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1969–70 Boston Bruins season

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1969–70 Boston Bruins
Stanley Cup champions
Division2nd East
1969–70 record40–17–19
Home record27–3–8
Road record13–14–11
Goals for277 (1st)
Goals against216 (6th)
Team information
General managerMilt Schmidt
CoachHarry Sinden
CaptainVacant
Alternate captainsJohnny Bucyk
Phil Esposito
Ed Westfall
ArenaBoston Garden
Team leaders
GoalsPhil Esposito (43)
AssistsBobby Orr (87)
PointsBobby Orr (120)
Penalty minutesBobby Orr (125)
WinsGerry Cheevers (24)
Goals against averageGerry Cheevers (2.72)

The 1969–70 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 46th season in the NHL. The Bruins were coming off of a successful season in 1968–69, as they finished with a franchise record 100 points, sitting in 2nd place in the Eastern Division, however, they would lose to the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Division finals. This year, the Bruins would go all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals and win the Stanley Cup.

Regular season

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The year was marred by an infamous incident in a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues, when veteran Ted Green had an ugly stick fight with Wayne Maki of the Blues. Green suffered a fractured skull and a brain injury as a result of the fight, necessitating a permanent steel plate put in his head and missing the entirety of the season. Both were charged with assault as a result of the incident, the first time NHL players faced criminal charges as a result of on-ice violence, and were eventually acquitted.[1]

Boston got off to a quick start, going unbeaten in their first 7 games (6–0–1), which immediately was followed by a 5-game winless streak. The Bruins though would snap out of their mini-slump, and never have a 2-game losing streak for the remainder of the season, finishing the year with a 40–17–19 record, earning 99 points, which tied the Chicago Black Hawks for 1st place in the Eastern Division. Chicago was awarded 1st place though due to having more wins than Boston, as the Hawks recorded 45.

Bobby Orr had a breakout season, leading the league with 120 points, becoming the first defenseman in league history to record over 100 points, while setting an NHL record with 87 assists. Orr also scored 33 goals, which also was a record by a defenseman. Orr also provided toughness, leading the Bruins with 125 PIM. Phil Esposito had another very strong season, scoring 43 goals and earning 99 points, while John McKenzie registered 70 points. Thirty-four-year-old John Bucyk scored a career high 31 goals and tied his career best with 69 points.

In goal, Gerry Cheevers received the majority of playing time, winning a team high 24 games, and having a team best 2.72 GAA and 4 shutouts. Eddie Johnston was his backup, as he won 16 games, had a 2.98 GAA, and 3 shutouts.

Season standings

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East Division[2]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Chicago Black Hawks 76 45 22 9 250 170 +80 99
2 Boston Bruins 76 40 17 19 277 216 +61 99
3 Detroit Red Wings 76 40 21 15 246 199 +47 95
4 New York Rangers 76 38 22 16 246 189 +57 92
5 Montreal Canadiens 76 38 22 16 244 201 +43 92
6 Toronto Maple Leafs 76 29 34 13 222 242 −20 71

Record vs. opponents

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Schedule and results

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# Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
1 October 12 New York Rangers 1–2 Boston Bruins 1–0–0 2
2 October 15 Oakland Seals 0–6 Boston Bruins 2–0–0 4
3 October 18 Boston Bruins 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–0–1 5
4 October 19 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–4 Boston Bruins 3–0–1 7
5 October 22 Boston Bruins 3–2 Minnesota North Stars 4–0–1 9
6 October 24 Boston Bruins 4–2 Oakland Seals 5–0–1 11
7 October 25 Boston Bruins 3–2 Los Angeles Kings 6–0–1 13
8 October 29 Boston Bruins 2–4 Toronto Maple Leafs 6–1–1 13
9 November 1 Boston Bruins 2–9 Montreal Canadiens 6–2–1 13
10 November 2 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–4 Boston Bruins 6–2–2 14
11 November 5 St. Louis Blues 4–4 Boston Bruins 6–2–3 15
12 November 8 Boston Bruins 2–3 Detroit Red Wings 6–3–3 15
13 November 10 Oakland Seals 3–8 Boston Bruins 7–3–3 17
14 November 13 Detroit Red Wings 1–3 Boston Bruins 8–3–3 19
15 November 15 New York Rangers 6–5 Boston Bruins 8–4–3 19
16 November 16 Los Angeles Kings 4–7 Boston Bruins 9–4–3 21
17 November 21 Boston Bruins 2–2 Chicago Black Hawks 9–4–4 22
18 November 23 Montreal Canadiens 2–2 Boston Bruins 9–4–5 23
19 November 26 Boston Bruins 0–3 New York Rangers 9–5–5 23
20 November 27 Philadelphia Flyers 4–6 Boston Bruins 10–5–5 25
21 November 29 Boston Bruins 2–2 Montreal Canadiens 10–5–6 26
22 November 30 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–4 Boston Bruins 11–5–6 28
23 December 4 Boston Bruins 4–4 Detroit Red Wings 11–5–7 29
24 December 6 Chicago Black Hawks 1–6 Boston Bruins 12–5–7 31
25 December 7 Minnesota North Stars 2–2 Boston Bruins 12–5–8 32
26 December 10 Boston Bruins 2–5 New York Rangers 12–6–8 32
27 December 11 New York Rangers 1–2 Boston Bruins 13–6–8 34
28 December 13 Boston Bruins 5–3 Philadelphia Flyers 14–6–8 36
29 December 14 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–2 Boston Bruins 15–6–8 38
30 December 18 Boston Bruins 3–3 St. Louis Blues 15–6–9 39
31 December 20 Boston Bruins 6–4 Pittsburgh Penguins 16–6–9 41
32 December 21 Montreal Canadiens 5–2 Boston Bruins 16–7–9 41
33 December 25 Los Angeles Kings 1–7 Boston Bruins 17–7–9 43
34 December 28 Boston Bruins 5–4 Philadelphia Flyers 18–7–9 45
35 December 31 Boston Bruins 1–5 Detroit Red Wings 18–8–9 45
36 January 3 Boston Bruins 6–2 Los Angeles Kings 19–8–9 47
37 January 7 Boston Bruins 6–1 Oakland Seals 20–8–9 49
38 January 10 Boston Bruins 3–4 Toronto Maple Leafs 20–9–9 49
39 January 11 Oakland Seals 3–6 Boston Bruins 21–9–9 51
40 January 15 Los Angeles Kings 3–6 Boston Bruins 22–9–9 53
41 January 17 Chicago Black Hawks 1–0 Boston Bruins 22–10–9 53
42 January 18 Montreal Canadiens 3–6 Boston Bruins 23–10–9 55
43 January 22 Philadelphia Flyers 3–3 Boston Bruins 23–10–10 56
44 January 24 Boston Bruins 1–8 New York Rangers 23–11–10 56
45 January 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 Boston Bruins 24–11–10 58
46 January 29 Minnesota North Stars 5–6 Boston Bruins 25–11–10 60
47 January 31 Boston Bruins 3–3 Montreal Canadiens 25–11–11 61
48 February 1 Toronto Maple Leafs 6–7 Boston Bruins 26–11–11 63
49 February 4 Boston Bruins 4–8 Chicago Black Hawks 26–12–11 63
50 February 5 Philadelphia Flyers 1–5 Boston Bruins 27–12–11 65
51 February 7 Detroit Red Wings 2–2 Boston Bruins 27–12–12 66
52 February 8 St. Louis Blues 1–7 Boston Bruins 28–12–12 68
53 February 11 Boston Bruins 3–2 St. Louis Blues 29–12–12 70
54 February 14 Boston Bruins 3–0 Pittsburgh Penguins 30–12–12 72
55 February 17 Boston Bruins 3–3 Oakland Seals 30–12–13 73
56 February 18 Boston Bruins 5–5 Los Angeles Kings 30–12–14 74
57 February 21 Boston Bruins 4–2 Minnesota North Stars 31–12–14 76
58 February 22 Boston Bruins 3–6 Chicago Black Hawks 31–13–14 76
59 February 26 New York Rangers 3–5 Boston Bruins 32–13–14 78
60 February 28 Chicago Black Hawks 0–3 Boston Bruins 33–13–14 80
61 March 1 St. Louis Blues 1–3 Boston Bruins 34–13–14 82
62 March 4 Boston Bruins 1–3 St. Louis Blues 34–14–14 82
63 March 7 Boston Bruins 5–5 Philadelphia Flyers 34–14–15 83
64 March 8 Montreal Canadiens 0–2 Boston Bruins 35–14–15 85
65 March 11 Boston Bruins 0–0 Chicago Black Hawks 35–14–16 86
66 March 14 Boston Bruins 1–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 35–15–16 86
67 March 15 Detroit Red Wings 5–5 Boston Bruins 35–15–17 87
68 March 19 Chicago Black Hawks 1–3 Boston Bruins 36–15–17 89
69 March 21 Boston Bruins 4–5 Minnesota North Stars 36–16–17 89
70 March 22 Minnesota North Stars 0–5 Boston Bruins 37–16–17 91
71 March 25 Boston Bruins 3–1 New York Rangers 38–16–17 93
72 March 28 Detroit Red Wings 5–5 Boston Bruins 38–16–18 94
73 March 29 Boston Bruins 2–2 Detroit Red Wings 38–16–19 95
74 April 1 Boston Bruins 3–6 Montreal Canadiens 38–17–19 95
75 April 4 Boston Bruins 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 39–17–19 97
76 April 5 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–3 Boston Bruins 40–17–19 99

Playoffs

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In the playoffs, Boston faced the New York Rangers in the quarterfinals, which finished in 4th place in the Eastern Division with 92 points, seven less than the Bruins. The series opened at the Boston Garden, and the Bruins continued their winning ways at home, taking the first two games to take an early series lead. The series then moved to Madison Square Garden in New York for the next two games, and the Rangers responded with two close wins, tying the series up at two games each. Boston returned home for game 5, and took a 3–2 series lead with a hard-fought 3–2 win, going on to beat the Rangers in game 6 on the road 4–1 to advance to the Eastern Division finals.

The Bruins opponent for the division finals was the Chicago Black Hawks, which finished with 99 points (the same as Boston, but with more wins, so Chicago was awarded home ice for the series). Boston surprised the Chicago fans by taking the first two games held at Chicago Stadium with relative ease to take a 2–0 series lead. Boston then won game 3 by a 5–2 score at the Boston Garden, taking a commanding 3–0 lead in the series. The Black Hawks kept game 4 close, but lost the game 5–4, as Boston swept Chicago to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1958.

Boston Bruins vs. St. Louis Blues

Boston faced the winner of the Western Division, the St. Louis Blues, making its 3rd straight Stanley Cup Finals appearance. The Blues had been swept by the Montreal Canadiens in both their previous appearances in the Finals. St. Louis defeated the Minnesota North Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins to reach the Finals. The series opened at the St. Louis Arena, and the Bruins had no problems at all in their first two games, defeating the Blues by scores of 6–1 and 6–2 to take a 2–0 series lead. The series shifted to Boston for the next two games, and the Bruins dominated game 3, winning 4–1. St. Louis forced the 4th game into sudden death; however the Bruins, on an overtime goal by Bobby Orr, won 4–3, thus winning an NHL record 10th straight playoff game and their first Stanley Cup since 1941. The still photo of Orr flying through the air after scoring "The Goal" — he had been tripped in the act of shooting by Blues defenseman Noel Picard — became one of the most iconic images of hockey history, and was the basis of a bronze sculpture[4] of the event outside the TD Garden's main entrance in 2010, the date of the event's 40th anniversary.

Boston Bruins 4, New York Rangers 2

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# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 April 8 New York Rangers 2–8 Boston Bruins 1–0
2 April 9 New York Rangers 3–5 Boston Bruins 2–0
3 April 11 Boston Bruins 3–4 New York Rangers 2–1
4 April 12 Boston Bruins 2–4 New York Rangers 2–2
5 April 14 New York Rangers 2–3 Boston Bruins 3–2
6 April 16 Boston Bruins 4–1 New York Rangers 4–2

Boston Bruins 4, Chicago Black Hawks 0

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# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 April 19 Boston Bruins 6–3 Chicago Black Hawks 1–0
2 April 21 Boston Bruins 4–1 Chicago Black Hawks 2–0
3 April 23 Chicago Black Hawks 2–5 Boston Bruins 3–0
4 April 26 Chicago Black Hawks 4–5 Boston Bruins 4–0

Boston Bruins 4, St. Louis Blues 0

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# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 May 3 Boston Bruins 6–1 St. Louis Blues 1–0
2 May 5 Boston Bruins 6–2 St. Louis Blues 2–0
3 May 7 St. Louis Blues 1–4 Boston Bruins 3–0
4 May 10 St. Louis Blues 3–4 Boston Bruins 4–0

Player statistics

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Regular season

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Bobby Orr D 76 33 87 120 125 11 4 3
Phil Esposito C 76 43 56 99 50 18 1 5
John McKenzie RW 72 29 41 70 114 9 1 6
John Bucyk LW 76 31 38 69 13 14 0 6
Fred Stanfield LW 73 23 35 58 14 13 0 3
Ken Hodge RW 72 25 29 54 87 6 0 5
Derek Sanderson C 50 18 23 41 118 5 5 2
Ed Westfall D/RW 72 14 22 36 28 0 0 0
Wayne Cashman LW 70 9 26 35 79 0 0 1
Wayne Carleton LW 42 6 19 25 23 0 0 1
Dallas Smith D 75 7 17 24 119 1 1 1
Jim Lorentz C/RW 68 7 16 23 30 2 0 0
Garnet Bailey LW 58 11 11 22 82 2 0 2
Don Awrey D 73 3 10 13 120 0 0 0
Don Marcotte LW 35 9 3 12 14 0 0 1
Rick Smith D 69 2 8 10 65 0 0 1
Gary Doak D 44 1 7 8 63 0 0 1
Ron Murphy LW 20 2 5 7 8 0 0 2
Jim Harrison C 23 3 1 4 16 0 1 0
Bill Speer D 27 1 3 4 4 0 0 0
Eddie Johnston G 37 0 2 2 2 0 0 0
Tom Webster RW 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0
Nick Beverley D 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Gerry Cheevers G 41 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
Bill Lesuk LW 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Frank Spring RW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Barry Wilkins D 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Gerry Cheevers 2384 41 24 8 8 108 2.72 4
Eddie Johnston 2176 37 16 9 11 108 2.98 3
Team: 4560 76 40 17 19 216 2.84 7

Playoffs

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Phil Esposito C 14 13 14 27 16 4 0 2
Bobby Orr D 14 9 11 20 14 3 1 2
John Bucyk LW 14 11 8 19 2 4 0 1
John McKenzie RW 14 5 12 17 35 0 0 3
Fred Stanfield LW 14 4 12 16 6 2 0 0
Ken Hodge RW 14 3 10 13 7 0 0 1
Wayne Cashman LW 14 5 4 9 50 0 0 2
Derek Sanderson C 14 5 4 9 72 1 2 0
Ed Westfall D/RW 14 3 5 8 4 0 1 1
Wayne Carleton LW 14 2 4 6 14 0 0 0
Don Awrey D 14 0 5 5 32 0 0 0
Rick Smith D 14 1 3 4 17 0 0 0
Dallas Smith D 14 0 3 3 19 0 0 0
Don Marcotte LW 14 2 0 2 11 0 1 0
Jim Lorentz C/RW 11 1 0 1 4 0 0 0
Bill Speer D 8 1 0 1 4 0 0 0
Gerry Cheevers G 13 0 1 1 2 0 0 0
Gary Doak D 8 0 0 0 9 0 0 0
Eddie Johnston G 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Bill Lesuk LW 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Danny Schock LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Gerry Cheevers 781 13 12 1 29 2.23 0
Eddie Johnston 60 1 0 1 4 4.00 0
Team: 841 14 12 2 33 2.35 0

[5]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

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Draft picks

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Boston's draft picks at the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 3 Don Tannahill  Canada Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA)
1 4 Frank Spring  Canada Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)
1 11 Ivan Boldirev  Yugoslavia Oshawa Generals (OHA)
2 22 Art Quoquochi  Canada Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA)
3 34 Nels Jacobson  Canada Winnipeg Jets (WCHA)
4 46 Ron Fairbrother  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)
5 58 Jeremy Wright  Canada Calgary Centennials (WCHL)
6 69 Jim Jones  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHA)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Bruins' Marty McSorley charged with assault". CBC. March 8, 2000. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  2. ^ "1969–1970 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  3. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "Orr statue unveiled: In flight forever". NHL.com. May 10, 2010.
  5. ^ "1969-70 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
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