1977–78 New York Rangers season

The 1977–78 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 52nd season. The Rangers slipped to last in the Patrick but qualified for the playoffs by having one of the top twelve records in the league. The Rangers lost in the first round of the playoffs.

1977–78 New York Rangers
Division4th Patrick
Conference5th Campbell
1977–78 record30–37–13
Goals for279
Goals against280
Team information
General managerJohn Ferguson
CoachJean-Guy Talbot
CaptainPhil Esposito
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaMadison Square Garden
Team leaders
GoalsPat Hickey (40)
AssistsRon Greschner (48)
PointsPhil Esposito (81)
Penalty minutesCarol Vadnais (115)
WinsJohn Davidson (14)

Offseason

The Rangers hired Jean-Guy Talbot as their new head coach. It would be his only season as head coach of the Rangers.

Regular season

Season standings
Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
New York Islanders80481715334210111
Philadelphia Flyers80452015296200105
Atlanta Flames8034271927425287
New York Rangers8030371327928073

[1]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results
1977–78 Game Log
October: 4–5–1 (Home: 3–2–1; Road: 1–3–0)
GameOctoberOpponentScoreRecord
112Vancouver Canucks6–31–0–0
215@ Montreal Canadiens5–01–1–0
316New York Islanders4–22–1–0
419Pittsburgh Penguins3–32–1–1
522@ New York Islanders7–22–2–1
623Montreal Canadiens6–22–3–1
725@ Cleveland Barons5–03–3–1
826St. Louis Blues6–24–3–1
929@ Atlanta Flames4–34–4–1
1030Los Angeles Kings5–34–5–1
November: 5–7–1 (Home: 3–2–0; Road: 2–5–1)
GameNovemberOpponentScoreRecord
112@ Colorado Rockies6–24–6–1
124@ Vancouver Canucks5–15–6–1
135@ Los Angeles Kings3–15–7–1
149Buffalo Sabres8–46–7–1
1512@ Detroit Red Wings3–16–8–1
1613Atlanta Flames5–26–9–1
1716Chicago Black Hawks5–27–9–1
1819@ Pittsburgh Penguins5–57–9–2
1920Vancouver Canucks3–07–10–2
2023Colorado Rockies6–38–10–2
2126@ Boston Bruins3–28–11–2
2227@ Buffalo Sabres3–28–12–2
2330@ St. Louis Blues4–09–12–2
December: 3–4–7 (Home: 2–2–4; Road: 1–2–3)
GameDecemberOpponentScoreRecord
243@ Minnesota North Stars4–010–12–2
254Minnesota North Stars4–410–12–3
267Philadelphia Flyers3–310–12–4
278@ Philadelphia Flyers7–410–13–4
2811Boston Bruins8–210–14–4
2914@ Chicago Black Hawks2–210–14–5
3015@ Detroit Red Wings5–510–14–6
3117@ Cleveland Barons4–210–15–6
3218Detroit Red Wings6–211–15–6
3321Washington Capitals5–511–15–7
3423Cleveland Barons5–412–15–7
3528Philadelphia Flyers4–312–16–7
3630@ Washington Capitals3–312–16–8
3731Buffalo Sabres2–212–16–9
January: 4–8–0 (Home: 0–3–0; Road: 4–5–0)
GameJanuaryOpponentScoreRecord
384@ Minnesota North Stars5–313–16–9
397@ Colorado Rockies3–113–17–9
409Pittsburgh Penguins5–313–18–9
4110@ Boston Bruins3–214–18–9
4214@ Philadelphia Flyers4–114–19–9
4317@ Vancouver Canucks5–415–19–9
4418@ Los Angeles Kings3–016–19–9
4520@ Atlanta Flames5–316–20–9
4622@ Pittsburgh Penguins3–116–21–9
4725Toronto Maple Leafs4–316–22–9
4828@ New York Islanders6–216–23–9
4929Los Angeles Kings4–116–24–9
February: 5–6–2 (Home: 4–3–1; Road: 1–3–1)
GameFebruaryOpponentScoreRecord
501New York Islanders7–616–25–9
514@ St. Louis Blues2–216–25–10
525Colorado Rockies6–317–25–10
538Minnesota North Stars3–018–25–10
549@ Buffalo Sabres2–018–26–10
5511@ Toronto Maple Leafs3–218–27–10
5612Montreal Canadiens5–318–28–10
5715Vancouver Canucks6–319–28–10
5819Colorado Rockies4–419–28–11
5922@ Chicago Black Hawks3–219–29–11
6023Chicago Black Hawks6–220–29–11
6125@ Montreal Canadiens6–321–29–11
6227Atlanta Flames5–321–30–11
March: 8–2–2 (Home: 5–2–1; Road: 3–0–1)
GameMarchOpponentScoreRecord
631Detroit Red Wings3–222–30–11
645Toronto Maple Leafs4–122–31–11
658Cleveland Barons6–123–31–11
6612Washington Capitals8–224–31–11
6715Philadelphia Flyers2–224–31–12
6818Boston Bruins6–324–32–12
6919@ Minnesota North Stars7–724–32–13
7022@ St. Louis Blues6–125–32–13
7124@ Washington Capitals11–426–32–13
7225@ Toronto Maple Leafs5–227–32–13
7327St. Louis Blues5–228–32–13
7429New York Islanders5–129–32–13
April: 1–5–0 (Home: 1–1–0; Road: 0–4–0)
GameAprilOpponentScoreRecord
751@ Atlanta Flames6–029–33–13
762@ Boston Bruins8–329–34–13
775Atlanta Flames4–229–35–13
786@ Philadelphia Flyers3–029–36–13
798@ New York Islanders7–229–37–13
809Chicago Black Hawks3–230–37–13

Playoffs
Main article: 1978 Stanley Cup playoffs

Key:   Win   Loss

1978 Stanley Cup playoffs

Player statistics
Skaters
Goaltenders
Regular Season
Player GP TOI W L T GA GAA SO
Wayne Thomas412352122071413.604
John Davidson34184814134983.181
Doug Soetaert6360222203.330
Hardy Astrom4240220143.500
Playoffs
Player GP TOI W L GA GAA SO
John Davidson21221173.440
Wayne Thomas1600144.000

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Rangers. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.
‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Rangers only.

[3]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1977 NHL amateur draft in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 8 Lucien DeBlois RW  Canada Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL)
1 13 Ron Duguay C  Canada Sudbury Wolves (OHA)
2 26 Mike Keating LW  Canada St. Catharines Fincups (OHA)
3 44 Steve Baker G  United States Union College (NCAA)
4 62 Mario Marois D  Canada Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
5 80 Benoit Gosselin LW  Canada Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)
6 98 John Bethel LW  Canada Boston University (NCAA)
7 116 Bob Sullivan LW  Canada Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL)
8 131 Lance Nethery C  Canada Cornell University (NCAA)
9 146 Alex Jeans C  Canada University of Toronto (CIAU)
10 157 Pete Raps LW  Canada Western Michigan University (NCAA)
11 164 Mike Brown RW  United States Western Michigan University (NCAA)
12 171 Mark Miller LW  Canada University of Michigan (NCAA)

See also

References
  1. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
  2. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. "1977–78 New York Rangers". hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  4. Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009–10, p.425, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6
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