1971–72 NHL season
| 1971–72 NHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 8, 1971 – May 11, 1972 |
| Number of games | 78 |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Boston Bruins |
| Season MVP | Bobby Orr (Boston Bruins) |
| Top scorer | Phil Esposito (Boston Bruins) |
| Playoffs | |
| Playoffs MVP | Bobby Orr (Boston Bruins) |
| Stanley Cup | |
| Champions | Boston Bruins |
| Runners-up | New York Rangers |
The 1971–72 NHL season was the 55th season of the National Hockey League. Fourteen teams each played 78 games. The Boston Bruins beat the New York Rangers four games to two for their second Stanley Cup in three seasons in the finals.
Regular season
Among notable first year players this season were Montreal's Guy Lafleur, who despite scoring 29 goals was felt lacking in comparison to newly retired superstar Jean Beliveau by the Canadiens' faithful; Buffalo's Rick Martin, who set a new record for goals by a rookie with 44; Gilles Meloche, goaltender for the California Golden Seals who acquired him from Chicago; and Ken Dryden, the sensational new goalie for the Canadiens, who despite winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP the previous season was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year, on the grounds that he had only played six prior regular season games.
43-year-old Gump Worsley, left unprotected (and unclaimed) in the waiver draft by the Minnesota North Stars, led the league with a 2.12 goals against average. Less fortunately, Philadelphia goaltender Bruce Gamble suffered a heart attack during a 3–1 win in Vancouver in February and was forced to retire from hockey.
In what was widely seen as a preemptive move to help forestall the incipient World Hockey Association, the NHL announced that Atlanta and Long Island had been granted expansion franchises to begin play in the 1972–73 season. The bids had been hastily put together in comparison with the 1967 and 1970 expansions.
Milestones this season included Gerry Cheevers setting an NHL record for the Boston Bruins (which has yet to be surpassed) with 33 straight undefeated games. On February 12, it was Gordie Howe Day in Detroit as his famous #9 was retired. On March 25, Bobby Hull scored his 600th NHL goal in a 5–5 tie with Boston at the Boston Garden.
An exciting scoring race in which Ranger Jean Ratelle had been leading Bruin Phil Esposito was shortcircuited when Ratelle broke his ankle in a game against California, putting him out for over a month of play. Ratelle still ended up third in scoring behind Esposito and Bruin Bobby Orr, while his teammates Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert - all three linemates on the renowned GAG line—finished fourth and fifth. A resurgent Frank Mahovlich, rejuvenated by a trade to Montreal, finished sixth, while Bobby Hull, in his final year in Chicago, finished seventh in points and second to Esposito in goals.
Although they had fallen somewhat from their overwhelming offensive dominance from the previous season, once again the Boston Bruins had the best record in the league, while the Chicago Black Hawks topped the West Division.
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 78 | 54 | 13 | 11 | 330 | 204 | +126 | 119 |
| 2 | New York Rangers | 78 | 48 | 17 | 13 | 317 | 192 | +125 | 109 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 46 | 16 | 16 | 307 | 205 | +102 | 108 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 33 | 31 | 14 | 209 | 208 | +1 | 80 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 33 | 35 | 10 | 261 | 262 | −1 | 76 |
| 6 | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 16 | 43 | 19 | 203 | 289 | −86 | 51 |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 20 | 50 | 8 | 203 | 297 | −94 | 48 |
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 78 | 46 | 17 | 15 | 256 | 166 | +90 | 107 |
| 2 | Minnesota North Stars | 78 | 37 | 29 | 12 | 212 | 191 | +21 | 86 |
| 3 | St. Louis Blues | 78 | 28 | 39 | 11 | 208 | 247 | −39 | 67 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 78 | 26 | 38 | 14 | 220 | 258 | −38 | 66 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 78 | 26 | 38 | 14 | 200 | 236 | −36 | 66 |
| 6 | California Golden Seals | 78 | 21 | 39 | 18 | 216 | 288 | −72 | 60 |
| 7 | Los Angeles Kings | 78 | 20 | 49 | 9 | 206 | 305 | −99 | 49 |
Playoffs
Format change
In response to the prior year when the Minnesota North Stars appeared to purposely lose games to finish fourth instead of third and avoid a tougher matchup with first-place Chicago, the first round matchups were changed so that the first-place team played the fourth-place team and second played third. Previously, the first-place team played the third-place team and the second-place team played the fourth-place team.
In addition, a change was made to the way the semi-final matchups were determined as well. Instead of having the winner of the series between the first and third-place Eastern division teams play the winner of the second and fourth-place Western division teams and the winner of the first versus third-place Western division teams against the winner of the second and fourth-place Eastern division teams, the semi final would pit the highest remaining seed in the Eastern division play the lowest remaining seed from the West and vice versa.
Despite injuries to several key players, notably leading scorer Jean Ratelle, the New York Rangers beat the defending champions Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs, with strong play from unheralded players such as Walt Tkaczuk. The Rangers went on the sweep the Chicago Black Hawks in four straight games during the semi-final. Chicago had beaten the Pittsburgh Penguins in four straight games.
Boston easily handled the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games, facing a St. Louis Blues team that had eked out a hard-fought seven game victory against the North Stars in the quarter-final. The powerful Bruins set a record for the most goals in a four-game series by pounding the Blues 28–8 over a four-game sweep.
Playoff bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Stanley Cup Final | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston Bruins | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston Bruins | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | St. Louis Blues | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Minnesota North Stars | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | St. Louis Blues | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston Bruins | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | New York Rangers | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | New York Rangers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | New York Rangers | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | Montreal Canadiens | 2 | ||||||||||||
Quarterfinals
(E1) Boston Bruins vs. (E4) Toronto Maple Leafs
| April 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 0-5 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | ||||
| First period | Phil Esposito 1 (Wayne Cashman) Phil Esposito 2 (Bobby Orr) | |||||||
| Second period | Don Marcotte 1 John McKenzie 1 (Phil Esposito) Fred Stanfield 1 | |||||||
| Third period | ||||||||
| Jacques Plante | Goalie stats | Gerry Cheevers | ||||||
| April 6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4-3 | OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | |||
| April 8 | Boston Bruins | 2-0 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | ||||
| no scoring | First period | |||||||
| (Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito) Mike Walton | Second period | |||||||
| (Wayne Cashman, Ken Hodge) Bobby Orr | Third period | |||||||
| Eddie Johnston | Goalie stats | Bernie Parent | ||||||
| April 9 | Boston Bruins | 5-4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Maple Leaf Gardens | ||||
| (Carol Vadnais, John McKenzie) John Bucyk | First period | Dave Keon | ||||||
| Second period | Ron Ellis (Norm Ullman, Paul Henderson) Jim McKenny sh | |||||||
| (Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr) Ken Hodge (Derek Sanderson, Bobby Orr) Ed Westfall (Bobby Orr, Ken Hodge) Phil Esposito (Phil Esposito) Ken Hodge |
Third period | Paul Henderson (Ron Ellis, Norm Ullman) | ||||||
| Eddie Johnston | Goalie stats | Bernie Parent | ||||||
| April 11 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2-3 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | ||||
| (Dave Keon) Jim McKenny | First period | Fred Stanfield pp (Bobby Orr, John McKenzie) | ||||||
| Second period | John McKenzie (John Bucyk) | |||||||
| (Ron Ellis) Norm Ullman | Third period | Ken Hodge (Phil Esposito, Wayne Cashman) | ||||||
| Bernie Parent | Goalie stats | Gerry Cheevers | ||||||
| Boston won series 4-1 | |
(W2) Minnesota North Stars vs. (W3) St. Louis Blues
| April 5 | St. Louis Blues | 0-3 | Minnesota North Stars | Met Center | ||||
| April 6 | St. Louis Blues | 5-6 | OT | Minnesota North Stars | Met Center | |||
| April 8 | Minnesota North Stars | 1-2 | St. Louis Blues | St. Louis Arena | ||||
| April 9 | Minnesota North Stars | 2-3 | St. Louis Blues | St. Louis Arena | ||||
| April 11 | St. Louis Blues | 3-4 | Minnesota North Stars | Met Center | ||||
| April 13 | Minnesota North Stars | 2-4 | St. Louis Blues | St. Louis Arena | ||||
| April 16 | St. Louis Blues | 2-1 | OT | Minnesota North Stars | Met Center | |||
| St. Louis won series 4-3 | |
(W1) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (W4) Pittsburgh Penguins
| April 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1-3 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | ||||
| April 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2-3 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | ||||
| April 8 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2-0 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | ||||
| April 9 | Chicago Black Hawks | 6-5 | OT | Pittsburgh Penguins | Civic Arena | |||
| Chicago won series 4-0 | |
(E2) New York Rangers vs. (E3) Montreal Canadiens
| April 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 2-3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | ||||
| April 6 | Montreal Canadiens | 2-5 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | ||||
| April 8 | New York Rangers | 1-2 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | ||||
| April 9 | New York Rangers | 6-4 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | ||||
| April 11 | Montreal Canadiens | 2-1 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | ||||
| April 13 | New York Rangers | 3-2 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | ||||
| New York won series 4-2 | |
Semifinals
(E1) Boston Bruins vs. (W3) St. Louis Blues
| April 18 | St. Louis Blues | 1-6 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | ||||
| April 20 | St. Louis Blues | 2-10 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | ||||
| April 23 | Boston Bruins | 7-2 | St. Louis Blues | St. Louis Arena | ||||
| Ed Westfall 4 (Bobby Orr) John McKenzie pp - 10:36 (Ken Hodge) Phil Esposito - 18:42 |
First period | Mike Murphy pp (Barclay Plager, Phil Roberto) | ||||||
| Mike Walton (Wayne Cashman) Ken Hodge 4 - 6:28 (Fred Stanfield, Bobby Orr) John McKenzie - 11:12 |
Second period | |||||||
| Mike Walton - 11:09 | Third period | Gary Sabourin (Frank St. Marseille) | ||||||
| Eddie Johnston | Goalie stats | Peter McDuffe | ||||||
| April 25 | Boston Bruins | 5-3 | St. Louis Blues | St. Louis Arena | ||||
| (Wayne Cashman, Ken Hodge) Phil Esposito 8 (Phil Esposito, Fred Stanfield) John Bucyk |
First period | Terry Crisp (Chris Bordeleau) | ||||||
| (Bobby Orr, Fred Stanfield) John Bucyk (Bobby Orr, John McKenzie) Phil Esposito 9 |
Second period | |||||||
| (Bobby Orr, Ken Hodge) Wayne Cashman en - 19:22 | Third period | Andre Dupont Chris Evans | ||||||
| Gerry Cheevers | Goalie stats | Jacques Caron | ||||||
| Boston won series 4-0 | |
(W1) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (E2) New York Rangers
| April 16 | New York Rangers | 3-2 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | ||||
| April 18 | New York Rangers | 5-3 | Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium | ||||
| April 20 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2-3 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | ||||
| April 23 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2-6 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | ||||
| New York won series 4-0 | |
Final
| April 30 | New York Rangers | 5-6 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | ||||
| (Brad Park, Rod Gilbert) Dale Rolfe - 3:52 | First period | 5:07 - Fred Stanfield (John McKenzie) 15:48 - Ken Hodge (Phil Esposito, Mike Walton) 17:29 - Derek Sanderson sh (Ed Westfall) 18:14 - Ken Hodge sh (Phil Esposito) | ||||||
| (Jean Ratelle, Vic Hadfield) Rod Gilbert - pp - 11:54 | Second period | 10:46 - Ken Hodge (Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr) | ||||||
| (Rod Gilbert, Walt Tkaczuk) Vic Hadfield - pp - 1:56 Walt Tkaczuk - 7:48 (Pete Stemkowski, Ted Irvine) Bruce MacGregor - 9:17 |
Third period | 17:44 - Ace Bailey (Mike Walton, Ed Westfall) | ||||||
| Ed Giacomin | Goalie stats | Gerry Cheevers | ||||||
| May 2 | New York Rangers | 1-2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | ||||
| First period | 16:15 - John Bucyk (Bobby Orr, Fred Stanfield) | |||||||
| (Vic Hadfield, Jim Neilson) Rod Gilbert - 7:23 | Second period | |||||||
| Third period | 11:53 - Ken Hodge pp (Mike Walton, Phil Esposito) | |||||||
| Gilles Villemure | Goalie stats | Ed Johnston | ||||||
| May 4 | Boston Bruins | 2-5 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | ||||
| (Carol Vadnais) Mike Walton - 14:04 | First period | 1:22 - Brad Park (Vic Hadfield, Bruce Fairbairn) 11:19 - Rod Gilbert (Brad Park, Bobby Rousseau) 13:00 - Brad Park (Rod Gilbert) | ||||||
| (Wayne Cashman, Dallas Smith) Bobby Orr 2 - 1:10 | Second period | 3:46 - Rod Gilbert (Bobby Rousseau, Brad Park) 3:46 - Pete Stemkowski (Bruce MacGregor, Ted Irvine) | ||||||
| Third period | ||||||||
| May 7 | Boston Bruins | 3-2 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | ||||
| (Mike Walton) Bobby Orr 3 - 5:26 (John McKenzie, John Bucyk) Bobby Orr 4 - 8:17 |
First period | |||||||
| (Bobby Orr) Don Marcotte - sh - 16:33 | Second period | 18:38 - Ted Irvine (Pete Stemkowski, Rod Seiling) | ||||||
| Third period | 18:35 - Rod Seiling pp (Ted Irvine, Pete Stemkowski) | |||||||
| Ed Johnston | Goalie stats | Ed Giacomin | ||||||
| May 9 | New York Rangers | 3-2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | ||||
| (Bruce Fairbairn, Walt Tkaczuk) Dale Rolfe - 13:45 | First period | 3:55 - Wayne Cashman (Ken Hodge, Phil Esposito) 16:07 - Ken Hodge (Fred Stanfield, Phil Esposito) | ||||||
| Second period | ||||||||
| (Bruce MacGregor, Brad Park) Bobby Rousseau - 2:56 (Ted Irvine) Bobby Rousseau - 12:45 |
Third period | |||||||
| May 11 | Boston Bruins | 3-0 | New York Rangers | Madison Square Garden | ||||
| (John Bucyk, Ken Hodge) Bobby Orr 5 - 11:18 | First period | |||||||
| Second period | ||||||||
| (Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito) Wayne Cashman - pp - 5:10 (Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge) Wayne Cashman - 18:11 |
Third period | |||||||
| Gerry Cheevers | Goalie stats | Gilles Villemure | ||||||
| Boston won series 4-2 | |
Awards
| 1972 NHL awards | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Wales Trophy: (East Division champion) |
Boston Bruins |
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: (West Division champion) |
Chicago Black Hawks |
| Art Ross Trophy: (Top scorer, regular season) |
Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins |
| Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: (Perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication) |
Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Calder Memorial Trophy: (Top first-year player) |
Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens |
| Conn Smythe Trophy: (Most valuable player, playoffs) |
Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins |
| Hart Memorial Trophy: (Most valuable player, regular season) |
Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: (Best defenceman) |
Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins |
| Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: (Excellence and sportsmanship) |
Jean Ratelle, New York Rangers |
| Lester B. Pearson Award: (Outstanding player, regular season) |
Jean Ratelle, New York Rangers |
| Vezina Trophy: (Goaltender(s) of team with best goaltending record) |
Tony Esposito & Gary Smith, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Lester Patrick Trophy: (Service to hockey in the U.S.) |
Clarence S. Campbell, John A. "Snooks" Kelley, Ralph "Cooney" Weiland, James D. Norris |
All-Star teams
| First Team | Position | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| Tony Esposito, Chicago Black Hawks | G | Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens |
| Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins | D | Bill White, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Brad Park, New York Rangers | D | Pat Stapleton, Chicago Black Hawks |
| Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins | C | Jean Ratelle, New York Rangers |
| Rod Gilbert, New York Rangers | RW | Yvan Cournoyer, Montreal Canadiens |
| Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks | LW | Vic Hadfield, New York Rangers |
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Esposito | Boston Bruins | 76 | 66 | 67 | 133 | 76 |
| Bobby Orr | Boston Bruins | 76 | 37 | 80 | 117 | 106 |
| Jean Ratelle | New York Rangers | 63 | 46 | 63 | 109 | 4 |
| Vic Hadfield | New York Rangers | 78 | 50 | 56 | 106 | 142 |
| Rod Gilbert | New York Rangers | 73 | 43 | 54 | 97 | 64 |
| Frank Mahovlich | Montreal Canadiens | 76 | 43 | 53 | 96 | 36 |
| Bobby Hull | Chicago Black Hawks | 78 | 50 | 43 | 93 | 24 |
| Yvan Cournoyer | Montreal Canadiens | 73 | 47 | 36 | 83 | 15 |
| Johnny Bucyk | Boston Bruins | 78 | 32 | 51 | 83 | 4 |
| Bobby Clarke | Philadelphia Flyers | 78 | 35 | 46 | 81 | 87 |
| Jacques Lemaire | Montreal Canadiens | 77 | 32 | 49 | 81 | 26 |
Source: NHL.[2]
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Min - Minutes Played; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts
| Player | Team | GP | MIN | GA | GAA | W | L | T | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Esposito | Chicago Black Hawks | 48 | 2780 | 82 | 1.77 | 31 | 10 | 6 | 9 |
| Gilles Villemure | New York Rangers | 37 | 2129 | 74 | 2.09 | 24 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Lorne Worsley | Minnesota North Stars | 34 | 1923 | 68 | 2.12 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 2 |
| Ken Dryden | Montreal Canadiens | 64 | 3800 | 142 | 2.24 | 39 | 8 | 15 | 8 |
| Gary Smith | Chicago Black Hawks | 28 | 1540 | 62 | 2.42 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Gerry Cheevers | Boston Bruins | 41 | 2420 | 101 | 2.50 | 27 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| Jacques Caron | St. Louis Blues | 28 | 1619 | 68 | 2.52 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 |
| Bernie Parent | Toronto Maple Leafs | 47 | 2715 | 116 | 2.56 | 17 | 18 | 9 | 3 |
| Jacques Plante | Toronto Maple Leafs | 34 | 1965 | 86 | 2.63 | 16 | 13 | 5 | 2 |
| Cesare Maniago | Minnesota North Stars | 43 | 2539 | 112 | 2.65 | 20 | 17 | 4 | 3 |
Other statistics
- Plus/Minus leader: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Debuts
The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1971–72 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):
- Terry O'Reilly, Boston Bruins
- Rick Martin, Buffalo Sabres
- Craig Ramsay, Buffalo Sabres
- Marcel Dionne, Detroit Red Wings
- Billy Smith, Los Angeles Kings
- Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens
- Bill Clement, Philadelphia Flyers
- Dave Schultz, Philadelphia Flyers
- Mike Murphy, St. Louis Blues
- Wayne Stephenson, St. Louis Blues
- Rick Kehoe, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Jocelyn Guevremont, Vancouver Canucks
- Dennis Kearns, Vancouver Canucks
Last games
The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1971–72 listed with their last team):
- John McKenzie, Boston Bruins
- Ted Green, Boston Bruins
- Dick Duff, Buffalo Sabres
- Eric Nesterenko, Chicago Black Hawks
- Ab McDonald, Detroit Red Wings
- Bob Pulford, Los Angeles Kings
- J.C. Tremblay, Montreal Canadiens
- Phil Goyette, New York Rangers
- Val Fonteyne, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Bill Hicke, Pittsburgh Penguins
- Brit Selby, St. Louis Blues
- Don Marshall, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Rosaire Paiement, Vancouver Canucks
NOTE: McKenzie, Green, Tremblay, Fonteyne, Selby, Nesterenko, McDonald, Hicke and Paiement would continue their careers in the World Hockey Association.
See also
- List of Stanley Cup champions
- 1971 NHL Amateur Draft
- 25th National Hockey League All-Star Game
- National Hockey League All-Star Game
- Ice hockey at the 1972 Winter Olympics
- 1971 in sports
- 1972 in sports
References
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Hockey. Kingston, NY: Total Sports. ISBN 1-892129-85-X.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto, ON: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - Dryden, Steve, ed. (2000). Century of hockey. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. ISBN 0-7710-4179-9.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley; Hughes, Morgan; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003). The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International Inc. ISBN 0-7853-9624-1.
- Notes
- ^ a b "1971–1972 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
- ^ Dinger 2011, p. 150.