The 1975–76 Chicago Black Hawks season was the Hawks' 50th season in the NHL . During the previous season , the club had a 37–35–8 record, earning 82 points , and finished in third place in the Smythe Division . Then, the Black Hawks upset the heavily favored Boston Bruins in the NHL preliminary series before losing to the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL quarter-finals.[1]
Pit Martin and Stan Mikita were named co-captains for the season. The team had played without a captain, since 1969–70.
Chicago started off the 1975–76 regular season with a 10–4–11 record in their first 25 games and took the lead in the Smythe Division . The Hawks had a 15-game unbeaten streak (6–0–9) during that span. The team reached a peak of being ten games over .500 with a record of 21–11–16 through 48 games. Chicago then fell into a slump and found themselves under .500 with only four games left in the season, falling to 29–30–17. The club went unbeaten in their last four games (3–0–1) to finish the year with a 32–30–18 record, earning 82 points, which was enough to finish in first place in the Smythe Division. The Hawks 32 wins was their lowest toal since 1967–68, when they also won 32 games.
[2]
Offensively, the Black Hawks were led by Pit Martin , who had a club high 32 goals and 71 points. Dennis Hull rebounded from a poor 1974–75 season to score 27 goals and 66 points. Ivan Boldirev scored 28 goals and 62 points. Defenseman Dale Tallon led the club with 47 assists, while scoring 15 goals for 62 points. Stan Mikita missed 32 games due to injuries; however, he still earned 57 points. Keith Magnuson had a team high +13 rating, and Phil Russell led the club with 194 penalty minutes.
In goal, Tony Esposito once again led the club with 30 victories and a 2.97 GAA, earning four shutouts in 68 games.[3]
Since the Hawks won their division, they were given a bye in the NHL preliminary series, and they faced the powerful Montreal Canadiens in the NHL quarter-finals. The Canadiens had a record breaking season in 1975–76 with 58 wins and 127 points and finished in first place in the Norris Division . The Black Hawks—Candiens series opened with two games at the Montreal Forum . The Canadiens quickly took control of the series, shutting out Chicago 4–0 in the series opener, and then winning 3–1 in the second game. The series continued at Chicago Stadium for the next two games, where the Canadiens took the third game by a 2–1 score, and then swept the Hawks out of the playoffs with a 4–1 victory in the fourth game.
Season standings [ ]
Game log [ ]
Regular season [ ]
#
Date
Visitor
Score
Home
Record
Pts
1
October 8
Chicago Black Hawks
2–2
New York Rangers
0–0–1
1
2
October 11
Chicago Black Hawks
1–2
Toronto Maple Leafs
0–1–1
1
3
October 12
Vancouver Canucks
0–3
Chicago Black Hawks
1–1–1
3
4
October 15
Detroit Red Wings
4–4
Chicago Black Hawks
1–1–2
4
5
October 16
Chicago Black Hawks
1–7
Buffalo Sabres
1–2–2
4
6
October 18
Chicago Black Hawks
3–1
Minnesota North Stars
2–2–2
6
7
October 19
Minnesota North Stars
2–3
Chicago Black Hawks
3–2–2
8
8
October 22
Los Angeles Kings
5–3
Chicago Black Hawks
3–3–2
8
9
October 25
Chicago Black Hawks
4–0
Kansas City Scouts
4–3–2
10
10
October 26
Washington Capitals
7–5
Chicago Black Hawks
4–4–2
10
11
October 29
Montreal Canadiens
1–2
Chicago Black Hawks
5–4–2
12
12
November 1
Chicago Black Hawks
3–1
Detroit Red Wings
6–4–2
14
13
November 2
Vancouver Canucks
1–6
Chicago Black Hawks
7–4–2
16
14
November 5
Philadelphia Flyers
4–4
Chicago Black Hawks
7–4–3
17
15
November 8
Chicago Black Hawks
7–5
Pittsburgh Penguins
8–4–3
19
16
November 9
Minnesota North Stars
0–3
Chicago Black Hawks
9–4–3
21
17
November 12
Chicago Black Hawks
4–4
New York Rangers
9–4–4
22
18
November 13
Chicago Black Hawks
5–5
Philadelphia Flyers
9–4–5
23
19
November 15
Chicago Black Hawks
4–4
Montreal Canadiens
9–4–6
24
20
November 19
Chicago Black Hawks
4–2
Los Angeles Kings
10–4–6
26
21
November 22
Chicago Black Hawks
1–1
Vancouver Canucks
10–4–7
27
22
November 26
Toronto Maple Leafs
4–4
Chicago Black Hawks
10–4–8
28
23
November 29
Boston Bruins
4–4
Chicago Black Hawks
10–4–9
29
24
November 30
Kansas City Scouts
1–1
Chicago Black Hawks
10–4–10
30
25
December 3
Pittsburgh Penguins
3–3
Chicago Black Hawks
10–4–11
31
26
December 4
Chicago Black Hawks
2–5
Philadelphia Flyers
10–5–11
31
27
December 7
Atlanta Flames
2–0
Chicago Black Hawks
10–6–11
31
28
December 10
Chicago Black Hawks
7–2
Washington Capitals
11–6–11
33
29
December 13
Chicago Black Hawks
1–2
Minnesota North Stars
11–7–11
33
30
December 14
St. Louis Blues
4–3
Chicago Black Hawks
11–8–11
33
31
December 17
Philadelphia Flyers
4–2
Chicago Black Hawks
11–9–11
33
32
December 19
Chicago Black Hawks
2–5
California Golden Seals
11–10–11
33
33
December 21
New York Islanders
2–5
Chicago Black Hawks
12–10–11
35
34
December 23
St. Louis Blues
1–4
Chicago Black Hawks
13–10–11
37
35
December 27
Chicago Black Hawks
4–1
Toronto Maple Leafs
14–10–11
39
36
December 28
Buffalo Sabres
2–2
Chicago Black Hawks
14–10–12
40
37
December 30
California Golden Seals
3–5
Chicago Black Hawks
15–10–12
42
38
January 3
Chicago Black Hawks
1–1
New York Islanders
15–10–13
43
39
January 4
Pittsburgh Penguins
3–5
Chicago Black Hawks
16–10–13
45
40
January 9
Chicago Black Hawks
1–1
Atlanta Flames
16–10–14
46
41
January 11
New York Rangers
6–2
Chicago Black Hawks
16–11–14
46
42
January 14
Chicago Black Hawks
2–2
California Golden Seals
16–11–15
47
43
January 16
Chicago Black Hawks
2–1
Vancouver Canucks
17–11–15
49
44
January 18
Philadelphia Flyers
0–2
Chicago Black Hawks
18–11–15
51
45
January 21
Chicago Black Hawks
3–3
New York Rangers
18–11–16
52
46
January 24
Chicago Black Hawks
2–1
St. Louis Blues
19–11–16
54
47
January 25
Kansas City Scouts
1–3
Chicago Black Hawks
20–11–16
56
48
January 28
Atlanta Flames
3–7
Chicago Black Hawks
21–11–16
58
49
January 29
Chicago Black Hawks
3–5
Boston Bruins
21–12–16
58
50
January 31
Chicago Black Hawks
1–2
Detroit Red Wings
21–13–16
58
51
February 1
Vancouver Canucks
3–2
Chicago Black Hawks
21–14–16
58
52
February 4
Chicago Black Hawks
3–8
Montreal Canadiens
21–15–16
58
53
February 6
Chicago Black Hawks
2–1
Atlanta Flames
22–15–16
60
54
February 8
Washington Capitals
2–4
Chicago Black Hawks
23–15–16
62
55
February 11
Los Angeles Kings
7–4
Chicago Black Hawks
23–16–16
62
56
February 14
Chicago Black Hawks
5–4
Kansas City Scouts
24–16–16
64
57
February 15
Boston Bruins
4–1
Chicago Black Hawks
24–17–16
64
58
February 18
Buffalo Sabres
4–4
Chicago Black Hawks
24–17–17
65
59
February 21
Chicago Black Hawks
1–10
Pittsburgh Penguins
24–18–17
65
60
February 22
California Golden Seals
5–2
Chicago Black Hawks
24–19–17
65
61
February 24
Chicago Black Hawks
4–1
Vancouver Canucks
25–19–17
67
62
February 26
Chicago Black Hawks
6–2
Los Angeles Kings
26–19–17
69
63
February 28
Chicago Black Hawks
1–4
New York Islanders
26–20–17
69
64
February 29
Chicago Black Hawks
1–4
Washington Capitals
26–21–17
69
65
March 4
Chicago Black Hawks
4–6
Buffalo Sabres
26–22–17
69
66
March 6
Chicago Black Hawks
4–7
St. Louis Blues
26–23–17
69
67
March 10
Montreal Canadiens
5–1
Chicago Black Hawks
26–24–17
69
68
March 13
Chicago Black Hawks
4–1
Minnesota North Stars
27–24–17
71
69
March 14
New York Islanders
5–3
Chicago Black Hawks
27–25–17
71
70
March 16
Chicago Black Hawks
6–3
Kansas City Scouts
28–25–17
73
71
March 17
Toronto Maple Leafs
5–6
Chicago Black Hawks
29–25–17
75
72
March 20
Chicago Black Hawks
2–4
New York Islanders
29–26–17
75
73
March 21
Detroit Red Wings
6–0
Chicago Black Hawks
29–27–17
75
74
March 24
Atlanta Flames
7–2
Chicago Black Hawks
29–28–17
75
75
March 25
Chicago Black Hawks
2–4
Boston Bruins
29–29–17
75
76
March 27
New York Rangers
6–5
Chicago Black Hawks
29–30–17
75
77
March 28
Minnesota North Stars
3–5
Chicago Black Hawks
30–30–17
77
78
March 31
Kansas City Scouts
3–6
Chicago Black Hawks
31–30–17
79
79
April 3
Chicago Black Hawks
3–3
St. Louis Blues
31–30–18
80
80
April 4
St. Louis Blues
2–7
Chicago Black Hawks
32–30–18
82
Montreal Canadiens 4, Chicago Black Hawks 0 [ ]
#
Date
Visitor
Score
Home
Record
1
April 11
Chicago Black Hawks
0–4
Montreal Canadiens
0–1
2
April 13
Chicago Black Hawks
1–3
Montreal Canadiens
0–2
3
April 15
Montreal Canadiens
2–1
Chicago Black Hawks
0–3
4
April 18
Montreal Canadiens
4–1
Chicago Black Hawks
0–4
Season stats [ ]
Scoring leaders [ ]
[4]
Goaltending [ ]
Playoff stats [ ]
Scoring leaders [ ]
Goaltending [ ]
Draft picks [ ]
Chicago's draft picks during the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft at the NHL Office in Montreal , Quebec .
Awards, records and honors [ ]
References [ ]
Sources [ ]
1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
Patrick Adams Norris Smythe See also