1971–72 Boston Bruins season

The 1971–72 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 48th season in the NHL. For the second time in three years, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup.

1971–72 Boston Bruins
Stanley Cup champions
East Division champions
Division	1st East
1971–72 record	54–13–11
Goals for	330
Goals against	204
Team information
General manager	Milt Schmidt
Coach	Tom Johnson
Captain	Vacant
Alternate captains	Johnny Bucyk Phil Esposito Ted Green Ed Westfall
Arena	Boston Garden
Team leaders
Goals	Phil Esposito (66)
Assists	Bobby Orr (80)
Points	Phil Esposito (130)
Penalty minutes	Dallas Smith (132)
Wins	Eddie Johnston and Gerry Cheevers (27)
Goals against average	Gerry Cheevers (2.50)
← 1970–71 1972–73 →

Offseason

NHL Draft

See also: 1971 NHL Amateur Draft

Round	Overall	Player
1	5	Ron Jones
1	14	Terry O'Reilly
2	28	Curt Ridley
3	42	Dave Bonter
4	56	Dave Hynes
5	70	Bert Scott
6	84	Bob MacMahon

Regular season

Season standings

East Division^[1]

• v
• t
• e

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Boston Bruins	78	54	13	11	330	204	+126	119
2	New York Rangers	78	48	17	13	317	192	+125	109
3	Montreal Canadiens	78	46	16	16	307	205	+102	108
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	78	33	31	14	209	208	+1	80
5	Detroit Red Wings	78	33	35	10	261	262	−1	76
6	Buffalo Sabres	78	16	43	19	203	289	−86	51
7	Vancouver Canucks	78	20	50	8	203	297	−94	48

Record vs. opponents

Vs. East Division 1971–72 NHL records^[2] Team BOS BUF DET MTL NYR TOR VAN Total Boston — 3–1–2 5–1 2–3–1 5–1 4–1–1 6–0 25–7–4 Buffalo 1–3–2 — 0–4–2 1–4–1 0–6 1–5 2–3–1 5–25–6 Detroit 1–5 4–0–2 — 3–3 1–4–1 3–3 5–0–1 17–15–4 Montreal 3–2–1 4–1–1 3–3 — 1–3–2 4–1–1 6–0 21–10–5 New York 1–5 6–0 4–1–1 3–1–2 — 2–2–2 5–1 21–10–5 Toronto 1–4–1 5–1 3–3 1–4–1 2–2–2 — 2–2–2 14–16–6 Vancouver 0–6 3–2–1 0–5–1 0–6 1–5 2–2–2 — 6–26–4

Vs. West Division 1971–72 NHL records Team CAL CHI LAK MIN PHI PIT STL Total Boston 4–2 4–1–1 4–1–1 5–0–1 6–0 2–1–3 4–1–1 29–6–7 Buffalo 0–3–3 2–3–1 2–3–1 2–2–2 2–2–2 2–1–3 1–4–1 11–18–13 Detroit 2–2–2 0–5–1 3–2–1 2–4 3–2–1 4–2 2–3–1 16–20–6 Montreal 3–0–3 2–1–3 5–0–1 4–1–1 3–2–1 4–1–1 4–1–1 25–6–11 New York 4–1–1 2–1–3 6–0 1–3–2 6–0 3–1–2 5–1 27–7–8 Toronto 3–2–1 0–4–2 4–1–1 2–2–2 2–2–2 4–2 4–2 19–15–8 Vancouver 4–2 2–3–1 0–5–1 2–3–1 1–5 2–4 3–2–1 14–24–4

Schedule and results

Regular season schedule

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 10, 1971	1–4	New York Rangers (1971–72)	0–1–0
2	W	October 13, 1971	6–1	@ New York Rangers (1971–72)	1–1–0
3	W	October 14, 1971	6–2	Buffalo Sabres (1971–72)	2–1–0
4	T	October 17, 1971	2–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	2–1–1
5	W	October 20, 1971	4–3	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	3–1–1
6	W	October 22, 1971	5–1	@ California Golden Seals (1971–72)	4–1–1
7	W	October 24, 1971	4–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	5–1–1
8	L	October 27, 1971	2–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	5–2–1
9	L	October 28, 1971	0–2	California Golden Seals (1971–72)	5–3–1
10	W	October 31, 1971	5–2	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	6–3–1
11	W	November 4, 1971	6–1	St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	7–3–1
12	W	November 6, 1971	2–1	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	8–3–1
13	L	November 7, 1971	2–3	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	8–4–1
14	L	November 10, 1971	1–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	8–5–1
15	W	November 11, 1971	5–2	California Golden Seals (1971–72)	9–5–1
16	W	November 14, 1971	11–2	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	10–5–1
17	W	November 18, 1971	5–0	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	11–5–1
18	W	November 20, 1971	2–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	12–5–1
19	W	November 21, 1971	6–2	St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	13–5–1
20	W	November 24, 1971	2–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	14–5–1
21	W	November 25, 1971	4–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	15–5–1
22	T	November 27, 1971	6–6	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	15–5–2
23	W	December 4, 1971	5–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	16–5–2
24	W	December 5, 1971	5–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	17–5–2
25	W	December 8, 1971	5–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	18–5–2
26	W	December 11, 1971	6–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	19–5–2
27	L	December 12, 1971	2–4	@ California Golden Seals (1971–72)	19–6–2
28	W	December 16, 1971	8–1	New York Rangers (1971–72)	20–6–2
29	W	December 18, 1971	4–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	21–6–2
30	T	December 19, 1971	2–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	21–6–3
31	T	December 23, 1971	4–4	@ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72)	21–6–4
32	W	December 25, 1971	5–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	22–6–4
33	W	December 26, 1971	3–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	23–6–4
34	W	December 29, 1971	5–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	24–6–4
35	T	December 30, 1971	2–2	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	24–6–5
36	W	January 2, 1972	4–1	@ New York Rangers (1971–72)	25–6–5
37	W	January 5, 1972	2–0	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	26–6–5
38	W	January 6, 1972	5–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72)	27–6–5
39	L	January 8, 1972	3–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	27–7–5
40	T	January 12, 1972	2–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	27–7–6
41	T	January 13, 1972	1–1	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	27–7–7
42	W	January 15, 1972	4–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	28–7–7
43	W	January 16, 1972	9–2	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	29–7–7
44	W	January 18, 1972	2–0	@ St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	30–7–7
45	W	January 22, 1972	8–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	31–7–7
46	T	January 23, 1972	3–3	Buffalo Sabres (1971–72)	31–7–8
47	W	January 27, 1972	4–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	32–7–8
48	W	January 29, 1972	4–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	33–7–8
49	W	January 30, 1972	5–2	St. Louis Blues (1971–72)	34–7–8
50	W	February 2, 1972	2–0	@ New York Rangers (1971–72)	35–7–8
51	W	February 3, 1972	6–1	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	36–7–8
52	W	February 5, 1972	3–2	Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	37–7–8
53	L	February 6, 1972	2–8	@ Buffalo Sabres (1971–72)	37–8–8
54	W	February 10, 1972	9–1	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	38–8–8
55	W	February 12, 1972	5–1	Buffalo Sabres (1971–72)	39–8–8
56	T	February 13, 1972	2–2	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	39–8–9
57	W	February 15, 1972	6–3	California Golden Seals (1971–72)	40–8–9
58	W	February 17, 1972	4–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1971–72)	41–8–9
59	W	February 19, 1972	6–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	42–8–9
60	W	February 20, 1972	3–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	43–8–9
61	W	February 22, 1972	4–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	44–8–9
62	W	February 23, 1972	8–6	@ California Golden Seals (1971–72)	45–8–9
63	W	February 26, 1972	5–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	46–8–9
64	W	March 2, 1972	7–3	Vancouver Canucks (1971–72)	47–8–9
65	W	March 4, 1972	5–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	48–8–9
66	L	March 5, 1972	0–2	Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	48–9–9
67	W	March 8, 1972	5–4	@ Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	49–9–9
68	L	March 11, 1972	4–6	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	49–10–9
69	T	March 12, 1972	4–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1971–72)	49–10–10
70	W	March 16, 1972	8–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1971–72)	50–10–10
71	W	March 19, 1972	7–3	Minnesota North Stars (1971–72)	51–10–10
72	W	March 23, 1972	4–1	New York Rangers (1971–72)	52–10–10
73	T	March 25, 1972	5–5	Chicago Black Hawks (1971–72)	52–10–11
74	W	March 26, 1972	5–4	Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	53–10–11
75	L	March 28, 1972	3–6	@ Detroit Red Wings (1971–72)	53–11–11
76	L	March 29, 1972	1–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	53–12–11
77	L	April 1, 1972	2–6	@ Montreal Canadiens (1971–72)	53–13–11
78	W	April 2, 1972	6–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1971–72)	54–13–11

Playoffs

Boston defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–1 and the St. Louis Blues 4–0 to advance to the final.

Stanley Cup Finals

Main article: 1972 Stanley Cup Finals

As of 2022, the 1972 Bruins are the most recent team to have won the Cup without a formal captain.^[3] John Bucyk, as the team's senior assistant captain, accepted the Cup and circled the rink in the ceremonial skate.

Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers

Boston won Stanley Cup 4–2

1972 Stanley Cup playoffs

Stanley Cup Quarterfinals vs Toronto Maple Leafs: 4–1 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Boston goals Toronto goals Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 5 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–5 Boston Bruins 1–0 2 April 6 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 Boston Bruins 2:58 1–1 3 April 8 Boston Bruins 2–0 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1 4 April 9 Boston Bruins 5–4 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–1 5 April 11 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–3 Boston Bruins 4–1 Stanley Cup Semifinals vs St. Louis Blues: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Boston goals St. Louis goals Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 18 St. Louis Blues 1–6 Boston Bruins 1–0 2 April 20 St. Louis Blues 2–10 Boston Bruins 2–0 3 April 23 Boston Bruins 7–2 St. Louis Blues 3–0 4 April 25 Boston Bruins 5–3 St. Louis Blues 4–0 Stanley Cup Finals vs New York Rangers: 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Boston goals New York goals Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 30 New York Rangers 5–6 Boston Bruins 1–0 2 May 2 New York Rangers 1–2 Boston Bruins 2–0 3 May 4 Boston Bruins 2–5 New York Rangers 2–1 4 May 7 Boston Bruins 3–2 New York Rangers 3–1 5 May 9 New York Rangers 3–2 Boston Bruins 3–2 6 May 11 Boston Bruins 3–0 New York Rangers 4–2

• Scorer of game-winning goal in italics

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Phil Esposito	C	76	66	67	133	76	55	28	2	16
Bobby Orr	D	76	37	80	117	106	86	11	4	4
John Bucyk	LW	78	32	51	83	4	16	13	0	7
Fred Stanfield	LW	78	23	56	79	12	20	5	1	4
John McKenzie	RW	77	22	47	69	126	19	10	0	3
Derek Sanderson	C	78	25	33	58	108	25	0	7	2
Mike Walton	C	76	28	28	56	45	23	6	0	4
Ken Hodge	RW	60	16	40	56	81	41	0	1	2
Wayne Cashman	LW	74	23	29	52	103	42	1	0	3
Ed Westfall	D/RW	77	18	26	44	19	29	0	2	5
Dallas Smith	D	78	8	22	30	132	34	0	1	1
Garnet Bailey	LW	73	9	13	22	64	11	0	0	0
Reggie Leach	RW	56	7	13	20	12	5	0	0	2
Ted Green	D	54	1	16	17	21	10	0	0	0
Rick Smith	D	61	2	12	14	46	53	0	0	0
Don Marcotte	LW	47	6	4	10	12	0	0	0	1
Carol Vadnais	D	16	4	6	10	37	2	0	0	0
Don Awrey	D	34	1	8	9	52	20	0	0	0
Eddie Johnston	G	38	0	4	4	0	0	0	0	0
Ivan Boldirev	C	11	0	2	2	6	2	0	0	0
Gerry Cheevers	G	41	0	2	2	25	0	0	0	0
Terry O'Reilly	RW	1	1	0	1	0	3	0	0	0
Doug Roberts	RW	3	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
Matt Ravlich	D	25	0	1	1	2	4	0	0	0
Nick Beverley	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ron Jones	D	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Garry Peters	C	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Bob Stewart	D	8	0	0	0	15	3	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Gerry Cheevers	2420	41	27	5	8	101	2.50	2
Eddie Johnston	2260	38	27	8	3	102	2.71	2
Team:	4680	78	54	13	11	203	2.60	4

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Phil Esposito	C	15	9	15	24	24	2	0	3
Bobby Orr	D	15	5	19	24	19	3	0	1
John Bucyk	LW	15	9	11	20	6	5	0	0
Ken Hodge	RW	15	9	8	17	62	2	1	3
John McKenzie	RW	15	5	12	17	37	3	0	0
Fred Stanfield	LW	15	7	9	16	0	1	0	0
Mike Walton	C	15	6	6	12	13	1	0	2
Wayne Cashman	LW	15	4	7	11	42	1	0	0
Ed Westfall	D/RW	15	4	3	7	10	0	2	1
Garnet Bailey	LW	13	2	4	6	16	0	0	1
Don Awrey	D	15	0	4	4	45	0	0	0
Dallas Smith	D	15	0	4	4	22	0	0	0
Don Marcotte	LW	14	3	0	3	6	0	1	1
Derek Sanderson	C	11	1	1	2	44	0	1	0
Carol Vadnais	D	15	0	2	2	43	0	0	0
Gerry Cheevers	G	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ted Green	D	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Chris Hayes	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Eddie Johnston	G	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Garry Peters	C	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Gerry Cheevers	483	8	6	2	21	2.61	2
Eddie Johnston	420	7	6	1	13	1.86	1
Team:	903	15	12	3	34	2.26	3

^[4]

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;

Transactions

September 4, 1971	To California Golden Seals cash	To Boston Bruins Doug Roberts
November 17, 1971	To California Golden Seals Ivan Boldirev	To Boston Bruins Rich Leduc Chris Oddleifson
February 23, 1972	To California Golden Seals Reggie Leach Rick Smith Bob Stewart	To Boston Bruins Don O'Donoghue Carol Vadnais
March 5, 1972	To California Golden Seals cash	To Boston Bruins Tom Williams

Awards and records

• Prince of Wales Trophy
• Phil Esposito, Art Ross Trophy Winner
• Bobby Orr, Conn Smythe Trophy
• Bobby Orr, Norris Trophy

References

• Bruins on Hockey Database

1. "1971–1972 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
2. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
3. Fischler, Stan (August 15, 2022). "Fischler Report: So You Want Your Son to be an NHL Star". thehockeynews.com. The Hockey News. The last team to win a Stanley Cup without having a captain was the 1972 Boston Bruins. But they had Bobby Orr; so who needed a captain?
4. "1971-72 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 9, 2009.