The 1975 Stanley Cup Final 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 defeated the Sabres in six games to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, becoming the first expansion team to accomplish such a feat. 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.

This was the only Final between and 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 and and Sidney Crosby in the Penguins' and 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 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.

Series box score

Game one

Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd None 3rd PHI Bill Barber (5) Ed Van Impe (3) and Rick MacLeish (7) 03:42 1–0 PHI PHI Ross Lonsberry (3) – pp Tom Bladon (3) and Bobby Clarke (10) 07:29 2–0 PHI BUF Rick Martin (6) – pp Jim Lorentz (3) 11:07 2–1 PHI PHI Bobby Clarke (3) – pp Unassisted 11:41 3–1 PHI PHI Bill Barber (6) – en Bobby Clarke (11) 19:02 4–1 PHI Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st PHI Don Saleski Elbowing 03:13 2:00 BUF Bill Hajt Tripping 04:25 2:00 BUF Gilbert Perreault Hooking 07:36 2:00 PHI Gary Dornhoefer Cross-checking 11:39 2:00 PHI Andre Dupont Cross-checking 12:35 2:00 BUF Brian Spencer High-sticking 18:43 2:00 PHI Rick MacLeish Hooking 18:43 2:00 2nd PHI Tom Bladon Hooking 02:56 2:00 PHI Gary Dornhoefer Elbowing 05:38 2:00 BUF Danny Gare Roughing 09:47 2:00 PHI Dave Schultz Roughing 09:47 2:00 PHI Dave Schultz Slashing 09:47 2:00 3rd BUF Jim Schoenfeld Holding 06:28 2:00 PHI Tom Bladon Interference 09:20 2:00 BUF Jerry Korab Slashing 11:36 2:00

Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 8 14 6 28 2 8 12 22

Game two

Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd PHI Reggie Leach (6) Bobby Clarke (12) and Ross Lonsberry (3) 08:24 1–0 PHI 3rd BUF Jerry Korab (2) Jim Lorentz (4) and Brian Spencer (4) 02:18 1–1 PHI Bobby Clarke (4) – pp Bill Barber (12) and Rick MacLeish (8) 06:43 2–1 PHI Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st PHI Bobby Clarke Cross-checking 00:50 2:00 BUF Rick Martin Holding 04:25 2:00 PHI Joe Watson Tripping 11:26 2:00 PHI Tom Bladon Cross-checking 13:56 2:00 BUF Larry Carriere Charging 17:01 2:00 BUF Don Luce Misconduct 19:05 10:00 BUF Jim Schoenfeld Interference 19:05 2:00 2nd PHI Tom Bladon Charging 03:53 2:00 BUF Rene Robert Tripping 11:01 2:00 BUF Rick Martin Roughing 17:05 2:00 PHI Don Saleski Roughing 17:05 2:00 3rd BUF Don Luce Hooking 06:15 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 8 8 3 19 12 5 7 24

Game three

Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st PHI Gary Dornhoefer (4) Bill Barber (7) 00:39 1–0 PHI PHI Don Saleski (2) Ted Harris (3) 03:09 2–0 PHI BUF Danny Gare (6) Craig Ramsay (6) and Don Luce (6) 11:46 2–1 PHI BUF Rick Martin (7) Jocelyn Guevremont (6) 12:03 2–2 PHI Rick MacLeish (11) Bill Barber (8) 14:13 3–2 PHI 2nd BUF Don Luce (4) Jerry Korab (2) 00:29 3–3 PHI Don Saleski (2) Bob Kelly (2) and Terry Crisp (1) 14:30 4–3 PHI 3rd BUF Bill Hajt (1) Rick Martin (5) and Don Luce (7) 09:56 4–4 OT BUF Rene Robert (5) Gilbert Perreault (9) and Rick Martin (5) 18:26 5–4 BUF Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st PHI Bob Kelly Slashing 08:07 2:00 PHI Andre Dupont Charging 08:47 2:00 BUF Danny Gare Roughing 15:03 2:00 PHI Dave Schultz Roughing 15:03 2:00 2nd PHI Gary Dornhoefer Slashing 05:15 2:00 BUF Jim Schoenfeld Interference 07:48 2:00 BUF Jocelyn Guevremont Tripping 11:57 2:00 3rd PHI Ed Van Impe Tripping 01:59 2:00 BUF Rick Dudley Interference 08:19 2:00 PHI Gary Dornhoefer Roughing 08:19 2:00 OT PHI Andre Dupont Hooking 04:18 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT Total 6 14 7 6 33 18 9 12 7 46

Game four

Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st PHI Andre Dupont (3) Bob Kelly (7) and Terry Crisp (2) 11:28 1–0 PHI 2nd BUF Jerry Korab (3) – pp Rene Robert (7) and Rick Martin (7) 03:46 1–1 PHI Ross Lonsberry (4) Rick MacLeish (9) 04:20 2–1 PHI BUF Gilbert Perreault (6) – pp Rene Robert (8) and Rick Martin (8) 10:07 2–2 BUF Jim Lorentz (6) Rick Dudley (1) and Jim Schoenfeld (3) 15:07 3–2 BUF 3rd BUF Danny Gare (7) – en Don Luce (7) and Jim Schoenfeld (4) 19:28 4–2 BUF Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st PHI Ed Van Impe Interference 03:26 2:00 BUF Gilbert Perreault Tripping 04:16 2:00 PHI Don Saleski Holding 04:29 2:00 BUF Rene Robert Hooking 18:05 2:00 2nd PHI Don Saleski Interference 00:17 2:00 PHI Andre Dupont Charging 04:16 2:00 BUF Rick Dudley Roughing 03:22 2:00 PHI Ed Van Impe Hooking 03:22 2:00 BUF Rick Dudley Fighting – major 05:38 5:00 BUF Jim Schoenfeld Fighting – major 05:38 5:00 PHI Bob Kelly Fighting – major 05:38 5:00 PHI Dave Schultz Fighting – major 05:38 5:00 PHI Ross Lonsberry Cross-checking 09:15 2:00 BUF Jocelyn Guevremont Holding 12:14 2:00 BUF Gilbert Perreault Holding 18:42 2:00 3rd None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 7 11 7 25 8 14 5 27

Game five

Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st PHI Dave Schultz (1) Don Saleski (3) and Orest Kindrachuk (1) 03:12 1–0 PHI PHI Gary Dornhoefer (5) Terry Crisp (3) and Ed Van Impe (4) 12:31 2–0 PHI PHI Bob Kelly (2) Terry Crisp (4) and Jimmy Watson (7) 12:50 3–0 PHI 2nd PHI Reggie Leach (8) – pp Bill Barber (9) and Larry Goodenough (3) 01:55 4–0 PHI PHI Dave Schultz (2) Larry Goodenough (4) and Ted Harris (4) 09:56 5–0 PHI 3rd BUF Don Luce (5) Craig Ramsay (7) and Danny Gare (6) 14:02 5–1 PHI Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st PHI Larry Goodenough Elbowing 10:17 2:00 PHI Gary Dornhoefer Holding 14:47 2:00 BUF Brian Spencer Tripping 17:16 2:00 2nd BUF Jocelyn Guevremont Hooking 00:40 2:00 PHI Gary Dornhoefer Interference 02:16 2:00 3rd PHI Gary Dornhoefer Holding 14:58 2:00 BUF Jim Lorentz Holding 17:50 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 10 6 8 24 9 7 10 26

Game six

Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd None 3rd PHI Bob Kelly (3) Reggie Leach (2) and Jimmy Watson (8) 00:11 1–0 PHI PHI Bill Clement (1) Orest Kindrachuk (2) 17:13 2–0 PHI Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st BUF Jerry Korab Interference 02:29 2:00 PHI Bill Clement Holding 08:53 2:00 PHI Andre Dupont Holding 11:41 2:00 PHI Ed Van Impe Interference 14:19 2:00 BUF Rene Robert Holding 15:24 2:00 PHI Dave Schultz Interference 19:21 2:00 2nd BUF Jerry Korab Holding 05:19 2:00 PHI Ted Harris Cross-checking 07:39 2:00 BUF Jocelyn Guevremont Holding 13:53 2:00 3rd BUF Rick Martin Tripping 01:11 2:00 BUF Larry Carriere Slashing 03:25 2:00 PHI Orest Kindrachuk Holding 10:32 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 6 12 13 31 13 13 6 32

Team rosters

Philadelphia Flyers

Buffalo Sabres

Stanley Cup engraving 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

See also 1974–75 NHL season Video of the game-winning goal for game 3. The fog is clearly visible at 1:19.

References

Further reading