Stanley Cup playoffs 1972
| Stanley Cup playoffs 1972 | |
|---|---|
| Period | April 5, 1972 to May 11, 1972 |
| Stanley Cup winner | Boston Bruins (5th title) |
| finalist | New York Rangers |
| Playoff MVP |
 Bobby Orr (Boston)
|
| Top scorer |
Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr (both Boston)
|
| Gates | 217 (6.03 per game) |
| Events | |
| ◄ previous | next ► |
The playoffs for the Stanley Cup in 1972 began on April 5, 1972 and ended on May 11, 1972 with the Boston Bruins' 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers . The Bruins thus won their fifth title in franchise history and their second in the last three years, after having been successful in 1970 . As in 1970, Bobby Orr received the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player this year and became the first player in NHL history to receive this award twice. In addition, Orr and his teammate Phil Esposito led the post-season scorer list . The New York Rangers, on the other hand, played their first Stanley Cup final since 1950 and suffered their fifth defeat in their eighth final.
mode
The four best teams from the Eastern and Western divisions qualified for the playoffs . In the quarter-finals, the first and fourth as well as the second and third on the seeding list faced each other within each division. These pairings were changed compared to last year, when first against third and second against fourth, as the Minnesota North Stars apparently deliberately lost the last games to finish fourth instead of third and thus have a supposedly easier first opponent. The semi-finals were played between the divisions, so the higher-ranked team from the east met the lower-ranked team from the west and analogously the higher-ranked team from the west met the lower-ranked team from the east. This was followed by the Stanley Cup final.
All series were held in best-of-seven mode , which means that a team needed four wins to advance. The higher seeded team had home rights in the first two games, the next two the opposing team. If no winner has emerged from the round by then, the home law changed from game to game. The higher-ranked team had a home advantage in games 1, 2, 5 and 7, i.e. four of the maximum seven games.
Overtime followed for games that remained tied after 60 minutes of regular playing time . It ended with the first goal scored ( Sudden Death ) .
Qualified teams
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Playoff tree
| Quarter finals | Semifinals | Stanley Cup Final | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston Bruins | 4th | |||||||||||
| E4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston Bruins | 4th | |||||||||||
| W3 | St. Louis Blues | 0 | |||||||||||
| W2 | Minnesota North Stars | 3 | |||||||||||
| W3 | St. Louis Blues | 4th | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston Bruins | 4th | |||||||||||
| E2 | New York Rangers | 2 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4th | |||||||||||
| W4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 0 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0 | |||||||||||
| E2 | New York Rangers | 4th | |||||||||||
| E2 | New York Rangers | 4th | |||||||||||
| E3 | Canadiens de Montréal | 2 | |||||||||||
Quarter finals
(E1) Boston Bruins - (E4) Toronto Maple Leafs
| Apr 5, 1972 |
Boston Bruins Phil Esposito (37:24) Phil Esposito (39:24) Don Marcotte (43:47) John McKenzie (55:27) Fred Stanfield (55:38) |
5: 0 (0: 0, 2: 0, 3: 0) Match report as of: 1: 0 |
Toronto Maple Leafs |
Boston Garden , Boston , Massachusetts Spectators: 14,995 |
| Apr 6, 1972 | Boston Bruins Fred Stanfield (7:23) Phil Esposito (14:01) Johnny Bucyk (24:27) |
3: 4 n.V. (2: 0, 1: 2, 0: 1, 0: 1) Match report as of 1: 1 |
Toronto Maple Leafs Dave Keon (21:23) Jim McKenny (23:47) Guy Trottier (49:42) Jim Harrison (62:58) |
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Spectators: 14,995 |
| Apr 8, 1972 | Toronto Maple Leafs |
0: 2 (0: 0, 0: 1, 0: 1) Match report as of: 1: 2 |
Boston Bruins Mike Walton (38:38) Bobby Orr (41:24) |
Maple Leaf Gardens , Toronto , Ontario Spectators: 16,485 |
| Apr 9, 1972 | Toronto Maple Leafs Dave Keon (17:45) Ron Ellis (31:11) Jim McKenny (37:57) Paul Henderson (44:50) |
4: 5 (1: 1, 2: 0, 1: 4) Match report as of: 1: 3 |
Boston Bruins Johnny Bucyk (16:36) Ken Hodge (41:15) Ed Westfall (48:03) Phil Esposito (49:49) Ken Hodge (56:11) |
Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario Spectators: 16,485 |
| Apr 11, 1972 |
Boston Bruins Fred Stanfield (15:42) John McKenzie (25:18) Ken Hodge (47:38) |
3: 2 (1: 1, 1: 0, 1: 1) Match report as of: 4: 1 |
Toronto Maple Leafs Jim McKenny (11:12) Norm Ullman (46:09) |
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Spectators: 14,995 |
(E2) New York Rangers - (E3) Canadiens de Montréal
| Apr 5, 1972 |
New York Rangers Bill Fairbairn (16:30) Vic Hadfield (19:32) Vic Hadfield (52:43) |
3: 2 (2: 1, 0: 0, 1: 1) Match report as of 1: 0 |
Canadiens de Montréal Claude Larose (18:55) Frank Mahovlich (47:48) |
Madison Square Garden , New York City , New York Spectators: 17,250 |
| Apr 6, 1972 |
New York Rangers Dale Rolfe (7:45) Ron Stewart (10:26) Bill Fairbairn (40:20) Walt Tkaczuk (55:34) Ted Irvine (58:57) |
5: 2 (2: 1, 0: 1, 3: 0) Match report as of: 2: 0 |
Canadiens de Montréal Guy Lafleur (6:05) Claude Larose (22:29) |
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Spectators: 17,250 |
| Apr 8, 1972 |
Canadiens de Montréal Frank Mahovlich (27:18) Marc Tardif (38:13) |
2: 1 (0: 0, 2: 0, 0: 1) Match report as of: 1: 2 |
New York Rangers Ron Stewart (47:21) |
Forum de Montréal , Montréal , Québec Spectators: 18,552 |
| Apr 9, 1972 | Canadiens de Montréal Jacques Lemaire (11:22) Marc Tardif (18:15) Yvan Cournoyer (33:21) Terry Harper (45:48) |
4: 6 (2: 4, 1: 0, 1: 2) Match report as of: 1: 3 |
New York Rangers Bill Fairbairn (4:47) Bobby Rousseau (7:24) Bobby Rousseau (13:48) Vic Hadfield (19:41) Pete Stemkowski (54:55) Ted Irvine (59:26) |
Forum de Montréal, Montréal, Québec Spectators: 17,661 |
| Apr 11, 1972 | New York Rangers Vic Hadfield (24:24) |
1: 2 (0: 0, 1: 1, 0: 1) Match report as of: 3: 2 |
Canadiens de Montréal Frank Mahovlich (26:53) Jim Roberts (43:12) |
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Spectators: 17,250 |
| Apr 13, 1972 | Canadiens de Montréal Yvan Cournoyer (11:32) Jacques Lemaire (34:48) |
2: 3 (1: 1, 1: 1, 0: 1) Match report as of: 2: 4 |
New York Rangers Bill Fairbairn (9:31) Bill Fairbairn (29:33) Walt Tkaczuk (40:29) |
Forum de Montréal, Montréal, Québec Spectators: 18,196 |
(W1) Chicago Black Hawks - (W4) Pittsburgh Penguins
| Apr 5, 1972 |
Chicago Black Hawks Pit Martin (15:09) Jim Pappin (43:25) Pit Martin (56:37) |
3: 1 (1: 1, 0: 0, 2: 0) Match report as of: 1: 0 |
Pittsburgh Penguins Bob Head (1:25) |
Chicago Stadium , Chicago , Illinois Spectators: 16,666 |
| Apr 6, 1972 |
Chicago Black Hawks Pit Martin (0:35) JP Bordeleau (5:52) Chico Maki (51:17) |
3: 2 (2: 0, 0: 1, 1: 1) Match report as of: 2: 0 |
Pittsburgh Penguins Jean Pronovost (30:51) Bob Leiter (52:45) |
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois Spectators: 16,666 |
| Apr 8, 1972 | Pittsburgh Penguins |
0: 2 (0: 0, 0: 1, 0: 1) Match report as of: 0: 3 |
Chicago Black Hawks J. P. Bordeleau (25:33) Stan Mikita (52:41) |
Civic Arena , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania Spectators: 13,100 |
| Apr 9, 1972 | Pittsburgh Penguins Ken Schinkel (29:13) Syl Apps (34:10) Ken Schinkel (37:19) Ron Schock (39:30) Bob Leiter (57:52) |
5: 6 n.V. (0: 1, 4: 1, 1: 3, 0: 1) Match report as of: 0: 4 |
Chicago Black Hawks Jim Pappin (3:08) Bobby Hull (36:40) Bobby Hull (41:22) Bobby Hull (51:28) Bobby Hull (55:38) Pit Martin (60:12) |
Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Spectators: 12,415 |
(W2) Minnesota North Stars - (W3) St. Louis Blues
| Apr 5, 1972 |
Minnesota North Stars Dean Prentice (14:25) Dean Prentice (44:19) Bob Nevin (52:01) |
3: 0 (1: 0, 0: 0, 2: 0) Match report as of: 1: 0 |
St. Louis Blues |
Metropolitan Sports Center , Bloomington , Minnesota Spectators: 16,482 |
| Apr 6, 1972 |
Minnesota North Stars Doug Mohns (2:51) Jean-Paul Parisé (24:27) Danny Grant (27:38) Jude Drouin (41:45) Dean Prentice (51:32) Bill Goldsworthy (61:36) |
6: 5 n.V. (1: 1, 2: 2, 2: 2, 1: 0) Match report as of: 2: 0 |
St. Louis Blues Frank St. Marseille (12:14) Frank St. Marseille (22:00) Frank St. Marseille (25:38) Garry Unger (48:05) Phil Roberto (50:59) |
Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota Spectators: 15,755 |
| Apr 8, 1972 |
St. Louis Blues Phil Roberto (9:28) Phil Roberto (30:07) |
2: 1 (1: 0, 1: 0, 0: 1) Match report as of: 1: 2 |
Minnesota North Stars Jude Drouin (40:40) |
St. Louis Arena , St. Louis , Missouri Spectators: 18,822 |
| Apr 9, 1972 |
St. Louis Blues Phil Roberto (32:12) Kevin O'Shea (27:38) Barclay Plager (51:50) |
3: 2 (0: 1, 2: 1, 1: 0) Match report as of: 2: 2 |
Minnesota North Stars Jude Drouin (10:56) Danny Grant (20:31) |
St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri Spectators: 17,576 |
| Apr 11, 1972 |
Minnesota North Stars Barry Gibbs (1:42) Tom Reid (17:55) Jean-Paul Parisé (42:55) Jude Drouin (45:45) |
4: 3 (2: 2, 0: 1, 2: 0) Match report as of: 3: 2 |
St. Louis Blues Gary Sabourin (16:34) Phil Roberto (19:59) Garry Unger (39:34) |
Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota Spectators: 15,706 |
| Apr 13, 1972 |
St. Louis Blues Phil Roberto (3:04) Bob Plager (6:21) Garry Unger (31:07) Jack Egers (56:13) |
4: 2 (2: 1, 1: 0, 1: 1) Match report as of: 3: 3 |
Minnesota North Stars Bill Goldsworthy (4:03) Jean-Paul Parisé (55:01) |
St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri Spectators: 7,008 |
| Apr 16, 1972 | Minnesota North Stars Charlie Burns (40:15) |
1: 2 n.V. (0: 1, 0: 0, 1: 0, 0: 1) Match report as of: 3: 4 |
St. Louis Blues Gary Sabourin (12:04) Kevin O'Shea (70:07) |
Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota Spectators: 15,635 |
Semifinals
(E1) Boston Bruins - (W3) St. Louis Blues
| Apr 18, 1972 |
Boston Bruins Fred Stanfield (4:22) Mike Walton (11:03) Johnny Bucyk (17:27) Fred Stanfield (30:48) Fred Stanfield (39:32) Phil Esposito (54:55) |
6: 1 (3: 1, 2: 0, 1: 0) Match report as of: 1: 0 |
St. Louis Blues Garry Unger (3:18) |
Boston Garden , Boston , Massachusetts Spectators: 14,995 |
| Apr 20, 1972 |
Boston Bruins Johnny Bucyk (7:17) Phil Esposito (8:39) Ed Westfall (9:54) Garnet Bailey (26:33) John McKenzie (29:27) Johnny Bucyk (43:47) Mike Walton (50:34 ) Don Marcotte (54:29) Johnny Bucyk (56:07) Ed Westfall (56:47) |
10: 2 (3: 0, 2: 0, 5: 2) Match report as of: 2: 0 |
St. Louis Blues Mike Murphy (44:37) Phil Roberto (45:26) |
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Spectators: 14,995 |
| Apr 23, 1972 | St. Louis Blues Mike Murphy (2:05) Gary Sabourin (58:15) |
2: 7 (1: 3, 0: 3, 1: 1) Match report as of: 0: 3 |
Boston Bruins Ed Westfall (8:40) John McKenzie (10:36) Phil Esposito (19:42) Mike Walton (22:58) Ken Hodge (26:28) John McKenzie (31:12) Mike Walton (51:09 ) |
St. Louis Arena , St. Louis , Missouri Spectators: 17,941 |
| Apr 25, 1972 | St. Louis Blues Terry Crisp (18:16) André Dupont (49:50) Chris Evans (55:25) |
3: 5 (1: 2, 0: 2, 2: 1) Match report as of: 0: 4 |
Boston Bruins Phil Esposito (1:29) Johnny Bucyk (9:27) Johnny Bucyk (24:44) Phil Esposito (37:53) Wayne Cashman (59:22) |
St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri Spectators: 18,610 |
(W1) Chicago Black Hawks - (E2) New York Rangers
| Apr 16, 1972 | Chicago Black Hawks Stan Mikita (52:30) JP Bordeleau (54:40) |
2: 3 (0: 1, 0: 2, 2: 0) Match report as of: 0: 1 |
New York Rangers Ted Irvine (12:51) Brad Park (36:07) Walt Tkaczuk (36:42) |
Chicago Stadium , Chicago , Illinois Spectators: 20,000 |
| Apr 18, 1972 | Chicago Black Hawks Dennis Hull (9:46) Stan Mikita (34:15) Pat Stapleton (46:17) |
3: 5 (1: 1, 1: 0, 1: 4) Match report as of: 0: 2 |
New York Rangers Vic Hadfield (14:38) Rod Gilbert (40:54) Brad Park (48:15) Rod Gilbert (52:36) Pete Stemkowski (59:51) |
Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois Spectators: 16,666 |
| Apr 20, 1972 |
New York Rangers Pete Stemkowski (17:31) Bruce MacGregor (26:20) Dale Rolfe (30:56) |
3: 2 (1: 1, 2: 1, 0: 0) Match report as of: 3: 0 |
Chicago Black Hawks Dennis Hull (5:12) Dennis Hull (29:49) |
Madison Square Garden , New York City , New York Spectators: 17,250 |
| Apr 23, 1972 |
New York Rangers Phil Goyette (5:49) Bobby Rousseau (15:32) Rod Gilbert (24:37) Vic Hadfield (36:25) Gene Carr (38:22) Bobby Rousseau (43:40) |
6: 2 (2: 1, 3: 1, 1: 0) Match report as of: 4: 0 |
Chicago Black Hawks Bobby Hull (5:37) Pat Stapleton (32:10) |
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Spectators: 17,250 |
Stanley Cup Final
(E1) Boston Bruins - (E2) New York Rangers
| Apr 30, 1972 |
Boston Bruins Fred Stanfield (5:07) Ken Hodge (15:48) Derek Sanderson (17:29) Ken Hodge (18:14) Ken Hodge (30:46) Garnet Bailey (57:44) |
6: 5 (4: 1, 1: 1, 1: 3) Match report as of: 1: 0 |
New York Rangers Dale Rolfe (3:52) Rod Gilbert (31:54) Vic Hadfield (41:56) Walt Tkaczuk (47:48) Bruce MacGregor (49:17) |
Boston Garden , Boston , Massachusetts Spectators: 14,995 |
| May 2, 1972 |
Boston Bruins Johnny Bucyk (16:15) Ken Hodge (51:53) |
2: 1 (1: 0, 0: 1, 1: 0) Match report as of: 2: 0 |
New York Rangers Rod Gilbert (27:23) |
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Spectators: 14,995 |
| May 4th 1972 |
New York Rangers Brad Park (1:22) Rod Gilbert (11:19) Brad Park (13:00) Rod Gilbert (23:46) Pete Stemkowski (39:23) |
5: 2 (3: 1, 2: 1, 0: 0) Match report as of: 1: 2 |
Boston Bruins Mike Walton (14:04) Bobby Orr (21:10) |
Madison Square Garden , New York City , New York Spectators: 17,250 |
| May 7, 1972 | New York Rangers Ted Irvine (38:38) Rod Seiling (58:35) |
2: 3 (0: 2, 1: 1, 1: 0) Match report as of: 1: 3 |
Boston Bruins Bobby Orr (5:26) Bobby Orr (8:17) Don Marcotte (36:33) |
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Spectators: 17,250 |
| May 9, 1972 | Boston Bruins Wayne Cashman (3:55) Ken Hodge (16:07) |
2: 3 (2: 1, 0: 0, 0: 2) Match report as of: 3: 2 |
New York Rangers Dale Rolfe (13:45) Bobby Rousseau (42:56) Bobby Rousseau (52:45) |
Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Spectators: 14,995 |
| May 11, 1972 | New York Rangers |
0: 3 (0: 1, 0: 0, 0: 2) Match report as of: 2: 4 |
Boston Bruins Bobby Orr (11:18) Wayne Cashman (45:10) Wayne Cashman (58:11) |
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Spectators: 17,250 |
Stanley Cup winner
Stanley Cup winner Boston Bruins |
Goalkeepers: Gerry Cheevers , Eddie Johnston Defenders: Don Awrey , Ted Green , Bobby Orr , Dallas Smith , Carol Vadnais Attackers: Garnet Bailey , Johnny Bucyk , Wayne Cashman , Phil Esposito , Ken Hodge , Don Marcotte , John McKenzie , Derek Sanderson , Fred Stanfield , Mike Walton , Ed Westfall Head Coach: Tom Johnson General Manager: Milt Schmidt |
Best scorer
Abbreviations: GP = games, G = goals, A = assists , Pts = points, +/− = plus / minus , PIM = penalty minutes; Fat: best value
| player | team | GP | G | A. | Pts | +/- | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Esposito | Boston | 15th | 9 | 15th | 24 | +16 | 24 |
| Bobby Orr | Boston | 15th | 5 | 19th | 24 | +20 | 19th |
| Johnny Bucyk | Boston | 15th | 9 | 11 | 20th | +6 | 6th |
| Ken Hodge | Boston | 15th | 9 | 8th | 17th | +10 | 62 |
| Bobby Rousseau | NY Rangers | 16 | 6th | 11 | 17th | +4 | 7th |
| John McKenzie | Boston | 15th | 5 | 12 | 17th | +9 | 37 |
| Fred Stanfield | Boston | 15th | 7th | 9 | 16 | +6 | 0 |
| Vic Hadfield | NY Rangers | 16 | 7th | 9 | 16 | +3 | 22nd |
| Rod Gilbert | NY Rangers | 16 | 7th | 8th | 15th | +2 | 11 |
| Phil Roberto | St. Louis | 11 | 7th | 6th | 13 | -8th | 29 |
The best plus / minus statistic was achieved by Dallas Smith from the Boston Bruins with a value of +21.
Best goalkeeper
The combined table shows the three best goalkeepers in the categories conceded goals and catch quota as well as the leaders in the categories shutouts and wins.
Abbreviations: GP = games, Min = ice age (in minutes), W = wins, L = defeats, GA = goals conceded, SO = shutouts , Sv% = saved shots (in%), GAA = goals against goals against; Fat: best value; Sorted by goal conceded.
Only goalkeepers who have played 180 minutes of play are recorded.
| player | team | GP | Min | W. | L. | GA | SO | Sv% | ATM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddie Johnston | Boston | 7th | 419: 20 | 6th | 1 | 13 | 1 | 93.6 | 1.86 |
| Gump Worsley | Minnesota | 4th | 193: 10 | 2 | 1 | 7th | 1 | 93.5 | 2.17 |
| Gilles Villemure | NY Rangers | 6th | 359: 13 | 4th | 2 | 14th | 0 | 91.9 | 2.34 |
| Gerry Cheevers | Boston | 8th | 482: 33 | 6th | 2 | 21st | 2 | 91.5 | 2.61 |
| Eddie Giacomin | NY Rangers | 10 | 595: 37 | 6th | 4th | 27 | 0 | 90.2 | 2.72 |
Web links
- Stanley Cup Playoffs 1972 on hockey-reference.com
- All box scores of the playoffs on bigmouthsports.com (PDF document, 939 kB)
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