While they didn’t win a Stanley Cup, the Chicago Blackhawks (then known as the Black Hawks) were one of the NHL’s best clubs during the early 1970s. As the decade wore on, the team’s fortunes began to sag, leading to a long period of mediocracy.
The Black Hawks would almost always make the playoffs during the remainder of the 70s and the 1980s, which was much, much easier back then, but they were seldom ever a serious contender.
After getting swept in the quarterfinals by the Montreal Canadiens the year prior, Chicago made the 1977 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the skin of their teeth, with that skin being one more win than the Vancouver Canucks, who finished with the same 63 points as the Black Hawks.