1977–78 Detroit Red Wings season

The 1977–78 Detroit Red Wings season was the Red Wings' 46th season, 52nd overall for the franchise. The Red Wings returned to the playoffs after an eight-year absence. In the postseason, the swept the Atlanta Flames 2–0 in the preliminary round, in the quarterfinal round the Wings would lose in five games to the eventual Stanley cup champion Montreal Canadiens. The Red Wings wouldn't return to the playoffs again until 1984, and wouldn't win another playoff series until 1987.

Regular season

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

|1||T||October 13, 1977||3–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) ||0–0–1

|2||L||October 15, 1977||2–4 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) ||0–1–1

|3||L||October 18, 1977||2–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) ||0–2–1

|4||T||October 20, 1977||2–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) ||0–2–2

|5||W||October 22, 1977||4–2 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) ||1–2–2

|6||W||October 26, 1977||4–3 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) ||2–2–2

|7||W||October 27, 1977||3–1 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) ||3–2–2

|8||L||October 29, 1977||4–7 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) ||3–3–2

|9||W||November 2, 1977||3–1 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) ||4–3–2

|10||L||November 5, 1977||3–4 || align="left"| Cleveland Barons (1977–78) ||4–4–2

|11||W||November 6, 1977||4–1 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) ||5–4–2

|12||T||November 9, 1977||1–1 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1977–78) ||5–4–3

|13||W||November 12, 1977||3–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1977–78) ||6–4–3

|14||L||November 13, 1977||0–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) ||6–5–3

|15||W||November 16, 1977||10–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1977–78) ||7–5–3

|16||L||November 18, 1977||3–5 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) ||7–6–3

|17||W||November 19, 1977||2–1 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) ||8–6–3

|18||W||November 23, 1977||4–1 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) ||9–6–3

|19||L||November 26, 1977||1–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) ||9–7–3

|20||L||November 27, 1977||1–4 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1977–78) ||9–8–3

|21||L||November 30, 1977||4–6 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) ||9–9–3

|22||L||December 3, 1977||2–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) ||9–10–3

|23||L||December 4, 1977||1–6 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) ||9–11–3

|24||L||December 6, 1977||1–2 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) ||9–12–3

|25||L||December 8, 1977||4–6 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) ||9–13–3

|26||L||December 10, 1977||4–7 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1977–78) ||9–14–3

|27||T||December 15, 1977||5–5 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1977–78) ||9–14–4

|28||W||December 17, 1977||3–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) ||10–14–4

|29||L||December 18, 1977||2–6 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1977–78) ||10–15–4

|30||L||December 21, 1977||3–5 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) ||10–16–4

|31||L||December 23, 1977||2–3 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) ||10–17–4

|32||W||December 27, 1977||5–2 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1977–78) ||11–17–4

|33||T||December 29, 1977||3–3 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) ||11–17–5

|34||L||December 31, 1977||0–7 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1977–78) ||11–18–5

|35||W||January 5, 1978||2–1 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) ||12–18–5

|36||W||January 8, 1978||4–3 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) ||13–18–5

|37||W||January 11, 1978||6–3 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) ||14–18–5

|38||L||January 12, 1978||1–6 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) ||14–19–5

|39||W||January 14, 1978||6–2 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) ||15–19–5

|40||T||January 18, 1978||4–4 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) ||15–19–6

|41||W||January 19, 1978||4–2 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) ||16–19–6

|42||L||January 21, 1978||1–7 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1977–78) ||16–20–6

|43||W||January 22, 1978||6–3 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1977–78) ||17–20–6

|44||L||January 28, 1978||1–6 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) ||17–21–6

|45||T||January 29, 1978||3–3 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) ||17–21–7

|46||L||January 31, 1978||3–5 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) ||17–22–7

|47||L||February 1, 1978||0–2 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) ||17–23–7

|48||T||February 4, 1978||2–2 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) ||17–23–8

|49||W||February 5, 1978||4–3 || align="left"| Cleveland Barons (1977–78) ||18–23–8

|50||W||February 7, 1978||2–1 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) ||19–23–8

|51||L||February 9, 1978||3–5 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1977–78) ||19–24–8

|52||L||February 11, 1978||5–8 || align="left"| @ New York Islanders (1977–78) ||19–25–8

|53||W||February 12, 1978||8–3 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) ||20–25–8

|54||W||February 16, 1978||5–3 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1977–78) ||21–25–8

|55||L||February 18, 1978||2–4 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) ||21–26–8

|56||W||February 19, 1978||5–1 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) ||22–26–8

|57||W||February 23, 1978||4–1 || align="left"| Washington Capitals (1977–78) ||23–26–8

|58||T||February 25, 1978||2–2 || align="left"| @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) ||23–26–9

|59||L||February 26, 1978||1–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1977–78) ||23–27–9

|60||L||February 28, 1978||3–9 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) ||23–28–9

|61||L||March 1, 1978||2–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1977–78) ||23–29–9

|62||W||March 4, 1978||3–1 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) ||24–29–9

|63||W||March 5, 1978||4–3 || align="left"| Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) ||25–29–9

|64||T||March 9, 1978||2–2 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1977–78) ||25–29–10

|65||W||March 11, 1978||5–4 || align="left"| Colorado Rockies (1977–78) ||26–29–10

|66||T||March 12, 1978||4–4 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) ||26–29–11

|67||T||March 16, 1978||3–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) ||26–29–12

|68||W||March 18, 1978||5–4 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) ||27–29–12

|69||L||March 19, 1978||4–6 || align="left"| @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) ||27–30–12

|70||W||March 22, 1978||4–1 || align="left"| Atlanta Flames (1977–78) ||28–30–12

|71||T||March 25, 1978||2–2 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) ||28–30–13

|72||W||March 26, 1978||4–1 || align="left"| @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) ||29–30–13

|73||W||March 28, 1978||7–0 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) ||30–30–13

|74||L||March 30, 1978||0–4 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) ||30–31–13

|75||L||April 1, 1978||0–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) ||30–32–13

|76||L||April 2, 1978||2–5 || align="left"| New York Islanders (1977–78) ||30–33–13

|77||T||April 5, 1978||5–5 || align="left"| @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) ||30–33–14

|78||W||April 6, 1978||6–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) ||31–33–14

|79||L||April 8, 1978||1–5 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) ||31–34–14

|80||W||April 9, 1978||4–0 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) ||32–34–14

Legend:

Player statistics

Regular season Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG C 76 33 39 72 10101035 C 77 31 39 70 10871004 D 75 19 41 60 95−8714 LW 78 16 33 49 195−5223 LW 80 23 22 45 46−3111 LW 66 16 29 45 1514301 LW 80 19 23 42 5218323 LW 77 20 16 36 476204 C/RW 79 16 19 35 254−5500 RW 63 11 17 28 2−17501 D 79 7 20 27 73−4202 D 62 4 17 21 120−5011 RW 61 8 11 19 76−8202 D 80 2 17 19 8519000 LW 55 5 9 14 6−20201 C 66 3 6 9 13−12000 D 63 2 7 9 94−12100 D 32 2 6 8 343000 D 14 1 6 7 161000 LW 14 5 1 6 2−4100 RW 13 2 2 4 6−2100 RW 13 2 2 4 42000 LW 11 2 2 4 0−1100 LW 7 2 1 3 0−4100 D 5 0 3 3 4−5000 C 3 0 2 2 41000 G 43 0 2 2 20000 RW 3 1 0 1 0−2000 G 32 0 1 1 00000 C 1 0 0 0 0−2000 G 9 0 0 0 00000 D 5 0 0 0 120000 C 2 0 0 0 0−2000 RW 15 0 0 0 0−13000 D 3 0 0 0 7−1000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LTGAGAA SO 2468 43 20 17 4 134 3.26 1 1816 32 9 12 9 102 3.37 1 516 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 RW 7 3 5 8 0100 C 7 4 2 6 2200 LW 7 0 5 5 4000 LW 7 3 1 4 0100 LW 7 3 0 3 6001 LW 7 2 1 3 2101 LW 7 1 1 2 10011 C 7 1 1 2 4000 D 7 0 2 2 2000 D 7 0 2 2 4000 C/RW 7 1 0 1 19000 D 7 0 1 1 2000 D 7 0 1 1 4000 G 3 0 1 1 0000 RW 4 0 0 0 2000 D 2 0 0 0 2000 D 7 0 0 0 10000 LW 7 0 0 0 2000 D 5 0 0 0 8000 C 2 0 0 0 0000 G 4 0 0 0 0000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LGAGAA SO 180 3 2 1 12 4.00 0 240 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 fromFor 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 Player Former team Player New team

Draft picks Detroit's picks at the 1977 NHL amateur draft in Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal.

Round # Player Position Nationality College/junior/club team (League) 1 1 Dale McCourt Center St. Catharines Fincups (OHA) 3 37 Rick Vasko Defense Peterborough Petes (OHA) 4 55 John Hilworth Defense Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) 5 73 Jim Korn Defense Providence College (ECAC) 6 91 Jim Baxter Goaltender Union College (ECAC) 7 109 Randy Wilson Left wing Providence College (ECAC) 8 125 Raymond Roy Center Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) 9 141 Kip Churchill Center Union College (ECAC) 10 155 Lance Gatoni Defense University of Toronto (CIAU) 11 163 Rob Plumb Left wing Kingston Canadians (OHA) 12 170 Alain Belanger Left wing Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) 13 175 Dean Willers Right wing Union College (ECAC) 14 178 Roland Cloutier Center Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) 15 181 Ed Hill Right wing University of Vermont (ECAC) 16 184 Val James Left wing Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) 17 185 Grant Morin Right wing Calgary Centennials (WCHL) Reference:

See also 1977–78 NHL season

References