1978–79 Los Angeles Kings season

1978–79 Los Angeles Kings
1978–79 Los Angeles Kings
Division	3rd Norris
Conference	6th Wales
1978–79 record	34–34–12
Home record	20–13–7
Road record	14–21–5
Goals for	292
Goals against	286
Team information
General manager	George Maguire
Coach	Bob Berry
Captain	Mike Murphy
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Los Angeles Forum
Team leaders
Goals	Marcel Dionne (59)
Assists	Marcel Dionne (71)
Points	Marcel Dionne (130)
Penalty minutes	Randy Holt (202)
Wins	Mario Lessard (23)
Goals against average	Mario Lessard (3.11)
	← 1977–78 1979–80 →

The 1978–79 Los Angeles Kings season was the Kings' 12th season in the National Hockey League.

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

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

Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Norris Division

1978–79 NHL records^[2]
Team	DET	LAK	MTL	PIT	WSH	Total
Detroit	—	1–5–2	2–4–2	3–5	3–2–3	9–16–7
Los Angeles	5–1–2	—	3–3–2	3–4–1	3–4–1	14–12–6
Montreal	4–2–2	3–3–2	—	5–2–1	7–0–1	19–7–6
Pittsburgh	5–3	4–3–1	2–5–1	—	4–3–1	15–14–3
Washington	2–3–3	4–3–1	0–7–1	3–4–1	—	9–17–6

Vs. Adams Division

1978–79 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	MIN	TOR	Total
Detroit	1–3	1–3	1–2–1	2–2	5–10–1
Los Angeles	3–1	1–2–1	3–1	0–4	7–8–1
Montreal	2–0–2	4–0	3–1	3–0–1	12–1–3
Pittsburgh	2–1–1	2–0–2	3–1	1–3	8–5–3
Washington	0–3–1	0–3–1	2–2	1–1–2	3–9–4

Vs. Patrick Division

1978–79 NHL records
Team	ATL	NYI	NYR	PHI	Total
Detroit	0–3–1	0–3–1	1–1–2	0–2–2	1–9–6
Los Angeles	2–2	0–2–2	1–3	0–4	3–11–2
Montreal	3–1	1–3	1–3	3–0–1	8–7–1
Pittsburgh	0–3–1	0–1–3	2–2	1–3	3–9–4
Washington	1–2–1	1–3	1–1–2	0–3–1	3–9–4

Vs. Smythe Division

1978–79 NHL records
Team	CHI	COL	STL	VAN	Total
Detroit	3–0–1	3–0–1	1–3	1–3	8–6–2
Los Angeles	3–1	2–0–2	2–1–1	3–1	10–3–3
Montreal	2–2	4–0	4–0	3–0–1	13–2–1
Pittsburgh	2–0–2	3–1	2–1–1	3–1	10–3–3
Washington	1–2–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	9–6–1

Schedule and results

1978–79 regular season^[3]

October

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 11, 1978	2–4	Washington Capitals (1978–79)	0–1–0
2	W	October 14, 1978	6–2	St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	1–1–0
3	L	October 18, 1978	2–3	Boston Bruins (1978–79)	1–2–0
4	W	October 20, 1978	6–4	@ Washington Capitals (1978–79)	2–2–0
5	L	October 22, 1978	4–8	@ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	2–3–0
6	L	October 24, 1978	2–7	@ Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	2–4–0
7	W	October 26, 1978	6–0	Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	3–4–0
8	W	October 28, 1978	5–1	Washington Capitals (1978–79)	4–4–0

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
9	L	November 1, 1978	2–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	4–5–0
10	L	November 4, 1978	3–7	New York Rangers (1978–79)	4–6–0
11	L	November 8, 1978	3–5	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	4–7–0
12	W	November 11, 1978	8–1	Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	5–7–0
13	W	November 12, 1978	4–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	6–7–0
14	W	November 14, 1978	4–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	7–7–0
15	W	November 16, 1978	6–3	Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	8–7–0
16	L	November 18, 1978	1–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	8–8–0
17	W	November 20, 1978	4–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	9–8–0
18	T	November 22, 1978	3–3	Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	9–8–1
19	W	November 25, 1978	4–1	@ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	10–8–1
20	L	November 26, 1978	2–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	10–9–1
21	T	November 29, 1978	5–5	New York Islanders (1978–79)	10–9–2

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
22	W	December 2, 1978	5–2	Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	11–9–2
23	W	December 4, 1978	10–2	Washington Capitals (1978–79)	12–9–2
24	L	December 6, 1978	0–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	12–10–2
25	T	December 7, 1978	3–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	12–10–3
26	W	December 9, 1978	5–1	Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	13–10–3
27	T	December 12, 1978	5–5	@ New York Islanders (1978–79)	13–10–4
28	L	December 13, 1978	7–8	@ New York Rangers (1978–79)	13–11–4
29	L	December 16, 1978	2–5	Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	13–12–4
30	T	December 19, 1978	2–2	@ Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	13–12–5
31	L	December 21, 1978	1–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	13–13–5
32	L	December 23, 1978	0–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	13–14–5
33	L	December 27, 1978	2–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	13–15–5
34	T	December 28, 1978	3–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	13–15–6
35	W	December 30, 1978	4–0	Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	14–15–6

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
36	W	January 1, 1979	5–3	Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	15–15–6
37	L	January 3, 1979	3–8	@ Washington Capitals (1978–79)	15–16–6
38	W	January 4, 1979	5–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	16–16–6
39	W	January 6, 1979	4–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	17–16–6
40	L	January 7, 1979	0–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	17–17–6
41	L	January 9, 1979	1–7	@ New York Islanders (1978–79)	17–18–6
42	L	January 10, 1979	0–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	17–19–6
43	W	January 13, 1979	7–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	18–19–6
44	W	January 14, 1979	6–3	@ Boston Bruins (1978–79)	19–19–6
45	L	January 17, 1979	3–7	Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	19–20–6
46	L	January 20, 1979	2–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	19–21–6
47	W	January 24, 1979	4–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	20–21–6
48	T	January 25, 1979	6–6	Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	20–21–7
49	L	January 27, 1979	3–5	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	20–22–7
50	W	January 28, 1979	5–3	@ Boston Bruins (1978–79)	21–22–7
51	L	January 30, 1979	1–7	@ St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	21–23–7
52	L	January 31, 1979	3–5	@ Washington Capitals (1978–79)	21–24–7

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
53	W	February 3, 1979	4–2	New York Rangers (1978–79)	22–24–7
54	W	February 4, 1979	4–1	@ Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	23–24–7
55	W	February 14, 1979	3–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	24–24–7
56	T	February 15, 1979	2–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	24–24–8
57	L	February 17, 1979	2–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	24–25–8
58	L	February 19, 1979	3–8	New York Islanders (1978–79)	24–26–8
59	W	February 21, 1979	3–1	Boston Bruins (1978–79)	25–26–8
60	L	February 24, 1979	3–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	25–27–8
61	W	February 26, 1979	2–0	Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	26–27–8
62	T	February 28, 1979	3–3	Washington Capitals (1978–79)	26–27–9

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
63	W	March 3, 1979	8–5	Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79)	27–27–9
64	W	March 4, 1979	3–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79)	28–27–9
65	W	March 7, 1979	4–0	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	29–27–9
66	L	March 8, 1979	4–6	@ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	29–28–9
67	L	March 10, 1979	4–9	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79)	29–29–9
68	L	March 11, 1979	3–6	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79)	29–30–9
69	T	March 14, 1979	3–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79)	29–30–10
70	W	March 17, 1979	3–1	Montreal Canadiens (1978–79)	30–30–10
71	W	March 20, 1979	4–3	Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	31–30–10
72	T	March 22, 1979	3–3	St. Louis Blues (1978–79)	31–30–11
73	L	March 24, 1979	2–3	Buffalo Sabres (1978–79)	31–31–11
74	W	March 28, 1979	8–1	Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	32–31–11
75	L	March 30, 1979	3–5	@ Atlanta Flames (1978–79)	32–32–11
76	W	March 31, 1979	5–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79)	33–32–11

April

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
77	L	April 2, 1979	4–5	@ New York Rangers (1978–79)	33–33–11
78	L	April 3, 1979	2–6	@ Washington Capitals (1978–79)	33–34–11
79	T	April 5, 1979	4–4	Colorado Rockies (1978–79)	33–34–12
80	W	April 7, 1979	7–1	Minnesota North Stars (1978–79)	34–34–12

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

Playoffs

NYI Vs LAK 4-5 OT3 1-0

NYI Vs LAK 6-2 2-0

LAK Vs NYI 4-1 2-1

LAK Vs NYI 4-3 OT 2-2

NYI Vs LAK 3-2 OT 3-2

NYI Vs LAK 4-5 3-3

LAK Vs NYI 3-5 3-4

NY Islanders Wins Series 4-3

Player statistics

Awards and records

Transactions

The Kings were involved in the following transactions during the 1978–79 season.^[4]

Trades

June 14, 1978	To Los Angeles Kings Brian Glennie Kurt Walker Scott Garland 2nd round pick in 1979 – Mark Hardy	To Toronto Maple Leafs Dave Hutchison Lorne Stamler
June 15, 1978	To Los Angeles Kings Cash	To St. Louis Blues 13th round pick in 1978 – Terry Kitching 14th round pick in 1978 – Jim Farrell
September 18, 1978	To Los Angeles Kings Doug Halward	To Boston Bruins Future considerations
October 5, 1978	To Los Angeles Kings Murray Wilson 1st round pick in 1979 – Jay Wells	To Montreal Canadiens 1st round pick in 1981 – Gilbert Delorme
October 9, 1978	To Los Angeles Kings Ron Grahame	To Boston Bruins 1st round pick in 1979 – Ray Bourque
November 18, 1978	To Los Angeles Kings 4th round pick in 1982 – Dave Gans	To Colorado Rockies Nick Beverley
December 6, 1978	To Los Angeles Kings Steve Carlson	To Detroit Red Wings Steve Short
December 31, 1978	To Los Angeles Kings Randy Holt	To Vancouver Canucks Don Kozak
January 16, 1979	To Los Angeles Kings Richard Mulhern 2nd round pick in 1980 – Dave Morrison	To Atlanta Flames Bob Murdoch 2nd round pick in 1980 – Tony Curtale

Free agent signings

June 14, 1978	From New York Rangers Mark Heaslip
August 7, 1978	From Fort Wayne Komets (IHL) Dan Bonar

Free agents lost

June 30, 1978	To Minnesota North Stars Gary Sargent
August 8, 1978	To Detroit Red Wings Rogie Vachon (5 years, $1.9 million)

Free agent compensation

Dale McCourt refused to report to Los Angeles and sued the NHL. He played the 1978–79 season with the Red Wings.

July 15, 1978	To Los Angeles Kings Dave Gardner Rick Hampton Steve Jensen	To Minnesota North Stars Gary Sargent
August 22, 1978	To Los Angeles Kings Dale McCourt	To Detroit Red Wings Rogie Vachon

Waivers

September 5, 1978	From Minnesota North Stars Nick Beverley

Draft picks

Los Angeles's draft picks at the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
5	77	Paul Mancini	Canada	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)
6	94	Doug Keans	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)
7	111	Don Waddell	United States	Northern Michigan University (CCHA)
8	128	Rob Mierkalns	Canada	Hamilton Fincups (OMJHL)
9	145	Rick Scully	Canada	Brown University (ECAC)
10	162	Brad Thiessen	Canada	Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
11	177	Jim Armstrong	United States	Clarkson University (ECAC)
12	193	Claude Larochelle	Canada	Hull Olympiques (QMJHL)

References

^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 163, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
^ "1978-79 Los Angeles Kings Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
^ "Hockey Transactions Search Results".

[guide-stdgs-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.

[Gamelog-3] "1978-79 Los Angeles Kings Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 27, 2025.

[4] "Hockey Transactions Search Results".

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Los Angeles Kings
Founded in 1967 Based in Los Angeles, California
Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks expansion draft Seasons Current season
History	History 1967 expansion Records Award winners Retired numbers Broadcasters
Personnel	Owner(s) Philip Anschutz Ed Roski Jr. General manager Rob Blake Head coach Jim Hiller Team captain Anze Kopitar Current roster
Arenas	Long Beach Arena Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Kia Forum Crypto.com Arena
Rivalries	Anaheim Ducks Edmonton Oilers San Jose Sharks
Affiliates	AHL Ontario Reign ECHL Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Media	TV Bally Sports West Radio KABC (790 AM)
Culture and lore	Bailey Frozen Fury Miracle on Manchester Dieter Ruehle "I Love L.A." 1991 Las Vegas outdoor game Melrose Place Garnet Bailey and Mark Bavis That 70s Line The Love Guru "This is L.A." 2011 NHL Premiere 2014 Stadium Series 2015 Stadium Series Toyota Sports Performance Center 2020 Stadium Series Team monument "Hollywood Nights"
Category

v t e Los Angeles Kings seasons
1960s	1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1979–79 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

v t e 1978–79 NHL season
Patrick	Atlanta NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia
Adams	Boston Buffalo Minnesota Toronto
Norris	Detroit Los Angeles Montreal Pittsburgh Washington
Smythe	Chicago Colorado St. Louis Vancouver
See also	Amateur draft Dispersal draft Waiver draft The Game Challenge Cup Playoffs Stanley Cup Finals