1976–77 Atlanta Flames season

1976–77 Atlanta Flames
1976–77 Atlanta Flames
Division	3rd Patrick
Conference	3rd Campbell
1976–77 record	34–34–12
Home record	22–11–7
Road record	12–23–5
Goals for	264
Goals against	265
Team information
General manager	Cliff Fletcher
Coach	Fred Creighton
Captain	Pat Quinn
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Omni Coliseum
Team leaders
Goals	Willi Plett (33)
Assists	Tom Lysiak (51)
Points	Tom Lysiak (81)
Penalty minutes	Willi Plett (123)
Wins	Dan Bouchard, Phil Myre (17)
Goals against average	Phil Myre (3.07)

The 1976–77 Atlanta Flames season was the fifth season for the franchise.

Regular season

Patrick Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Philadelphia Flyers	80	48	16	16	323	213	112
New York Islanders	80	47	21	12	288	193	106
	80	34	34	12	264	265	80
New York Rangers	80	29	37	14	272	310	72

^[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

Patrick Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Patrick Division

1976–77 NHL records
Team	ATL	NYI	NYR	PHI	Total
	—	0–6	4–1–1	2–2–2	6–9–3
N.Y. Islanders	6–0	—	4–1–1	3–2–1	13–3–2
N.Y. Rangers	1–4–1	1–4–1	—	0–2–4	2–10–6
Philadelphia	2–2–2	2–3–1	2–0–4	—	6–5–7

Vs. Smythe Division

1976–77 NHL records
Team	CHI	COL	MIN	STL	VAN	Total
	3–2	3–1–1	2–1–2	4–1	1–3–1	13–8–4
N.Y. Islanders	3–1–1	5–0	3–1–1	3–1–1	4–1	18–4–3
N.Y. Rangers	2–2–1	3–1–1	5–0	2–2–1	3–2	15–7–3
Philadelphia	3–0–2	5–0	3–0–2	5–0	4–0–1	20–0–5

Vs. Adams Division

1976–77 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	CLE	TOR	Total
	2–2	1–2–1	1–2–1	1–4	5–10–2
N.Y. Islanders	2–1–1	3–1–1	3–0–1	1–2–1	9–4–4
N.Y. Rangers	0–4–1	0–4	3–0–1	2–1–1	5–9–3
Philadelphia	3–1	2–2	3–1–1	2–1–1	10–5–2

Vs. Norris Division

1976–77 NHL records^[2]
Team	DET	LAK	MTL	PIT	WSH	Total
	2–1–1	2–2	0–3–1	3–0–1	3–1	10–7–3
N.Y. Islanders	2–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	1–0–3	7–10–3
N.Y. Rangers	3–1	0–3–1	1–3	1–2–1	2–2	7–11–2
Philadelphia	3–1	4–0	0–4	3–1	2–0–2	12–6–2

Schedule and results

1976–77 regular season^[3]

October

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance
1	L	October 5, 1976	5–6	@ Washington Capitals (1976–77)	0–1–0	13,152
2	W	October 7, 1976	4–2	Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	1–1–0	9,140
3	W	October 9, 1976	4–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	2–1–0	13,091
4	L	October 12, 1976	0–7	@ New York Islanders (1976–77)	2–2–0	12,331
5	W	October 13, 1976	4–2	@ Cleveland Barons (1976–77)	3–2–0	3,812
6	W	October 15, 1976	2–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	4–2–0	9,336
7	W	October 17, 1976	6–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	5–2–0	16,433
8	L	October 20, 1976	3–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	5–3–0	7,130
9	L	October 22, 1976	3–5	Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	5–4–0	9,702
10	T	October 24, 1976	3–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	5–4–1	7,787
11	L	October 27, 1976	2–4	@ Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	5–5–1	3,763
12	L	October 28, 1976	1–5	@ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	5–6–1	9,104
13	T	October 30, 1976	3–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	5–6–2	15,610

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance
14	W	November 3, 1976	7–0	Washington Capitals (1976–77)	6–6–2	8,146
15	L	November 5, 1976	2–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	6–7–2	10,259
16	T	November 7, 1976	0–0	@ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	6–7–3	8,810
17	T	November 10, 1976	2–2	Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	6–7–4	11,235
18	T	November 12, 1976	3–3	Cleveland Barons (1976–77)	6–7–5	9,431
19	W	November 13, 1976	5–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	7–7–5	15,128
20	W	November 17, 1976	6–3	Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	8–7–5	8,337
21	W	November 19, 1976	5–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	9–7–5	12,444
22	L	November 21, 1976	5–6	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	9–8–5	17,077
23	W	November 24, 1976	6–2	Washington Capitals (1976–77)	10–8–5	9,287
24	W	November 26, 1976	5–2	St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	11–8–5	12,193
25	T	November 30, 1976	2–2	New York Rangers (1976–77)	11–8–6	9,262

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance
26	W	December 3, 1976	3–1	Boston Bruins (1976–77)	12–8–6	12,325
27	W	December 4, 1976	1–0	@ St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	13–8–6	14,344
28	W	December 8, 1976	5–0	@ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	14–8–6	6,085
29	T	December 10, 1976	3–3	Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	14–8–7	10,101
30	W	December 11, 1976	3–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	15–8–7	11,711
31	L	December 15, 1976	1–3	Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	15–9–7	11,264
32	L	December 17, 1976	2–4	New York Islanders (1976–77)	15–10–7	9,467
33	L	December 18, 1976	3–6	@ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	15–11–7	8,742
34	L	December 20, 1976	2–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	15–12–7	16,485
35	W	December 22, 1976	2–1	Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	16–12–7	14,244
36	W	December 27, 1976	6–2	Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	17–12–7	12,613
37	L	December 29, 1976	3–6	Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	17–13–7	14,727
38	W	December 31, 1976	4–2	@ New York Rangers (1976–77)	18–13–7	17,500

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance
39	L	January 2, 1977	0–7	@ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	18–14–7	15,782
40	W	January 5, 1977	4–1	Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	19–14–7	11,319
41	L	January 7, 1977	4–5	New York Islanders (1976–77)	19–15–7	14,280
42	L	January 8, 1977	3–6	@ New York Islanders (1976–77)	19–16–7	15,149
43	W	January 12, 1977	6–1	New York Rangers (1976–77)	20–16–7	11,241
44	W	January 14, 1977	3–2	St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	21–16–7	12,436
45	W	January 16, 1977	6–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	22–16–7	10,138
46	T	January 20, 1977	4–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	22–16–8	7,479
47	T	January 22, 1977	4–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	22–16–9	15,155
48	L	January 23, 1977	0–3	@ Boston Bruins (1976–77)	22–17–9	11,391
49	T	January 27, 1977	1–1	@ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	22–17–10	16,433
50	T	January 28, 1977	3–3	Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	22–17–11	13,941
51	W	January 31, 1977	7–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	23–17–11	14,126

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance
52	L	February 2, 1977	2–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	23–18–11	N/A
53	W	February 4, 1977	6–3	Boston Bruins (1976–77)	24–18–11	15,151
54	L	February 7, 1977	4–7	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	24–19–11	17,077
55	L	February 9, 1977	1–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	24–20–11	16,416
56	L	February 12, 1977	1–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1976–77)	24–21–11	14,856
57	L	February 13, 1977	2–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	24–22–11	N/A
58	W	February 17, 1977	4–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77)	25–22–11	11,059
59	L	February 19, 1977	1–5	@ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	25–23–11	N/A
60	L	February 21, 1977	2–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	25–24–11	16,583
61	L	February 23, 1977	2–4	Montreal Canadiens (1976–77)	25–25–11	14,705
62	W	February 25, 1977	6–2	Minnesota North Stars (1976–77)	26–25–11	15,087
63	L	February 26, 1977	2–8	@ New York Islanders (1976–77)	26–26–11	15,317

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance
64	L	March 2, 1977	1–2	Vancouver Canucks (1976–77)	26–27–11	11,609
65	L	March 5, 1977	1–2	Cleveland Barons (1976–77)	26–28–11	13,341
66	W	March 6, 1977	4–2	@ Washington Capitals (1976–77)	27–28–11	10,098
67	L	March 8, 1977	2–3	@ Boston Bruins (1976–77)	27–29–11	10,771
68	L	March 9, 1977	2–6	New York Islanders (1976–77)	27–30–11	11,230
69	W	March 12, 1977	6–3	New York Rangers (1976–77)	28–30–11	15,155
70	W	March 13, 1977	5–3	@ New York Rangers (1976–77)	29–30–11	17,500
71	W	March 15, 1977	7–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77)	30–30–11	13,161
72	W	March 17, 1977	4–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	31–30–11	17,077
73	L	March 19, 1977	4–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77)	31–31–11	16,485
74	L	March 20, 1977	4–5	@ Cleveland Barons (1976–77)	31–32–11	10,829
75	L	March 22, 1977	3–6	Buffalo Sabres (1976–77)	31–33–11	12,034
76	W	March 24, 1977	3–1	Detroit Red Wings (1976–77)	32–33–11	14,783
77	W	March 26, 1977	2–1	@ Colorado Rockies (1976–77)	33–33–11	7,338
78	L	March 30, 1977	3–4	@ New York Rangers (1976–77)	33–34–11	17,500

April

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Attendance
79	W	April 1, 1977	6–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77)	34–34–11	13,931
80	T	April 3, 1977	3–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77)	34–34–12	15,110

Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

		Regular season					Playoffs
Player	#	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Tom Lysiak	12	79	30	51	81	52	3	1	3	4	8
Eric Vail	27	78	32	39	71	22	3	1	3	4	0
Willi Plett	25	64	33	23	56	123	3	1	0	1	19
Guy Chouinard	16	80	17	33	50	8	3	2	0	2	0
Curt Bennett	5	76	22	25	47	36	3	1	0	1	7
Ken Houston	6	78	20	24	44	35	3	0	0	0	4
Richard Mulhern	4	79	12	32	44	80	3	0	2	2	5
Bill Clement	10	67	17	26	43	27	3	1	1	2	0
Rey Comeau	18	80	15	18	33	16	3	0	0	0	2
Randy Manery	7	73	5	24	29	33	3	0	0	0	0
Tim Ecclestone	14	78	9	18	27	26	3	0	2	2	6
Ed Kea	19	72	4	21	25	63	3	0	1	1	2
Bobby Simpson	11	72	13	10	23	45	2	0	1	1	0
John Gould^†	21	54	8	15	23	8	3	0	0	0	2
Barry Gibbs	2	66	1	16	17	63	3	0	0	0	2
Dave Shand	8	55	5	11	16	62	3	0	0	0	33
Hilliard Graves^‡	17	25	8	5	13	17	–	–	–	–	-
Pat Quinn	3	59	1	12	13	58	1	0	0	0	0
Larry Romanchych	21/9	25	4	5	9	4	1	0	0	0	0
Bill Flett^‡	9	24	4	4	8	6	–	–	–	–	-
Larry Carriere^‡	23	25	2	3	5	16	–	–	–	–	-
Pat Ribble	23	23	2	2	4	31	2	0	0	0	6
Rick Bowness	15	28	0	4	4	29	–	–	–	–	-
Phil Myre	1	43	0	2	2	6	2	0	0	0	0
Dan Bouchard	30	42	0	1	1	9	1	0	0	0	0

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Atlanta. Stats reflect time with the Flames only.
^‡Traded mid-season

Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

		Regular season								Playoffs
Player	#	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Phil Myre	1	43	2422	17	17	7	124	3	3.07	2	120	1	1	5	0	2.50
Dan Bouchard	30	42	2378	17	17	5	139	1	3.51	1	60	0	1	5	0	5.00

Transactions

The Flames were involved in the following transactions during the 1976–77 season.

Trades

December 1, 1976	To Atlanta Flames ----Cash	To Edmonton Oilers (WHA) ----Bill Flett
December 2, 1976	To Atlanta Flames ----John Gould Kings' 2nd round pick in 1977 (Brian Hill)	To Vancouver Canucks ----Larry Carriere Hilliard Graves

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team
1	8.	Dave Shand (D)	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHA)
1	10.	Harold Phillipoff (LW)	Canada	New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
2	28.	Bobby Simpson (LW)	Canada	Sherbrooke Beavers (QMJHL)
3	46.	Rick Hodgson (D)	Canada	Calgary Centennials (WCHL)
4	64.	Kent Nilsson (C)	Sweden	Djurgårdens IF (Elitserien)
5	82.	Mark Earp (G)	Canada	Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL)

References

Flames on Hockey Database

^ 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.
^ "1976-77 Atlanta Flames Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 24, 2025.

[nhl-gd-standings-1] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.

[2] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[Gamelog-3] "1976-77 Atlanta Flames Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 24, 2025.

[1]

[2]

[3]

1976–77 NHL season
Patrick	NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia
Adams	Boston Buffalo Cleveland Toronto
Norris	Detroit Los Angeles Montreal Pittsburgh Washington
Smythe	Chicago Colorado Minnesota St. Louis Vancouver
See also	Draft All-Star Game Stanley Cup Finals