Standings, 1971-72 season

League Division

A win is worth 2 points. A tie (T) is worth 1.

East Division

#	Team	GP	W	L	T	Points	Goals for	Goals against	Diff
1	Boston Bruins y	78	54	13	11	119	330	204	+126
2	New York Rangers x	78	48	17	13	109	317	192	+125
3	Montréal Canadiens x	78	46	16	16	108	307	205	+102
4	Toronto Maple Leafs x	78	33	31	14	80	209	208	+1
5	Detroit Red Wings e	78	33	35	10	76	261	262	-1
6	Buffalo Sabres e	78	16	43	19	51	203	289	-86
7	Vancouver Canucks e	78	20	50	8	48	203	297	-94

West Division

#	Team	GP	W	L	T	Points	Goals for	Goals against	Diff
1	Chicago Blackhawks y	78	46	17	15	107	256	166	+90
2	Minnesota North Stars x	78	37	29	12	86	212	191	+21
3	St. Louis Blues x	78	28	39	11	67	208	247	-39
4	Philadelphia Flyers e	78	26	38	14	66	200	236	-36
5	Pittsburgh Penguins x	78	26	38	14	66	220	258	-38
6	California Golden Seals e	78	21	39	18	60	216	288	-72
7	Los Angeles Kings e	78	20	49	9	49	206	305	-99

x Clinched Playoff spot y Clinched Division p Presidents' Trophy z Clinched Conference e Eliminated from Playoff contention Stanley Cup champions