1975–76 Chicago Black Hawks season

NHLTeamSeason
Season=1975–76
Team=Chicago
Conference=Campbell
ConferenceRank=4th
Division=Smythe
DivisionRank=1st
Record=32–30–18
HomeRecord=17–15–8
RoadRecord=15–15–10
GoalsFor=254
GoalsAgainst=261
GeneralManager=Tommy Ivan
Coach=Billy Reay
Captain=Stan Mikita
Pit Martin
AltCaptain=
Arena=Chicago Stadium
Attendance=
GoalsLeader=Pit Martin (32)
AssistsLeader=Dale Tallon (47)
PointsLeader=Pit Martin (71)
PlusMinusLeader=Keith Magnuson (+13)
PIMLeader=Phil Russell (194)
WinsLeader=Tony Esposito (30)
GAALeader=Tony Esposito (2.97)
StanleyCup=
DivisionWin=Yes
ConferenceWin=

The 1975–76 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks fiftieth season in the NHL, and the club was coming off a 37-35-8 record in 1974-75, earning 82 points, and finishing in third place in the Smythe Division. The Black Hawks upset the heavily favored Boston Bruins in the NHL preliminary series before losing to the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL quarter-finals. [ [http://hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1975.html 1974-75 NHL Season Summary - Hockey-Reference.com ] ]

Chicago started off the regular season on the right foot, as they had a 10-4-11 record in their first 25 games to take the lead in the Smythe Division. The Hawks had a 15 game unbeaten streak (6-0-9) in that span. The team would cool off, but get hot again, and reached a peak of being ten games over .500 with a record of 21-11-16 through 48 games. Chicago would fall into a slump, and actually found themselves under .500 with only four games left in the season, as they fell to 29-30-17. The club would go unbeaten in their last four games (3-0-1) to finish the year with a 32-30-18 record, earning 82 points, which was enough to finish in first place in the Smythe Division. The Hawks 32 wins was their lowest toal since 1967-68, when they also won 32 games. [ [http://hockey-reference.com/teams/CBH/1975_games.html 1974-75 Chicago Black Hawks Games - Hockey-Reference.com ] ]

Offensively, the Black Hawks were led by Pit Martin, who had a club high 32 goals and 71 points, while Dennis Hull rebounded from a poor 1974-75 season to score 27 goals and 66 points. Ivan Boldirev scored 28 goals and 62 points, while defenseman Dale Tallon led the club with 47 assists, while scoring 15 goals for 62 points. Stan Mikita missed 32 games due to injuries, however, he still earned 57 points. Keith Magnuson had a team high +13 rating, while Phil Russell led the club with 194 penalty minutes.

In goal, Tony Esposito once again led the club with 30 victories and a 2.97 GAA, earning four shutouts in 68 games. [ [http://goaliesarchive.com/hawks/indexesposito.html Chicago Blackhawks goaltending history : Tony Esposito ] ]

Since the Hawks won their division, they were given a bye in the NHL preliminary series, and would face the powerful Montreal Canadiens in the NHL quarter-finals. The Canadiens had a record breaking season in 1975-76, as they set NHL records with 58 wins and 127 points as they finished in first place in the Norris Division. The series opened with two games at the Montreal Forum, and the Canadiens quickly took control of the series, shutting out Chicago 4-0 in the series opener, and then winning 3-1 in the second game. The series shifted to Chicago Stadium for the next two games, but Montreal proved to be too good for the Hawks, as the Canadiens took the third game by a 2-1 score, then swept the Hawks out of the playoffs with a 4-1 victory in the fourth game.

eason standings

eason stats

coring leaders

Goaltending

Draft picks

Chicago's draft picks at the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft at the NHL Office in Montreal, Quebec.

References

ources

* [http://hockey-reference.com/teams/CBH/1976.html Hockey-Reference]
* [http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/hockey/nhlrecords/nhl1976.htm Rauzulu's Street]
* [http://www.goaliesarchive.com/hawks/index.html Goalies Archive]
* [http://hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1975a.html HockeyDB]
*National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007