1975–76 Atlanta Flames season

The 1975–76 Atlanta Flames season was the fourth season for the franchise. This season would mark a turning point for the franchise. After making the playoffs just once in their first three seasons, the Flames would miss the playoffs only once between 1976 and 1996 (that coming in 1991–92).

1975–76 Atlanta Flames
Division	3rd Patrick
Conference	3rd Campbell
1975–76 record	35–33–12
Home record	19–14–7
Road record	16–19–5
Goals for	262
Goals against	237
Team information
General manager	Cliff Fletcher
Coach	Fred Creighton
Captain	Pat Quinn
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Omni Coliseum
Team leaders
Goals	Curt Bennett (34)
Assists	Tom Lysiak (51)
Points	Tom Lysiak (82)
Penalty minutes	Pat Quinn (134)
Wins	Dan Bouchard (19)
Goals against average	Dan Bouchard (2.54)
← 1974–75 1976–77 →

Regular season

Final standings

Patrick Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Philadelphia Flyers	80	51	13	16	348	209	118
New York Islanders	80	42	21	17	297	190	101
Atlanta Flames	80	35	33	12	262	237	82
New York Rangers	80	29	42	9	262	333	67

^[1]

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Patrick Division 1975–76 NHL records Team ATL NYI NYR PHI Total Atlanta — 1–1–4 3–2–1 1–4–1 5–7–6 N.Y. Islanders 1–1–4 — 4–2 4–2 9–5–4 N.Y. Rangers 2–3–1 2–4 — 1–5 5–12–1 Philadelphia 4–1–1 2–4 5–1 — 11–6–1 Vs. Smythe Division 1975–76 NHL records Team CHI KCS MIN STL VAN Total Atlanta 2–2–1 5–0 4–1 1–3–1 3–0–2 15–6–4 N.Y. Islanders 3–1–1 2–0–3 4–1 4–0–1 0–3–2 13–5–7 N.Y. Rangers 2–0–3 4–1 4–1 3–2 3–1–1 16–5–4 Philadelphia 2–1–2 5–0 3–0–2 3–1–1 4–0–1 17–2–6 Vs. Adams Division 1975–76 NHL records Team BOS BUF CAL TOR Total Atlanta 2–3 1–2–1 3–1 2–2 8–8–1 N.Y. Islanders 0–2–2 2–2 3–1 3–1–1 8–6–3 N.Y. Rangers 1–3 0–2–3 1–3 0–4 2–12–3 Philadelphia 1–2–1 3–0–1 4–0–1 3–0–1 11–2–4 Vs. Norris Division 1975–76 NHL records[2] Team DET LAK MTL PIT WSH Total Atlanta 1–3 1–3 0–4 1–2–1 4–0 7–12–1 N.Y. Islanders 3–1 2–1–1 1–2–1 2–1–1 4–0 12–5–3 N.Y. Rangers 3–1 0–4 0–3–1 1–3 2–2 6–13–1 Philadelphia 2–2 2–0–2 2–1–1 3–0–1 3–0–1 12–3–5

Schedule and results

1975–76 regular season[3][4]
October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 1 L October 8, 1975 3–4 California Golden Seals (1975–76) 0–1–0 11,298 2 L October 10, 1975 1–2 New York Rangers (1975–76) 0–2–0 11,886 3 L October 15, 1975 1–3 @ New York Rangers (1975–76) 0–3–0 17,500 4 L October 17, 1975 0–2 New York Islanders (1975–76) 0–4–0 11,259 5 W October 18, 1975 5–3 @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) 1–4–0 7,036 6 T October 22, 1975 1–1 St. Louis Blues (1975–76) 1–4–1 10,086 7 W October 24, 1975 7–1 Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) 2–4–1 10,943 8 L October 25, 1975 3–7 @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) 2–5–1 17,314 9 W October 28, 1975 3–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) 3–5–1 15,570 10 W October 31, 1975 2–0 @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) 4–5–1 4,793
November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 11 L November 1, 1975 1–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) 4–6–1 13,051 12 L November 5, 1975 1–3 Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) 4–7–1 11,120 13 W November 7, 1975 3–2 Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) 5–7–1 10,780 14 L November 9, 1975 3–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) 5–8–1 9,321 15 W November 12, 1975 2–1 Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) 6–8–1 9,989 16 W November 14, 1975 4–1 @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) 7–8–1 9,206 17 L November 15, 1975 3–5 Boston Bruins (1975–76) 7–9–1 14,838 18 T November 18, 1975 2–2 Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) 7–9–2 10,490 19 L November 21, 1975 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) 7–10–2 11,160 20 W November 22, 1975 6–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) 8–10–2 9,463 21 L November 25, 1975 0–4 Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) 8–11–2 10,825 22 L November 26, 1975 3–7 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) 8–12–2 17,077 23 W November 28, 1975 6–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) 9–12–2 12,664 24 W November 30, 1975 4–1 @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) 10–12–2 4,429
December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 25 L December 2, 1975 3–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) 10–13–2 8,575 26 W December 5, 1975 6–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) 11–13–2 15,570 27 W December 7, 1975 2–0 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) 12–13–2 N/A 28 W December 9, 1975 7–1 Washington Capitals (1975–76) 13–13–2 9,877 29 T December 12, 1975 3–3 New York Islanders (1975–76) 13–13–3 11,396 30 W December 14, 1975 7–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) 14–13–3 16,433 31 W December 16, 1975 3–1 Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) 15–13–3 9,834 32 L December 17, 1975 2–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) 15–14–3 8,106 33 W December 19, 1975 8–3 New York Rangers (1975–76) 16–14–3 11,673 34 W December 21, 1975 2–1 @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) 17–14–3 13,678 35 T December 23, 1975 2–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) 17–14–4 14,484 36 W December 26, 1975 4–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) 18–14–4 13,120 37 L December 27, 1975 2–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) 18–15–4 10,301 38 L December 29, 1975 2–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) 18–16–4 16,485 39 W December 31, 1975 8–1 @ New York Rangers (1975–76) 19–16–4 17,500
January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 40 W January 2, 1976 7–1 St. Louis Blues (1975–76) 20–16–4 13,465 41 W January 3, 1976 6–4 @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) 21–16–4 9,139 42 W January 6, 1976 4–3 Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) 22–16–4 10,614 43 T January 9, 1976 1–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) 22–16–5 14,806 44 W January 11, 1976 5–2 Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) 23–16–5 11,467 45 L January 13, 1976 0–3 Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) 23–17–5 10,814 46 L January 15, 1976 3–5 St. Louis Blues (1975–76) 23–18–5 10,302 47 T January 17, 1976 2–2 @ New York Islanders (1975–76) 23–18–6 14,865 48 L January 18, 1976 2–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) 23–19–6 15,459 49 L January 22, 1976 2–7 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) 23–20–6 17,077 50 T January 23, 1976 3–3 Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) 23–20–7 15,141 51 W January 27, 1976 8–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) 24–20–7 14,118 52 L January 28, 1976 3–7 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) 24–21–7 N/A 53 L January 30, 1976 2–4 Boston Bruins (1975–76) 24–22–7 15,141
February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 54 L February 1, 1976 3–5 @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) 24–23–7 14,574 55 T February 3, 1976 2–2 @ New York Islanders (1975–76) 24–23–8 14,865 56 W February 4, 1976 4–1 California Golden Seals (1975–76) 25–23–8 10,169 57 L February 6, 1976 1–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) 25–24–8 12,921 58 W February 11, 1976 5–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) 26–24–8 N/A 59 L February 13, 1976 2–3 Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) 26–25–8 13,756 60 L February 14, 1976 3–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) 26–26–8 17,973 61 L February 19, 1976 1–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) 26–27–8 16,433 62 W February 20, 1976 3–1 @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) 27–27–8 6,842 63 L February 23, 1976 1–7 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) 27–28–8 16,461 64 T February 25, 1976 3–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) 27–28–9 9,127 65 L February 28, 1976 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1975–76) 27–29–9 17,008
March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 66 L March 3, 1976 2–3 Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) 27–30–9 10,854 67 W March 5, 1976 8–3 New York Rangers (1975–76) 28–30–9 13,323 68 T March 7, 1976 6–6 @ New York Rangers (1975–76) 28–30–10 17,500 69 W March 9, 1976 9–0 Boston Bruins (1975–76) 29–30–10 11,269 70 W March 10, 1976 4–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) 30–30–10 8,280 71 W March 12, 1976 4–1 Washington Capitals (1975–76) 31–30–10 12,154 72 L March 14, 1976 1–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) 31–31–10 17,077 73 L March 16, 1976 2–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) 31–32–10 15,184 74 T March 19, 1976 2–2 Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) 31–32–11 12,930 75 W March 24, 1976 7–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) 32–32–11 N/A 76 L March 27, 1976 0–8 @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) 32–33–11 11,540 77 W March 28, 1976 3–1 @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) 33–33–11 9,563
April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance 78 T April 1, 1976 1–1 @ New York Islanders (1975–76) 33–33–12 14,865 79 W April 2, 1976 4–2 Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) 34–33–12 11,876 80 W April 4, 1976 5–2 New York Islanders (1975–76) 35–33–12 11,798
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

Atlanta qualified for the post-season for the second time in franchise history, and would face the Los Angeles Kings in a best-of-three preliminary round series. The Kings finished with a 38–33–9 record, earning 85 points and second place in the Norris Division. They finished the season with three more points than the Flames.

The series opened at The Forum in Inglewood, California, and the Kings scored in the first minute of play, as Tom Williams beat goaltender Dan Bouchard to give Los Angeles a 1–0 lead. The Kings doubled their lead in the second period when Bob Nevin scored. In the third period, the Flames cut the Kings lead to 2–1 after a goal by Barry Gibbs, however, that's as close as Atlanta would get, as Los Angeles held on for the 2–1 victory.

The second game was played at the Omni Coliseum, as the Flames needed a win to force a third and deciding game. Both goaltenders played great games, however, the Kings Bob Berry scored with 1:44 remaining in the third period, as Los Angeles held on to beat the Flames 1–0. Kings goaltender Rogie Vachon made 27 saves for the shutout.

1976 Stanley Cup playoffs[3]
Preliminary Round vs. Los Angeles Kings – Kings win 2–0 Game Date Visitor Score Home Series Attendance 1 April 6 Atlanta Flames 1–2 Los Angeles Kings 0–1 12,023 2 April 8 Los Angeles Kings 1–0 Atlanta Flames 0–2 10,450
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

			Regular season						Playoffs
Player	#		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Tom Lysiak	12		80	31	51	82	60		2	0	0	0	2
Curt Bennett	5		80	34	31	65	61		2	0	0	0	4
Hilliard Graves	17		80	19	30	49	16		2	0	0	0	0
Claude St. Sauveur	11		79	24	24	48	23		2	0	0	0	0
Eric Vail	25		60	16	31	47	34		2	0	0	0	0
Bill Flett	9		78	23	17	40	30		2	0	0	0	0
Dave Kryskow	20/8		79	15	25	40	65		2	0	0	0	2
Rey Comeau	18		79	17	22	39	42		–	–	–	–	–
Randy Manery	7		80	7	32	39	42		2	0	0	0	0
Larry Romanchych	21		67	16	19	35	8		2	0	0	0	0
Barry Gibbs	2		76	8	21	29	92		2	1	0	1	2
Bill Clement†	10		31	13	14	27	29		2	0	1	1	0
Ed Kea	19		78	8	19	27	101		2	0	0	0	7
Gerry Meehan‡	10		48	7	20	27	8		–	–	–	–	–
Tim Ecclestone	14		69	6	21	27	30		–	–	–	–	–
Larry Carriere	23		75	4	15	19	96		2	0	0	0	2
Jean Lemieux‡	6		33	4	9	13	10		–	–	–	–	–
Pat Quinn	3		80	2	11	13	134		2	0	1	1	2
Ken Houston	24/6		38	5	6	11	11		2	0	0	0	0
Bob Leiter	16		26	2	3	5	4		–	–	–	–	–
Guy Chouinard	16		4	0	2	2	2		2	0	0	0	0
Richard Mulhern	4		12	1	0	1	4		–	–	–	–	–
Richard Lemieux†	20		1	0	1	1	0		2	0	0	0	0
Cam Botting	24		2	0	1	1	0		–	–	–	–	–
Phil Myre	1		37	0	1	1	0		–	–	–	–	–
Dan Bouchard	30		47	0	1	1	10		2
Buster Harvey‡	8		1	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–
Noel Price	4		3	0	0	0	2		–	–	–	–	–
Pat Ribble	23		3	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–
Willi Plett	22		4	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–
Rick Bowness	15		5	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Atlanta. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.
^‡Traded mid-season

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

			Regular season									Playoffs
Player	#		GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA		GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Dan Bouchard	30		47	2671	19	17	8	113	2	2.54		2	120	0	2	3	0	1.50
Phil Myre	1		37	2129	16	16	4	123	1	3.47		–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1975–76 season.

Trades

June 5, 1975	To Atlanta Flames ----Dave Kryskow	To Detroit Red Wings ----Bryan Hextall Jr.
September 9, 1975	To Atlanta Flames ----Curt Ridley	To New York Rangers ----Jerry Byers
September 23, 1975	To Atlanta Flames ----Rights to Claude St. Sauveur	To California Golden Seals ----Cash
October 1, 1975	To Atlanta Flames ----Larry Carriere 1st round pick in 1976 (traded to Washington Capitals; Capitals selected Greg Carroll) Cash	To Buffalo Sabres ----Jacques Richard
October 13, 1975	To Atlanta Flames ----Richard Lemieux Future considerations	To Kansas City Scouts ----Buster Harvey
January 20, 1976	To Atlanta Flames ----1st round pick in 1976 (Dave Shand)	To Vancouver Canucks ----Curt Ridley
January 22, 1976	To Atlanta Flames ----Bill Clement	To Washington Capitals ----Jean Lemieux Gerry Meehan Sabres' 1st round pick in 1976 (Greg Carroll)

Free agents

Player Former team

Player New team

Waivers

Player	Former team
RW Bill Flett	Toronto Maple Leafs

Draft picks

See also: 1975 NHL amateur draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
1	8.	Richard Mulhern (D)	Canada	Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL)
2	26.	Rick Bowness (RW)	Canada	Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL)
4	62.	Dale Ross (LW)	Canada	Ottawa 67s (OHA)
5	80.	Willi Plett (RW)	Paraguay	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
6	98.	Paul Heaver (D)	United Kingdom	Oshawa Generals (OHA)
7	116.	Dale McMullin (LW)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
8	134.	Rick Piche (D)	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
9	150.	Nick Sanza (G)	Canada	Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL)
10	167.	Brian O'Connell (G)	Canada	Saint Louis University (NCAA)
11	181.	Joe Augustine (D)	United States	Austin Mavericks (MidJHL)
12	192.	Torbjorn Nilsson (RW)	Sweden	Skelleftea AIK (Grundserien)
13	216.	Gary Gill (LW)	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHA)