The playoffs began on April 9. The New York Rangers defeated the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round for the third straight year, this time the Montreal Canadiens. For the first time since the inter-divisional semifinals were introduced in the
1971 playoffs, a
1967 expansion team eliminated an
Original Six opponent when the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Rangers. The Flyers not only made their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance, but by defeating the Boston Bruins in six games, Philadelphia became the first 1967 expansion team to win the Stanley Cup and the first non Original Six team to win it since the
Montreal Maroons in
1935.
Playoff bracket The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. In each round, teams competed in a
best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). In the quarterfinals, the fourth
seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. The semifinals were then inter-divisional matchups, with winner of each #1 vs. #4 series playing the winner of the #2 vs. #3 series in the other division. The winners of the semifinals then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Quarterfinals (E1) Boston Bruins vs. (E4) Toronto Maple Leafs The Boston Bruins finished first in the league with 113 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs finished fourth in the East Division with 86 points. This was the 13th playoff meeting between these two teams. Toronto lead 8–4 in previous meetings. Boston won their most recent meeting in five games in the
1972 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals. Boston won four of the six games in this year's regular season series.
(E2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (E3) New York Rangers The Montreal Canadiens finished second in the East Division with 99 points. The New York Rangers finished third with 94 points. This was the 11th playoff meeting between these two teams with the teams splitting the ten previous series. They last met in the
1972 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals which New York won in six games. Montreal won four of the six games in this year's regular season series.
(W1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (W4) Atlanta Flames The Philadelphia Flyers finished first in the West Division and second in the league with 112 points. The Atlanta Flames finished fourth with 74 points, the lowest points earned by any playoff team in 1974. The Atlanta Flames made their first playoff appearance in their second season after entering the league in the
previous year. This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. The teams split this year's six-game regular season series.
(W2) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (W3) Los Angeles Kings The Chicago Black Hawks finished second in the West Division with 105 points. The Los Angeles Kings finished third in the West Division with 78 points. This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. Chicago won this year's six-game regular season series earning eight of twelve points.
Semifinals (E1) Boston Bruins vs. (W2) Chicago Black Hawks This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams with Boston winning all three previous series. Boston won their most recent meeting in a four-game sweep in the
1970 Stanley Cup Semifinals. Chicago won this year's five-game regular season series earning seven of ten points.
(W1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (E3) New York Rangers This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. New York won this year's five-game regular season series earning six of ten points.
Stanley Cup Finals This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams. The Bruins made their thirteenth Finals appearance; winning in their last appearance in
1972 where they defeated the New York Rangers in six games. The Flyers made their first Finals appearance in their seventh season since entering the league in the
1967–68 NHL season. Boston won this year's five-game regular season series earning seven of ten points. Boston was the prohibitive favorite entering the series. However, the Philadelphia Flyers stunned the Bruins in six games to become the first non-
Original Six team to win the Stanley Cup since
1935 and the first expansion team to do so since the league began expanding in 1967. ==Awards==