1973–74 Los Angeles Kings
Division3rd West
1973–74 record33–33–12
Goals for233
Goals against231
Team information
General managerLarry Regan (Oct–Dec)
Jake Milford (Dec–Apr)
CoachBob Pulford
CaptainTerry Harper
Alternate captainsDan Maloney
Juha Widing
Team leaders
GoalsButch Goring (28)
AssistsFrank St. Marseille (36)
PointsFrank St. Marseille (50)
Penalty minutesMike Corrigan (150)
Terry Harper (150)
WinsRogie Vachon (28)
Goals against averageRogie Vachon (2.81)

The 1973–74 Los Angeles Kings season was the Kings' seventh season in the National Hockey League.

Offseason

Forward Serge Bernier (22 goals, 46 assists) jumped to the Quebec Nordiques of the WHA.

Regular season

After finishing strong in 1972–73 and barely missing the playoffs, the Kings had high hopes for the 1973–74 season. But the team started slowly and by the end of November, they were 5–14–3 and in last place. Then they made a blockbuster trade, sending their best defenseman Gilles Marotte to the New York Rangers for defenseman Sheldon Kannegiesser, forwards Mike Murphy, and Tom Williams, and speedy center Gene Carr. They improved a little, but were still 9 games under .500 at the end of February at 21–30–10 for 52 points and 7th place in the 8 team Western Division. The Kings then went 9–0–2 over the next 3 weeks and climbed into 3rd place, passing the Atlanta Flames, Minnesota North Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues. Going into the final game of the season, the Kings had clinched 3rd, but needed a win to finish .500 and needed to outscore the Vancouver Canucks by 8 goals to finish even in goal differential on the season, which was one of coach Bob Pulford's goals at the beginning of the season. Not only did the Kings win, they won 11–1 to finish .500 and with a plus goal differential for the first time in their history. The season also marked the debut of hall of fame broadcaster Bob Miller, who would broadcast Kings games until his retirement after the 2016-17 season.

Final standings

West Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1Philadelphia Flyers78501612273164+109112
2Chicago Black Hawks78411423272164+108105
3Los Angeles Kings78333312233231+278
4Atlanta Flames78303414214238−2474
5Pittsburgh Penguins7828419242273−3165
6St. Louis Blues78264012206248−4264
7Minnesota North Stars78233817235275−4063
8California Golden Seals78135510195342−14736

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1LOctober 10, 19730–3Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)0–1–0
2LOctober 13, 19733–6@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)0–2–0
3TOctober 14, 19731–1@ New York Rangers (1973–74)0–2–1
4TOctober 16, 19734–4@ New York Islanders (1973–74)0–2–2
5LOctober 18, 19732–6@ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)0–3–2
6WOctober 20, 19733–0Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)1–3–2
7WOctober 24, 19736–4Atlanta Flames (1973–74)2–3–2
8LOctober 27, 19732–3Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)2–4–2
9WOctober 30, 19733–2@ St. Louis Blues (1973–74)3–4–2
10WNovember 1, 19732–1New York Rangers (1973–74)4–4–2
11LNovember 3, 19733–4St. Louis Blues (1973–74)4–5–2
12LNovember 7, 19732–5@ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)4–6–2
13WNovember 8, 19733–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)5–6–2
14LNovember 10, 19733–5Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)5–7–2
15LNovember 11, 19730–3Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)5–8–2
16LNovember 14, 19734–5Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)5–9–2
17LNovember 17, 19733–4Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)5–10–2
18LNovember 20, 19735–6@ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)5–11–2
19TNovember 24, 19735–5@ New York Rangers (1973–74)5–11–3
20LNovember 25, 19731–3@ Boston Bruins (1973–74)5–12–3
21LNovember 28, 19733–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)5–13–3
22LNovember 29, 19731–2@ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)5–14–3
23TDecember 1, 19731–1Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)5–14–4
24WDecember 4, 19733–2@ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)6–14–4
25WDecember 5, 19734–1Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)7–14–4
26WDecember 8, 19733–0Atlanta Flames (1973–74)8–14–4
27LDecember 11, 19733–6@ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)8–15–4
28WDecember 13, 19733–2New York Islanders (1973–74)9–15–4
29LDecember 15, 19732–6Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)9–16–4
30TDecember 18, 19734–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)9–16–5
31LDecember 19, 19731–3@ St. Louis Blues (1973–74)9–17–5
32WDecember 22, 19735–2Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)10–17–5
33TDecember 26, 19733–3@ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)10–17–6
34LDecember 27, 19734–6@ Atlanta Flames (1973–74)10–18–6
35WDecember 29, 19734–1Boston Bruins (1973–74)11–18–6
36LJanuary 2, 19742–5@ California Golden Seals (1973–74)11–19–6
37WJanuary 5, 19745–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)12–19–6
38WJanuary 8, 19743–1@ New York Islanders (1973–74)13–19–6
39TJanuary 9, 19744–4@ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)13–19–7
40LJanuary 12, 19740–6@ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)13–20–7
41WJanuary 15, 19742–1@ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)14–20–7
42WJanuary 16, 19742–0@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)15–20–7
43LJanuary 19, 19740–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)15–21–7
44LJanuary 20, 19742–5@ Boston Bruins (1973–74)15–22–7
45WJanuary 23, 19743–1Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)16–22–7
46TJanuary 24, 19744–4Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)16–22–8
47WJanuary 26, 19742–0@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)17–22–8
48LJanuary 27, 19743–5@ New York Rangers (1973–74)17–23–8
49LJanuary 31, 19742–4New York Islanders (1973–74)17–24–8
50WFebruary 2, 19743–1California Golden Seals (1973–74)18–24–8
51WFebruary 6, 19745–1Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)19–24–8
52WFebruary 9, 19742–1@ St. Louis Blues (1973–74)20–24–8
53WFebruary 10, 19746–3@ Atlanta Flames (1973–74)21–24–8
54LFebruary 13, 19740–4@ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)21–25–8
55LFebruary 14, 19742–4@ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)21–26–8
56LFebruary 16, 19742–5Boston Bruins (1973–74)21–27–8
57LFebruary 19, 19743–4Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)21–28–8
58LFebruary 21, 19743–5New York Rangers (1973–74)21–29–8
59TFebruary 23, 19744–4@ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)21–29–9
60TFebruary 24, 19743–3@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)21–29–10
61LFebruary 27, 19741–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)21–30–10
62WFebruary 28, 19743–1@ Atlanta Flames (1973–74)22–30–10
63WMarch 2, 19744–2St. Louis Blues (1973–74)23–30–10
64WMarch 5, 19742–1California Golden Seals (1973–74)24–30–10
65WMarch 7, 19743–2Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)25–30–10
66TMarch 9, 19744–4Boston Bruins (1973–74)25–30–11
67WMarch 13, 19745–1Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)26–30–11
68WMarch 16, 19742–0Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)27–30–11
69TMarch 19, 19741–1Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)27–30–12
70WMarch 21, 19746–3California Golden Seals (1973–74)28–30–12
71WMarch 23, 19745–0Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)29–30–12
72WMarch 24, 19747–1@ California Golden Seals (1973–74)30–30–12
73LMarch 26, 19741–5@ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)30–31–12
74WMarch 28, 19744–1New York Islanders (1973–74)31–31–12
75LMarch 30, 19742–5Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)31–32–12
76WApril 3, 19744–2Atlanta Flames (1973–74)32–32–12
77LApril 5, 19742–5@ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)32–33–12
78WApril 6, 197411–1Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)33–33–12

Playoffs

  • Kings 1 at Black Hawks 3
  • Kings 1 at Black Hawks 4
  • Black Hawks 1 at Kings 0
  • Black Hawks 1 at Kings 5
  • Kings 0 at Black Hawks 1

The Kings were heavy underdogs against the Chicago Black Hawks but put up a strong showing. While Kings goalie Rogie Vachon was excellent, the difference was Chicago goalie Tony Esposito who was brilliant. Game one saw the Black Hawks score in the 3rd period to take a 2–1 lead and they added an empty net goal to win, 3–1. Game two was similar; this time Chicago led 3–1 when they scored an empty net goal late to make it 4–1.

Game 3 in Los Angeles was the Kings first home playoff game in 5 years and was one of the strangest games in post season history. Chicago scored goal in the first minute of the game and then went into a defensive shell, practically daring the Kings to try to beat Esposito. Almost the entire rest of the game was played in the Black Hawk zone with the Kings dominating the action. But try as they might, they could not get the puck past Tony Esposito. Their best chance came midway through the 3rd period when Bob Berry pounced on a rebound and shot it over Esposito but the puck glanced off the cross bar. Despite totaling only 5 shots on goal for the game, the Black Hawks won 1–0 and had a commanding 3–0 series lead. Game 4 was played the very next day so both coaches rested their #1 goalies; the Kings played Gary Edwards over Rogie Vachon and Chicago went with Mike Veisor over Tony Esposito. The Kings were so relieved to have Esposito out that they dominated in a 5–1 win, their first playoff victory since a game 7 win over the Oakland Seals in the 1969 quarter-finals.

Another defensive struggle ensued in game 5 with Vachon and Esposito back in the nets; both made a number of brilliant saves and the game was 0–0 midway through the 3rd period. The Black Hawks won when Cliff Koroll scuffed the ice on a slap shot; the puck acted like a knuckleball change up and fooled Vachon for the game winner.

Player statistics

Awards and records

Transactions

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1973–74 season.[3]

Trades

May 15, 1973 To Los Angeles Kings
Cash		 To Detroit Red Wings
8th round pick in 1973 - Dennis Polonich
May 15, 1973 To Los Angeles Kings
Cash		 To Minnesota North Stars
11th round pick in 1973 - Max Hansen
May 29, 1973 To Los Angeles Kings
Bob Murdoch
Randy Rota		 To Montreal Canadiens
1st round pick in 1974 - Mario Tremblay
Cash
November 30, 1973 To Los Angeles Kings
Sheldon Kannegiesser
Mike Murphy
Tom Williams		 To New York Rangers
Gilles Marotte
Real Lemieux
February 14, 1974 To Los Angeles Kings
Gene Carr		 To New York Rangers
1st round pick in 1977 - Ron Duguay
March 1, 1974 To Los Angeles Kings
Jim McElmury		 To Minnesota North Stars
Cash
March 12, 1974 To Los Angeles Kings
Tom Cassidy		 To California Golden Seals
Cash

Free agent signings

September 1, 1973 From Suncoast Suns (EHL)
Dale Lewis
September 1, 1973 From University of Minnesota Duluth (NCAA)
Mark Heaslip

Intra-league Draft

June 13, 1973 From Minnesota North Stars
Bob Nevin

Draft picks

Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
338Russ Walker CanadaSaskatoon Blades (WCHL)
454Jim McCrimmon CanadaMedicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
570Dennis Abgrall CanadaSaskatoon Blades (WCHL)
686Blair MacDonald CanadaCornwall Royals (QMJHL)
7102Roly Kimble CanadaHamilton Red Wings (OHA)

Farm teams

See also

References

  1. ↑ "1973-1974 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  2. ↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Hockey Transactions Search Results".
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