1978 WHA playoffs

1978 WHA playoffs

Tournament details
Dates	April 14 – May 22, 1978
Season	1977–78
Teams	6
Final positions
Champions	Winnipeg Jets (2nd title)
Runner-up	New England Whalers
Semifinalists	Quebec Nordiques
←  1977 1979  →

The 1978 WHA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the World Hockey Association's 1977-1978 season. The sixth WHA tournament, it was the only one with six teams in competition with each other. The Winnipeg Jets won the Avco Cup over the New England Whalers for their second championship. ^[1] Bob Guindon was named the WHA Playoff MVP. ^[2]

Playoff seeds

The top six teams made the playoffs.

1. Winnipeg Jets – 102 points
2. New England Whalers – 93 points
3. Houston Aeros – 88 points
4. Quebec Nordiques – 83 points
5. Edmonton Oilers – 79 points
6. Birmingham Bulls – 75 points

Bracket

	Quarterfinals					Semifinal					Finals
	2	New England Whalers	4
	5	Edmonton Oilers	1
						2	New England Whalers	4
						4	Quebec Nordiques	1
	3	Houston Aeros	2
	4	Quebec Nordiques	4
											1	Winnipeg Jets	4
											2	New England Whalers	0
	1	Winnipeg Jets	4
	6	Birmingham Bulls	1

Quarterfinals

(2) New England Whalers vs. (5) Edmonton Oilers

April 14

Edmonton Oilers

4–6 (1–1, 0–3, 3–2)

New England Whalers

Springfield Civic Center

	Don McLeod	Goalies	Jean-Louis Levasseur
	Pierre Jarry Ron Chipperfield Mike Zuke Randy Rota Goals Mike Antonovich (2) Dave Keon Gordie Howe Larry Pleau Marty Howe
	6 4 13 - 23	Shots	7 15 17 - 39

April 16

Edmonton Oilers

1–4 (0–2, 0–0, 1–2)

New England Whalers

Springfield Civic Center

	Don McLeod	Goalies	Jean-Louis Levasseur
	Blair MacDonald Goals Mike Rogers John McKenzie Mark Howe Steve Carlson
	9 10 7 - 26	Shots	12 9 14 - 35

April 19

New England Whalers

0–2 (0–1, 0–0, 0–1)

Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Coliseum

	Jean-Louis Levasseur	Goalies	Don McLeod
	Pierre Guite Mike Zuke Goals
	19 (6-8-5)	Shots	28 (9-12-7)

April 21

New England Whalers

9–1 (4–1, 4–0, 1–0)

Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Coliseum

	Jean-Louis Levasseur	Goalies	Don McLeod / Dave Dryden
	Antonovich (3) John McKenzie Gordie Howe Dave Keon Steve Carlson Larry Pleau Danny Bolduc Goals Dennis Sobchuk
	13 11 8 - 32	Shots	9 10 10 - 29

April 23

Edmonton Oilers

1–4 (0–0, 0–1, 1–3)

New England Whalers

Springfield Civic Center

	Dave Dryden	Goalies	Jean-Louis Levasseur
	Paul Shmyr Goals Gordie Howe Antonovich John McKenzie Dave Keon
	5 10 11 - 26	Shots	15 13 11 - 39

(3) Houston Aeros vs. (4) Quebec Nordiques

Réal Cloutier tied Larry Lund's postseason record for goals with four in Game 6 (a record which lasted one year) as Quebec eliminated Houston in the last game played by the Aeros prior to the team folding. ^{[3] [4]}

April 16

Quebec Nordiques

3–4 (OT) (2–1, 0–0, 1–2, 0–1)

Houston Aeros

The Summit

	Richard Brodeur	Goalies	Lynn Zimmerman
	Jean Bernier Paul Baxter Réal Cloutier Goals André Lacroix Al McLeod 15:49 (3rd) - Don Larway GW - Ted Taylor (7:19)
	35 (19-5-8-3)	Shots	38 (9-8-18-3)

April 18

Quebec Nordiques

5–4 (OT) (1–1, 0–0, 3–3, 1–0)

Houston Aeros

The Summit

	Richard Brodeur	Goalies	Lynn Zimmerman
	Marc Tardif Bob Fitchner Réal Cloutier Paul Baxter GW - Marc Tardif (2:59) Goals John Tonelli André Lacroix Ron Hansis 19:19 (3rd) - Morris Lukowich
	29 (12-6-10-1)	Shots	31 (10-13-8-0)

April 20

Houston Aeros

1–5 (0–1, 0–2, 1–2)

Quebec Nordiques

Colisée de Québec

	Lynn Zimmerman	Goalies	Richard Brodeur
	John Hughes Goals Steve Sutherland Marc Tardif Norm Dube François Lacombe Réal Cloutier
	7 10 13 - 30	Shots	14 10 8 - 32

April 21

Houston Aeros

0–3 (0–1, 0–1, 0–1)

Quebec Nordiques

Colisée de Québec

	Wayne Rutledge	Goalies	Richard Brodeur
	No scoring Goals Serge Bernier Marc Tardif Paulin Bordeleau
	11 9 6 - 26	Shots	14 9 18 - 41

April 23

Quebec Nordiques

2–5 (0–2, 2–1, 0–2)

Houston Aeros

The Summit

	Richard Brodeur	Goalies	Wayne Rutledge
	Paulin Bordeleau (2) Goals Ted Taylor (2) Paul Terbenche Cam Connor Scott Campbell
	4 14 6 - 24	Shots	6 5 15 - 26

April 25

Houston Aeros

2–11 (0–4, 0–2, 2–5)

Quebec Nordiques

Colisée de Québec

	Lynn Zimmerman / Wayne Rutledge	Goalies	Richard Brodeur
	Steve West Terry Ruskowski Goals Garry Lariviere Curt Brackenbury Jean Bernier Réal Cloutier Wally Weir Réal Cloutier Paulin Bordeleau Norm Dube Paul Baxter Réal Cloutier Réal Cloutier
	8 13 16 - 37	Shots	14 9 10 - 33

(1) Winnipeg Jets vs. (6) Birmingham Bulls

April 14

Birmingham Bulls

3–9 (1–4, 2–0, 0–5)

Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg Arena

	John Garrett	Goalies	Joe Daley / Gary Bromley
	Ken Linseman Frank Beaton Dave Gorman Goals Anders Hedberg (2) Bobby Hull (2) Bob Guindon (2) Mike Amodeo Lyle Moffat Kent Ruhnke
	3 4 5 - 12	Shots	21 13 14 - 48

April 16

Birmingham Bulls

3–8 (1–3, 2–3, 0–2)

Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg Arena

	John Garrett / Wayne Wood	Goalies	Gary Bromley
	Paul Henderson Frank Beaton Frank Mahovlich Goals Bobby Hull (2) Dave Kryskow (2) Peter Sullivan Kent Ruhnke Bob Guindon Bill Lesuk
	6 6 8 - 20	Shots	15 16 13 - 44

April 19

Winnipeg Jets

2–3 (0–2, 2–1, 0–0)

Birmingham Bulls

Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center

	Joe Daley	Goalies	John Garrett
	Anders Hedberg Bobby Hull Goals Ken Linseman Jim Turkiewicz John Stewart
	5 10 6 - 21	Shots	11 14 10 - 35

April 21

Winnipeg Jets

5–1 (2–0, 2–1, 1–0)

Birmingham Bulls

Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center

	Gary Bromley	Goalies	John Garrett
	Anders Hedberg (2) Dave Kryskow Lyle Moffat Bobby Hull Goals Steve Alley
	7 6 8 - 21	Shots	5 7 14 - 26

April 23

Birmingham Bulls

2–5 (1–2, 0–1, 1–2)

Winnipeg Jets

Winnipeg Arena

	John Garrett	Goalies	Joe Daley
	Serge Beaudoin Phil Roberto Goals Bill Lesuk Mike Ford Anders Hedberg Dave Dunn Bob Guindon
	7 7 4 - 18	Shots	17 8 12 - 37

Semifinal

The top ranked quarterfinal winner (Winnipeg) received a bye into the finals.

(2) New England Whalers vs. (4) Quebec Nordiques

April 28

Quebec Nordiques

1–5 (0–2, 0–1, 1–2)

New England Whalers

Springfield Civic Center

	Richard Brodeur / Ken Broderick	Goalies	Jean-Louis Levasseur
	Garry Lariviere Goals Mark Howe Ron Plumb Mike Rogers George Lyle Jack Carlson
	6 7 11 - 24	Shots	14 14 11 - 39

April 30

Quebec Nordiques

3–2 (1–1, 1–0, 1–1)

New England Whalers

Springfield Civic Center

	Richard Brodeur	Goalies	Jean-Louis Levasseur
	Marc Tardif Réal Cloutier Steve Sutherland Goals Mike Rogers Danny Bolduc
	13 15 5 - 33	Shots	15 7 18 - 40

May 3

New England Whalers

5–4 (3–0, 1–1, 1–3)

Quebec Nordiques

Colisée de Québec

	Jean-Louis Levasseur / Al Smith	Goalies	Richard Brodeur / Ken Broderick
	John McKenzie Mike Antonovich Mark Howe Mike Rogers Larry Pleau Goals Serge Bernier (2) Christian Bordeleau Paul Baxter
	15 6 4 - 25	Shots	10 19 15 - 44

May 5

New England Whalers

7–3 (4–2, 2–0, 1–1)

Quebec Nordiques

Colisée de Québec

	Jean-Louis Levasseur	Goalies	Richard Brodeur
	Dave Keon (2) Al Hangsleben Mark Howe Mike Rogers Mike Antonovich Larry Pleau Goals Marc Tardif Réal Cloutier
	16 10 13 - 39	Shots	8 6 8 - 22

May 7

Quebec Nordiques

3–6 (1–1, 1–3, 1–2)

New England Whalers

Springfield Civic Center

	Richard Brodeur	Goalies	Jean-Louis Levasseur
	Serge Bernier Jean Bernier Garry Lariviere Goals Mark Howe (2) John McKenzie Mike Antonovich Gordie Howe
	7 5 8 - 20	Shots	16 16 13 - 45

Avco Cup Finals

(1) Winnipeg Jets vs. (2) New England Whalers

The two teams defended each other well in the first two periods of Game 1 before Winnipeg exploded for four goals in the third period for victory. They dominated Game 2 and Game 3, never trailing in each contest. New England scored twice in the opening period of Game 4, but Winnipeg scored five goals in the next two periods to complete the sweep. ^[5]

May 12	Winnipeg Jets		4–1		New England Whalers	Springfield Civic Center
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
4:31 - Bob Guindon (Moffat) 4:53 - Peter Sullivan 13:55 - Bob Guindon (Lesuk) 19:45 - Peter Sullivan		Third period			8:07 - Larry Pleau (Hangsleben, Bolduc)
Gary Bromley 31 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Jean-Louis Levasseur 26 shots / 30 shots

May 14	Winnipeg Jets		5–2		New England Whalers	Springfield Civic Center
14:02 - Dan Labraaten (Lindstrom) 19:32 - Lyle Moffat		First period			No scoring
1:21 - Bob Guindon (Lesuk, Moffat) 17:10 - Anders Hedberg (U. Nilsson)		Second period			No scoring
16:35 - Ulf Nilsson (Hedberg)		Third period			6:28 - Gordie Howe (Plumb, Rogers) 15:17 - Mark Howe (J. Carlson)
Joe Daley 22 saves / 24 shots		Goalie stats			Jean-Louis Levasseur 22 saves / 27 shots

May 19	New England Whalers		2–10		Winnipeg Jets	Winnipeg Arena
No scoring		First period			4:56 - Willy Lindström 5:09 - Bob Guindon (Lesuk, Moffat) 6:32 - Bobby Hull (U. Nilsson, Hedberg) 7:31 - Willy Lindström (Sullivan, Long) 7:46 - Kent Nilsson (Kryskow, Baird) 17:36 - Kent Nilsson (Lindstrom, Clackson)
No scoring		Second period			4:55 - Lynn Powis (Kryskow, K. Nilsson) 16:28 - Lyle Moffat (Dunn, Sullivan)
4:07 - John McKenzie (Keon, Marty Howe) 5:10 - Tim Sheehy (Lyle, Selwood) 5:10		Third period			8:30 - Lynn Powis (K. Nilsson, Kryskow) 12:12 - Willy Lindström (Labraaten, Sullivan)
Al Smith 23 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Gary Bromley 28 saves / 30 shots

May 22	New England Whalers		3–5		Winnipeg Jets	Winnipeg Arena
1:37 - Mike Antonovich (Keon, McKenzie) 1:59 - Rick Ley (Sheehy)		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			3:26 - Dave Kryskow (Hedberg, K. Nilsson) 3:38 - Lyle Moffat (Guindon) 17:59 - Anders Hedberg (Sjoberg, U. Nilsson)
George Lyle (Hangsleben, S. Carlson) 11:25		Third period			3:26 - Bobby Hull (U. Nilsson, Hedberg) 19:28 - Anders Hedberg (U. Nilsson, Green)
Al Smith 25 saves / 28 shots		Goalie stats			Joe Daley 22 saves / 27 shots

Winnipeg won series 4–0

Statistical leaders

These were the top ten skaters based on points. ^[6]

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+ / -	PIM
Mike Antonovich	New England Whalers	14	10	7	17	1	4
Réal Cloutier	Quebec Nordiques	10	9	7	16	0	15
Dave Keon	New England Whalers	14	5	11	16	2	4
Anders Hedberg	Winnipeg Jets	9	9	6	15	5	2
Mark Howe	New England Whalers	14	8	7	15	0	18
Marc Tardif	Quebec Nordiques	11	6	9	15	-2	11
Serge Bernier	Quebec Nordiques	11	4	10	14	-1	17
Ulf Nilsson	Winnipeg Jets	9	1	13	14	5	12
Bob Guindon	Winnipeg Jets	9	8	5	13	9	5
John McKenzie	New England Whalers	14	6	6	12	-2	16
Lyle Moffat	Winnipeg Jets	9	5	7	12	3	9

References

1. https://www.surgent.net/wha/year/197778/playoffs.html
2. Surgent, Scott (1990). The Complete World Hockey Association 11th Edition. Surgent. p. 334-335, 349-350. ISBN   978-1727753424.
3. Surgent, Scott (1990). The Complete World Hockey Association 11th Edition. Surgent. p. 337. ISBN   978-1727753424.
4. https://www.surgent.net/wha/year/197273/playoffs.html
5. https://www.surgent.net/wha/finals/1978finals.html
6. https://www.hockey-reference.com/playoffs/WHA_1978_skaters.html#stats::points

External links

WHA playoffs