1976–77 NHL season

Two teams relocated: The Kansas City Scouts moved to Denver, Colorado, and became the Colorado Rockies and the California Golden Seals moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and became the Cleveland Barons. These were the first franchise moves since the original Ottawa Senators had relocated in 1934 to become the St. Louis Eagles. Instability and the poor performances of the Washington Capitals and the Scouts since the 1974 expansion caused the league to shelve an expansion to Denver and Seattle that had been proposed for this season. Seattle would not have a team until the expansion Seattle Kraken in the 2021–22 season.

The 1976 NHL amateur draft was held on June 1, at the NHL offices in Montreal, Quebec. Rick Green was selected first overall by the Washington Capitals.

This season was Clarence Campbell's last as NHL President before he was succeeded by John Ziegler.

• The relocated Cleveland Barons moved from the Oakland Coliseum Arena to Cleveland's Richfield Coliseum.
• The relocated Colorado Rockies moved from Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri to McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado.

The previous season saw the Montreal Canadiens set new records in wins and points. Both of those records were broken again by the Canadiens this season as, with the highest points percentage in post-expansion NHL history (.825), they had 60 wins and 132 points. Their home record was 33 wins, 1 loss, and 6 ties. Scoring 216 more goals than they allowed, the Canadiens were a full 20 points ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers, however, were swept in four straight games by the third-place Boston Bruins in the semi-finals. The Bruins were in turn swept by the Canadiens in four straight in the finals.

On February 2, 1977, during a game against the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Ian Turnbull became the first player in NHL history to score five goals on five shots.Hockey's Book of Firsts, p.27, James Duplacey, JG Press, {{ISBN|978-1-57215-037-9}}

;Prince of Wales Conference

{{1976–77 NHL Adams Division standings}}

{{1976–77 NHL Norris Division standings}}

;Clarence Campbell Conference

{{1976–77 NHL Patrick Division standings}}

{{1976–77 NHL Smythe Division standings}}

The New York Islanders won six consecutive games before the semifinal and were the only team from the preliminary round to make it to the semifinals, where they lost to the first-ranked, defending, and eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens swept the St. Louis Blues and dispatched the Islanders in six to reach the final. The losses to the Islanders were the Canadiens' only losses of their playoff run. Second-ranked Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the quarterfinals, before being swept by the third-ranked Boston Bruins in the semifinals.

The top three teams in each division made the playoffs. All 12 clubs then were seeded 1–12 based on regular season points, regardless of conference or division.

Note: Only teams that qualified for the playoffs are listed here.

1. Montreal Canadiens, Norris Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 132 points
2. Philadelphia Flyers, Patrick Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 112 points
3. Boston Bruins, Adams Division champions – 106 points (49 wins)
4. New York Islanders – 106 points (47 wins)
5. Buffalo Sabres – 104 points
6. Los Angeles Kings – 83 points
7. Pittsburgh Penguins – 81 points (34 wins)
8. Toronto Maple Leafs – 81 points (33 wins)
9. Atlanta Flames – 80 points
10. St. Louis Blues, Smythe Division champions – 73 points
11. Minnesota North Stars – 64 points
12. Chicago Black Hawks – 63 points

The NHL used "re-seeding" instead of a fixed bracket playoff system: in each round, the highest remaining seed was matched against the lowest remaining seed, the second-highest remaining seed played the second-lowest remaining seed, and so forth.

Regardless of playoff seed, all four division winners received a bye to the Quarterfinals, including this season's 10th overall seeded Smythe Division champion St. Louis Blues.

Each series in the Preliminary Round was played in a best-of-three format while each series in the other three rounds were played in a best-of-seven format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each series).

{{4RoundBracket-Byes

| RD1=Preliminary round

| RD2=Quarterfinals

| RD3=Semifinals

| RD4=Stanley Cup Finals

| RD1-seed05=1

| RD1-team05={{nowrap|NY Islanders}}

| RD1-score05=2

| RD1-seed06=8

| RD1-team06=Chicago

| RD1-score06=0

| RD1-seed07=2

| RD1-team07=Buffalo

| RD1-score07=2

| RD1-seed08=7

| RD1-team08=Minnesota

| RD1-score08=0

| RD1-seed11=4

| RD1-team11=Pittsburgh

| RD1-score11=1

| RD1-seed12=5

| RD1-team12=Toronto

| RD1-score12=2

| RD1-seed15=3

| RD1-team15={{nowrap|Los Angeles}}

| RD1-score15=2

| RD1-seed16=6

| RD1-team16=Atlanta

| RD1-score16=1

| RD2-seed01=1

| RD2-team01=Montreal

| RD2-score01=4

| RD2-seed02=8

| RD2-team02=St. Louis

| RD2-score02=0

| RD2-seed03=4

| RD2-team03={{nowrap|NY Islanders}}

| RD2-score03=4

| RD2-seed04=5

| RD2-team04=Buffalo

| RD2-score04=0

| RD2-seed05=2

| RD2-team05=Philadelphia

| RD2-score05=4

| RD2-seed06=7

| RD2-team06=Toronto

| RD2-score06=2

| RD2-seed07=3

| RD2-team07=Boston

| RD2-score07=4

| RD2-seed08=6

| RD2-team08={{nowrap|Los Angeles}}

| RD2-score08=2

| RD3-seed01=1

| RD3-team01=Montreal

| RD3-score01=4

| RD3-seed02=4

| RD3-team02={{nowrap|NY Islanders}}

| RD3-score02=2

| RD3-seed03=2

| RD3-team03=Philadelphia

| RD3-score03=0

| RD3-seed04=3

| RD3-team04=Boston

| RD3-score04=4

| RD4-seed01=1

| RD4-team01=Montreal

| RD4-score01=4

| RD4-seed02=3

| RD4-team02=Boston

| RD4-score02=0

}}

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. The Black Hawks were originally scheduled as the home team for the second game, but its home rink Chicago Stadium had already been booked that night for the second of three Led Zeppelin concerts.[https://www.nytimes.com/1977/04/05/archives/islanders-get-home-ice-for-all-hawk-games-islanders-to-play-hawk.html Herman, Robin. "Islanders Get Home Ice for All Hawk Games," The New York Times, Tuesday, April 5, 1977.] Retrieved March 13, 2023.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Chicago Black Hawks

|team2=New York Islanders

|stadium2=Chicago Stadium

|stadium1=Nassau Coliseum

|date1 =April 5

|score1 =2–5

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/chi-vs-nyi/1977/04/05/1976030111#game=1976030111,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Grant Mulvey (1) – pp – 15:22

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =Kirk Bowman (1) – pp – 08:24

|1-2-2 =02:31 – J.P. Parise (1)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =03:18 – pp – Denis Potvin (1)
04:53 – Billy MacMillan (1)
11:56 – Bob Bourne (1)
19:22 – en – J.P. Parise (2)

|goalie1-1 =Tony Esposito 32 saves / 37 shots

|goalie1-2 =Billy Smith 14 saves / 16 shots

|date2 =April 7

|score2 =1–2

|home2 =1

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/chi-vs-nyi/1977/04/07/1976030112#game=1976030112,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =Dennis Hull (1) – pp – 11:12

|2-1-2 =13:56 – Jude Drouin (1)

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =14:18 – Clark Gillies (1)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Tony Esposito 33 saves / 35 shots

|goalie2-2 =Billy Smith 18 saves / 19 shots

|series = New York won series 2–0

}}

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Minnesota North Stars

|team2=Buffalo Sabres

|stadium2=Met Center

|stadium1=Buffalo Memorial Auditorium

|date1 =April 5

|score1 =2–4

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mns-vs-buf/1977/04/05/1976030121#game=1976030121,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Roland Eriksson (1) – 02:08

|1-1-2 =02:55 – Rene Robert (1)

|1-2-1 =Tim Young (1) – 7:35

|1-2-2 =02:47 – Jim Lorentz (1)
04:35 – Jerry Korab (1)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =19:55 – en – Rene Robert (2)

|goalie1-1 =Pete LoPresti 37 saves / 41 shots

|goalie1-2 =Don Edwards 23 saves / 25 shots

|date2 =April 7

|score2 =7–1

|home2 =2

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-mns/1977/04/07/1976030122#game=1976030122,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =10:07 – Doug Hicks (1)

|2-1-2 =Jim Lorentz (2) – 04:33
Rick Martin (1) – 16:11
Jim Lorentz (3) – 17:07

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =Gary McAdam (1) – 16:36
Jocelyn Guevremont (1) – 17:55

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =Jocelyn Guevremont (2) – pp – 02:09
Jim Lorentz (4) – 15:28

|goalie2-1 =Pete LoPresti 5 saves / 8 shots
Gary Smith 11 saves / 15 shots

|goalie2-2 =Don Edwards 24 saves / 25 shots

|series = Buffalo won series 2–0

}}

This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's preliminary round, in which Los Angeles won in a two-game sweep.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Atlanta Flames

|team2=Los Angeles Kings

|stadium2=Omni Coliseum

|stadium1=The Forum

|date1 =April 5

|score1 =2–5

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/afm-vs-lak/1977/04/05/1976030131#game=1976030131,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Guy Chouinard (1) – pp – 04:07

|1-1-2 =00:23 – Glenn Goldup (1)
10:33 – pp – Mike Murphy (1)
17:38 – pp – Butch Goring (1)

|1-2-1 =Willi Plett (1) – 08:06

|1-2-2 =14:04 – Don Kozak (1)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =17:57 – Glenn Goldup (2)

|goalie1-1 =Dan Bouchard 20 saves / 25 shots

|goalie1-2 =Rogie Vachon 20 saves / 22 shots

|date2 =April 7

|score2 =2–3

|home2 =2

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-afm/1977/04/07/1976030132#game=1976030132,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =15:14 – Guy Chouinard (2)
16:52 – Curt Bennett (1)

|2-1-2 =Marcel Dionne (1) – 15:30

|2-2-1 =08:47 – Eric Vail (1)

|2-2-2 =Don Kozak (2) – pp – 15:13

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Phil Myre 22 saves / 24 shots

|goalie2-2 =Rogie Vachon 31 saves / 34 shots

|date3 =April 9

|score3 =2–4

|home3 =1

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/afm-vs-lak/1977/04/09/1976030133#game=1976030133,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =Bill Clement (1) – sh – 14:58

|3-1-2 =03:47 – Butch Goring (2)
05:52 – Marcel Dionne (2)

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =03:06 – Butch Goring (3)

|3-3-1 =Tom Lysiak (1) – pp – 05:05

|3-3-2 =19:59 – en – Butch Goring (4)

|goalie3-1 =Phil Myre 19 saves / 22 shots

|goalie3-2 =Rogie Vachon 25 saves / 27 shots

|series = Los Angeles won series 2–1

}}

This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's preliminary round, in which Toronto won the series 2–1.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Toronto Maple Leafs

|team2=Pittsburgh Penguins

|stadium2=Maple Leaf Gardens

|stadium1=Civic Arena

|date1 =April 5

|score1 =4–2

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-pit/1977/04/05/1976030141#game=1976030141,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =13:25 – Bob Kelly (1)

|1-2-1 =Don Ashby (1) – 04:12
Lanny McDonald (1) – 12:11

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =Dave Williams (1) – 10:32
Darryl Sittler (1) – en – 19:52

|1-3-2 =18:34 – pp – Mario Faubert (1)

|goalie1-1 =Wayne Thomas 29 saves / 31 shots

|goalie1-2 =Denis Herron 29 saves / 32 shots

|date2 =April 7

|score2 =6–4

|home2 =2

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/pit-vs-tor/1977/04/07/1976030142#game=1976030142,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =Jean Pronovost (1) – 01:01
Ron Stackhouse (1) – 06:37
Syl Apps Jr. (1) – pp – 12:30

|2-2-1 =06:10 – pp – Darryl Sittler (2)
12:38 – Stan Weir (1)

|2-2-2 =Lowell MacDonald (1) – 07:38

|2-3-1 =03:37 – pp – Ian Turnbull (1)
07:52 – Borje Salming (1)

|2-3-2 =Greg Malone (1) – 13:57
Ron Stackhouse (2) – en – 19:23

|goalie2-1 =Wayne Thomas 28 saves / 33 shots

|goalie2-2 =Denis Herron 37 saves / 41 shots

|date3 =April 9

|score3 =5–2

|home3 =1

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-pit/1977/04/09/1976030143#game=1976030143,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =Borje Salming (2) – pp – 08:34
Ian Turnbull (2) – pp – 14:14

|3-1-2 =19:40 – pp – Jean Pronovost (2)

|3-2-1 =Lanny McDonald (2) – 08:46
Lanny McDonald (3) – 14:17

|3-2-2 =16:06 – Blair Chapman (1)

|3-3-1 =Lanny McDonald (4) – en – 19:44

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Mike Palmateer 38 saves / 40 shots

|goalie3-2 =Denis Herron 37 saves / 41 shots

|series = Toronto won series 2–1

}}

This was the third, and as of 2023, most recent, playoff series meeting between the two teams. Montreal won both previous meetings in four-game sweeps in both the 1968 & 1969 Stanley Cup Finals.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=St. Louis Blues

|team2=Montreal Canadiens

|stadium2=St. Louis Arena

|stadium1=Montreal Forum

|date1 =April 11

|score1 =2–7

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-mtl/1977/04/11/1976030211#game=1976030211,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Bernie Federko (1) – 18:38

|1-1-2 =00:51 – Guy Lafleur (1)
07:54 – pp – Larry Robinson (1)
16:30 – Guy Lafleur (2)
19:35 – Jacques Lemaire (1)

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =11:27 – Guy Lafleur (3)
14:33 – pp – Guy Lapointe (1)

|1-3-1 =Brian Sutter (1) – 12:32

|1-3-2 =02:23 – Bill Nyrop (1)

|goalie1-1 =Ed Staniowski 26 saves / 32 shots
Eddie Johnston 9 saves / 10 shots

|goalie1-2 =Ken Dryden 18 saves / 20 shots

|date2 =April 13

|score2 =0–3

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-mtl/1977/04/13/1976030212#game=1976030212,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =06:15 – Steve Shutt (1)
13:19 – Bob Gainey (1)

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =18:01 – Guy Lafleur (4)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Eddie Johnston 38 saves / 41 shots
Ed Staniowski 0 saves / 0 shots

|goalie2-2 =Ken Dryden 23 saves / 23 shots

|date3 =April 16

|score3 =5–1

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-stl/1977/04/16/1976030213#game=1976030213,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =Serge Savard (1) – pp – 02:57
Serge Savard (2) – 19:45

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =16:50 – Claude Larose (1)

|3-3-2 =Steve Shutt (2) – 01:35
Rick Chartraw (1) – 08:46
Jacques Lemaire (2) – 13:10

|goalie3-1 =Eddie Johnston 30 saves / 35 shots

|goalie3-2 =Ken Dryden 36 saves / 37 shots

|date4 =April 17

|score4 =4–1

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-stl/1977/04/17/1976030214#game=1976030214,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =Steve Shutt (3) – pp – 18:21

|4-2-1 =02:46 – Larry Patey (1)

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =Guy Lafleur (5) – 02:34
Peter Mahovlich (1) – 14:49
Bob Gainey (2) – sh-en – 19:55

|goalie4-1 =Ed Staniowski 27 saves / 30 shots

|goalie4-2 =Ken Dryden 24 saves / 25 shots

|series = Montreal won series 4–0

}}

This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. Philadelphia won both previous meetings in the last two seasons. The latter of which Philadelphia won in seven games in last year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinals.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Toronto Maple Leafs

|team2=Philadelphia Flyers

|stadium2=Maple Leaf Gardens

|stadium1=Spectrum

|date1 =April 11

|score1 =3–2

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-phi/1977/04/11/1976030221#game=1976030221,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Darryl Sittler (3) – pp – 04:10
Tiger Williams (2) – 07:11
Errol Thompson (1) – 8:52

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =13:25 – pp – Rick MacLeish (1)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =10:27 – pp – Bob Dailey (1)

|goalie1-1 =Mike Palmateer 17 saves / 18 shots
Wayne Thomas 10 saves / 11 shots

|goalie1-2 =Bernie Parent 21 saves / 24 shots

|date2 =April 13

|score2 =4–1

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-phi/1977/04/13/1976030222#game=1976030222,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =Bob Neely (1) – pp – 06:55
Stan Weir (2) – pp – 11:15

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =Tiger Williams (3) – 00:37
Darryl Sittler (4) – 15:08

|2-2-2 =06:07 – Bill Barber (1)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Mike Palmateer 27 saves / 28 shots

|goalie2-2 =Bernie Parent 11 saves / 15 shots
Wayne Stephenson 5 saves / 5 shots

|date3 =April 15

|score3 =4–3

|ot3 =1

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-tor/1977/04/15/1976030223#game=1976030223,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =03:48 – pp – Darryl Sittler (5)
18:27 – pp – Ian Turnbull (3)

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =Ross Lonsberry (1) – 03:18
Orest Kindrachuk (1) – pp – 12:53

|3-3-1 =15:41 – Errol Thompson (2)

|3-3-2 =Rick MacLeish (2) – 19:22

|3-4-1 =No scoring

|3-4-2 =Rick MacLeish (3) – 02:55

|goalie3-1 =Mike Palmateer 33 saves / 37 shots

|goalie3-2 =Wayne Stephenson 25 saves / 28 shots

|date4 =April 17

|score4 =6–5

|ot4 =1

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-tor/1977/04/17/1976030224#game=1976030224,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =Bobby Clarke (1) – pp – 13:28

|4-2-1 =04:03 – Lanny McDonald (5)
06:16 – pp – Borje Salming (3)
18:45 – pp – Lanny McDonald (6)

|4-2-2 =Reggie Leach (1) – 11:21

|4-3-1 =06:24 – Lanny McDonald (7)
12:44 – pp – Lanny McDonald (8)

|4-3-2 =Mel Bridgman (1) – sh – 14:11
Tom Bladon (1) – 18:11
Bobby Clarke (2) – 18:27

|4-4-1 =No scoring

|4-4-2 =Reggie Leach (2) – 19:10

|goalie4-1 =Mike Palmateer 39 saves / 45 shots

|goalie4-2 =Wayne Stephenson 37 saves / 42 shots

|date5 =April 19

|score5 =0–2

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-phi/1977/04/19/1976030225#game=1976030225,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =14:12 – Reggie Leach (3)

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =No scoring

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =15:07 – Reggie Leach (4)

|goalie5-1 =Mike Palmateer 37 saves / 39 shots

|goalie5-2 =Wayne Stephenson 21 saves / 21 shots

|date6 =April 21

|score6 =4–3

|won6 =2

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-tor/1977/04/21/1976030226#game=1976030226,game_state=final

|6-1-1 =11:43 – pp – Ian Turnbull (4)

|6-1-2 =No scoring

|6-2-1 =07:17 – Lanny McDonald (9)

|6-2-2 =Bobby Clarke (3) – 04:10
Bob Dailey (2) – 15:36

|6-3-1 =05:06 – pp – Lanny McDonald (10)

|6-3-2 =Rick MacLeish (4) – pp – 07:37
Jimmy Watson (1) – 17:22

|goalie6-1 =Wayne Thomas 26 saves / 30 shots

|goalie6-2 =Wayne Stephenson 21 saves / 24 shots

|series = Philadelphia won series 4–2

}}

This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, in which Boston won in seven games.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Los Angeles Kings

|team2=Boston Bruins

|stadium2=The Forum

|stadium1=Boston Garden

|date1 =April 11

|score1 =3–8

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-bos/1977/04/11/1976030231#game=1976030231,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =01:49 – Bobby Schmautz (1)
02:45 – Brad Park (1)
04:50 – Bobby Schmautz (2)
12:15 – sh – Gregg Sheppard (1)
19:24 – Bobby Schmautz (3)

|1-2-1 =Don Kozak (3) – 09:45
Vic Venasky (1) – pp – 18:37

|1-2-2 =11:30 – Terry O'Reilly (1)

|1-3-1 =Dave Hutchison (1) – 10:24

|1-3-2 =02:06 – Stan Jonathan (1)
15:52 – pp – Peter McNab (1)

|goalie1-1 =Rogie Vachon 24 saves / 32 shots

|goalie1-2 =Gerry Cheevers 19 saves / 22 shots

|date2 =April 13

|score2 =2–6

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-bos/1977/04/13/1976030232#game=1976030232,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =06:14 – Stan Jonathan (2)
07:28 – Terry O'Reilly (2)
09:53 – Bobby Schmautz (4)

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =17:03 – Jean Ratelle (1)
17:59 – Bobby Schmautz (5)

|2-3-1 =Tom Williams (1) – pp – 14:11
Marcel Dionne (3) – pp – 19:29

|2-3-2 =03:09 – Gregg Sheppard (2)

|goalie2-1 =Rogie Vachon 11 saves / 16 shots
Gary Simmons 6 saves / 7 shots

|goalie2-2 =Gerry Cheevers 15 saves / 17 shots

|date3 =April 15

|score3 =7–6

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-lak/1977/04/15/1976030233#game=1976030233,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =03:40 – Mike Murphy (2)
10:51 – pp – Bob Murdoch (1)
19:20 – Butch Goring (5)

|3-1-2 =Bobby Schmautz (6) – pp – 05:49

|3-2-1 =07:00 – Gary Sargent (1)
16:33 – Tom Williams (2)

|3-2-2 =Terry O'Reilly (3) – 01:59
Don Marcotte (1) – 03:39

|3-3-1 =18:05 – Marcel Dionne (4)

|3-3-2 =Bobby Schmautz (7) – pp – 00:10
Wayne Cashman – 11:27
Don Marcotte (2) – 17:08
Stan Jonathan (3) – 19:47

|goalie3-1 =Rogie Vachon 22 saves / 29 shots

|goalie3-2 =Gerry Cheevers 18 saves / 24 shots

|date4 =April 17

|score4 =4–7

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-lak/1977/04/17/1976030234#game=1976030234,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =00:06 – Don Kozak (4)
18:39 – Frank St. Marseille (1)

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =15:56 – pp – Butch Goring (6)
18:40 – pp – Gary Sargent (2)

|4-2-2 =Peter McNab (2) – 01:30

|4-3-1 =10:08 – Marcel Dionne (5)
10:51 – Mike Murphy (3)
14:45 – Gene Carr (1)

|4-3-2 =Jean Ratelle (2) – pp – 03:26
Bobby Schmautz (8) – 05:51
Rick Middleton (1) – 15:08

|goalie4-1 =Rogie Vachon 30 saves / 34 shots

|goalie4-2 =Gerry Cheevers 11 saves / 15 shots
Gilles Gilbert 4 saves / 7 shots

|date5 =April 19

|score5 =3–1

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-bos/1977/04/19/1976030235#game=1976030235,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =Dave Schultz (1) – pp – 16:22

|5-1-2 =No scoring

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =13:42 – Rick Middleton (2)

|5-3-1 =Bob Murdoch (2) – 01:00
Mike Murphy (4) – en – 19:59

|5-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Rogie Vachon 39 saves / 40 shots

|goalie5-2 =Gerry Cheevers 18 saves / 20 shots

|date6 =April 21

|score6 =4–3

|won6 =2

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-lak/1977/04/21/1976030236#game=1976030236,game_state=final

|6-1-1 =No scoring

|6-1-2 =Rick Middleton (3) – 03:42
Stan Jonathan (4) – 07:35
Rick Middleton (4) – 07:46

|6-2-1 =No scoring

|6-2-2 =No scoring

|6-3-1 =00:42 – pp – Gary Sargent (3)
05:39 – Tom Williams (3)
08:51 – pp – Butch Goring (7)

|6-3-2 =Gregg Sheppard (3) – pp – 12:58

|goalie6-1 =Rogie Vachon 34 saves / 38 shots

|goalie6-2 =Gerry Cheevers 15 saves / 18 shots

|series = Boston won series 4–2

}}

This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, in which New York won in six games.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Buffalo Sabres

|team2=New York Islanders

|stadium2=Buffalo Memorial Auditorium

|stadium1=Nassau Coliseum

|date1 =April 11

|score1 =2–4

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-nyi/1977/04/11/1976030241#game=1976030241,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =12:28 – Garry Howatt (1)
18:44 – Billy Harris (1)

|1-2-1 =Gilbert Perreault (1) – 09:38
Rene Robert (3) – 11:39

|1-2-2 =12:04 – Clark Gillies (2)
18:33 – Jude Drouin (2)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Don Edwards 24 saves / 28 shots

|goalie1-2 =Billy Smith 37 saves / 39 shots

|date2 =April 13

|score2 =2–4

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-nyi/1977/04/13/1976030242#game=1976030242,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =Don Luce (1) – 11:26
Rene Robert (4) – pp – 15:40

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =13:50 – Bob Bourne (2)
16:31 – Bryan Trottier (1)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =08:30 – Clark Gillies (3)
11:35 – Dave Lewis (1)

|goalie2-1 =Don Edwards 18 saves / 22 shots

|goalie2-2 =Billy Smith 24 saves / 26 shots

|date3 =April 15

|score3 =4–3

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyi-vs-buf/1977/04/15/1976030243#game=1976030243,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =02:18 – pp – Rick Martin (2)
06:29 – pp – Jerry Korab (2)

|3-1-2 =Billy Harris (2) – 17:39

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =Jude Drouin (3) – 10:55
Jude Drouin (4) – pp – 13:40

|3-3-1 =10:10 – pp – Don Luce (2)

|3-3-2 =Clark Gillies (4) – 00:09

|goalie3-1 =Don Edwards 19 saves / 23 shots

|goalie3-2 =Billy Smith 45 saves / 48 shots

|date4 =April 17

|score4 =4–3

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyi-vs-buf/1977/04/17/1976030244#game=1976030244,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =02:49 – Jocelyn Guevremont (3)

|4-1-2 =Billy Harris (3) – pp – 10:29

|4-2-1 =06:16 – pp – Don Luce (3)

|4-2-2 =Ed Westfall (1) – sh – 09:54
Denis Potvin (2) – 18:51

|4-3-1 =04:57 – Rene Robert (5)

|4-3-2 =Billy MacMillan (2) – 07:42

|goalie4-1 =Gerry Desjardins 17 saves / 21 shots

|goalie4-2 =Billy Smith 26 saves / 29 shots

|series = New York won series 4–0

}}

This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Semifinals, in which Montreal won in five games.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=New York Islanders

|team2=Montreal Canadiens

|stadium2=Nassau Coliseum

|stadium1=Montreal Forum

|date1 =April 23

|score1 =3–4

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyi-vs-mtl/1977/04/23/1976030311#game=1976030311,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Billy Harris (4) – pp – 08:39
Billy Harris (5) – 12:56

|1-1-2 =12:14 – Peter Mahovlich (2)

|1-2-1 =Billy Harris (6) – 00:49

|1-2-2 =09:40 – Murray Wilson (1)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =02:25 – Guy Lafleur (6)
04:07 – Steve Shutt (4)

|goalie1-1 =Billy Smith 34 saves / 38 shots

|goalie1-2 =Ken Dryden 16 saves / 19 shots

|date2 =April 26

|score2 =0–3

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyi-vs-mtl/1977/04/26/1976030312#game=1976030312,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =No scoring

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =07:46 – sh – Jimmy Roberts (1)
11:31 – Larry Robinson (2)
19:24 – pp – Peter Mahovlich (3)

|goalie2-1 =Billy Smith 30 saves / 33 shots

|goalie2-2 =Ken Dryden 19 saves / 19 shots

|date3 =April 28

|score3 =3–5

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-nyi/1977/04/28/1976030313#game=1976030313,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =12:49 – pp – Denis Potvin (3)
19:50 – Denis Potvin (4)

|3-1-2 =Guy Lapointe (2) – 11:10
Jimmy Roberts (2) – 17:29

|3-2-1 =06:04 – J.P. Parise (3)

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =11:09 – Andre St. Laurent (1)
19:49 – en – Bryan Trottier (2)

|3-3-2 =Guy Lapointe (3) – 16:20

|goalie3-1 =Billy Smith 35 saves / 38 shots

|goalie3-2 =Ken Dryden 19 saves / 23 shots

|date4 =April 30

|score4 =4–0

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-nyi/1977/04/30/1976030314#game=1976030314,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =Steve Shutt (5) – 01:04
Guy Lafleur (7) – 02:23
Jimmy Roberts (3) – 08:18

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =Steve Shutt (6) – 17:31

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Billy Smith 18 saves / 22 shots
Chico Resch 11 saves / 11 shots

|goalie4-2 =Ken Dryden 18 saves / 18 shots

|date5 =May 3

|score5 =4–3

|ot5 =1

|won5 =1

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyi-vs-mtl/1977/05/03/1976030315#game=1976030315,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =J.P. Parise (4) – pp – 08:11

|5-1-2 =09:08 – Jacques Lemaire (3)

|5-2-1 =Denis Potvin (5) – 18:11

|5-2-2 =03:27 – Mario Tremblay (1)

|5-3-1 =Jude Drouin (5) – 13:09

|5-3-2 =11:38 – Yvon Lambert (1)

|5-4-1 =Billy Harris (7) – 03:58

|5-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie5-1 =Chico Resch 26 saves / 29 shots

|goalie5-2 =Ken Dryden 15 saves / 19 shots

|date6 =May 5

|score6 =2–1

|won6 =2

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-nyi/1977/05/05/1976030316#game=1976030316,game_state=final

|6-1-1 =No scoring

|6-1-2 =Bob Gainey (3) – 00:07

|6-2-1 =No scoring

|6-2-2 =No scoring

|6-3-1 =19:51 – Denis Potvin (6)

|6-3-2 =Bob Gainey (4) – 9:12

|goalie6-1 =Chico Resch 18 saves / 20 shots

|goalie6-2 =Ken Dryden 27 saves / 28 shots

|series = Montreal won series 4–2

}}

This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. Philadelphia won both previous meetings. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Semifinals, in which Philadelphia won in five games.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Boston Bruins

|team2=Philadelphia Flyers

|stadium2=Boston Garden

|stadium1=Spectrum

|date1 =April 24

|score1 =4–3

|ot1 =1

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-phi/1977/04/24/1976030321#game=1976030321,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Jean Ratelle (3) – 11:36

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =Bobby Schmautz (9) – pp – 06:56
Don Marcotte (3) – sh – 15:31

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =01:45 – pp – Bobby Clarke (4)
16:33 – Bob Dailey (3)
19:31 – Bobby Clarke (5)

|1-4-1 =Rick Middleton (5) – 02:57

|1-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Gerry Cheevers 35 saves / 38 shots

|goalie1-2 =Wayne Stephenson 17 saves / 20 shots
Bernie Parent 3 saves / 4 shots

|date2 =April 26

|score2 =5–4

|ot2 =2

|won2 =1

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-phi/1977/04/26/1976030322#game=1976030322,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =Peter McNab (3) – 13:45

|2-1-2 =14:53 – Andre Dupont (1)

|2-2-1 =Gregg Sheppard (4) – 14:01
Mike Milbury (1) – 15:01
Jean Ratelle (4) – 15:39

|2-2-2 =05:35 – Orest Kindrachuk (2)
07:58 – Paul Holmgren (1)
15:16 – Gary Dornhoefer (1)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|2-4-1 =Terry O'Reilly (4) – 10:07

|2-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Gerry Cheevers 43 saves / 47 shots

|goalie2-2 =Wayne Stephenson 28 saves / 33 shots

|date3 =April 28

|score3 =1–2

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-bos/1977/04/28/1976030323#game=1976030323,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =Bob Dailey (4) – pp – 08:59

|3-2-1 =12:07 – Peter McNab (4)

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =07:51 – Mike Milbury (2)

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Gerry Cheevers 14 saves / 15 shots

|goalie3-2 =Wayne Stephenson 26 saves / 28 shots

|date4 =May 1

|score4 =0–3

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-bos/1977/05/01/1976030324#game=1976030324,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =10:45 – Jean Ratelle (5)

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =14:05 – Don Marcotte (4)
19:13 – en – Don Marcotte (5)

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Gerry Cheevers 21 saves / 21 shots

|goalie4-2 =Wayne Stephenson 35 saves / 37 shots

|series = Boston won series 4–0

}}

{{main |1977 Stanley Cup Finals}}

This was the 16th playoff series meeting between these two teams. Montreal lead 13–2 in previous meetings. They last met in the 1971 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, in which Montreal upset Boston in seven games.

The defending champion Montreal Canadiens took on the "Original Six" rival, the third-ranked Boston Bruins in the Finals. Both teams had swept a series and had lost only two games in the earlier rounds. The Canadiens swept the series in four games to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Boston Bruins

|team2=Montreal Canadiens

|stadium2=Boston Garden

|stadium1=Montreal Forum

|date1 =May 7

|score1 =3–7

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-mtl/1977/05/07/1976030411#game=1976030411,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Brad Park (2) – 05:23

|1-1-2 =01:45 – Doug Risebrough (1)
04:23 – pp – Yvon Lambert (2)
14:35 – Mario Tremblay (2)

|1-2-1 =Terry O'Reilly (5) – 11:54
Bobby Schmautz (10) – pp – 16:35

|1-2-2 =05:08 – Jacques Lemaire (4)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =00:59 – Rick Chartraw (2)
02:04 – Mario Tremblay (3)
13:58 – Yvon Lambert (3)

|goalie1-1 =Gerry Cheevers 17 saves / 24 shots

|goalie1-2 =Ken Dryden 17 saves / 20 shots

|date2 =May 10

|score2 =0–3

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-mtl/1977/05/10/1976030412#game=1976030412,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =07:43 – pp – Peter Mahovlich (4)
12:07 – Doug Risebrough (2)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =05:40 – Steve Shutt (7)

|goalie2-1 =Gerry Cheevers 16 saves / 19 shots

|goalie2-2 =Ken Dryden 22 saves / 22 shots

|date3 =May 12

|score3 =4–2

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-bos/1977/05/12/1976030413#game=1976030413,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =Guy Lafleur (8) – pp – 04:08
Steve Shutt (8) – pp – 07:58
Jacques Lemaire (5) – pp – 18:29

|3-2-1 =06:32 – Gregg Sheppard (5)

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =18:34 – pp – Peter McNab (5)

|3-3-2 =Guy Lafleur (9) – 12:52

|goalie3-1 =Gerry Cheevers 15 saves / 19 shots

|goalie3-2 =Ken Dryden 23 saves / 25 shots

|date4 =May 14

|score4 =2–1

|ot4 =1

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-bos/1977/05/14/1976030414#game=1976030414,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =11:38 – Bobby Schmautz (11)

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =Jacques Lemaire (6) – 01:34

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|4-4-1 =No scoring

|4-4-2 =Jacques Lemaire (7) – 04:32

|goalie4-1 =Gerry Cheevers 26 saves / 28 shots

|goalie4-2 =Ken Dryden 25 saves / 26 shots

|series = Montreal won series 4–0

}}

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties In Minutes

Source: NHL.{{sfn |Dinger |2011 |p=150}}

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

• Atlanta Flames: Fred Creighton
• New York Islanders: Al Arbour
• New York Rangers: John Ferguson Sr.
• Philadelphia Flyers: Fred Shero

• Boston Bruins: Don Cherry
• Buffalo Sabres: Floyd Smith
• Cleveland Barons: Jack Evans
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Red Kelly

• Detroit Red Wings: Larry Wilson
• Los Angeles Kings: Bob Pulford
• Montreal Canadiens: Scotty Bowman
• Pittsburgh Penguins: Ken Schinkel
• Washington Capitals: Tom McVie

• Chicago Black Hawks: Billy Reay and Bill White
• Colorado Rockies: Johnny Wilson
• Minnesota North Stars: Ted Harris
• St. Louis Blues: Emile Francis
• Vancouver Canucks: Phil Maloney and Orland Kurtenbach

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1976–77 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

• Mike Palmateer, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Don Edwards, Buffalo Sabres
• Bob Sauve, Buffalo Sabres
• Reed Larson, Detroit Red Wings
• Brian Engblom*, Montreal Canadiens
• Don Murdoch, New York Rangers
• Bernie Federko, St. Louis Blues
• Brian Sutter, St. Louis Blues
• Randy Carlyle, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Rick Green, Washington Capitals

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1976–77 (listed with their last team):

• Pat Quinn, Atlanta Flames
• Gilles Villemure, Chicago Black Hawks
• Jim Pappin, Cleveland Barons
• Simon Nolet, Colorado Rockies
• Bob Berry, Los Angeles Kings
• Ed Van Impe, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Vic Hadfield, Pittsburgh Penguins
• Barclay Plager, St. Louis Blues
• Roger Crozier, Washington Capitals

Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. CTV stopped regularly airing HNIC-produced Wednesday night regular season game telecasts, and started to give the rights to these midweek games back to local stations.

In the U.S., this was the second season that NHL games aired in national broadcast syndication under the NHL Network package.

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1976 NHL amateur draft
• 1976–77 NHL transactions
• 1976 Canada Cup
• 30th National Hockey League All-Star Game
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• 1976–77 WHA season
• Lester Patrick Trophy
• 1976 in sports
• 1977 in sports

• {{cite book|title=Total Hockey |editor=Diamond, Dan |publisher=Total Sports |year=2000 |location=Kingston, New York |isbn=1-892129-85-X }}
• {{cite book |editor-last=Dinger |editor-first=Ralph |year=2011 |title=The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012 |publisher=Dan Diamond & Associates |isbn=978-1-894801-22-5 |location=Toronto, ON |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/nationalhockeyle0000unse_u6g5 }}
• {{cite book |editor-last=Dryden |editor-first=Steve |title=Century of hockey |publisher=McClelland & Stewart Ltd. |location=Toronto, ON |year=2000 |isbn=0-7710-4179-9 }}
• {{cite book |last1=Fischler |first1=Stan |last2=Fischler |first2=Shirley

|last3=Hughes |first3=Morgan |last4=Romain |first4=Joseph |last5=Duplacey |first5=James

|year=2003 |title=The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League |publisher=Publications International Inc. |isbn=0-7853-9624-1 |location=Lincolnwood, Illinois |ref={{harvid|Fischler|2003}}}}

;Notes

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/nhl1927.html Hockey Database]
• [http://nhl.com/ NHL.com]

{{1976–77 NHL season by team}}

{{NHL seasons|1976}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:NHL, 1976-77}}

Category:1976–77 in Canadian ice hockey by league

Category:1976–77 in American ice hockey by league