NHL standings at the end of December 22, 1972
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | SOS | SRS | HOME | ROAD | LAST 10 | STRK | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Montreal Canadiens |
33 | 20 | 5 | 8 | 48 | 132 | 77 | -0.23 | 1.44 | 11-2-3 | 9-3-5 | 5-2-3 | Won 3 | ||||||
 Boston Bruins |
33 | 22 | 8 | 3 | 47 | 153 | 106 | -0.31 | 1.11 | 13-4-0 | 9-4-3 | 9-1-0 | Won 4 | ||||||
 New York Rangers |
35 | 21 | 11 | 3 | 45 | 134 | 96 | -0.13 | 0.96 | 13-3-1 | 8-8-2 | 6-4-0 | Lost 1 | ||||||
 Buffalo Sabres |
34 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 43 | 129 | 99 | -0.17 | 0.71 | 15-0-3 | 3-9-4 | 8-2-0 | Lost 1 | ||||||
 Detroit Red Wings |
32 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 31 | 100 | 112 | 0.07 | -0.30 | 9-5-2 | 5-10-1 | 3-6-1 | Lost 1 | ||||||
 Toronto Maple Leafs |
32 | 9 | 18 | 5 | 23 | 98 | 109 | 0.18 | -0.17 | 6-5-4 | 3-13-1 | 2-6-2 | Lost 5 | ||||||
 Vancouver Canucks |
34 | 9 | 20 | 5 | 23 | 100 | 142 | 0.16 | -1.07 | 7-9-1 | 2-11-4 | 1-6-3 | Tied 1 | ||||||
 New York Islanders |
32 | 3 | 25 | 4 | 10 | 64 | 156 | 0.31 | -2.57 | 2-12-3 | 1-13-1 | 0-8-2 | Tied 1 | ||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| GP | W | L | T | PTS | GF | GA | SOS | SRS | HOME | ROAD | LAST 10 | STRK | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Chicago Black Hawks |
32 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 42 | 122 | 83 | -0.18 | 1.03 | 12-3-1 | 8-7-1 | 8-2-0 | Won 3 | ||||||
 Minnesota North Stars |
33 | 18 | 12 | 3 | 39 | 117 | 94 | -0.06 | 0.64 | 12-2-2 | 6-10-1 | 5-5-0 | Won 1 | ||||||
 Philadelphia Flyers |
35 | 16 | 15 | 4 | 36 | 125 | 124 | 0.04 | 0.07 | 14-4-1 | 2-11-3 | 6-4-0 | Won 1 | ||||||
 Atlanta Flames |
36 | 15 | 16 | 5 | 35 | 94 | 107 | 0.01 | -0.35 | 8-5-3 | 7-11-2 | 5-4-1 | Won 3 | ||||||
 Pittsburgh Penguins |
32 | 15 | 14 | 3 | 33 | 121 | 106 | -0.18 | 0.29 | 11-4-1 | 4-10-2 | 4-5-1 | Lost 2 | ||||||
 Los Angeles Kings |
34 | 14 | 16 | 4 | 32 | 104 | 110 | 0.07 | -0.11 | 11-3-3 | 3-13-1 | 4-5-1 | Lost 4 | ||||||
 St. Louis Blues |
31 | 10 | 15 | 6 | 26 | 82 | 102 | 0.20 | -0.45 | 6-8-3 | 4-7-3 | 4-5-1 | Lost 3 | ||||||
 California Golden Seals |
32 | 5 | 20 | 7 | 17 | 85 | 137 | 0.23 | -1.39 | 3-7-5 | 2-13-2 | 1-6-3 | Won 1 | ||||||