In the end, most NHL hockey fans remember who won the
Stanley Cup and maybe which player won the scoring title. After that, it’s
mostly all forgotten unless you’re a true hockey fan. Are you a true hockey
fan? Test and expand your knowledge of the wins and losses columns with the
following four trivia questions. Well, mostly the losses column.
Q. What team lost 67 of 80 games during the 1974-75 season?
A. A far cry from
their current success, the Washington Capitals won just eight games during
their first season in the National Hockey League. The Capitals joined the
league for 1974-75, along with the Kansas City Scouts.
Washington was led offensively by Tom Williams with 58
points. Williams had spent the past two years in the WHA with the New England
Whalers. Previous to that, he played in the NHL from 1961-62 with the Boston
Bruins, Minnesota North Stars and California Golden Seals. Tom played just 34
games with the Capitals in 1975-76 before retiring from the game.
The Capitals went through a trio of head coaches in that
inaugural season. Jim Anderson was behind the bench for 54 games, winning just
four. Anderson was a long time member of the Springfield Indians and is a
member of the AHL Hall of Fame. Next up was Red Sulllivan. The former head
coach of the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins lasted just 19 games
behind the Washington bench. Hockey legend Milt Schmidt coached the team for
the final seven games of the season.
Q. What team was the first to lose 60 games during a single regular
season?
A. The New York
Islanders entered the NHL for the 1972-73 season along with the Atlanta Flames.
The Islanders lost an even 60 games that season. The Flames lost just 38. Just
six years later, the Islanders would win the first of four Stanley Cups in a
row.
During that first season, the Islanders were coached by two
former NHLers. Phil Goyette started the year behind the bench and made it
through 50 games before being replaced by Earl Ingarfield. The following year,
Al Arbour was brought in.
Billy Harris led the 1972-73 Islanders with just 50 points.
Billy Smith backed up Gerry Desjardins in net with both posting a goals against
average well over 4.00.
Q. During the 1992-93 season, what two teams became the first to
surpass the 70 loss mark?
A. The Ottawa Senators
lost 70 games and the San Jose Sharks lost 71 although both finished with 24
points. 1992-93 was one of the few years when the NHL had an 84 game regular
season schedule. The 71 losses by San Jose stands today as a single season
National Hockey League record. However, it is Ottawa that set the mark with
most losses at home with 41.
Q. What was the only NHL team to surpass the 50 win mark during the
1974-75 season?
A. Eventual
Stanley Cup winners, the Philadelphia Flyers, won 51 games in 1974-75. This
fact is surprising considering there were two new expansion teams, Washington
and Kansas City, that lost well over 50 games and the Minnesota North Stars
lost exactly 50. You would think there’d be lots of wins to go around but the
league was tied up in ties.
The Flyers tied for first overall with the Buffalo Sabres
and Montreal Canadiens, all with 113 points. Buffalo won 49 games and Montreal
won 47.
