| 1977–78 Detroit Red Wings | |
|---|---|
| Division | 2nd Norris |
| Conference | 5th Wales |
| 1977–78 record | 32–34–14 |
| Home record | 22–11–7 |
| Road record | 10–23–7 |
| Goals for | 252 |
| Goals against | 266 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Ted Lindsay |
| Coach | Bobby Kromm |
| Captain | Dan Maloney Dennis Hextall |
| Alternate captains | None |
| Arena | Detroit Olympia |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Dale McCourt (33) |
| Assists | Reed Larson (41) |
| Points | Dale McCourt (72) |
| Penalty minutes | Dennis Polonich (254) |
| Wins | Jim Rutherford (20) |
| Goals against average | Ed Giacomin (3.14) |
The 1977–78 Detroit Red Wings season was the Red Wings' 46th season, 52nd overall for the franchise.
Regular season
Final standings
| GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 59 | 10 | 11 | 359 | 183 | 129 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 32 | 34 | 14 | 252 | 266 | 78 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 31 | 34 | 15 | 243 | 245 | 77 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 25 | 37 | 18 | 254 | 321 | 68 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 17 | 49 | 14 | 195 | 321 | 48 |
[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
Norris Division record vs. opponents | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | T | October 13, 1977 | 3–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | L | October 15, 1977 | 2–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 0–1–1 |
| 3 | L | October 18, 1977 | 2–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 0–2–1 |
| 4 | T | October 20, 1977 | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 0–2–2 |
| 5 | W | October 22, 1977 | 4–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 1–2–2 |
| 6 | W | October 26, 1977 | 4–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 2–2–2 |
| 7 | W | October 27, 1977 | 3–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 3–2–2 |
| 8 | L | October 29, 1977 | 4–7 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 3–3–2 |
| 9 | W | November 2, 1977 | 3–1 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 4–3–2 |
| 10 | L | November 5, 1977 | 3–4 | Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 4–4–2 |
| 11 | W | November 6, 1977 | 4–1 | @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 5–4–2 |
| 12 | T | November 9, 1977 | 1–1 | Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 5–4–3 |
| 13 | W | November 12, 1977 | 3–1 | New York Rangers (1977–78) | 6–4–3 |
| 14 | L | November 13, 1977 | 0–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 6–5–3 |
| 15 | W | November 16, 1977 | 10–1 | St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 7–5–3 |
| 16 | L | November 18, 1977 | 3–5 | @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) | 7–6–3 |
| 17 | W | November 19, 1977 | 2–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 8–6–3 |
| 18 | W | November 23, 1977 | 4–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 9–6–3 |
| 19 | L | November 26, 1977 | 1–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 9–7–3 |
| 20 | L | November 27, 1977 | 1–4 | New York Islanders (1977–78) | 9–8–3 |
| 21 | L | November 30, 1977 | 4–6 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 9–9–3 |
| 22 | L | December 3, 1977 | 2–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 9–10–3 |
| 23 | L | December 4, 1977 | 1–6 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 9–11–3 |
| 24 | L | December 6, 1977 | 1–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 9–12–3 |
| 25 | L | December 8, 1977 | 4–6 | @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 9–13–3 |
| 26 | L | December 10, 1977 | 4–7 | @ New York Islanders (1977–78) | 9–14–3 |
| 27 | T | December 15, 1977 | 5–5 | New York Rangers (1977–78) | 9–14–4 |
| 28 | W | December 17, 1977 | 3–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 10–14–4 |
| 29 | L | December 18, 1977 | 2–6 | @ New York Rangers (1977–78) | 10–15–4 |
| 30 | L | December 21, 1977 | 3–5 | Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 10–16–4 |
| 31 | L | December 23, 1977 | 2–3 | @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 10–17–4 |
| 32 | W | December 27, 1977 | 5–2 | Colorado Rockies (1977–78) | 11–17–4 |
| 33 | T | December 29, 1977 | 3–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 11–17–5 |
| 34 | L | December 31, 1977 | 0–7 | Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 11–18–5 |
| 35 | W | January 5, 1978 | 2–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 12–18–5 |
| 36 | W | January 8, 1978 | 4–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 13–18–5 |
| 37 | W | January 11, 1978 | 6–3 | @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 14–18–5 |
| 38 | L | January 12, 1978 | 1–6 | Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 14–19–5 |
| 39 | W | January 14, 1978 | 6–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 15–19–5 |
| 40 | T | January 18, 1978 | 4–4 | @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) | 15–19–6 |
| 41 | W | January 19, 1978 | 4–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 16–19–6 |
| 42 | L | January 21, 1978 | 1–7 | @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 16–20–6 |
| 43 | W | January 22, 1978 | 6–3 | Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 17–20–6 |
| 44 | L | January 28, 1978 | 1–6 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 17–21–6 |
| 45 | T | January 29, 1978 | 3–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 17–21–7 |
| 46 | L | January 31, 1978 | 3–5 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 17–22–7 |
| 47 | L | February 1, 1978 | 0–2 | @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 17–23–7 |
| 48 | T | February 4, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) | 17–23–8 |
| 49 | W | February 5, 1978 | 4–3 | Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 18–23–8 |
| 50 | W | February 7, 1978 | 2–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 19–23–8 |
| 51 | L | February 9, 1978 | 3–5 | Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 19–24–8 |
| 52 | L | February 11, 1978 | 5–8 | @ New York Islanders (1977–78) | 19–25–8 |
| 53 | W | February 12, 1978 | 8–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 20–25–8 |
| 54 | W | February 16, 1978 | 5–3 | Atlanta Flames (1977–78) | 21–25–8 |
| 55 | L | February 18, 1978 | 2–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) | 21–26–8 |
| 56 | W | February 19, 1978 | 5–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 22–26–8 |
| 57 | W | February 23, 1978 | 4–1 | Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 23–26–8 |
| 58 | T | February 25, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) | 23–26–9 |
| 59 | L | February 26, 1978 | 1–3 | St. Louis Blues (1977–78) | 23–27–9 |
| 60 | L | February 28, 1978 | 3–9 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 23–28–9 |
| 61 | L | March 1, 1978 | 2–3 | @ New York Rangers (1977–78) | 23–29–9 |
| 62 | W | March 4, 1978 | 3–1 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 24–29–9 |
| 63 | W | March 5, 1978 | 4–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) | 25–29–9 |
| 64 | T | March 9, 1978 | 2–2 | Boston Bruins (1977–78) | 25–29–10 |
| 65 | W | March 11, 1978 | 5–4 | Colorado Rockies (1977–78) | 26–29–10 |
| 66 | T | March 12, 1978 | 4–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 26–29–11 |
| 67 | T | March 16, 1978 | 3–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 26–29–12 |
| 68 | W | March 18, 1978 | 5–4 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) | 27–29–12 |
| 69 | L | March 19, 1978 | 4–6 | @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) | 27–30–12 |
| 70 | W | March 22, 1978 | 4–1 | Atlanta Flames (1977–78) | 28–30–12 |
| 71 | T | March 25, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 28–30–13 |
| 72 | W | March 26, 1978 | 4–1 | @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) | 29–30–13 |
| 73 | W | March 28, 1978 | 7–0 | Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) | 30–30–13 |
| 74 | L | March 30, 1978 | 0–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) | 30–31–13 |
| 75 | L | April 1, 1978 | 0–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) | 30–32–13 |
| 76 | L | April 2, 1978 | 2–5 | New York Islanders (1977–78) | 30–33–13 |
| 77 | T | April 5, 1978 | 5–5 | @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) | 30–33–14 |
| 78 | W | April 6, 1978 | 6–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) | 31–33–14 |
| 79 | L | April 8, 1978 | 1–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 31–34–14 |
| 80 | W | April 9, 1978 | 4–0 | Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) | 32–34–14 |
Player statistics
Regular season
- Scoring
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dale McCourt | C | 76 | 33 | 39 | 72 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 5 |
| Andre St. Laurent | C | 77 | 31 | 39 | 70 | 108 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Reed Larson | D | 75 | 19 | 41 | 60 | 95 | −8 | 7 | 1 | 4 |
| Dennis Hextall | LW | 78 | 16 | 33 | 49 | 195 | −5 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Nick Libett | LW | 80 | 23 | 22 | 45 | 46 | −3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Dan Maloney | LW | 66 | 16 | 29 | 45 | 151 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Paul Woods | LW | 80 | 19 | 23 | 42 | 52 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Bill Lochead | LW | 77 | 20 | 16 | 36 | 47 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Dennis Polonich | C/RW | 79 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 254 | −5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Vaclav Nedomansky | RW | 63 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 2 | −17 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Greg Joly | D | 79 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 73 | −4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Perry Miller | D | 62 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 120 | −5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Rick Bowness | RW | 61 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 76 | −8 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Terry Harper | D | 80 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 85 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Hull | LW | 55 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 6 | −20 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Larry Wright | C | 66 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 13 | −12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Cameron | D | 63 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 94 | −12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Hamel | D | 32 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thommie Bergman | D | 14 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Errol Thompson | LW | 14 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | −4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Grant | RW | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Al McDonough | RW | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Ritchie | LW | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | −1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rob Plumb | LW | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | −4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Giroux | D | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | −5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J.P. LeBlanc | C | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Rutherford | G | 43 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Bergeron | RW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Low | G | 32 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roland Cloutier | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ed Giacomin | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Hilworth | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fern LeBlanc | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tim Sheehy | RW | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Vasko | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Rutherford | 2468 | 43 | 20 | 17 | 4 | 134 | 3.26 | 1 |
| Ron Low | 1816 | 32 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 102 | 3.37 | 1 |
| Ed Giacomin | 516 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 27 | 3.14 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 32 | 34 | 14 | 263 | 3.29 | 2 |
Playoffs
- Scoring
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaclav Nedomansky | RW | 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale McCourt | C | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Woods | LW | 7 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Libett | LW | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Lochead | LW | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Errol Thompson | LW | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Dennis Hextall | LW | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Andre St. Laurent | C | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Thommie Bergman | D | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reed Larson | D | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Polonich | C/RW | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Cameron | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Harper | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Rutherford | G | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Bowness | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Giroux | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Hamel | D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Hull | LW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Joly | D | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J.P. LeBlanc | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Low | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Rutherford | 180 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 4.00 | 0 |
| Ron Low | 240 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 4.25 | 0 |
| Team: | 420 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 29 | 4.14 | 0 |
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;
Transactions
The Red Wings were involved in the following transactions during the 1977–78 season.
Trades
| Player acquired | Acquired from | For |
| Andre St. Laurent | New York Islanders | Michel Bergeron |
| Cash | Philadelphia Flyers | Terry Murray |
| Dennis Hull | Chicago Blackhawks | Red Wings' 4th Round Draft Pick in 1980 |
| Errol Thompson, 1st and 2nd Round Draft Pick in 1978, 1st Round Draft Pick in 1980 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Dan Maloney, 2nd Round Draft Pick in 1980 |
Free Agents
|
|
Draft picks
Detroit's picks at the 1977 NHL amateur draft in Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.
See also
References
- ↑ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
- ↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- ↑ "1977–78 Detroit Red Wings Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
- ↑ "1977-78 Detroit Red Wings Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.