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1978–79 Detroit Red Wings season

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1978–79 Detroit Red Wings
League15th NHL
Division5th Norris
Conference9th Wales
1978–79 record23–41–16
Home record15–17–8
Road record8–24–8
Goals for252
Goals against295
Team information
General managerTed Lindsay
CoachBobby Kromm
CaptainDennis Hextall
Nick Libett and
Paul Woods
ArenaDetroit Olympia
Team leaders
GoalsVáclav Nedomanský (38)
AssistsReed Larson (49)
PointsVaclav Nedomansky (73)
Penalty minutesDennis Polonich (208)
WinsJim Rutherford (13)
Goals against averageJim Rutherford (3.27)

The 1978–79 Detroit Red Wings season was the Red Wings' 47th season and 53rd overall for the franchise. It is the last full season at the Detroit Olympia for the team. A year later, they would move to the newly built Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings did not qualify for the playoffs despite qualifying the previous year.

Offseason

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Regular season

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Final standings

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Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Montreal Canadiens 80 52 17 11 337 204 115
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 36 31 13 281 279 85
Los Angeles Kings 80 34 34 12 292 286 80
Washington Capitals 80 24 41 15 273 338 63
Detroit Red Wings 80 23 41 16 252 295 62

[1]

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
       Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

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Norris Division record vs. opponents


Schedule and results

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1978–79 regular season[3]
October
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
1 L October 11, 1978 4–5 St. Louis Blues (1978–79) 0–1–0
2 L October 14, 1978 1–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 0–2–0
3 W October 15, 1978 3–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) 1–2–0
4 T October 18, 1978 3–3 @ New York Rangers (1978–79) 1–2–1
5 T October 19, 1978 2–2 New York Rangers (1978–79) 1–2–2
6 T October 21, 1978 4–4 Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) 1–2–3
7 W October 25, 1978 5–4 Colorado Rockies (1978–79) 2–2–3
8 W October 27, 1978 5–2 @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) 3–2–3
9 W October 28, 1978 7–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) 4–2–3
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
10 L November 1, 1978 1–4 Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 4–3–3
11 L November 4, 1978 3–7 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 4–4–3
12 T November 5, 1978 3–3 @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) 4–4–4
13 L November 8, 1978 4–6 Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) 4–5–4
14 L November 9, 1978 3–8 @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 4–6–4
15 W November 11, 1978 7–1 Boston Bruins (1978–79) 5–6–4
16 L November 15, 1978 3–5 @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 5–7–4
17 L November 18, 1978 1–3 Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) 5–8–4
18 L November 19, 1978 3–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 5–9–4
19 T November 22, 1978 3–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 5–9–5
20 L November 25, 1978 0–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) 5–10–5
21 W November 26, 1978 4–2 Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 6–10–5
22 T November 29, 1978 2–2 @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) 6–10–6
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
23 L December 1, 1978 1–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) 6–11–6
24 L December 2, 1978 2–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 6–12–6
25 T December 6, 1978 2–2 Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 6–12–7
26 L December 7, 1978 5–6 @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) 6–13–7
27 W December 9, 1978 5–4 New York Rangers (1978–79) 7–13–7
28 T December 10, 1978 3–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) 7–13–8
29 T December 13, 1978 5–5 Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 7–13–9
30 L December 14, 1978 1–4 @ New York Islanders (1978–79) 7–14–9
31 L December 16, 1978 2–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) 7–15–9
32 L December 17, 1978 0–3 New York Islanders (1978–79) 7–16–9
33 W December 20, 1978 7–2 Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) 8–16–9
34 L December 22, 1978 2–4 @ New York Rangers (1978–79) 8–17–9
35 T December 23, 1978 2–2 Washington Capitals (1978–79) 8–17–10
36 T December 26, 1978 2–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 8–17–11
37 L December 27, 1978 2–5 Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 8–18–11
38 L December 30, 1978 1–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 8–19–11
39 L December 31, 1978 4–5 Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 8–20–11
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
40 L January 6, 1979 1–4 Washington Capitals (1978–79) 8–21–11
41 L January 7, 1979 3–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) 8–22–11
42 T January 10, 1979 5–5 New York Islanders (1978–79) 8–22–12
43 T January 11, 1979 3–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) 8–22–13
44 L January 13, 1979 3–7 Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 8–23–13
45 W January 17, 1979 4–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 9–23–13
46 L January 19, 1979 1–5 @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) 9–24–13
47 L January 20, 1979 3–4 Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 9–25–13
48 T January 25, 1979 6–6 @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 9–25–14
49 L January 27, 1979 3–6 Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) 9–26–14
50 L January 28, 1979 2–7 @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) 9–27–14
51 W January 30, 1979 7–4 Washington Capitals (1978–79) 10–27–14
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
52 L February 1, 1979 1–6 @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) 10–28–14
53 L February 3, 1979 2–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 10–29–14
54 W February 4, 1979 8–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 11–29–14
55 L February 14, 1979 2–3 Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 11–30–14
56 W February 18, 1979 6–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 12–30–14
57 L February 19, 1979 2–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) 12–31–14
58 W February 21, 1979 4–3 @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) 13–31–14
59 L February 24, 1979 1–3 @ New York Islanders (1978–79) 13–32–14
60 W February 25, 1979 8–1 Colorado Rockies (1978–79) 14–32–14
61 L February 28, 1979 5–6 St. Louis Blues (1978–79) 14–33–14
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
62 W March 3, 1979 5–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 15–33–14
63 L March 4, 1979 4–6 Boston Bruins (1978–79) 15–34–14
64 L March 7, 1979 1–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) 15–35–14
65 T March 11, 1979 3–3 Washington Capitals (1978–79) 15–35–15
66 T March 12, 1979 3–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 15–35–16
67 W March 14, 1979 4–1 @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) 16–35–16
68 W March 17, 1979 3–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) 17–35–16
69 W March 18, 1979 4–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) 18–35–16
70 W March 20, 1979 5–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) 19–35–16
71 W March 21, 1979 4–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) 20–35–16
72 L March 24, 1979 2–5 @ Boston Bruins (1978–79) 20–36–16
73 W March 25, 1979 2–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) 21–36–16
74 L March 27, 1979 2–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) 21–37–16
75 L March 28, 1979 1–8 @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 21–38–16
76 L March 31, 1979 4–5 Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) 21–39–16
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
77 W April 1, 1979 3–1 Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) 22–39–16
78 L April 4, 1979 1–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 22–40–16
79 L April 7, 1979 3–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) 22–41–16
80 W April 8, 1979 1–0 Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) 23–41–16

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

Player statistics

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Regular season

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Vaclav Nedomansky RW 80 38 35 73 19 -13 13 0 2
Dale McCourt C 79 28 43 71 14 -27 14 2 3
Reed Larson D 79 18 49 67 169 -20 6 2 0
Errol Thompson LW 70 23 31 54 26 -28 8 0 3
Andre St. Laurent C 76 18 31 49 124 -31 4 1 1
Dan Labraaten LW 78 19 19 38 8 -17 7 0 3
Paul Woods LW 80 14 23 37 59 -26 1 3 1
Nick Libett LW 68 15 19 34 20 4 3 1 0
Willie Huber D 68 7 24 31 114 -25 4 0 2
Dan Bolduc LW 56 16 13 29 14 -9 3 0 4
Perry Miller D 75 5 23 28 156 -13 3 0 1
Thommie Bergman D 68 10 17 27 64 -25 3 1 1
Dennis Polonich C/RW 62 10 12 22 208 -10 1 0 0
Roland Cloutier C 19 6 6 12 2 0 1 0 1
Dennis Hextall LW 20 4 8 12 33 3 2 0 0
Fern LeBlanc C 29 5 6 11 0 1 1 0 0
Bill Lochead LW 40 4 7 11 20 -4 0 0 0
Greg Carroll C 36 2 9 11 8 -6 1 0 0
Bill Hogaboam C 18 4 6 10 4 -5 1 0 1
J.P. LeBlanc C 24 2 6 8 4 -7 2 0 0
Jean Hamel D 52 2 4 6 72 -9 0 0 0
Terry Harper D 51 0 6 6 58 -3 0 0 0
Greg Joly D 20 0 4 4 6 -8 0 0 0
Al Cameron D 9 0 3 3 8 1 0 0 0
John Hilworth D 37 1 1 2 66 -13 0 0 0
Rob Plumb LW 7 1 1 2 2 -1 0 0 0
Lorry Gloeckner D 13 0 2 2 6 -7 0 0 0
Jim Rutherford G 32 0 2 2 4 0 0 0 0
John Taft D 15 0 2 2 4 2 0 0 0
Rogie Vachon G 50 0 1 1 21 0 0 0 0
Mal Davis LW 6 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Dave Hanson D 11 0 0 0 26 -1 0 0 0
Brent Peterson C 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Steve Short LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bjorn Skaare C 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Jim Rutherford 1892 32 13 14 5 103 3.27 1
Rogie Vachon 2908 50 10 27 11 189 3.90 0
Team: 4800 80 23 41 16 292 3.65 1

[4]

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals;
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts;

Awards and records

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Transactions

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Draft picks

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Detroit's draft picks at the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. Ladislav Svozil was the first Czechoslovakian player drafted in the history of the NHL Draft. The Red Wings selected Svozil with their 14th pick in the 1978 Draft.[5]

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 9 Willie Huber  Canada Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL)
1 12 Brent Peterson  Canada Portland Winterhawks (WCHL)
2 28 Glenn Hicks  Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
2 31 Al Jensen  Canada Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL)
3 53 Doug Derkson  Canada New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
4 62 Bjorn Skaare  Norway Ottawa 67's (OMJHL)
5 78 Ted Nolan  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
6 95 Sylvain Locas  Canada Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
7 112 Wes George  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)
8 129 John Barrett  Canada Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL)
9 146 Jim Malazdrewicz  Canada St. Boniface Saints (MJHL)
10 163 Geoff Shaw  Canada Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL)
11 178 Carl Van Harrewyn  Canada New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
12 194 Ladislav Svozil  Czechoslovakia HC Vitkovice (Czechoslovakia)
13 208 Tom Bailey  Canada Kingston Canadians (OMJHL)
14 219 Larry Lozinski  Canada Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL)
15 224 Randy Betty  Canada New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
16 226 Brian Crawley  Canada St. Lawrence University (ECAC)
17 228 Doug Feasby  Canada Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 163, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "1978-79 Detroit Red Wings Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  4. ^ "1978-79 Detroit Red Wings Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 2, 2009.
  5. ^ Hockey's Book of Firsts, p.46, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
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