1971-1972 Minnesota North Stars: Consistency

1971-1972 Minnesota North Stars: Consistency

1971-1972 Minnesota North Stars: Consistency

The Minnesota North Stars were a young franchise that began to take root in the 1960’s, and at best they experienced modest success as they made a few appearances in the playoffs. However, they had never made it very far in the playoffs. As the 1970’s began the North Stars aimed for a higher ceiling in the National Hockey League hierarchy.

The North Stars went 37-29-12 in the 1971-1972 NHL season, finishing with 86 points. The North Stars finished in 2nd place in the West Division, finishing 21 points behind the Chicago Blackhawks. The North Stars didn’t fare well against the Blackhawks as they went 1-5 against Chicago. Thankfully for Minnesota they did post good head-to-head records against other teams in the league. The North Stars went 6-0 against the Los Angeles Kings, 4-1-1 against the California Golden Seals, 4-2 against the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues, 3-1-2 against the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2-1 against the Vancouver Canucks, and 2-2-2 against the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Right winger Bill Goldsworthy had 31 goals and 31 assists for 62 points with 6 power play goals, 11 power play assists and 8 game-winning goals off 295 shots. Center Murray Oliver had 27 goals and 29 assists for 56 points with 7 power play goals, 10 power play assists and 4 game-winning goals off 191 shots. Right winger Lou Nanne had 21 goals and 28 assists for 49 points with 7 power play goals, 6 power play assists and 8 game-winning goals off 154 shots. Left winger Dean Prentice had 20 goals and 27 assists for 47 points with 7 power play goals and 5 power play assists off 207 shots.

Left winger J.P. Parise had 19 goals and 18 assists with 6 power play goals, 5 power play assists and 3 game-winning goals off 183 shots. Left winger Danny Grant had 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points with 6 power play goals and 12 power play assists off 212 shots. Right winger Bob Nevin had 15 goals and 19 assists in 72 games played. Center Jude Drouin had 13 goals and 43 assists for 56 points with 15 power play assists and 5 game-winning goals off 213 shots. Left winger Charlie Burns had 11 goals and 14 assists in 77 games played.

The North Stars regularly rotated the position of starting goaltender as they had 2 reliable options to guard the net. Cesar Maniago went 20-17-4 in 43 games played, allowing 112 goals in 2539 minutes. Maniago recorded a 2.65 goals against average and 3 shutouts. Goaltender Gump Worsley went 16-10-7 in 34 games played, allowing 68 goals in 1923 minutes. Worsley recorded a 2.12 goals against average and 2 shutouts.

The North Stars certainly started out hot as they started the regular season with a 6-game winning streak which started on October 17 against the Buffalo Sabres, defeating them by the score of 3-2. This winning streak ended on October 28 with a 2-0 shutout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. It wouldn’t take long for the North Stars to goon another streak, and this time it was a 9-game unbeaten streak which featured a tie game in between. This streak began on November 16 with a 5-1 win over the Penguins. The tie in between was a 1-1 score against the Philadelphia Flyers on November 21. The streak ended on December 4 with a 3-1 win over the Flyers.

The North Stars easily qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but their stay in the postseason would be short lived as they ran into a more focused team in the St. Louis Blues in the Quarterfinal Round. The North Stars took the Blues to the 7-game distance, but fell 4 games to 3. In Game 1 on April 5 at home, the North Stars shut out the Blues 3-0. In Game 2 on April 6 at home the North Stars outlasted the Blues in a 6-5 overtime victory. In Game 3 on April 8 on the road the Blues beat the North Stars 2-1. The Blues then took Game 4 in front of their fans in St. Louis by beating the North Stars 3-2. Returning home for Game 5 on April 13, the North Stars won 4-3 to take a 3 games to 2 series lead. However, the North Stars were unable to put the Blues away as they dropped Game 6 on April 15 in St. Louis 4-2, and then Game 7 on April 18 back at home by the score of 4-3.

Jude Drouin led the way for the North Stars in the playoffs when it came to scoring. Drouin had 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points while J.J. Parise had 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points. Murray Oliver put in 6 assists in helping Minnesota’s cause.

The 1970’s saw plenty of opportunities for teams like the Minnesota North Stars to break through and make some noise in the playoffs, and 1971-1972 would be far from the last time the North Stars would make the playoffs.