1969–70 Boston Bruins season

NHL team season March 2026 August 2023 NHL 1969–70 1969 Boston Bruins East 2nd 40–17–19 27–3–8 13–14–11 277 (1st) 216 (6th) Milt Schmidt Harry Sinden Vacant Johnny BucykPhil EspositoEd Westfall Boston Garden Phil Esposito (43) Bobby Orr (87) Bobby Orr (120) Bobby Orr (125) Gerry Cheevers (24) Gerry Cheevers (2.72) Yes 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. 2 Regular season 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.Bruins' Marty McSorley charged with assault http://www.cbc.ca/sports/bruins-marty-mcsorley-charged-with-assault-1.200872 CBC 22 October 2016 8 March 2000 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 BOS Record vs. opponents BOS Schedule and results background:#fff; border-top:#010101 5px solid; border-bottom:#FFB81C 5px solid; 1969–70 regular season1969-70 Boston Bruins Schedule https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/BOS/1970_games.html Hockey-Reference.com April 3, 2025 y background:#fff; border-top:#010101 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFB81C 2px solid; October Game 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 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#010101 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFB81C 2px solid; November Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts |- | 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 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#010101 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFB81C 2px solid; December Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts |- |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 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#010101 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFB81C 2px solid; January Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts |- |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 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#010101 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFB81C 2px solid; February Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts |- |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 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#010101 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFB81C 2px solid; March Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts |- |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 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#010101 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFB81C 2px solid; April Game Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts |- |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 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win (2 points) 1px solid black #fcc Loss (0 points) 1px solid black #ffc Tie (1 point) 1px solid black Playoffs 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 sculpturehttp://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=528686 https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141225/http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=528686 dead February 14, 2011 Orr statue unveiled: In flight forever NHL.com May 10, 2010 of the event outside the TD Garden's main entrance in 2010, the date of the event's 40th anniversary. background:#fff; border-top:#010101 5px solid; border-bottom:#FFB81C 5px solid; 1970 Stanley Cup playoffs y background:#fff; border-top:#010101 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFB81C 2px solid; Quarterfinals vs. (E4) New York Rangers – Bruins win 4–2 Game 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 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#010101 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFB81C 2px solid; Semifinals vs. (E1) Chicago Black Hawks – Bruins win 4–0 Game 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 |- y background:#fff; border-top:#010101 2px solid; border-bottom:#FFB81C 2px solid; Stanley Cup Finals vs. (W1) St. Louis Blues – Bruins win 4–0 Game 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 |- |- | Legend: #cfc Win 1px solid black #fcc Loss 1px solid black Player statistics Regular season Scoring = Indicates league leader Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Bobby Orr D 76 33 87 120 1251143 Phil Esposito C 76 43 56 99 501815 John McKenzie John McKenzie (ice hockey) RW 72 29 41 70 114916 John Bucyk LW 76 31 38 69 131406 Fred Stanfield LW 73 23 35 58 141303 Ken Hodge RW 72 25 29 54 87605 Derek Sanderson C 50 18 23 41 118552 Ed Westfall D/RW 72 14 22 36 28000 Wayne Cashman LW 70 9 26 35 79001 Wayne Carleton LW 42 6 19 25 23001 Dallas Smith Dallas Smith (ice hockey) D 75 7 17 24 119111 Jim Lorentz C/RW 68 7 16 23 30200 Garnet Bailey LW 58 11 11 22 82202 Don Awrey D 73 3 10 13 120000 Don Marcotte LW 35 9 3 12 14001 Rick Smith Rick Smith (ice hockey) D 69 2 8 10 65001 Gary Doak D 44 1 7 8 63001 Ron Murphy LW 20 2 5 7 8002 Jim Harrison Jim Harrison (ice hockey) C 23 3 1 4 16010 Bill Speer D 27 1 3 4 4000 Eddie Johnston G 37 0 2 2 2000 Tom Webster Tom Webster (ice hockey) RW 2 0 1 1 2000 Nick Beverley D 2 0 0 0 2000 Gerry Cheevers G 41 0 0 0 4000 Bill Lesuk LW 3 0 0 0 0000 Frank Spring RW 1 0 0 0 0000 Barry Wilkins D 6 0 0 0 2000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LTGAGAA 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 Scoring Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG Phil Esposito C 14 13 14 27 16402 Bobby Orr D 14 9 11 20 14312 John Bucyk LW 14 11 8 19 2401 John McKenzie John McKenzie (ice hockey) RW 14 5 12 17 35003 Fred Stanfield LW 14 4 12 16 6200 Ken Hodge RW 14 3 10 13 7001 Wayne Cashman LW 14 5 4 9 50002 Derek Sanderson C 14 5 4 9 72120 Ed Westfall D/RW 14 3 5 8 4011 Wayne Carleton LW 14 2 4 6 14000 Don Awrey D 14 0 5 5 32000 Rick Smith Rick Smith (ice hockey) D 14 1 3 4 17000 Dallas Smith Dallas Smith (ice hockey) D 14 0 3 3 19000 Don Marcotte LW 14 2 0 2 11010 Jim Lorentz C/RW 11 1 0 1 4000 Bill Speer D 8 1 0 1 4000 Gerry Cheevers G 13 0 1 1 2000 Gary Doak D 8 0 0 0 9000 Eddie Johnston G 1 0 0 0 2000 Bill Lesuk LW 2 0 0 0 0000 Danny Schock LW 1 0 0 0 0000 Goaltending Player MIN GPW LGAGAA 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 hockey-reference.com 2009-06-09 1969-70 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/BOS/1970.html Awards and records Bobby Orr, Art Ross Trophy Bobby Orr, Conn Smythe Trophy Bobby Orr, Hart Memorial Trophy Bobby Orr, Norris Trophy Bobby Orr, NHL Plus/Minus Award Bobby Orr, NHL Record, Plus/Minus +124 In 2010 the team was given the hockey legacy Award from The Sports Museum at TD Garden.2022-01-10 The Tradition - The Sports Museum https://www.sportsmuseum.org/events/the-tradition/ 2026-01-05 www.sportsmuseum.org en-US Draft picks Boston's draft picks at the 1969 NHL amateur draft Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)13 Don Tannahill Canada Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA)14 Frank Spring Canada Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)111 Ivan Boldirev Oshawa Generals (OHA)222 Art Quoquochi Canada Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA)334 Nels Jacobson Canada Winnipeg Jets (WCHA)446 Ron Fairbrother Canada Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)558 Jeremy Wright Canada Calgary Centennials (WCHL)669 Jim Jones Canada Peterborough Petes (OHA) See also 1969–70 NHL season References SHRP Sports The Internet Hockey Database National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007 Category:Stanley Cup championship seasons Category:Boston Bruins seasons Boston Bruins Boston Bruins Boston Bruins Category:1969 in Boston Bruins