1974–75 Los Angeles Kings season

Offseason

Defenseman Barry Long (3G, 19Ast, plus/minus = +25) jumped to the Edmonton Oilers of the WHA.

Regular season

The Kings were coming off their first playoff appearance in 5 years and the season before finished with a .500 record and scored more goals than they allowed for the first time in club history. Still, they were placed in a division with the powerful Montreal Canadiens in the 1974–75 realignment and hockey experts joked that Montreal would clinch 1st place by Christmas. But the Kings started fast, losing only twice in their first 26 games. The Canadiens finally overtook them and clinched first place with only 3 games to play. In addition, the Kings had allowed the fewest goals in for most of the season (which would have earned their goaltender tandem of Rogie Vachon and Gary Edwards the Vezina Trophy under 1975 rules). But they faltered just enough at the end and the Philadelphia Flyers earned that honor by a mere 4 goals.

Playoffs

With the 4th best record in the league, the Kings were hopeful of a deep playoff run. But because they finished 2nd in the division, they had to play in the dangerous 2 out of 3 mini series. Their opponent was the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were under .500 on the season, finishing 27 points behind the Kings. But a hot goalie can carry a team and Toronto's Gord McRae got hot at the wrong time for the Kings. Toronto scored a late goal in game 1 but the Kings won in overtime, 3–2. Toronto won game 2 in overtime by the same 3–2 score, and won game 3 in L.A. 2–1. Three of the four higher seeded teams lost in the mini series.

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|- |1||W||October 10, 1974||5–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) ||1–0–0 |- |2||T||October 12, 1974||4–4 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) ||1–0–1 |- |3||W||October 13, 1974||4–1 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) ||2–0–1 |- |4||T||October 15, 1974||1–1 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1974–75) ||2–0–2 |- |5||T||October 16, 1974||1–1 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) ||2–0–3 |- |6||W||October 19, 1974||3–0 || align="left"| Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) ||3–0–3 |- |7||L||October 22, 1974||2–4 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) ||3–1–3 |- |8||W||October 24, 1974||7–2 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) ||4–1–3 |- |9||W||October 26, 1974||5–1 || align="left"| California Golden Seals (1974–75) ||5–1–3 |- |10||W||October 28, 1974||2–0 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) ||6–1–3 |- |11||T||October 31, 1974||1–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1974–75) ||6–1–4

| Legend:

Playoffs

• Maple Leafs 2 at Kings 3 (OT)
• Kings 2 at Maple Leafs 3 (OT)
• Maple Leafs 2 at Kings 1

Awards and records

Jack Adams Award – Bob Pulford, Coach

All-NHL 2nd team – Rogie Vachon, Goalie

Transactions

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1974–75 season.

Trades

Free agent signings

Free agents lost

Expansion draft

Draft picks

Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1974 NHL amateur draft held in Montreal.

References

References

1. "1974-75 Los Angeles Kings Schedule".
2. "Hockey Transactions Search Results".