1977–78 St. Louis Blues season

1977–78 St. Louis Blues
Division4th Smythe
ConferenceCampbell
1977–78 record20–47–13
Goals for195
Goals against304
Team information
General managerEmile Francis
CoachLeo Boivin
CaptainRed Berenson
Alternate captainsNone

The 1977–78 St. Louis Blues season was the 11th for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to the season, the team's founders, Sid Salomon Jr. and Sid Salomon III, sold the team to pet food giant Ralston Purina, and the St. Louis Arena became the Checkerdome. The Blues finished the season with a record of 20 wins, 47 losses and 13 ties for 53 points, and finished out of the playoffs for only the second time in team history.

Off-season

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 L October 12, 1977 2–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 0–1–0
2 L October 15, 1977 1–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 0–2–0
3 L October 16, 1977 0–7 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 0–3–0
4 L October 19, 1977 3–7 Boston Bruins (1977–78) 0–4–0
5 L October 22, 1977 2–3 Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 0–5–0
6 L October 23, 1977 0–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 0–6–0
7 T October 25, 1977 2–2 Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 0–6–1
8 L October 26, 1977 2–6 @ New York Rangers (1977–78) 0–7–1
9 L October 29, 1977 3–7 Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 0–8–1
10 W November 1, 1977 7–2 Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 1–8–1
11 T November 2, 1977 4–4 @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 1–8–2
12 L November 5, 1977 1–3 Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 1–9–2
13 L November 6, 1977 4–7 @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 1–10–2
14 W November 9, 1977 8–6 Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 2–10–2
15 W November 11, 1977 2–1 @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 3–10–2
16 W November 12, 1977 3–1 Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 4–10–2
17 T November 15, 1977 2–2 Washington Capitals (1977–78) 4–10–3
18 L November 16, 1977 1–10 @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 4–11–3
19 L November 19, 1977 1–2 Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 4–12–3
20 L November 23, 1977 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 4–13–3
21 W November 26, 1977 2–1 @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 5–13–3
22 L November 27, 1977 1–4 @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) 5–14–3
23 L November 30, 1977 0–4 New York Rangers (1977–78) 5–15–3
24 L December 3, 1977 2–7 New York Islanders (1977–78) 5–16–3
25 L December 6, 1977 1–6 Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 5–17–3
26 L December 8, 1977 1–8 @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 5–18–3
27 W December 10, 1977 6–4 Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 6–18–3
28 L December 11, 1977 1–2 @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) 6–19–3
29 W December 14, 1977 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 7–19–3
30 L December 17, 1977 2–3 Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 7–20–3
31 T December 19, 1977 4–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 7–20–4
32 L December 21, 1977 2–6 Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 7–21–4
33 L December 22, 1977 3–6 @ New York Islanders (1977–78) 7–22–4
34 L December 27, 1977 0–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 7–23–4
35 L December 29, 1977 4–5 @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 7–24–4
36 W December 31, 1977 3–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 8–24–4
37 L January 3, 1978 0–2 Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 8–25–4
38 T January 7, 1978 0–0 Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 8–25–5
39 W January 8, 1978 3–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 9–25–5
40 L January 11, 1978 4–6 @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 9–26–5
41 W January 13, 1978 2–1 @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 10–26–5
42 W January 14, 1978 5–2 Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 11–26–5
43 T January 17, 1978 2–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 11–26–6
44 L January 19, 1978 0–3 New York Islanders (1977–78) 11–27–6
45 L January 21, 1978 1–3 Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 11–28–6
46 L January 22, 1978 1–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 11–29–6
47 L January 26, 1978 1–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 11–30–6
48 L January 28, 1978 3–8 @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 11–31–6
49 L February 1, 1978 3–5 Boston Bruins (1977–78) 11–32–6
50 T February 4, 1978 2–2 New York Rangers (1977–78) 11–32–7
51 L February 6, 1978 0–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 11–33–7
52 L February 8, 1978 4–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 11–34–7
53 L February 11, 1978 3–7 @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 11–35–7
54 L February 15, 1978 2–6 Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 11–36–7
55 W February 18, 1978 4–3 Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 12–36–7
56 L February 19, 1978 2–6 @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 12–37–7
57 L February 21, 1978 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 12–38–7
58 T February 22, 1978 2–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 12–38–8
59 T February 25, 1978 5–5 Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 12–38–9
60 W February 26, 1978 3–1 @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 13–38–9
61 W February 28, 1978 7–1 Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 14–38–9
62 W March 1, 1978 3–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 15–38–9
63 T March 4, 1978 3–3 Washington Capitals (1977–78) 15–38–10
64 L March 5, 1978 1–7 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 15–39–10
65 L March 7, 1978 2–7 @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) 15–40–10
66 L March 9, 1978 3–6 New York Islanders (1977–78) 15–41–10
67 T March 11, 1978 1–1 Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 15–41–11
68 T March 14, 1978 3–3 @ New York Islanders (1977–78) 15–41–12
69 L March 15, 1978 2–6 Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 15–42–12
70 W March 18, 1978 5–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 16–42–12
71 W March 19, 1978 3–2 @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) 17–42–12
72 L March 22, 1978 1–6 New York Rangers (1977–78) 17–43–12
73 L March 23, 1978 3–5 @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 17–44–12
74 T March 25, 1978 2–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 17–44–13
75 L March 27, 1978 2–5 @ New York Rangers (1977–78) 17–45–13
76 W March 29, 1978 3–1 Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 18–45–13
77 W April 1, 1978 3–1 Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 19–45–13
78 L April 4, 1978 2–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 19–46–13
79 W April 5, 1978 3–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 20–46–13
80 L April 8, 1978 2–5 @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 20–47–13

Playoffs

The Blues did not make the playoffs for the first time since the 1973–74 season.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Garry Unger C 80 32 20 52 66 −35 10 0 5
Bernie Federko C 72 17 24 41 27 −35 4 0 1
Inge Hammarstrom LW 70 19 19 38 4 −21 3 0 2
Red Berenson C 80 13 25 38 12 −20 0 1 2
Larry Patey C 80 17 17 34 29 −20 3 0 3
Bill Fairbairn RW 60 14 16 30 10 −23 2 1 1
Curt Bennett LW 50 7 17 24 54 −22 1 0 1
Brian Sutter LW 78 9 13 22 123 −38 4 0 1
Claude Larose RW 69 8 13 21 20 −19 2 0 0
Bob MacMillan RW 28 7 12 19 23 −11 3 0 0
Barry Gibbs D 51 6 12 18 45 −11 4 0 0
Bruce Affleck D 75 4 14 18 26 −56 0 0 1
Jack Brownschidle D 40 2 15 17 23 −11 1 0 0
Dick Redmond D 28 4 11 15 16 −14 2 0 0
Brian Ogilvie C 32 6 8 14 12 −12 3 0 0
Jim Roberts D/RW 75 4 10 14 39 −20 0 0 1
Bob Hess D 55 2 12 14 16 0 0 0 0
Rod Seiling D 78 1 11 12 40 −48 0 0 0
Gary Holt LW 49 7 4 11 81 −6 0 0 1
Rick Bourbonnais RW 31 3 7 10 11 −12 1 0 0
Neil Komadoski D 33 2 8 10 73 −29 0 0 0
Tony Currie RW 22 4 5 9 4 −10 1 0 0
Ken Richardson C 12 2 5 7 2 4 0 0 0
John Smrke LW 18 2 4 6 11 −7 0 0 0
Len Frig D 30 1 3 4 45 −13 0 0 1
Floyd Thomson LW 6 1 1 2 4 −3 0 0 0
Jerry Butler RW 9 0 2 2 5 −6 0 0 0
Phil Myre G 44 0 2 2 10 0 0 0 0
Doug Palazzari C 3 1 0 1 0 −2 0 0 0
Yves Belanger G 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Doug Grant G 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Eddie Johnston G 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bob Plager D 18 0 0 0 4 −8 0 0 0
Ed Staniowski G 17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Phil Myre 2620 44 11 25 8 159 3.64 1
Eddie Johnston 650 12 5 6 1 45 4.15 0
Doug Grant 500 9 3 3 2 24 2.88 0
Ed Staniowski 886 17 1 10 2 57 3.86 0
Yves Belanger 144 3 0 3 0 15 6.25 0
Team: 4800 80 20 47 13 300 3.75 1

[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

St. Louis'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 9 Scott Campbell  Canada London Knights (OHA)
2 27 Neil LaBatte  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
3 45 Tom Roulston  Canada Winnipeg Monarchs (WCHL)
4 63 Tony Currie  Canada Portland Winter Hawks (WCHL)
5 81 Bruce Hamilton  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)
6 99 Gary McMonagle  Canada Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
7 117 Matti Forss  Finland Rauma (Finland)
8 132 Raimo Hirvonen  Finland Helsinki IFK (Finland)
9 147 Bjorn Olsson  Sweden Karlstad (Sweden)

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 St. Louis Blues Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 15, 2009.