Boston Sports Then and Now

You know what makes Mondays better? A little bit of Bruins history. It’s fun, it’s counterproductive and I bet you will learn a thing or eight about the team you root for on the ice. As April moves on, historic Bruins’ teams are fighting through the playoff grind while others are just beginning their championship push. This week’s product includes a couple pairs of teammates who were born on the same day, a Stanley Cup victory, the final games for a handful of coaches, the final game for one of the best defensemen in franchise history and of course more than one playoff loss to the Canadiens. This is This Week In Boston Bruins History: April 14-20. 

The boys who won it all in 1939.

April 14:

On April 14, 1974, the Bruins swept the Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs with a 4-3 overtime win in Game 4. They would go on to lose to the Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals, however, after a 52-win regular season.

On April 14, 1980, the B’s clinched their first-round series against the Penguins with a 6-2 win in Game 5. They scored a total of 14 goals in the final two games of the series and advanced on to play the Islanders, but would lose in five to the eventual champs.

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We continue our journey through time, looking back on some of the most memorable, forgettable and bizarre moments in Boston Bruins history as we head in to the month of April. This week’s edition features a still-standing record-setting win, the birth of a Stanley Cup champion, the team’s final tie, a triple-overtime thriller, a playoff thumping and a special look at April Fool’s Day. This is This Week In Boston Bruins History: March 31-April 6.

Which Stanley Cup champion was born on March 31?

March 31:

On March 31, 1951, the Bruins’ playoff game with Toronto ended in a 1-1 tie in overtime due to local curfew law. It was the second game of the series and after the B’s took Game 1, the Leafs rallied to win the next four and knock Boston out.

On March 31, 1971, the Bruins set a franchise-record for wins, which still stands today. They beat the Canadiens, 6-3, for their 55^th victory of the season and finished they year with 57 total – a record that has yet to be broken. The 1970-71 team finished 57-14-7 in the season between their fourth and fifth Stanley Cups.

On March 31, 1973, the team saw its 10-game win streak come to an end with a 7-3 loss to the Maple Leafs. They would go on to finish the year 51-22-5, but lose to the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs.

On March 31, 1980, Stanley Cup champion, Michael Ryder, was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland. In three seasons with the Bruins, Ryder scored 63 in 235 games, but none were bigger than his overtime winner in Game 4 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against Montreal. His famous glove save in the same series was also a huge factor in the Cup run.

On March 31, 2011, the eventual championship team that Ryder was on lost to the Leafs, 4-3, in their final shootout game of the year. They fell to 43-23-11, but got goals from Brad Marchand, David Krejci and Andrew Ference. Nazem Kadri scored the only goal of the shootout in the second round.

April 1:

The Bruins have played 23 games all-time on April Fool’s Day, posting a record of just 6-12-5 in those games. Their most recent game and win came last season against the Rangers as they picked up their first victory in six tries on the “holiday.” Their first April Fool’s Day game came on April 1, 1970 in the year they won their fourth Stanley Cup.

On April 1, 1976, the team’s point streak ended at nine games with a 7-2 loss to the Sabres. They would finish the season 48-15-17 and lose to the Flyers in the second round of the playoffs.

On April 1, 1984, the Bruins won their fifth straight, 3-1, at New Jersey to end the regular season with a record of 49-25-6. They were swept by the Habs in the first round, however.

On April 1, 2004, the B’s played to the final tie in their history, 3-3, against the Washington Capitals.

On April 1, 2010, Boston lost its final regulation game of the season in game No. 77. The Panthers beat them, 1-0, but the B’s would get points in their final five games before blowing the 3-0 series lead to the Flyers.

On April 1, 2012, the Bruins played their most recent April Fool’s Day game, beating the Rangers, 2-1. Of course, they would go on to lose to the Caps in overtime of Game 7.

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Tyler Seguin sporting his green jersey prior to the Bruins’ game on Saturday.

It’s St. Patrick’s Day week in Boston and that means two things: the parade in Southie and Bruins hockey. The B’s have played many games on March 17 in the past, but don’t have an overly impressive record for a team that plays in the same city that the Dropkick Murphy’s are from.

This week’s reliving of history will take a look back at some of the most memorable events of St. Patrick’s Day for the Bruins. It also features the anniversary of the last game for not one, but two, of the greatest Bruins coaches of all-time (as well as two others) and the births of more than one Bruin we’re all familiar with, including one that there is a statue outside The Garden for. This is This Week In Boston Bruins History: March 17-23.

St. Patrick’s Day: The Bruins have played 31 games on St. Patrick’s Day in their history and have a 16-13-2 record to show for it. Their most recent St. Patty’s day game (before their 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh Sunday) was a Saturday matinee at The Garden last season in which they beat the Flyers, 3-2, in a shootout. All three Bruins scored in the shootout with the winner coming from Patrice Bergeron in the third round.

The team also played 12 games against the Toronto St. Patricks franchise in the two years that the teams were in the league at the same time before they became the Maple Leafs for good. In those two years, the B’s posted a record of 7-5, including going 6-0 in 1924-25, with the first meeting coming on Dec. 3, 1924 and the final coming on Feb. 21, 1926. Boston won the first, 5-3, and lost the last, 2-1, in overtime.

Lynn Patrick was coach of the Bruins from 1950-55. In 310 games, he posted a record of 108-130-63 with his best finish being third in the league in 1952-53. The Bruins have also had a total of six Patricks play for them with the most recent being Patrick Leahy in 2005-06. The other five were Pat Egan, Pat McReavy, Patrick Riggin, Pat Stapleton and Patrick Traverse.

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While one Bruins legend turned 95 last week, we look back on the life of another one this week. Also featured, are a double-digit winning streak, milestone victories for a pair of legendary coaches (including also the final win for one of them) and a pair of lasts against two of the teams from the early years of the league. This is This Week In Boston Bruins History.

March 10: 

On March 10, 1929, the Bruins beat the Rangers, 3-2, to begin a nine-game winning streak. The ninth game? The Stanley Cup clincher against those same Rangers in New York.

On March 10, 1942, legendary coach, Art Ross, won his 300th game as coach of the Bruins in convincing fashion as the team scored a season-high nine goals in a 9-1 win over the Black Hawks. The B’s finished 25-17-6 that year. Ross would spend three more seasons behind the Boston bench and accumulated an overall record of 361-277-90 as well as winning the 1939 Stanley Cup.

On March 10, 1971, the Bruins won their eighth consecutive game, 8-1, over those California Golden Seals. They would go on to win five more before their streak ended at 13.

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The Bruins are 5-1-1- through their first seven games and sit in first place in the Eastern Conference, but don’t worry, there are a lot more numbers than that.

Just in case you forgot: The Bruins are no longer Stanley Cup champions. The Wild have stocked up on talent. Tim Thomas is still hiding in a cave somewhere. The Sedin Sisters are still soft. And Zdeno Chara is still 6-foot-9-inches tall.

Hockey is back and it has brought with it all of its fantastic finishes, furious flurries and of course, its fascinating statistics. Whether it’s how many times Jack Edwards calls it the penalty bench or how many girls Tyler Seguin got on his 21st birthday, there will be stats you don’t notice. And here are some of the most interesting.

0: Somewhat interesting is the fact that the team has not shut out any of its seven opponents or been shut out on the year.

0: The Bruins have no players in the top-40 in the league in points through the first two weeks of the season. David Krejci is 51st with seven points. He is their only player in the top-40 in the assists as well as his five have him on the list at No. 40.

1: Through seven games, Seguin has just one goal and it came in the empty-net variety at the end of the win over the Hurricanes on Jan. 28. He has just four total points so far on the year.

1: Boston ranks first in the Eastern Conference through the first two weeks of the season. They finished second in the East last year.

1: Brad Marchand has the Bruins’ only short-handed goal through seven games.

1: The Bruins already have as many wins against the Rangers (1) as they did all of last season.

1: The number of goals that the third line has combined for thus far. Rich Peverley finally got the trio’s first against Buffalo in the team’s seventh game.

1: The number of hot dogs launched at Seguin as he attempted his shot in the shootout against the Devils this past Tuesday.

1: The number of fighting majors that Patrice Bergeron has in his NHL career. He almost picked up his second on Monday.

2: The number of times he beat Johan Hedberg in said shootout.

2: The Bruins have two players who are perfect this season in shootouts. Seguin is 2-for-2 (3-for-3 really) and Marchand is 1-for-1 after Tuesday’s game-winner against New Jersey, which was also the first attempt for him in his four-year NHL career.

2: Patrick Marleau of the Sharks has two more goals (9) than the Bruins’ team leader, Krejci, has points (7).

3: Shawn Thornton leads the club with three fighting majors through seven games. Three other Bruins have combined for four additional fights in 2013.

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Boston Bruins Goaltender #1 Frank Brimsek was the 1938-39 Calder Memorial winner as rookie of the year and the winner of the Vezina Trophy on top of his Stanley Cup Championship.

Coming in at number two on our list is a team that could not be overlooked. While we here relish the memories of Bobby Orr, Cam Neely, Phil Esposito, Terry O’Reilly, and today’s Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas, and Patrice Bergeron; it would not be fitting to ignore a Bruins team that established the franchise as staple in North American sports. The 1938-39 Boston Bruins was a team that accomplished many things and did so with a massive amount of Bruin’s legends both in the rafters and in the record books. These Bruins set the standard for hockey in the New England area and North American hockey too.

Coming into the 1938-39 season, the Bruins were without Vezina trophy winning Tiny Thompson due to injury. To replace him while he recovered they signed a rookie named Frank Brimsek. Not only would he help the team make the playoffs; Brimsek would turn in one of the great all-time goaltending performances in a Boston sweater. He had a record of 33-9-1 with 10 shutouts and a 1.56 goals against. His performance would see him win the Calder Memorial for rookie of the year, his first Vezina, and a first team All Star selection. His shutout performance earned him the nickname “Mr. Zero”. He like his counterpart Tiny Thompson was named to the Hall of Fame. Thompson started only five games that season with a 3-1-1 record, a 1.55 goals against average, and no shutouts.

Another major component of the 1938-39 Boston Bruins was the “Kraut Line”. This line was made up of left wing Woody Dumart, center Milt Schmidt, and right wing Bobby Bauer. This line was dynamite for the B’s this season and it was here that they really came together and began using the massive amount of chemistry they had with each other. Dumart scored 14 goals and 15 assists in 45 games. Bauer had 13 goals and 18 assists in 48 games. Milt Schmidt scored 15 goals and 17 assists in 41 games. Though every member of this line would go on to enter the Hall of Fame, it is Schmidt who has had the biggest impact on the organization and still does today. Milt turned 94 this past March.

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