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 players.^[2]

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

Paths to the Finals[edit]

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[edit]

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 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[edit]

The third game of the series was the 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. The game continued and the Sabres won thanks to Rene Robert's goal in overtime.^[3]

Series box score[edit]

Team rosters[edit]

Philadelphia Flyers[edit]

No.	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[edit]

No.	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

Stanley Cup engraving[edit]

The 1975 Stanley Cup was presented to Flyers captain Bobby Clarke by NHL President Clarence Campbell following the Flyers 2–0 win over the Sabres in game six.

The following Flyers players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup

1974–75 Philadelphia Flyers

Players

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[edit]

• 1974–75 NHL season

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

• 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.