1975 Stanley Cup Finals

The 1975 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1974–75 season, and the culmination of the 1975 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Buffalo Sabres and the defending champion Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers would win the best-of-seven series, four games to two. This was the first Final to have two non-"Original Six" teams since the 1967 expansion, and also the first contested by any team that had joined the league after 1967 (the Sabres were part of the 1970 expansion). The 1975 Flyers are the last Stanley Cup championship team to be composed solely of Canadian-born players.[2]

1975 Stanley Cup Finals
123456 Total
Philadelphia Flyers 424*252 4
Buffalo Sabres 115*410 2
* overtime periods
Location(s)Philadelphia: Spectrum (1, 2, 5)
Buffalo: Memorial Auditorium (3, 4, 6)
CoachesPhiladelphia: Fred Shero
Buffalo: Floyd Smith
CaptainsPhiladelphia: Bobby Clarke
Buffalo: Jim Schoenfeld
RefereesArt Skov (1, 5)
Bruce Hood (2, 6)
Lloyd Gilmour (3)
Wally Harris (4)
DatesMay 15 – May 27
MVPBernie Parent (Flyers)
Series-winning goalBob Kelly (0:11, third, G6)
NetworksCBC (Canada-English), SRC (Canada-French), NBC (United States, Games 2, 5), WTAF (Philadelphia area, Games 3, 4, 6), WKBW (Buffalo area, Games 1, 3, 4, 6)
AnnouncersNBC: Tim Ryan, Ted Lindsay, Brian McFarlane, Phil Esposito[1]

This was the only Final between 1965 and 1979 not to feature either the Boston Bruins or the Montreal Canadiens.

Paths to the Finals

Buffalo defeated the Chicago Black Hawks 4–1 and the Montreal Canadiens 4–2 to advance to the final.

Philadelphia defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–0 and the New York Islanders 4–3 to make it to the final.

Game summaries

Bernie Parent was the outgunned Flyers' best player, allowing only 12 goals in the six games, capped with a shutout. He became the first player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy for two consecutive years. Since Parent, only two players have also won consecutive Conn Smythe Trophies, the Pittsburgh Penguins' Mario Lemieux in the Penguins' Stanley Cup wins in 1991 and 1992 and Sidney Crosby in the Penguins' 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup championships. In the deciding game six played in Buffalo, the Sabres' offensive big guns rained shot after shot on Parent in an all-out effort to turn the series around, but Parent remained perfect. He stopped French Connection linemates Gilbert Perreault and Rick Martin on a 2–1 late in period two that had Flyers legendary broadcaster Gene Hart screaming into his microphone:

Out come the Sabres...two on one...Perreault and Martin with just Dupont back...Perrault to Martin...He's in...Shot!....save by Parent...and he hangs on!...Oh baby!

The dramatic stop by Parent took the offensive energy out of the Sabres and the Flyers scored two third-period goals to take the championship.

Fog and the Bat

The third game of the series was the legendary Fog Game. Due to unusual heat in Buffalo in May 1975, and the lack of an air conditioning system in the auditorium, portions of the game were played in heavy fog. During stoppages of play, rink employees skated around the arena ice carrying bed sheets in an attempt to dispel the fog. Players, officials, and the puck were invisible to many spectators. The fog began to form just minutes after another odd incident: A bat in the arena, which flew above and around the players for the majority of the game, until Sabres center Jim Lorentz killed it with his stick. Many superstitious Buffalo fans considered this to be an 'evil omen,' pertaining to the result of the series. It was the only time that any player killed an animal during an NHL game.[3] The game continued and the Sabres won thanks to Rene Robert's goal in overtime.

Series box score
Philadelphia won series 4–2

Team rosters

Philadelphia Flyers
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
1 Bernie Parent G L 30 1973 Montreal, Quebec
2 Ed Van Impe D L 35 1967 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
3 Tom Bladon D R 22 1972 Edmonton, Alberta
5 Larry Goodenough D R 22 1973 Toronto, Ontario
6 Andre Dupont D L 25 1972 Trois-Rivières, Quebec
7 Bill Barber LW L 22 1972 Callander, Ontario
8 Dave Schultz LW L 25 1969 Waldheim, Saskatchewan
9 Bob Kelly LW L 24 1970 Oakville, Ontario
10 Bill Clement C L 24 1970 Buckingham, Quebec
11 Don Saleski RW R 25 1972 Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
12 Gary Dornhoefer (A) RW R 32 1967 Kitchener, Ontario
14 Joe Watson (A) D L 31 1967 Smithers, British Columbia
15 Terry Crisp (A) C L 31 1973 Parry Sound, Ontario
16 Bobby Clarke (C) C L 25 1969 Flin Flon, Manitoba
18 Ross Lonsberry LW L 28 1972 Watson, Saskatchewan
19 Rick MacLeish C L 25 1971 Cannington, Ontario
20 Jim Watson D L 22 1972 Smithers, British Columbia
25 Ted Harris D L 38 1974 Winnipeg, Manitoba
26 Orest Kindrachuk C L 24 1972 Nanton, Alberta
27 Reggie Leach RW R 25 1974 Riverton, Manitoba
30 Bobby Taylor G R 30 1968 Calgary, Alberta
35 Wayne Stephenson G L 30 1974 Fort William, Ontario

Buffalo Sabres
# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
1 Roger Crozier G R 33 1970 Bracebridge, Ontario
3 Paul McIntosh D R 21 1974 Listowel, Ontario
4 Jerry Korab D L 26 1973 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
5 Lee Fogolin Jr. D R 20 1974 Chicago, Illinois
6 Jim Schoenfeld (C) D L 22 1972 Galt, Ontario
7 Rick Martin W L 23 1971 LaSalle, Quebec
8 Jim Lorentz C L 28 1972 Waterloo, Ontario
9 Rick Dudley LW L 26 1972 Toronto, Ontario
10 Craig Ramsay LW L 24 1971 Weston, Ontario
11 Gilbert Perreault C L 24 1970 Victoriaville, Quebec
14 Rene Robert RW R 26 1972 Trois Rivieres, Quebec
15 Michel Deziel LW L 21 1974 Sorel, Quebec
16 Peter McNab C L 23 1972 Vancouver, British Columbia
17 Fred Stanfield LW L 31 1975 Toronto, Ontario
18 Danny Gare RW R 21 1974 Nelson, British Columbia
20 Don Luce C L 26 1971 London, Ontario
21 Brian Spencer LW L 25 1974 Fort St. James, British Columbia
22 Jocelyn Guevremont D R 24 1974 Montreal, Quebec
23 Larry Carriere D L 23 1972 Montreal, Quebec
24 Bill Hajt D L 23 1971 Radisson, Saskatchewan
29 Gary Bromley G L 25 1971 Edmonton, Alberta
30 Gerry Desjardins G L 30 1975 Sudbury, Ontario

Philadelphia Flyers – 1975 Stanley Cup champions

Players

  Centres
  Wingers
  Defencemen
  Goaltenders

Coaching and administrative staff

Stanley Cup engraving
  • Edward "Ted" Harris won 5 Stanley Cups. He was engraved on the Stanley Cup with Montreal Canadiens as Edward Harris in 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969. Harris was engraved as Ted Harris with Philadelphia Flyers in 1975.
  • Joe Kadlec^, John Brogan^ (Directors of Public Relations) were included on Philadelphia's Stanley Cup winning pictures in 1974, 1975, but their names do not appear on the Stanley Cup.
  • Bobby Taylor only played 3 regular season games after coming out of retirement. His name was engraved on the Stanley Cup, because he was dressed during the playoffs.
  • Reggie Leach was first aboriginal born NHL Hockey player to get his name on the Stanley Cup.

See also

Notes
  1. "Hockey finals on tap". The Day. May 17, 1975. p. 18A.
  2. Weekes, Don. The Big Book of Hockey Trivia. Greystone Books. p. 558. ISBN 1-55365-119-7.
  3. '75 SCF Bat/Fog Flyers-Sabres '75 SCF Bat/Fog on YouTube

References
  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Stanley Cup. NHL.
  • Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7.
Preceded by
Philadelphia Flyers
1974		 Philadelphia Flyers
Stanley Cup Champions
1975		 Succeeded by
Montreal Canadiens
1976
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