1971–72 Boston Bruins season explained

League:	NHL
Season:	1971–72
Year:	1971
Team:	Boston Bruins
Divisionrank:	1st
Record:	54–13–11
Goalsfor:	330
Goalsagainst:	204
Captain:	Vacant
Goalsleader:	Phil Esposito (66)
Assistsleader:	Bobby Orr (80)
Pointsleader:	Phil Esposito (130)
Pimleader:	Dallas Smith (132)
Winsleader:	Eddie Johnston and Gerry Cheevers (27)
Gaaleader:	Gerry Cheevers (2.50)
Divisionwin:	yes
Stanleycup:	yes

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.

Offseason

NHL 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

Record vs. opponents

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

See 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.^[1] 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

Scorer of game-winning goal in italics

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
C	76	66	67	133	76	55	28	2	16
D	76	37	80	117	106	86	11	4	4
LW	78	32	51	83	4	16	13	0	7
LW	78	23	56	79	12	20	5	1	4
RW	77	22	47	69	126	19	10	0	3
C	78	25	33	58	108	25	0	7	2
C	76	28	28	56	45	23	6	0	4
RW	60	16	40	56	81	41	0	1	2
LW	74	23	29	52	103	42	1	0	3
D/RW	77	18	26	44	19	29	0	2	5
D	78	8	22	30	132	34	0	1	1
LW	73	9	13	22	64	11	0	0	0
RW	56	7	13	20	12	5	0	0	2
D	54	1	16	17	21	10	0	0	0
D	61	2	12	14	46	53	0	0	0
LW	47	6	4	10	12	0	0	0	1
D	16	4	6	10	37	2	0	0	0
D	34	1	8	9	52	20	0	0	0
G	38	0	4	4	0	0	0	0	0
C	11	0	2	2	6	2	0	0	0
G	41	0	2	2	25	0	0	0	0
RW	1	1	0	1	0	3	0	0	0
RW	3	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
D	25	0	1	1	2	4	0	0	0
D	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
D	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
C	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
D	8	0	0	0	15	3	0	0	0

Goaltending

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

Playoffs

Scoring

Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
C	15	9	15	24	24	2	0	3
D	15	5	19	24	19	3	0	1
LW	15	9	11	20	6	5	0	0
RW	15	9	8	17	62	2	1	3
RW	15	5	12	17	37	3	0	0
LW	15	7	9	16	0	1	0	0
C	15	6	6	12	13	1	0	2
LW	15	4	7	11	42	1	0	0
D/RW	15	4	3	7	10	0	2	1
LW	13	2	4	6	16	0	0	1
D	15	0	4	4	45	0	0	0
D	15	0	4	4	22	0	0	0
LW	14	3	0	3	6	0	1	1
C	11	1	1	2	44	0	1	0
D	15	0	2	2	43	0	0	0
G	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
D	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
G	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
C	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

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

^[2]

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

References

Bruins on Hockey Database

Web site: Fischler Report: So You Want Your Son to be an NHL Star . Fischler . Stan . August 15, 2022 . 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?".
Web site: hockey-reference.com . 2009-06-09 . 1971-72 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com.