1970–71 Minnesota North Stars season

National Hockey League team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1970–71 1970 Minnesota North Stars 28–34–16 16–15–8 12–19–8 West 4th 191 223 Wren Blair Jack Gordon Ted Harris J. P. PariseBarry GibbsCharlie Burns Met Center Bill Goldsworthy (34)Danny Grant (34) Jude Drouin(52) Jude Drouin (68) Barry Gibbs (132) Cesare Maniago (19) Gump Worsley (2.50) The 1970–71 Minnesota North Stars season was the North Stars' fourth season. Coached by Jack Gordon, the team compiled a record of 28–34–16 for 72 points, to finish the regular season 4th in the West Division. In the playoffs they won the quarter-finals in a 4–2 upset over the St. Louis Blues, becoming the first expansion team to defeat the three-time Stanley Cup finalists in the playoffs. While the North Stars ultimately lost in the semi-finals 4–2 to the eventual champion Montreal Canadiens under the revised playoff format, they did become the first expansion team to win postseason games against an Original Six opponent. 2 Regular season Final standings MIN Record vs. opponents MIN Playoffs Quarterfinals For the third time in four seasons, the North Stars played the Blues. This time, the North Stars gained the upper hand and won over the Blues after winning three in a row. Semifinals This was the first series played between the Canadiens and the North Stars. Their win on April 24 was the first win by a member of the expansion squad against the original teams in the playoffs. Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#009639 5px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 5px solid; 1970–71 regular season1970-71 Minnesota North Stars Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/MNS/1971_games.html Hockey-Reference.com March 26, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |1||L||October 10, 1970||1–2 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) ||0–1–0 |- |2||W||October 15, 1970||4–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) ||1–1–0 |- |3||L||October 17, 1970||2–3 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) ||1–2–0 |- |4||W||October 18, 1970||2–1 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) ||2–2–0 |- |5||W||October 21, 1970||3–1 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) ||3–2–0 |- |6||L||October 24, 1970||1–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1970–71) ||3–3–0 |- |7||W||October 28, 1970||2–1 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) ||4–3–0 |- |8||W||October 31, 1970||3–1 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) ||5–3–0 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |9||L||November 1, 1970||0–5 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) ||5–4–0 |- |10||L||November 4, 1970||3–4 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) ||5–5–0 |- |11||T||November 7, 1970||1–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1970–71) ||5–5–1 |- |12||T||November 8, 1970||3–3 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) ||5–5–2 |- |13||W||November 11, 1970||3–1 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) ||6–5–2 |- |14||T||November 14, 1970||3–3 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) ||6–5–3 |- |15||W||November 17, 1970||5–3 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) ||7–5–3 |- |16||L||November 18, 1970||4–8 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1970–71) ||7–6–3 |- |17||W||November 21, 1970||3–0 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) ||8–6–3 |- |18||L||November 22, 1970||0–2 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1970–71) ||8–7–3 |- |19||L||November 24, 1970||2–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) ||8–8–3 |- |20||W||November 27, 1970||3–2 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) ||9–8–3 |- |21||W||November 28, 1970||3–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) ||10–8–3 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |22||W||December 2, 1970||3–2 || align="left"| California Golden Seals (1970–71) ||11–8–3 |- |23||L||December 5, 1970||1–4 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) ||11–9–3 |- |24||L||December 6, 1970||0–1 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) ||11–10–3 |- |25||T||December 9, 1970||2–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) ||11–10–4 |- |26||L||December 10, 1970||1–6 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) ||11–11–4 |- |27||W||December 12, 1970||1–0 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) ||12–11–4 |- |28||L||December 13, 1970||2–5 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) ||12–12–4 |- |29||L||December 15, 1970||1–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) ||12–13–4 |- |30||T||December 16, 1970||1–1 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) ||12–13–5 |- |31||L||December 19, 1970||3–5 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1970–71) ||12–14–5 |- |32||L||December 20, 1970||2–7 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) ||12–15–5 |- |33||W||December 25, 1970||6–3 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) ||13–15–5 |- |34||T||December 26, 1970||1–1 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) ||13–15–6 |- |35||L||December 30, 1970||2–6 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1970–71) ||13–16–6 |- |36||L||December 31, 1970||1–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) ||13–17–6 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |37||T||January 2, 1971||3–3 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) ||13–17–7 |- |38||L||January 5, 1971||0–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) ||13–18–7 |- |39||T||January 6, 1971||4–4 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) ||13–18–8 |- |40||L||January 9, 1971||0–1 || align="left"| New York Rangers (1970–71) ||13–19–8 |- |41||W||January 10, 1971||3–2 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) ||14–19–8 |- |42||T||January 14, 1971||3–3 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) ||14–19–9 |- |43||L||January 16, 1971||3–4 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) ||14–20–9 |- |44||W||January 17, 1971||2–0 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) ||15–20–9 |- |45||W||January 21, 1971||5–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1970–71) ||16–20–9 |- |46||T||January 23, 1971||2–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) ||16–20–10 |- |47||L||January 24, 1971||2–6 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1970–71) ||16–21–10 |- |48||L||January 27, 1971||2–6 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) ||16–22–10 |- |49||W||January 29, 1971||2–1 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) ||17–22–10 |- |50||W||January 31, 1971||7–1 || align="left"| California Golden Seals (1970–71) ||18–22–10 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |51||T||February 3, 1971||4–4 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) ||18–22–11 |- |52||L||February 6, 1971||2–6 || align="left"| Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) ||18–23–11 |- |53||T||February 7, 1971||4–4 || align="left"| @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) ||18–23–12 |- |54||L||February 10, 1971||3–4 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers (1970–71) ||18–24–12 |- |55||L||February 11, 1971||2–6 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) ||18–25–12 |- |56||T||February 13, 1971||2–2 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) ||18–25–13 |- |57||W||February 14, 1971||5–4 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) ||19–25–13 |- |58||W||February 17, 1971||3–2 || align="left"| California Golden Seals (1970–71) ||20–25–13 |- |59||L||February 18, 1971||3–5 || align="left"| @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) ||20–26–13 |- |60||L||February 21, 1971||1–4 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) ||20–27–13 |- |61||W||February 24, 1971||5–1 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) ||21–27–13 |- |62||T||February 25, 1971||1–1 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) ||21–27–14 |- |63||W||February 27, 1971||4–2 || align="left"| Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) ||22–27–14 |- |64||L||February 28, 1971||2–5 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) ||22–28–14 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |65||L||March 2, 1971||0–6 || align="left"| Boston Bruins (1970–71) ||22–29–14 |- |66||W||March 6, 1971||3–1 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) ||23–29–14 |- |67||W||March 7, 1971||3–1 || align="left"| Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) ||24–29–14 |- |68||W||March 10, 1971||4–0 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues (1970–71) ||25–29–14 |- |69||T||March 13, 1971||0–0 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) ||25–29–15 |- |70||L||March 14, 1971||0–5 || align="left"| Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) ||25–30–15 |- |71||W||March 16, 1971||7–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) ||26–30–15 |- |72||W||March 21, 1971||6–3 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) ||27–30–15 |- |73||W||March 23, 1971||3–1 || align="left"| Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) ||28–30–15 |- |74||T||March 25, 1971||2–2 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) ||28–30–16 |- |75||L||March 28, 1971||2–4 || align="left"| @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) ||28–31–16 |- |76||L||March 30, 1971||1–2 || align="left"| Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) ||28–32–16 |- |77||L||March 31, 1971||1–4 || align="left"| @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) ||28–33–16 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record |- |78||L||April 3, 1971||2–3 || align="left"| @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) ||28–34–16 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs background:#fff; border-top:#009639 5px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 5px solid; 1971 Stanley Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; Quarterfinals vs. (W2) St. Louis Blues – North Stars win 4–2 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series |- | 1 ||W|| April 7, 1971 || 3–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || North Stars lead 1–0 |- | 2 ||L|| April 8, 1971 || 2–4 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || Series tied 1–1 |- | 3 ||L|| April 10, 1971 || 0–3 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Blues lead 2–1 |- | 4 ||W|| April 11, 1971 || 2–1 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || Series tied 2–2 |- | 5 ||W|| April 13, 1971 || 4–3 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues || North Stars lead 3–2 |- | 6 ||W|| April 15, 1971 || 5–2 || align="left"| St. Louis Blues || North Stars win 4–2 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#009639 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFD100 2px solid; Semifinals vs. (E3) Montreal Canadiens – Canadiens win 4–2 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series |- | 1 ||L||April 20, 1971 || 2–7 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens || Canadiens lead 1–0 |- | 2 ||W|| April 22, 1971 || 6–3 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens || Series tied 1–1 |- | 3 ||L|| April 24, 1971 || 3–6 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens || Canadiens lead 2–1 |- | 4 ||W|| April 25, 1971 || 5–2 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens || Series tied 2–2 |- | 5 ||L|| April 27, 1971 || 1–6 || align="left"| @ Montreal Canadiens || Canadiens lead 3–2 |- | 6 ||L|| April 29, 1971 || 2–3 || align="left"| Montreal Canadiens || Canadiens win 4–2 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Draft picks Minnesota's draft picks at the 1970 NHL amateur draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)217 Buster Harvey Canada Hamilton Red Wings (OHA)220 Fred Barrett Canada Toronto Marlboros (OHA)334 Dennis Patterson Canada Peterborough Petes (OHA)448 Dave Cressman Canada Kitchener Rangers (OHA)562 Hank Lehvonen Canada Kitchener Rangers (OHA)676 Murray McNeil Canada Calgary Centennials (WCHL)789 Gary Geldart Canada London Knights (OHA)8101 Mickey Donaldson Canada Peterborough Petes (OHA) See also 1970–71 NHL season References Minnesota Category:Minnesota North Stars seasons Minnesota North Stars Minnesota North Stars