1971–72 Chicago Black Hawks season

The 1971–72 Chicago Black Hawks season was the club's 46th season in the National Hockey League, and their second consecutive first-place finish in the NHL West, with 46 victories and 107 points. In the 1972 playoffs, the Black Hawks swept the Pittsburgh Penguins in the quarter-finals before being swept by the New York Rangers in the semi-finals.

1971–72 Chicago Black Hawks
West Division champions
Division1st West
1971–72 record46–17–15
Home record28–3–8
Road record18–14–7
Goals for256
Goals against166
Team information
General managerTommy Ivan
CoachBilly Reay
CaptainVacant
ArenaChicago Stadium
Team leaders
GoalsBobby Hull (50)
AssistsPit Martin (51)
PointsBobby Hull (93)
Penalty minutesKeith Magnuson (201)
Plus/minusBobby Hull (+54)
WinsTony Esposito (31)
Goals against averageTony Esposito (1.77)

Regular season

Chicago had an excellent start to the season, winning their opening five games, and never let up throughout the season, as they had an unbeaten streak of ten games in December to take control of the West Division. The Black Hawks finish the season with a twelve-game unbeaten streak to win their third straight divisional title, with a record of 46–17–15, tying the club record with 107 points that was set during the 1970–71 season. The Black Hawks finished 21 points ahead of the second place Minnesota North Stars.[1]

Offensively, the Black Hawks were led by Bobby Hull, who scored a team high 50 goals and 93 points, which placed him seventh in league scoring. Hull also led the club with a +54 rating. Pit Martin led the club with 51 assists, and finished second in team scoring with 75 points. Dennis Hull had 30 goals and 69 points, while Stan Mikita was just behind him with 26 goals and 65 points. On defense, Pat Stapleton led the club with 41 points, while Bill White and Doug Jarrett each had 29 points. Keith Magnuson led the team in penalty minutes, as he accumulated 201.

In goal, Tony Esposito led the club with 31 victories and a 1.77 goals against average, along with nine shutouts while appearing in 48 games.[2] Backup goaltender Gary Smith won 14 games with a 2.42 goals against average and five shutouts.[3] They helped the team have a league low 166 goals against, and were awarded the Vezina Trophy for their efforts.

Season standings
West Division[4]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1Chicago Black Hawks78461715256166+90107
2Minnesota North Stars78372912212191+2186
3St. Louis Blues78283911208247−3967
4Pittsburgh Penguins78263814220258−3866
5Philadelphia Flyers78263814200236−3666
6California Golden Seals78213918216288−7260
7Los Angeles Kings7820499206305−9949

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecordPts
1October 9Chicago Black Hawks4–2St. Louis Blues1–0–02
2October 10Detroit Red Wings1–2Chicago Black Hawks2–0–04
3October 13St. Louis Blues0–1Chicago Black Hawks3–0–06
4October 16Chicago Black Hawks3–2Minnesota North Stars4–0–08
5October 17Los Angeles Kings0–4Chicago Black Hawks5–0–010
6October 20Chicago Black Hawks1–3New York Rangers5–1–010
7October 21Chicago Black Hawks5–2Buffalo Sabres6–1–012
8October 23Chicago Black Hawks5–2Pittsburgh Penguins7–1–014
9October 24Chicago Black Hawks1–2Philadelphia Flyers7–2–014
10October 26Chicago Black Hawks5–2Detroit Red Wings8–2–016
11October 30Chicago Black Hawks5–1Los Angeles Kings9–2–018
12October 31Chicago Black Hawks2–6Vancouver Canucks9–3–018
13November 3Philadelphia Flyers0–3Chicago Black Hawks10–3–020
14November 6Chicago Black Hawks1–2Montreal Canadiens10–4–020
15November 7Pittsburgh Penguins1–4Chicago Black Hawks11–4–022
16November 10Boston Bruins1–3Chicago Black Hawks12–4–024
17November 14California Golden Seals1–4Chicago Black Hawks13–4–026
18November 17Vancouver Canucks0–3Chicago Black Hawks14–4–028
19November 20Chicago Black Hawks1–2Boston Bruins14–5–028
20November 21Pittsburgh Penguins3–7Chicago Black Hawks15–5–030
21November 24Montreal Canadiens3–3Chicago Black Hawks15–5–131
22November 27Chicago Black Hawks3–3Toronto Maple Leafs15–5–232
23November 28Toronto Maple Leafs1–4Chicago Black Hawks16–5–234
24November 30Chicago Black Hawks2–4Vancouver Canucks16–6–234
25December 3Chicago Black Hawks1–2California Golden Seals16–7–234
26December 5Los Angeles Kings0–7Chicago Black Hawks17–7–236
27December 8New York Rangers2–2Chicago Black Hawks17–7–337
28December 9Chicago Black Hawks3–1Buffalo Sabres18–7–339
29December 11Chicago Black Hawks3–1Toronto Maple Leafs19–7–341
30December 12Minnesota North Stars3–5Chicago Black Hawks20–7–343
31December 15Buffalo Sabres1–2Chicago Black Hawks21–7–345
32December 18Chicago Black Hawks4–1Minnesota North Stars22–7–347
33December 19St. Louis Blues0–2Chicago Black Hawks23–7–349
34December 22Chicago Black Hawks4–1California Golden Seals24–7–351
35December 26Los Angeles Kings3–6Chicago Black Hawks25–7–353
36December 29Boston Bruins5–1Chicago Black Hawks25–8–353
37January 2Philadelphia Flyers2–6Chicago Black Hawks26–8–355
38January 5Pittsburgh Penguins3–3Chicago Black Hawks26–8–456
39January 8Chicago Black Hawks4–0Pittsburgh Penguins27–8–458
40January 9Montreal Canadiens2–5Chicago Black Hawks28–8–460
41January 12Chicago Black Hawks5–5New York Rangers28–8–561
42January 15Chicago Black Hawks2–4Boston Bruins28–9–561
43January 16Minnesota North Stars2–3Chicago Black Hawks29–9–563
44January 19California Golden Seals0–2Chicago Black Hawks30–9–565
45January 20Chicago Black Hawks2–3Philadelphia Flyers30–10–565
46January 23Toronto Maple Leafs0–4Chicago Black Hawks31–10–567
47January 27Vancouver Canucks0–4Chicago Black Hawks32–10–569
48January 29Chicago Black Hawks4–2Pittsburgh Penguins33–10–571
49January 30Detroit Red Wings2–4Chicago Black Hawks34–10–573
50February 1Chicago Black Hawks4–7Los Angeles Kings34–11–573
51February 4Chicago Black Hawks6–2Vancouver Canucks35–11–575
52February 6Minnesota North Stars0–5Chicago Black Hawks36–11–577
53February 9Chicago Black Hawks1–4New York Rangers36–12–577
54February 10Chicago Black Hawks1–7Montreal Canadiens36–13–577
55February 12Chicago Black Hawks3–3Detroit Red Wings36–13–678
56February 13Toronto Maple Leafs1–3Chicago Black Hawks37–13–680
57February 15Chicago Black Hawks3–2St. Louis Blues38–13–682
58February 16Philadelphia Flyers3–3Chicago Black Hawks38–13–783
59February 20Boston Bruins3–1Chicago Black Hawks38–14–783
60February 23Buffalo Sabres2–1Chicago Black Hawks38–15–783
61February 24Chicago Black Hawks3–5Buffalo Sabres38–16–783
62February 26California Golden Seals0–3Chicago Black Hawks39–16–785
63February 27Vancouver Canucks3–3Chicago Black Hawks39–16–886
64March 1Chicago Black Hawks6–4Los Angeles Kings40–16–888
65March 3Chicago Black Hawks4–4California Golden Seals40–16–989
66March 5Chicago Black Hawks1–2Minnesota North Stars40–17–989
67March 8Chicago Black Hawks3–3New York Rangers40–17–1090
68March 11Chicago Black Hawks1–1Montreal Canadiens40–17–1191
69March 12Chicago Black Hawks3–2Detroit Red Wings41–17–1193
70March 15New York Rangers1–3Chicago Black Hawks42–17–1195
71March 18Chicago Black Hawks2–2Toronto Maple Leafs42–17–1296
72March 19Buffalo Sabres3–3Chicago Black Hawks42–17–1397
73March 23Chicago Black Hawks4–2Philadelphia Flyers43–17–1399
74March 25Chicago Black Hawks5–5Boston Bruins43–17–14100
75March 26St. Louis Blues0–4Chicago Black Hawks44–17–14102
76March 29Montreal Canadiens5–5Chicago Black Hawks44–17–15103
77April 1Chicago Black Hawks2–0St. Louis Blues45–17–15105
78April 2Detroit Red Wings1–6Chicago Black Hawks46–17–15107

Playoffs

The Hawks opened the playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who finished fourth in the West Division with a record of 26–38–14, earning 66 points. The series opened with two games at Chicago Stadium, and the Black Hawks, who had a record of 28–3–8 at home, continued their dominance, as they defeated the Penguins 3–1 and 3–2 to take a 2–0 series lead. The series moved to the Pittsburgh Civic Arena for the next two games, however, it was the Black Hawks who continued to stay hot, as they shutout the Penguins 2–0 in the third game, and finished off the series sweep with a 6–5 overtime win in the fourth game.

Chicago's next opponent was the New York Rangers for the second straight year, who had finished the season with a 48–17–13 record, earning 109 points, and a second-place finish in the East Division. The Rangers defeated the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Montreal Canadiens in their first playoff series. Since the Black Hawks won their division, they were given a home-ice advantage in the series for the second straight year. The series opened up with two games at Chicago Stadium, however, it was the Rangers who struck first, defeating the Hawks 3–2, then taking the second game in Chicago by a score of 5–3 to take an early 2–0 series lead. Chicago did not get themselves back in the series, as New York won the third game 3–2, and the Rangers completed the sweep of the Black Hawks with a 6–2 thumping in the fourth game.

Chicago Black Hawks 4, Pittsburgh Penguins 0
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 5Pittsburgh Penguins1–3Chicago Black Hawks1–0
2April 6Pittsburgh Penguins2–3Chicago Black Hawks2–0
3April 8Chicago Black Hawks2–0Pittsburgh Penguins3–0
4April 9Chicago Black Hawks6–5Pittsburgh Penguins4–0

New York Rangers 4, Chicago Black Hawks 0
#DateVisitorScoreHomeRecord
1April 16New York Rangers3–2Chicago Black Hawks0–1
2April 18New York Rangers5–3Chicago Black Hawks0–2
3April 20Chicago Black Hawks2–3New York Rangers0–3
4April 23Chicago Black Hawks2–6New York Rangers0–4

Player stats

Regular season
Scoring leaders
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Bobby Hull7850439324
Pit Martin7824517556
Dennis Hull7830396910
Stan Mikita7426396546
Jim Pappin6427214838
Goaltending
PlayerGPTOIWLTGASOGAA
Tony Esposito482780311068291.77
Gary Smith28154014566252.42
Gerry Desjardins63601232103.50

Playoffs
Scoring leaders
Player GP G A Pts PIM
Christian Bordeleau83690
Bobby Hull84486
Jim Pappin82574
Pit Martin84264
Dennis Hull84264
Goaltending
PlayerGPTOIWLGASOGAA
Gary Smith212011311.50
Tony Esposito5300231603.20
Gerry Desjardins16010505.00

Transactions
September 9, 1971 To California Golden Seals

Kerry Bond
Gerry Desjardins
Gerry Pinder

 To Chicago Black Hawks

Gary Smith

October 18, 1971 To California Golden Seals

Gilles Meloche
Paul Shmyr

 To Chicago Black Hawks

Gerry Desjardins

Draft picks

Chicago's draft picks at the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
112Dan Spring CanadaEdmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)
226Dave Kryskow CanadaEdmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)
340Bob Peppler CanadaSt. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
454Clyde Simon CanadaSt. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
568Dean Blais United StatesUniversity of Minnesota (NCAA)
680Jim Johnston CanadaUniversity of Wisconsin (NCAA)

Farm teams

See also

References
  1. 1971–72 Chicago Black Hawks Games – Hockey-Reference.com
  2. "Chicago Blackhawks goaltending history: Tony Esposito". Archived from the original on February 17, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
  3. "Chicago Blackhawks goaltending history: Gary Smith". Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
  4. "1971–1972 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  5. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

Sources
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