1976–77 New York Rangers season

1976–77 New York Rangers
1976–77 New York Rangers
Division	4th Patrick
Conference	5th Campbell
1976–77 record	29–37–14
Home record	17–18–5
Road record	12–19–9
Goals for	272
Goals against	310
Team information
General manager	John Ferguson
Coach	John Ferguson
Captain	Phil Esposito
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Team leaders
Goals	Phil Esposito (34)
Assists	Rod Gilbert (48)
Points	Phil Esposito (80)
Penalty minutes	Nick Fotiu (174)
Wins	John Davidson (14)
Goals against average	Doug Soetaert (2.95)

The 1976–77 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 51st season. The Rangers placed fourth in the Patrick Division and did not qualify for the playoffs. The Rangers had a better regular season record than two playoff teams and the league would change the rules in the following season to place the top twelve teams in the playoffs, regardless of division.

Regular season

Season standings

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
Atlanta Flames	80	34	34	12	264	265	80
	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
Atlanta	—	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
	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
Atlanta	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
	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
Atlanta	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
	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
Atlanta	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
	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: 5–7–1 (home: 2–5–0; road: 3–2–1)

Game	October	Opponent	Score	Record
1	6	Minnesota North Stars	6–5	1–0–0
2	8	@ Colorado Rockies	5–3	2–0–0
3	9	@ St. Louis Blues	2–1	2–1–0
4	12	@ Minnesota North Stars	10–4	3–1–0
5	13	Boston Bruins	5–1	3–2–0
6	16	@ Montreal Canadiens	7–4	3–3–0
7	17	Colorado Rockies	4–3	4–3–0
8	20	Los Angeles Kings	4–2	4–4–0
9	24	Vancouver Canucks	5–4	4–5–0
10	26	@ Cleveland Barons	5–2	5–5–0
11	27	Boston Bruins	4–3	5–6–0
12	30	@ Pittsburgh Penguins	2–2	5–6–1
13	31	Detroit Red Wings	6–5	5–7–1

November: 5–4–3 (home: 2–3–0; road: 3–1–3)

Game	November	Opponent	Score	Record
14	3	@ Vancouver Canucks	6–1	6–7–1
15	6	@ Los Angeles Kings	3–3	6–7–2
16	10	Washington Capitals	7–5	6–8–2
17	13	Buffalo Sabres	6–2	6–9–2
18	14	Pittsburgh Penguins	5–1	6–10–2
19	17	Chicago Black Hawks	3–2	7–10–2
20	20	@ St. Louis Blues	3–1	7–11–2
21	22	@ Vancouver Canucks	3–2	8–11–2
22	24	@ Philadelphia Flyers	2–2	8–11–3
23	27	@ Detroit Red Wings	5–0	9–11–3
24	28	Minnesota North Stars	4–1	10–11–3
25	30	@ Atlanta Flames	2–2	10–11–4

December: 5–4–6 (home: 3–2–3; road: 2–2–3)

Game	December	Opponent	Score	Record
26	1	Washington Capitals	4–1	11–11–4
27	4	@ Minnesota North Stars	11–4	12–11–4
28	5	Toronto Maple Leafs	5–5	12–11–5
29	8	St. Louis Blues	4–4	12–11–6
30	11	@ Toronto Maple Leafs	4–1	12–12–6
31	12	Montreal Canadiens	5–2	13–12–6
32	14	@ New York Islanders	4–4	13–12–7
33	16	@ Buffalo Sabres	7–2	13–13–7
34	18	@ Chicago Black Hawks	3–3	13–13–8
35	19	Cleveland Barons	3–2	14–13–8
36	22	Philadelphia Flyers	3–3	14–13–9
37	23	@ Boston Bruins	3–3	14–13–10
38	26	New York Islanders	2–1	14–14–10
39	28	@ Washington Capitals	5–2	15–14–10
40	31	Atlanta Flames	4–2	15–15–10

January: 3–6–3 (home: 2–2–1; road: 1–4–2)

Game	January	Opponent	Score	Record
41	2	Vancouver Canucks	5–3	16–15–10
42	5	Philadelphia Flyers	4–4	16–15–11
43	7	@ Colorado Rockies	4–4	16–15–12
44	9	Los Angeles Kings	5–4	16–16–12
45	12	@ Atlanta Flames	6–1	16–17–12
46	13	@ Buffalo Sabres	7–5	16–18–12
47	16	@ Chicago Black Hawks	5–2	17–18–12
48	19	@ Cleveland Barons	3–3	17–18–13
49	22	@ Los Angeles Kings	6–0	17–19–13
50	23	@ Vancouver Canucks	6–2	17–20–13
51	27	Pittsburgh Penguins	3–0	17–21–13
52	30	St. Louis Blues	5–2	18–21–13

February: 5–7–0 (home: 3–2–0; road: 2–5–0)

Game	February	Opponent	Score	Record
53	1	@ Colorado Rockies	5–2	18–22–13
54	3	@ New York Islanders	6–3	18–23–13
55	6	New York Islanders	4–0	19–23–13
56	9	Buffalo Sabres	2–1	19–24–13
57	10	@ Detroit Red Wings	5–4	20–24–13
58	13	Toronto Maple Leafs	8–3	21–24–13
59	17	@ Philadelphia Flyers	7–1	21–25–13
60	19	@ New York Islanders	5–2	21–26–13
61	20	Detroit Red Wings	3–2	22–26–13
62	23	@ Toronto Maple Leafs	5–4	23–26–13
63	26	@ Chicago Black Hawks	2–1	23–27–13
64	27	Montreal Canadiens	8–1	23–28–13

March: 6–7–1 (home: 5–3–1; road: 1–4–0)

Game	March	Opponent	Score	Record
65	3	Boston Bruins	4–1	23–29–13
66	5	@ Montreal Canadiens	7–2	23–30–13
67	6	Cleveland Barons	4–3	24–30–13
68	9	Minnesota North Stars	6–4	25–30–13
69	10	@ Boston Bruins	10–3	25–31–13
70	12	@ Atlanta Flames	6–3	25–32–13
71	13	Atlanta Flames	5–3	25–33–13
72	16	Philadelphia Flyers	4–4	25–33–14
73	19	@ Pittsburgh Penguins	5–2	26–33–14
74	20	St. Louis Blues	5–3	27–33–14
75	23	Colorado Rockies	5–3	28–33–14
76	25	@ Washington Capitals	7–2	28–34–14
77	27	Chicago Black Hawks	5–3	28–35–14
78	30	Atlanta Flames	4–3	29–35–14

April: 0–2–0 (home: 0–1–0; road: 0–1–0)

Game	April	Opponent	Score	Record
79	2	@ Philadelphia Flyers	4–1	29–36–14
80	3	New York Islanders	5–2	29–37–14

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

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Phil Esposito	80	34	46	80	52
Rod Gilbert	77	27	48	75	50
Ken Hodge	78	21	41	62	43
Don Murdoch	59	32	24	56	47
Steve Vickers	75	22	31	53	26
Walt Tkaczuk	80	12	38	50	38
Carol Vadnais	74	11	37	48	131
Ron Greschner	80	11	36	47	89
Wayne Dillon	78	17	29	46	33
Mike McEwen	80	14	29	43	38
Pat Hickey	80	23	17	40	35
Greg Polis	77	16	23	39	44
Bill Goldsworthy^†	61	10	12	22	43
Dave Maloney	66	3	18	21	100
Dave Farrish	80	2	17	19	102
Dan Newman	41	9	8	17	37
Pete Stemkowski	61	2	13	15	8
Nick Fotiu	70	4	8	12	174
Bill Fairbairn^‡	9	1	2	3	0
Mark Heaslip	19	1	0	1	31
Larry Huras	2	0	0	0	0
Larry Sacharuk	2	0	0	0	0
John Bednarski	5	0	0	0	0
Greg Holst	5	0	0	0	0
Nick Beverley^‡	9	0	0	0	2
Doug Jarrett	9	0	0	0	4

Goaltenders

Regular Season
Player	GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Gilles Gratton	41	2034	11	18	7	143	4.22	0
John Davidson	39	2116	14	14	6	125	3.54	1
Doug Soetaert	12	570	3	4	1	28	2.95	1
Dave Tataryn	2	80	1	1	0	10	7.50	0

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

^[4]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Draft picks

New York's picks at the 1976 NHL amateur draft in Montreal, Canada.

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	6	Don Murdoch	RW	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL)
2	24	Dave Farrish	D	Canada	Sudbury Wolves (OHA)
3	42	Mike McEwen	D	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OHA)
4	60	Claude Periard	LW	Canada	Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL)
5	78	Doug Caines	C	Canada	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
6	96	Barry Scully	RW	Canada	Kingston Canadians (OHA)
7	112	Remi Levesque	C	Canada	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)

References

^ 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 New York Rangers Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
^ "1976–77 New York Rangers". hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 8, 2010.

External links

Rangers on Hockey Database

[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 New York Rangers Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 31, 2025.

[4] "1976–77 New York Rangers". hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 8, 2010.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

New York Rangers seasons
1920s	1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930s	1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940s	1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Highlighted seasons indicate Stanley Cup championship

1976–77 NHL season
Patrick	Atlanta NY Islanders 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