NHL standings at the end of December 17, 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 | -0.16 | 1.49 | 10-2-3 | 9-3-5 | 4-3-3 | Won 2 | ||||||
 Boston Bruins |
31 | 20 | 8 | 3 | 43 | 142 | 103 | -0.33 | 0.93 | 12-4-0 | 8-4-3 | 8-1-1 | Won 2 | ||||||
 New York Rangers |
33 | 20 | 10 | 3 | 43 | 127 | 87 | -0.13 | 1.08 | 13-2-1 | 7-8-2 | 5-3-2 | Won 1 | ||||||
 Buffalo Sabres |
32 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 41 | 121 | 92 | -0.12 | 0.79 | 14-0-3 | 3-8-4 | 8-2-0 | Won 7 | ||||||
 Detroit Red Wings |
30 | 13 | 14 | 3 | 29 | 95 | 103 | 0.04 | -0.23 | 8-5-2 | 5-9-1 | 3-6-1 | Won 2 | ||||||
 Toronto Maple Leafs |
31 | 9 | 17 | 5 | 23 | 95 | 104 | 0.20 | -0.09 | 6-5-4 | 3-12-1 | 2-6-2 | Lost 4 | ||||||
 Vancouver Canucks |
32 | 9 | 19 | 4 | 22 | 93 | 132 | 0.23 | -0.99 | 7-9-1 | 2-10-3 | 2-6-2 | Won 1 | ||||||
 New York Islanders |
30 | 3 | 24 | 3 | 9 | 58 | 148 | 0.30 | -2.70 | 2-12-2 | 1-12-1 | 0-9-1 | Lost 3 | ||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | SOS | SRS | HOME | ROAD | LAST 10 | STRK | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Chicago Black Hawks |
31 | 19 | 10 | 2 | 40 | 118 | 82 | -0.18 | 0.98 | 11-3-1 | 8-7-1 | 8-2-0 | Won 2 | ||||||
 Minnesota North Stars |
32 | 17 | 12 | 3 | 37 | 112 | 92 | -0.02 | 0.61 | 12-2-2 | 5-10-1 | 5-5-0 | Lost 1 | ||||||
 Philadelphia Flyers |
33 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 34 | 118 | 117 | 0.01 | 0.04 | 13-4-1 | 2-10-3 | 5-3-2 | Lost 1 | ||||||
 Pittsburgh Penguins |
31 | 15 | 13 | 3 | 33 | 119 | 103 | -0.24 | 0.28 | 11-3-1 | 4-10-2 | 4-4-2 | Lost 1 | ||||||
 Los Angeles Kings |
32 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 32 | 100 | 100 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 11-3-3 | 3-11-1 | 4-4-2 | Lost 2 | ||||||
 Atlanta Flames |
34 | 13 | 16 | 5 | 31 | 84 | 102 | 0.01 | -0.52 | 7-5-3 | 6-11-2 | 3-5-2 | Won 1 | ||||||
 St. Louis Blues |
30 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 26 | 78 | 97 | 0.17 | -0.46 | 6-7-3 | 4-7-3 | 5-4-1 | Lost 2 | ||||||
 California Golden Seals |
30 | 4 | 19 | 7 | 15 | 79 | 130 | 0.19 | -1.51 | 2-6-5 | 2-13-2 | 1-6-3 | Lost 2 | ||||||