstrom, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Borje Salming, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Lanny McDonald, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Bob Dailey, Vancouver Canucks
• Dennis Ververgaert, Vancouver Canucks

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1973–74 (listed with their last team):

• Tim Horton, Buffalo Sabres
• Alex Delvecchio, Detroit Red Wings
• Dean Prentice, Minnesota North Stars
• Gump Worsley, Minnesota North Stars
• Frank Mahovlich, Montreal Canadiens
• Jacques Laperriere, Montreal Canadiens
• Barry Ashbee, Philadelphia Flyers
• Orland Kurtenbach, Vancouver Canucks

NOTE: Frank Mahovlich would finish his major professional career in the World Hockey Association.

Broadcasting

Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. HNIC also produced Wednesday night regular season game telecasts for CTV.

This was the second season under the U.S. rights agreement with NBC, airing weekend afternoon regular season games and playoff games.

References

• {{cite book |last1=Fischler |first1=Stan |last2=Fischler |first2=Shirley

;Notes

References

1. "Shero's wisdom, innovation made Flyers into winners".