hope that rest would allow him to return to play in 1978–79; he would return for that season, only playing in six games before retiring. On December 11, 1977, the Philadelphia Flyers' Tom Bladon became the first defenceman in NHL history to score eight points in one game. He scored four goals and four assists versus the Cleveland Barons. It was 25% of his point total for the entire season. The Colorado Rockies qualified for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. They would not make the playoffs again until after the team had moved to New Jersey, in 1988. The next time the playoffs came to Colorado would be the Colorado Avalanche's championship season of 1996. Final standings GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PIM = Penalties in minutes Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold Prince of Wales Conference Clarence Campbell Conference Playoffs The playoffs were held in four rounds, preliminary, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. In the preliminary round, the Detroit Red Wings was the only lower-placed team to win over the higher-placed team. The Red Wings were then defeated in five games by the first-place Montreal Canadiens. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Los Angeles Kings to advance to the quarterfinals, where the Leafs upset the third-place New York Islanders in seven games, setting up an "Original Six" playoff against Montreal. The upsets ended there as the Canadiens swept the Leafs to advance to the finals. In the other groupings, the higher-placed team won each round, and the second-place Boston Bruins advanced to the finals against the first-place Canadiens. In the finals, the Canadiens defeated the Bruins in six games to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup. The Colorado Rockies made their one and only playoff appearance in the preliminary round against the Philadelphia Flyers, and were swept in two games. It would take another ten years before they got to the playoffs again in New Jersey. The Chicago Black Hawks were swept in the other "Original Six" matchup of the playoffs, losing to Boston in the quarterfinals. Playoff seeds The twelve teams that qualified for the playoffs are ranked 1–12 based on regular season points. Note: Only teams that qualified for the playoffs are listed here. Montreal Canadiens, Norris Division champions, Prince of