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1972–73 Los Angeles Kings season

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1972–73 Los Angeles Kings
Division6th West
1972–73 record31–36–11
Goals for232
Goals against245
Team information
General managerLarry Regan
CoachBob Pulford
CaptainVacant
Alternate captainsRalph Backstrom
Harry Howell
Juha Widing
ArenaLos Angeles Forum
Team leaders
GoalsMike Corrigan (37)
AssistsJuha Widing (54)
PointsJoha Widing (70)
Penalty minutesMike Corrigan (146)
WinsRogie Vachon (22)
Goals against averageRogie Vachon (2.85)

The 1972–73 Los Angeles Kings season was the Kings' sixth season in the National Hockey League. The team did not qualify for the playoffs and finished in sixth place out of eight teams in the West Division, only three points behind fourth place, the final playoff position. Kings' captain Bob Pulford retired from play before the season and took over as the Kings' head coach.

Offseason

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Regular season

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Bob Pulford became full-time head coach and instituted a disciplined defense oriented system. Consequently, the Kings allowed 60 fewer goals than in 1971–72. Their penalty killing, once the worst in the NHL, was led by Jimmy Peters and Real Lemieux and was the best in the league. Offensively, the Kings were led by "The Hot Line", which consisted of Juha Widing, Bob Berry, and Mike Corrigan; they combined for 89 goals and 112 assists.

After starting 1–6, the Kings went on a club record 8-game winning streak. But from early January through February, they endured a 4–13–5 stretch that saw them fall from 4th to 7th place. They got hot again in March, going 6–4–2 to get within 2 points of the 4th place St. Louis Blues, who held the final playoff spot with 3 games to play. But L.A. suffered two straight disastrous losses to the last place California Golden Seals, and fell to 6th, missing the playoffs by 3 points.

Final standings

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West Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Chicago Black Hawks 78 42 27 9 284 225 +59 93
2 Philadelphia Flyers 78 37 30 11 296 256 +40 85
3 Minnesota North Stars 78 37 30 11 254 230 +24 85
4 St. Louis Blues 78 32 34 12 233 251 −18 76
5 Pittsburgh Penguins 78 32 37 9 257 265 −8 73
6 Los Angeles Kings 78 31 36 11 232 245 −13 73
7 Atlanta Flames 78 25 38 15 191 239 −48 65
8 California Golden Seals 78 16 46 16 213 323 −110 48

Record vs. opponents

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Schedule and results

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No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 L October 7, 1972 2–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 0–1–0
2 W October 8, 1972 4–2 @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) 1–1–0
3 L October 11, 1972 3–7 @ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 1–2–0
4 L October 12, 1972 2–3 @ New York Islanders (1972–73) 1–3–0
5 L October 14, 1972 4–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 1–4–0
6 L October 15, 1972 2–8 @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 1–5–0
7 L October 18, 1972 3–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 1–6–0
8 W October 21, 1972 3–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 2–6–0
9 W October 24, 1972 5–0 California Golden Seals (1972–73) 3–6–0
10 W October 26, 1972 3–1 Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 4–6–0
11 W October 28, 1972 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 5–6–0
12 W October 31, 1972 4–1 Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 6–6–0
13 W November 2, 1972 5–2 Boston Bruins (1972–73) 7–6–0
14 W November 4, 1972 9–2 New York Islanders (1972–73) 8–6–0
15 W November 7, 1972 3–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 9–6–0
16 T November 8, 1972 3–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 9–6–1
17 L November 11, 1972 2–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 9–7–1
18 L November 12, 1972 1–5 @ New York Rangers (1972–73) 9–8–1
19 L November 14, 1972 1–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 9–9–1
20 T November 15, 1972 3–3 Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 9–9–2
21 L November 17, 1972 4–8 @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 9–10–2
22 W November 18, 1972 8–3 Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 10–10–2
23 T November 22, 1972 3–3 Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 10–10–3
24 L November 25, 1972 0–3 Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 10–11–3
25 T November 29, 1972 2–2 New York Rangers (1972–73) 10–11–4
26 W December 2, 1972 3–2 St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 11–11–4
27 W December 5, 1972 6–1 @ New York Islanders (1972–73) 12–11–4
28 L December 6, 1972 0–6 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 12–12–4
29 W December 9, 1972 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 13–12–4
30 W December 13, 1972 3–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 14–12–4
31 L December 16, 1972 1–3 Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 14–13–4
32 L December 17, 1972 0–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 14–14–4
33 L December 20, 1972 1–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 14–15–4
34 L December 21, 1972 3–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 14–16–4
35 W December 23, 1972 2–0 Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 15–16–4
36 W December 24, 1972 5–3 @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) 16–16–4
37 W December 27, 1972 4–1 New York Islanders (1972–73) 17–16–4
38 W December 30, 1972 5–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 18–16–4
39 L January 3, 1973 0–3 @ New York Rangers (1972–73) 18–17–4
40 L January 6, 1973 2–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 18–18–4
41 W January 9, 1973 3–2 @ New York Islanders (1972–73) 19–18–4
42 W January 11, 1973 3–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 20–18–4
43 L January 13, 1973 1–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 20–19–4
44 L January 14, 1973 1–4 @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 20–20–4
45 T January 17, 1973 4–4 New York Rangers (1972–73) 20–20–5
46 W January 19, 1973 4–0 @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 21–20–5
47 L January 20, 1973 2–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 21–21–5
48 T January 23, 1973 5–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 21–21–6
49 L January 24, 1973 5–7 St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 21–22–6
50 T January 26, 1973 3–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 21–22–7
51 L January 28, 1973 5–6 @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) 21–23–7
52 L January 31, 1973 1–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 21–24–7
53 L February 1, 1973 3–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 21–25–7
54 L February 3, 1973 1–7 Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 21–26–7
55 W February 7, 1973 2–1 Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 22–26–7
56 W February 10, 1973 4–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 23–26–7
57 L February 11, 1973 0–2 @ Boston Bruins (1972–73) 23–27–7
58 L February 13, 1973 2–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 23–28–7
59 T February 14, 1973 2–2 Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 23–28–8
60 T February 17, 1973 3–3 Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 23–28–9
61 W February 18, 1973 4–2 @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) 24–28–9
62 L February 21, 1973 3–4 New York Rangers (1972–73) 24–29–9
63 L February 24, 1973 5–7 Boston Bruins (1972–73) 24–30–9
64 L February 28, 1973 2–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 24–31–9
65 W March 1, 1973 2–0 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 25–31–9
66 W March 3, 1973 2–0 St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 26–31–9
67 T March 6, 1973 2–2 Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 26–31–10
68 W March 8, 1973 4–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 27–31–10
69 W March 10, 1973 4–2 California Golden Seals (1972–73) 28–31–10
70 T March 13, 1973 2–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 28–31–11
71 L March 14, 1973 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 28–32–11
72 L March 16, 1973 2–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 28–33–11
73 L March 17, 1973 3–4 Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 28–34–11
74 W March 21, 1973 5–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 29–34–11
75 W March 24, 1973 5–3 Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 30–34–11
76 L March 28, 1973 2–3 California Golden Seals (1972–73) 30–35–11
77 L March 30, 1973 1–3 @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) 30–36–11
78 W March 31, 1973 6–3 Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 31–36–11

Playoffs

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Did not qualify

Player statistics

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Bob Pulford became full-time head coach and instituted a disciplined defense oriented system. Consequently, the Kings allowed 60 fewer goals than in 1971–72. Their penalty killing, once the worst in the NHL, was led by Jimmy Peters and Real Lemieux and was the best in the league. Offensively, the Kings were led by "The Hot Line", which consisted of Juha Widing, Bob Berry, and Mike Corrigan; they combined for 89 goals and 112 assists.

Awards and records

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None in 1972–73 season.

Transactions

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The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1972–73 season.[3]

Trades

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June 6, 1972 To Los Angeles Kings
Flames promise not to select
certain players in expansion draft
To Atlanta Flames
9th round pick in 1972Jean Lamarre
10th round pick in 1973Guy Ross
June 8, 1972 To Los Angeles Kings
Cash
To Minnesota North Stars
8th round pick in 1972Scott MacPhail
9th round pick in 1972Steve Lyon
August 22, 1972 To Los Angeles Kings
Terry Harper
To Montreal Canadiens
2nd round pick in 1974Gary MacGregor
1st round pick in 1975Pierre Mondou
3rd round pick in 1975Paul Woods
1st round pick in 1976Rod Schutt
December 15, 1972 To Los Angeles Kings
John Van Horlick
To Portland Buckaroos (WHL)
Jim Stanfield
Mike Keeler
Glen Toner
January 22, 1973 To Los Angeles Kings
Frank St. Marseille
To St. Louis Blues
Paul Curtis
February 26, 1973 To Los Angeles Kings
Dan Maloney
To Chicago Black Hawks
Ralph Backstrom

Free agent signings

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October 2, 1972 From University of British Columbia (WUAA)
Doug Buhr

Free agents lost

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June 6, 1972 To Alberta Oilers (WHA)
Doug Barrie
June 6, 1972 To Alberta Oilers (WHA)
Roger Cote
August 15, 1972 To Chicago Cougars (WHA)
Larry Cahan

Reverse Draft

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June 1, 1972 To San Diego Gulls (WHL)
Howie Hughes

Intra-league Draft

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June 5, 1972 To Los Angeles Kings
Barry Long
To Chicago Black Hawks
Bill Orban
June 5, 1972 To Los Angeles Kings
Doug Volmar
To Detroit Red Wings
$40,000

Expansion Draft

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June 6, 1972 To New York Islanders
Bill Mikkelson
Billy Smith
June 6, 1972 To Atlanta Flames
Lucien Grenier

Draft picks

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Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
2 20 Don Kozak  Canada Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)
3 36 Dave Hutchison  Canada London Knights (OMJHL)
4 52 John Dobie  Canada Regina Pats (WCHL)
5 68 Bernie Germain  Canada Regina Pats (WCHL)
6 84 Mike Usitalo  United States Michigan Tech University (WCHA)
7 100 Glen Toner  Canada Regina Pats (WCHL)

Farm teams

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Los Angeles Kings other seasons till now

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Lost Angeles Kings hockey team has participated in almost all seasons. The summary of various seasons is placed in this referenced list of Los Angeles Kings other seasons.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "1972–1973 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "Hockey Transactions Search Results".
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