1974–75 Philadelphia Flyers season

Regular season

In 1974–75, Dave Schultz topped his mark from the previous season by setting an NHL record for penalty minutes (472 in all). Bobby Clarke's efforts earned him his second Hart Trophy and Bernie Parent was the lone recipient of the Vezina Trophy. The Flyers as a team improved their record slightly with a mark of 51–18–11, the best record in the league.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

After a first-round bye, the Flyers easily swept the Toronto Maple Leafs and were presented with another New York-area team in the semifinals. The Flyers looked to be headed toward another sweep against the New York Islanders after winning the first three games. The Islanders, however, fought back by winning the next three games, setting up a deciding seventh game. The Flyers were finally able to shut the door on the Islanders, winning Game 7, 4–1.

Facing the Buffalo Sabres in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Flyers won the first two games at home. Game 3, played in Buffalo, would go down in hockey lore as "The Fog Game" due to an unusual May heat wave in Buffalo which forced parts of the game to be played in heavy fog, as Buffalo's arena lacked air conditioning. The Flyers lost Games 3 and 4, but won Game 5 at home in dominating fashion, 5–1. On the road for Game 6, Bob Kelly scored the decisive goal and Parent posted another shutout (his fourth of the playoffs) as the Flyers repeated as Stanley Cup champions. Parent also repeated as the playoff MVP, winning his second consecutive Conn Smythe Trophy.

Schedule and results

Regular season

|- | 1 || October 10 || 3–5 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings || Parent || 17,007 || 0–1–0 || 0 || |- | 2 || October 12 || 6–1 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres || Parent || 17,007 || 1–1–0 || 2 || |- | 3 || October 13 || 3–2 || align="left"| Kansas City Scouts || Stephenson || 17,007 || 2–1–0 || 4 || |- | 4 || October 17 || 1–4 || align="left"| Boston Bruins || Parent || 17,007 || 2–2–0 || 4 || |- | 5 || October 19 || 6–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins || Stephenson || 13,404 || 3–2–0 || 6 || |- | 6 || October 20 || 2–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens || Parent || 17,007 || 3–2–1 || 7 || |- | 7 || October 22 || 4–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings || Parent || 13,558 || 4–2–1 || 9 || |- | 8 || October 25 || 1–4 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals || Taylor || 12,398 || 4–3–1 || 9 || |- | 9 || October 26 || 3–2 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks || Parent || 15,570 || 5–3–1 || 11 || |- | 10 || October 31 || 5–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers || Parent || 17,007 || 6–3–1 || 13 ||

| Legend:

Playoffs

|- | 1 || April 13 || 6–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs || Parent || 17,077 || Flyers lead 1–0 || |- | 2 || April 15 || 3–0 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs || Parent || 17,077 || Flyers lead 2–0 || |- | 3 || April 17 || 2–0 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs || Parent || 16,485 || Flyers lead 3–0 || |- | 4 || April 19 || 4–3 OT || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs || Parent || 16,485 || Flyers win 4–0 ||

| Legend:

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Among the team records set during the 1974–75 season was Bobby Clarke's 18-game point streak from February 26 to April 3, which was later tied by Eric Lindros during the 1998–99 season. Clarke's 89 assists on the season set a franchise high that he replicated in 1975–76. Goaltender Bernie Parent's 12 shutouts tied his mark from the previous season and enforcer Dave Schultz's 472 penalty minutes set a still-standing single season NHL record.

Two franchise winning streaks were set during the playoffs. The final win of an eight-game winning streak dating back to May 19, 1974, occurred on May 4. Likewise, the final win of an 13-game home winning streak dating back to April 9, 1974, occurred on May 1. Rick MacLeish scored a franchise record two hat tricks in the playoffs and Parent recorded four shutouts during the playoffs. The team as a whole had five shutouts during the playoffs, a mark which was later tied by the 2009–10 team.

Milestones

Franchise firsts

Transactions

The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 20, 1974, the day after the deciding game of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 27, 1975, the day of the deciding game of the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals.

Trades

Players acquired

Players lost

Signings

Draft picks

Philadelphia's picks at the 1974 NHL amateur draft, which was held via conference call at the NHL's office in Montreal, on May 28, 1974. The Flyers first-round pick, 17th overall, was traded to the California Golden Seals along with Al MacAdam and Larry Wright for Reggie Leach on May 24, 1974.

Farm teams

The Flyers were affiliated with the Richmond Robins of the AHL and the Philadelphia Firebirds of the NAHL. The Flyers and the expansion Washington Capitals had a joint affiliation agreement with Richmond and both teams sent players there. Richmond finished 2nd in their division and lost in seven games to the Hershey Bears in the first round of the playoffs. Playing in the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the first-year Firebirds finished 2nd in the league but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Long Island Cougars.

Notes

References

References

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