1977–78 Colorado Rockies season

1977–78 Colorado Rockies
Division2nd Smythe
ConferenceCampbell
1977–78 record19–40–21
Goals for257
Goals against305
Team information
General managerRay Miron
CoachPat Kelly
CaptainWilf Paiement
Alternate captainsNone

The 1977–78 Colorado Rockies season was the fourth season of the franchise, and second as the Rockies. Despite winning only 19 games and finishing 21 games below .500, they finished runners-up in the weak Smythe Division and secured a playoff berth under the format in effect at the time. It was their first playoff appearance in franchise history, and the only one they would make while in Denver.

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Smythe Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Chicago Black Hawks 80 32 29 19 230 220 83
Colorado Rockies 80 19 40 21 257 305 59
Vancouver Canucks 80 20 43 17 239 320 57
St. Louis Blues 80 20 47 13 195 304 53
Minnesota North Stars 80 18 53 9 218 325 45

[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

Smythe Division record vs. opponents


Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 T October 14, 1977 4–4 Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 0–0–1
2 T October 15, 1977 3–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 0–0–2
3 L October 19, 1977 4–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 0–1–2
4 L October 20, 1977 5–7 @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 0–2–2
5 W October 22, 1977 3–0 Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 1–2–2
6 T October 25, 1977 4–4 Boston Bruins (1977–78) 1–2–3
7 W October 28, 1977 8–1 Washington Capitals (1977–78) 2–2–3
8 W October 29, 1977 6–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 3–2–3
9 W November 2, 1977 6–2 New York Rangers (1977–78) 4–2–3
10 L November 5, 1977 2–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 4–3–3
11 W November 8, 1977 6–2 Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 5–3–3
12 L November 11, 1977 1–2 St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 5–4–3
13 L November 12, 1977 1–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 5–5–3
14 L November 16, 1977 1–4 Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 5–6–3
15 W November 19, 1977 7–2 Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 6–6–3
16 L November 22, 1977 2–4 @ New York Islanders (1977–78) 6–7–3
17 L November 23, 1977 3–6 @ New York Rangers (1977–78) 6–8–3
18 L November 25, 1977 1–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 6–9–3
19 T November 26, 1977 4–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 6–9–4
20 T November 30, 1977 3–3 New York Islanders (1977–78) 6–9–5
21 L December 3, 1977 3–6 Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 6–10–5
22 T December 6, 1977 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 6–10–6
23 L December 9, 1977 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 6–11–6
24 L December 10, 1977 4–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 6–12–6
25 W December 13, 1977 4–1 Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 7–12–6
26 W December 17, 1977 5–1 Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 8–12–6
27 L December 20, 1977 1–9 @ New York Islanders (1977–78) 8–13–6
28 L December 21, 1977 3–6 @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) 8–14–6
29 L December 23, 1977 2–6 Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 8–15–6
30 L December 27, 1977 2–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 8–16–6
31 T December 29, 1977 2–2 Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 8–16–7
32 T December 30, 1977 2–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 8–16–8
33 L January 1, 1978 1–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 8–17–8
34 L January 4, 1978 0–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 8–18–8
35 L January 5, 1978 3–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 8–19–8
36 W January 7, 1978 3–1 New York Rangers (1977–78) 9–19–8
37 L January 10, 1978 4–7 @ New York Islanders (1977–78) 9–20–8
38 L January 11, 1978 2–4 @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 9–21–8
39 L January 13, 1978 1–2 St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 9–22–8
40 T January 14, 1978 3–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 9–22–9
41 T January 18, 1978 4–4 Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 9–22–10
42 W January 20, 1978 5–2 Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 10–22–10
43 L January 21, 1978 4–9 @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 10–23–10
44 T January 25, 1978 3–3 @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) 10–23–11
45 L January 26, 1978 3–4 @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) 10–24–11
46 W January 28, 1978 6–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 11–24–11
47 L January 31, 1978 3–5 Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 11–25–11
48 L February 2, 1978 0–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 11–26–11
49 T February 4, 1978 2–2 @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 11–26–12
50 L February 5, 1978 3–6 @ New York Rangers (1977–78) 11–27–12
51 L February 7, 1978 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 11–28–12
52 W February 10, 1978 3–2 Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 12–28–12
53 T February 12, 1978 3–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 12–28–13
54 T February 15, 1978 2–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 12–28–14
55 L February 16, 1978 4–5 New York Islanders (1977–78) 12–29–14
56 L February 18, 1978 4–9 @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 12–30–14
57 T February 19, 1978 4–4 @ New York Rangers (1977–78) 12–30–15
58 L February 21, 1978 2–3 Boston Bruins (1977–78) 12–31–15
59 W February 24, 1978 3–2 Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 13–31–15
60 T February 25, 1978 5–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 13–31–16
61 L February 28, 1978 4–7 @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) 13–32–16
62 L March 2, 1978 2–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 13–33–16
63 T March 3, 1978 2–2 Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 13–33–17
64 T March 5, 1978 2–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 13–33–18
65 L March 8, 1978 3–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 13–34–18
66 L March 11, 1978 4–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 13–35–18
67 L March 12, 1978 2–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 13–36–18
68 T March 14, 1978 4–4 Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 13–36–19
69 T March 15, 1978 2–2 @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 13–36–20
70 W March 17, 1978 3–1 Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 14–36–20
71 W March 19, 1978 6–4 Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 15–36–20
72 W March 22, 1978 5–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 16–36–20
73 L March 23, 1978 3–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 16–37–20
74 L March 25, 1978 3–4 Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 16–38–20
75 W March 28, 1978 4–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 17–38–20
76 L March 30, 1978 3–4 Washington Capitals (1977–78) 17–39–20
77 W April 1, 1978 4–2 Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 18–39–20
78 L April 4, 1978 3–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 18–40–20
79 T April 5, 1978 4–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 18–40–21
80 W April 8, 1978 5–2 St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 19–40–21

Playoffs

April 11 Philadelphia Flyers 3–2 (OT) Colorado Rockies The Spectrum
April 13 Colorado Rockies 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers McNichols Sports Arena

The Rockies played a best-of-three preliminary round series against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers would sweep the series in two-straight games.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Wilf Paiement RW 80 31 56 87 114 −14 7 2 1
Barry Beck D 75 22 38 60 89 −14 6 0 4
John Van Boxmeer D 80 12 42 54 87 −12 5 0 0
Paul Gardner C 46 30 22 52 29 −17 13 0 3
Andy Spruce LW 74 19 21 40 43 −7 3 0 1
Gary Croteau LW 62 17 22 39 24 −15 8 0 0
Ron Andruff C 78 15 18 33 31 −16 0 0 1
Dave Hudson C 60 10 22 32 12 −5 1 0 0
Dennis Owchar D 60 8 23 31 25 −49 2 0 0
Denis Dupere LW 54 15 15 30 4 9 2 2 4
Joe Contini C 37 12 9 21 28 −2 3 0 0
Ron Delorme C 68 10 11 21 47 −20 0 0 0
Nelson Pyatt C 71 9 12 21 8 −23 1 0 0
Randy Pierce RW 35 9 10 19 15 0 1 0 3
Mark Suzor D 60 4 15 19 56 −35 2 0 0
Mike Kitchen D 61 2 17 19 45 −12 0 0 1
Fred Ahern RW 38 5 13 18 19 −16 1 0 0
Bryan Lefley D/LW 71 4 13 17 12 −4 0 1 1
Ralph Klassen C 44 6 9 15 8 −19 3 0 0
Tom Edur D 20 5 7 12 10 10 1 0 0
Chuck Arnason RW 29 4 8 12 10 −3 2 0 0
Mike Christie D 35 2 8 10 28 −6 0 0 0
Bob Neely LW 22 3 6 9 2 −10 1 0 0
Larry Skinner C 14 3 5 8 0 2 1 0 0
Rick Jodzio LW 32 0 5 5 28 −5 0 0 0
Doug Favell G 47 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
Dennis O'Brien D 16 0 2 2 12 −10 0 0 0
Roger Lemelin D 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
John McCahill D 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jim McElmury D 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Bill McKenzie G 12 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Lou Nistico C 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bill Oleschuk G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Michel Plasse G 25 0 0 0 12 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Doug Favell 2663 47 13 20 11 159 3.58 1
Bill McKenzie 654 12 3 6 2 42 3.85 0
Michel Plasse 1383 25 3 12 8 90 3.90 0
Bill Oleschuk 100 2 0 2 0 9 5.40 0
Team: 4800 80 19 40 21 300 3.75 1

Playoffs

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Dave Hudson C 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Andy Spruce LW 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0
Denis Dupere LW 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 0
Dennis Owchar D 2 1 0 1 2 0 0 0
Fred Ahern RW 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0
Barry Beck D 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
John Van Boxmeer D 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0
Ron Andruff C 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mike Christie D 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Joe Contini C 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ron Delorme C 2 0 0 0 10 0 0 0
Doug Favell G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mike Kitchen D 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Ralph Klassen C 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bryan Lefley D/LW 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Wilf Paiement RW 2 0 0 0 7 0 0 0
Randy Pierce RW 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Larry Skinner C 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Doug Favell 120 2 0 2 6 3.00 0
Team: 120 2 0 2 6 3.00 0

[3]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals
      MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts;

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Colorado's draft picks at the 1977 NHL amateur draft held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 2 Barry Beck  Canada New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
3 38 Doug Berry  Canada University of Denver (WCHA)
3 47 Randy Pierce  Canada Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
5 74 Mike Dwyer  Canada Niagara Falls Flyers (OMJHL)
6 92 Dan Lempe  United States University of Minnesota Duluth (WCHA)
7 110 Rick Doyle  Canada London Knights (OMJHL)
8 126 Joe Contini  Canada St. Catharines Fincups (OMJHL)
9 142 Jack Hughes  United States Harvard University (ECAC)

Farm teams

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 Colorado Rockies Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.