1971–72 Los Angeles Kings season

1971–72 Los Angeles Kings
Division7th West
1971–72 record20–49–9
Goals for206
Goals against305
Team information
General managerLarry Regan
CoachLarry Regan
CaptainBob Pulford
ArenaLos Angeles Forum
Team leaders
GoalsJuha Widing (27)
AssistsRalph Backstrom (29)
Butch Goring (29)
PointsJuha Widing (55)
Penalty minutesMike Corrigan (95)
WinsGary Edwards (13)
Goals against averageGary Edwards (3.60)

The 1971–72 Los Angeles Kings season was the Kings' fifth season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Kings finished in last place in the West Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Regular season

Final standings

West Division[1]
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

Record vs. opponents


Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 T October 8, 1971 4–4 @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) 0–0–1
2 W October 10, 1971 4–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 1–0–1
3 L October 13, 1971 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 1–1–1
4 L October 16, 1971 0–1 Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 1–2–1
5 L October 17, 1971 0–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 1–3–1
6 L October 20, 1971 1–8 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 1–4–1
7 W October 21, 1971 7–0 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 2–4–1
8 L October 23, 1971 1–3 Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 2–5–1
9 L October 24, 1971 3–6 Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 2–6–1
10 L October 27, 1971 2–3 Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 2–7–1
11 L October 30, 1971 1–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 2–8–1
12 L November 3, 1971 1–7 New York Rangers (1971–72) 2–9–1
13 L November 6, 1971 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) 2–10–1
14 L November 10, 1971 1–7 @ New York Rangers (1971–72) 2–11–1
15 W November 11, 1971 4–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 3–11–1
16 L November 13, 1971 4–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 3–12–1
17 L November 14, 1971 2–11 @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) 3–13–1
18 L November 17, 1971 1–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) 3–14–1
19 L November 18, 1971 0–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 3–15–1
20 W November 20, 1971 3–1 Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 4–15–1
21 L November 23, 1971 1–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 4–16–1
22 W November 24, 1971 5–3 Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 5–16–1
23 L November 27, 1971 1–3 Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 5–17–1
24 L December 1, 1971 3–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 5–18–1
25 L December 2, 1971 0–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 5–19–1
26 L December 4, 1971 1–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 5–20–1
27 L December 5, 1971 0–7 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 5–21–1
28 L December 8, 1971 3–5 Boston Bruins (1971–72) 5–22–1
29 W December 11, 1971 4–1 St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 6–22–1
30 L December 15, 1971 1–3 Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 6–23–1
31 W December 18, 1971 4–2 Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 7–23–1
32 L December 21, 1971 2–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 7–24–1
33 W December 22, 1971 2–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 8–24–1
34 L December 25, 1971 1–3 California Golden Seals (1971–72) 8–25–1
35 L December 26, 1971 3–6 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 8–26–1
36 W December 29, 1971 3–1 Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 9–26–1
37 L January 1, 1972 2–3 Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 9–27–1
38 W January 2, 1972 6–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 10–27–1
39 W January 4, 1972 4–1 California Golden Seals (1971–72) 11–27–1
40 L January 5, 1972 2–6 @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) 11–28–1
41 L January 8, 1972 2–10 @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 11–29–1
42 L January 9, 1972 0–8 @ New York Rangers (1971–72) 11–30–1
43 T January 12, 1972 1–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) 11–30–2
44 T January 13, 1972 1–1 @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) 11–30–3
45 L January 15, 1972 4–7 @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 11–31–3
46 T January 16, 1972 3–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 11–31–4
47 L January 19, 1972 1–5 New York Rangers (1971–72) 11–32–4
48 W January 22, 1972 4–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 12–32–4
49 L January 23, 1972 3–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 12–33–4
50 W January 26, 1972 5–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) 13–33–4
51 T January 29, 1972 4–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 13–33–5
52 T January 30, 1972 2–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 13–33–6
53 W February 1, 1972 7–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 14–33–6
54 T February 3, 1972 1–1 Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 14–33–7
55 W February 5, 1972 8–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 15–33–7
56 L February 9, 1972 1–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72) 15–34–7
57 L February 10, 1972 1–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 15–35–7
58 L February 12, 1972 5–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72) 15–36–7
59 L February 13, 1972 2–4 @ New York Rangers (1971–72) 15–37–7
60 L February 16, 1972 1–3 St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 15–38–7
61 L February 17, 1972 4–6 New York Rangers (1971–72) 15–39–7
62 W February 19, 1972 5–3 Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 16–39–7
63 L February 23, 1972 0–2 St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 16–40–7
64 L February 26, 1972 4–5 Boston Bruins (1971–72) 16–41–7
65 L March 1, 1972 4–6 Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72) 16–42–7
66 L March 4, 1972 2–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) 16–43–7
67 W March 5, 1972 2–0 @ Boston Bruins (1971–72) 17–43–7
68 L March 7, 1972 2–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1971–72) 17–44–7
69 L March 9, 1972 3–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72) 17–45–7
70 W March 11, 1972 5–3 Buffalo Sabres (1971–72) 18–45–7
71 L March 15, 1972 2–5 @ California Golden Seals (1971–72) 18–46–7
72 L March 16, 1972 3–8 Boston Bruins (1971–72) 18–47–7
73 T March 18, 1972 4–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72) 18–47–8
74 L March 22, 1972 3–6 Detroit Red Wings (1971–72) 18–48–8
75 L March 25, 1972 0–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72) 18–49–8
76 W March 29, 1972 4–2 Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 19–49–8
77 T March 31, 1972 4–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72) 19–49–9
78 W April 1, 1972 9–4 California Golden Seals (1971–72) 20–49–9

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/− PPG SHG GWG
Juha Widing C 78 27 28 55 26 −36 3 0 3
Ralph Backstrom C 76 23 29 52 22 −22 7 1 4
Butch Goring C 74 21 29 50 2 −10 3 0 2
Bob Berry LW 78 17 22 39 44 −23 3 0 3
Real Lemieux LW 78 13 25 38 28 −40 2 0 0
Bob Pulford LW 73 13 24 37 48 −25 2 1 0
Mike Corrigan LW 56 12 22 34 95 −7 3 0 1
Gilles Marotte D 72 10 24 34 83 −33 4 0 1
Ross Lonsberry LW 50 9 14 23 39 −18 1 0 0
Serge Bernier RW 26 11 11 22 12 3 1 0 1
Bill Flett RW 45 7 12 19 18 −30 1 0 0
Harry Howell D 77 1 17 18 53 −34 0 0 0
Jim Johnson C 28 8 9 17 6 −1 3 2 0
Doug Barrie D 48 3 13 16 47 −10 1 0 0
Eddie Joyal C 44 11 3 14 17 −30 1 0 2
Bill Lesuk LW 27 4 10 14 14 2 1 0 1
Paul Curtis D 64 1 12 13 57 −32 0 0 0
Mike Byers RW 28 4 5 9 11 −13 0 0 1
Lucien Grenier RW 60 3 4 7 4 −6 1 0 0
Al McDonough RW 31 3 2 5 8 −8 1 0 0
Jean Potvin D 39 2 3 5 35 −39 0 0 1
Bob Woytowich D 36 0 4 4 6 −8 0 0 0
Larry Hillman D 22 1 2 3 11 −7 0 0 0
Dale Hoganson D 10 1 2 3 14 −2 0 0 0
Brian Carlin LW 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Bill Mikkelson D 15 0 1 1 6 −11 0 0 0
Jim Stanfield C/RW 4 0 1 1 0 −1 0 0 0
Denis DeJordy G 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gary Edwards G 44 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Billy Smith G 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0
Rogie Vachon G 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Gary Edwards 2503 44 13 23 5 150 3.60 2
Rogie Vachon 1586 28 6 18 3 107 4.05 0
Billy Smith 300 5 1 3 1 23 4.60 0
Denis DeJordy 291 5 0 5 0 23 4.74 0
Team: 4680 78 20 49 9 303 3.88 2

[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;

Transactions

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1971–72 season.[4]

Trades

May 1, 1971 To Los Angeles Kings
Wayne Rivers 		To New York Rangers
Mike McMahon Jr.
June 8, 1971 To Los Angeles Kings
Claude Provost 		To Montreal Canadiens
Cash
June 13, 1971 To Los Angeles Kings
Larry Hillman 		To Philadelphia Flyers
Larry Mickey
November 4, 1971 To Los Angeles Kings
Rogie Vachon
1st round pick in 1975 – Tim Young 		To Montreal Canadiens
Denis DeJordy
Dale Hoganson
Noel Price
Doug Robinson
1st round pick in 1975 – Pierre Mondou
December 16, 1971 To Los Angeles Kings
Doug Barrie
Mike Keeler 		To Buffalo Sabres
Mike Byers
Larry Hillman
January 11, 1972 To Los Angeles Kings
Bob Woytowich 		To Pittsburgh Penguins
Al McDonough
January 28, 1972 To Los Angeles Kings
Jim Johnson
Bill Lesuk
Serge Bernier
Larry Brown 		To Philadelphia Flyers
Bill Flett
Eddie Joyal
Jean Potvin
Ross Lonsberry

Free agent signings

June 1, 1971 From University of Minnesota Duluth (NCAA)
Phil Hoene

Waivers

November 3, 1971 To Boston Bruins
Matt Ravlich
November 22, 1971 From Vancouver Canucks
Mike Corrigan

Intra-league Draft

June 8, 1971 From Buffalo Sabres
Gary Edwards

Reverse Draft

June 8, 1971 To Seattle Totems (WHL)
Jack Norris
June 8, 1971 To Baltimore Clippers (AHL)
Norm Armstrong
June 8, 1971 To Salt Lake Golden Eagles (WHL)
Wayne Rutledge

Draft picks

Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
3 34 Vic Venasky  Canada University of Denver (WCHA)
4 48 Neil Komadoski  Canada Winnipeg Jets (WCHL)
5 62 Gary Crosby  Canada Michigan Tech University (WCHA)
6 76 Camille LaPierre  Canada Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA)
7 89 Peter Harasym  Canada Clarkson University (ECAC)
7 90 Norm Dube  Canada Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
8 103 Lorne Stamler  Canada Michigan Tech University (WCHA)

See also

References

  1. ^ "1971–1972 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "1971-72 Los Angeles Kings Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  4. ^ "Hockey Transactions Search Results".