NHL standings at the end of December 16, 1972
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | SOS | SRS | HOME | ROAD | LAST 10 | STRK | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Montreal Canadiens |
32 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 46 | 128 | 75 | -0.17 | 1.49 | 10-2-3 | 9-3-5 | 4-3-3 | Won 2 | ||||||
 Boston Bruins |
30 | 19 | 8 | 3 | 41 | 137 | 100 | -0.34 | 0.90 | 12-4-0 | 7-4-3 | 8-1-1 | Won 1 | ||||||
 New York Rangers |
32 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 41 | 118 | 86 | -0.12 | 0.88 | 12-2-1 | 7-8-2 | 4-4-2 | Lost 2 | ||||||
 Buffalo Sabres |
31 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 39 | 117 | 92 | -0.12 | 0.69 | 13-0-3 | 3-8-4 | 8-2-0 | Won 6 | ||||||
 Detroit Red Wings |
29 | 12 | 14 | 3 | 27 | 89 | 99 | 0.03 | -0.31 | 7-5-2 | 5-9-1 | 2-7-1 | Won 1 | ||||||
 Toronto Maple Leafs |
30 | 9 | 16 | 5 | 23 | 95 | 100 | 0.17 | 0.00 | 6-5-4 | 3-11-1 | 2-6-2 | Lost 3 | ||||||
 Vancouver Canucks |
32 | 9 | 19 | 4 | 22 | 93 | 132 | 0.22 | -1.00 | 7-9-1 | 2-10-3 | 2-6-2 | Won 1 | ||||||
 New York Islanders |
29 | 3 | 23 | 3 | 9 | 58 | 144 | 0.32 | -2.65 | 2-12-2 | 1-11-1 | 0-9-1 | Lost 2 | ||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | SOS | SRS | HOME | ROAD | LAST 10 | STRK | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Chicago Black Hawks |
30 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 38 | 116 | 82 | -0.18 | 0.95 | 10-3-1 | 8-7-1 | 8-2-0 | Won 1 | ||||||
 Minnesota North Stars |
31 | 17 | 11 | 3 | 37 | 108 | 86 | -0.02 | 0.69 | 12-2-2 | 5-9-1 | 6-4-0 | Won 2 | ||||||
 Philadelphia Flyers |
32 | 15 | 13 | 4 | 34 | 115 | 112 | -0.03 | 0.07 | 13-3-1 | 2-10-3 | 5-3-2 | Won 2 | ||||||
 Pittsburgh Penguins |
30 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 33 | 118 | 94 | -0.29 | 0.51 | 11-3-1 | 4-9-2 | 5-3-2 | Won 2 | ||||||
 Los Angeles Kings |
31 | 14 | 13 | 4 | 32 | 100 | 98 | 0.04 | 0.10 | 11-3-3 | 3-10-1 | 5-3-2 | Lost 1 | ||||||
 Atlanta Flames |
33 | 12 | 16 | 5 | 29 | 80 | 102 | 0.11 | -0.56 | 6-5-3 | 6-11-2 | 3-5-2 | Lost 1 | ||||||
 St. Louis Blues |
30 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 26 | 78 | 97 | 0.18 | -0.45 | 6-7-3 | 4-7-3 | 5-4-1 | Lost 2 | ||||||
 California Golden Seals |
30 | 4 | 19 | 7 | 15 | 79 | 130 | 0.20 | -1.50 | 2-6-5 | 2-13-2 | 1-6-3 | Lost 2 | ||||||