1972–73 Philadelphia Flyers season

The 1972–73 Philadelphia Flyers season was the Philadelphia Flyers' sixth season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Flyers earned the nickname "Broad Street Bullies" en route to their first winning season and first playoff series victory, beating the Minnesota North Stars, before losing in the semifinals to the Montreal Canadiens.

Regular season
It was during the 1972–73 season that the Flyers shed the mediocre expansion team label by recording their first winning season and becoming known as the intimidating "Broad Street Bullies", a nickname coined by Jack Chevalier and Pete Cafone of the Philadelphia Bulletin on January 3, 1973 after a 3–1 brawling victory over the Atlanta Flames that led Chevalier to write in his game account, "The image of the fightin' Flyers spreading gradually around the NHL, and people are dreaming up wild nicknames. They're the Mean Machine, the Bullies of Broad Street and Freddy's Philistines." Cafone wrote the accompanying headline, "Broad Street Bullies Muscle Atlanta".

That same month Bobby Clarke was the youngest player (at that time) in NHL history to be named team captain, replacing Ed Van Impe who had stepped aside in favor of Clarke. Rick MacLeish became the first Flyer to score 50 goals in a season.

After the season, Clarke was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player.

Playoffs
An overtime goal by Gary Dornhoefer in Game 5 turned the tide of their first round series with the Minnesota North Stars in the Flyers' favor, as the Flyers got their first playoff series win in six games. The goal was later immortalized as a bronze statue on the south side of the Spectrum. They were outmatched in the semi-finals by the Montreal Canadiens, however, losing in five games.

Regular season

 * Legend:
 * Legend:

Playoffs

 * Legend:
 * Legend:

Scoring

 * Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
 * † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.
 * ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Flyers only.

Records
Among the team records set during the 1972–73 season was a road losing streak of eight games from October 25 to November 26, which was later matched during the 1987–88 season. On February 13, Rick MacLeish became the first Flyer to score four goals in a game, a team record that has been tied but not surpassed in regular season play several times since. MacLeish's three goals in the second period of that game also tied the team record and the 19 minutes and 47 seconds it took him to score all four goals is the fastest four-goal game in team history. A few weeks later on March 4, MacLeish scored four goals in a game again, this time also tying the team record for points in a single period (4). On March 31, the Flyers scored a team record eight goals during the second period of a game against the New York Islanders. During a 4–1 win over the Minnesota North Stars on April 5, Barry Ashbee became the first Flyer to record three assists in a period during a playoff game. The victory was the Flyers first playoff win since game six of their 1968 series against the St. Louis Blues, snapping a franchise record ten game playoff losing streak.

Transactions
The Flyers were involved in the following transactions from May 12, 1972, the day after the deciding game of the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals, through May 10, 1973, the day of the deciding game of the 1973 Stanley Cup Finals.

Draft picks
Philadelphia's picks at the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, which was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, on June 8, 1972. The Flyers traded their tenth round pick, 148th overall, to the Minnesota North Stars for cash during the draft.

Farm teams
The Flyers were affiliated with the Richmond Robins of the AHL, the San Diego Gulls of the WHL, and the Jersey Devils of the EHL.