1977–78 Boston Bruins season

1977–78 Boston Bruins
Adams Division Champions
Division	1st Adams
1977–78 record	51-18-11
Goals for	333
Goals against	218
Team information
General Manager	Harry Sinden
Coach	Don Cherry
Captain	Wayne Cashman
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Boston Garden
Team leaders
Goals	Peter McNab (41)
Assists	Terry O'Reilly (61)
Points	Terry O'Reilly (90)
Penalties in minutes	Terry O'Reilly (211)
Wins	Ron Grahame (26)
Goals against average	Gilles Gilbert (2.53)
<1976–77 1978–79>

The 1977–78 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 54th season in the NHL. The season involved participating in the Stanley Cup finals.

Offseason

NHL Draft

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1	16	Dwight Foster (F)	Canada	Kitchener Rangers (OHA)

Regular season

The 1977-78 Bruins set an NHL record by having 11 different skaters score 20 goals or more in a season.^[1] The eleven skaters are:

• Peter McNab
• Terry O'Reilly
• Bobby Schmautz
• Stan Jonathan
• Jean Ratelle
• Rick Middleton
• Wayne Cashman
• Gregg Sheppard
• Brad Park
• Don Marcotte
• Bob Miller

Season standings

Adams Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Boston Bruins	80	51	18	11	333	218	113
Buffalo Sabres	80	44	19	17	288	215	105
Toronto Maple Leafs	80	41	29	10	271	237	92
Cleveland Barons	80	22	45	13	230	325	57

^[2]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Schedule and results

Regular season schedule

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 13, 1977	2–2	Atlanta Flames (1977–78)	0–0–1
2	L	October 15, 1977	1–3	@ New York Islanders (1977–78)	0–1–1
3	L	October 16, 1977	0–2	Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	0–2–1
4	W	October 19, 1977	7–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1977–78)	1–2–1
5	W	October 22, 1977	4–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	2–2–1
6	T	October 23, 1977	3–3	@ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78)	2–2–2
7	T	October 25, 1977	4–4	@ Colorado Rockies (1977–78)	2–2–3
8	L	October 26, 1977	0–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78)	2–3–3
9	W	October 29, 1977	5–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78)	3–3–3
10	L	November 3, 1977	1–4	Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	3–4–3
11	L	November 5, 1977	2–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	3–5–3
12	W	November 6, 1977	5–3	New York Islanders (1977–78)	4–5–3
13	W	November 10, 1977	5–2	Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	5–5–3
14	W	November 12, 1977	6–3	@ Atlanta Flames (1977–78)	6–5–3
15	W	November 13, 1977	3–1	Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	7–5–3
16	T	November 17, 1977	4–4	Vancouver Canucks (1977–78)	7–5–4
17	W	November 19, 1977	3–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78)	8–5–4
18	W	November 20, 1977	1–0	Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78)	9–5–4
19	W	November 23, 1977	2–0	@ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	10–5–4
20	W	November 24, 1977	6–0	Washington Capitals (1977–78)	11–5–4
21	W	November 26, 1977	3–2	New York Rangers (1977–78)	12–5–4
22	W	November 27, 1977	4–1	St. Louis Blues (1977–78)	13–5–4
23	W	December 1, 1977	4–2	Minnesota North Stars (1977–78)	14–5–4
24	T	December 3, 1977	4–4	@ Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	14–5–5
25	W	December 4, 1977	3–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78)	15–5–5
26	W	December 8, 1977	6–4	Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	16–5–5
27	W	December 10, 1977	6–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78)	17–5–5
28	W	December 11, 1977	8–2	@ New York Rangers (1977–78)	18–5–5
29	L	December 15, 1977	4–6	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78)	18–6–5
30	L	December 17, 1977	1–4	@ New York Islanders (1977–78)	18–7–5
31	W	December 18, 1977	2–1	Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	19–7–5
32	W	December 21, 1977	6–3	Colorado Rockies (1977–78)	20–7–5
33	W	December 23, 1977	6–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78)	21–7–5
34	W	December 27, 1977	6–3	@ Washington Capitals (1977–78)	22–7–5
35	T	December 28, 1977	5–5	@ Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	22–7–6
36	W	December 31, 1977	7–0	@ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	23–7–6
37	W	January 4, 1978	3–0	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78)	24–7–6
38	W	January 7, 1978	3–1	@ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78)	25–7–6
39	L	January 8, 1978	3–5	@ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	25–8–6
40	L	January 10, 1978	2–3	New York Rangers (1977–78)	25–9–6
41	W	January 12, 1978	6–1	Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	26–9–6
42	L	January 14, 1978	3–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	26–10–6
43	W	January 19, 1978	4–1	Washington Capitals (1977–78)	27–10–6
44	W	January 21, 1978	7–1	Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	28–10–6
45	L	January 22, 1978	2–3	Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	28–11–6
46	W	January 26, 1978	4–3	Colorado Rockies (1977–78)	29–11–6
47	W	January 27, 1978	5–2	@ Washington Capitals (1977–78)	30–11–6
48	W	January 29, 1978	8–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78)	31–11–6
49	W	February 1, 1978	5–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1977–78)	32–11–6
50	L	February 2, 1978	1–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	32–12–6
51	W	February 4, 1978	8–1	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78)	33–12–6
52	T	February 5, 1978	3–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78)	33–12–7
53	W	February 9, 1978	5–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	34–12–7
54	W	February 15, 1978	4–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78)	35–12–7
55	L	February 18, 1978	2–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78)	35–13–7
56	W	February 21, 1978	3–2	@ Colorado Rockies (1977–78)	36–13–7
57	W	February 22, 1978	6–4	@ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78)	37–13–7
58	W	February 25, 1978	4–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	38–13–7
59	T	February 28, 1978	4–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78)	38–13–8
60	W	March 2, 1978	4–3	Atlanta Flames (1977–78)	39–13–8
61	W	March 4, 1978	7–3	Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	40–13–8
62	W	March 5, 1978	6–3	Vancouver Canucks (1977–78)	41–13–8
63	W	March 7, 1978	7–2	St. Louis Blues (1977–78)	42–13–8
64	T	March 9, 1978	2–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78)	42–13–9
65	L	March 11, 1978	2–6	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78)	42–14–9
66	W	March 12, 1978	9–3	Los Angeles Kings (1977–78)	43–14–9
67	W	March 16, 1978	7–2	Minnesota North Stars (1977–78)	44–14–9
68	W	March 18, 1978	6–3	@ New York Rangers (1977–78)	45–14–9
69	W	March 19, 1978	6–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78)	46–14–9
70	W	March 21, 1978	5–3	@ Cleveland Barons (1977–78)	47–14–9
71	W	March 23, 1978	7–0	Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78)	48–14–9
72	L	March 25, 1978	3–6	@ Atlanta Flames (1977–78)	48–15–9
73	T	March 26, 1978	2–2	Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	48–15–10
74	T	March 28, 1978	4–4	@ Washington Capitals (1977–78)	48–15–11
75	W	March 30, 1978	6–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78)	49–15–11
76	L	April 1, 1978	1–7	@ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78)	49–16–11
77	W	April 2, 1978	8–3	New York Rangers (1977–78)	50–16–11
78	L	April 6, 1978	2–5	Buffalo Sabres (1977–78)	50–17–11
79	W	April 8, 1978	3–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78)	51–17–11
80	L	April 9, 1978	2–5	New York Islanders (1977–78)	51–18–11

Season summary

• December 1: Following a fight with Alex Pirus, John Wensink skates over to the Minnesota bench and challenges the entire team but no player responds.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
O'Reilly, TerryTerry O'Reilly	RW	77	29	61	90	211	40	5	0	4
Ratelle, JeanJean Ratelle	C	80	25	59	84	10	49	3	0	5
McNab, PeterPeter McNab	C	79	41	39	80	4	35	5	0	5
Park, BradBrad Park	D	80	22	57	79	79	68	9	0	3
Cashman, WayneWayne Cashman	LW	76	24	38	62	69	34	1	0	2
Middleton, RickRick Middleton	RW	79	25	35	60	8	40	2	0	6
Sheppard, GreggGregg Sheppard	C	54	23	36	59	24	19	5	1	7
Schmautz, BobbyBobby Schmautz	RW	54	27	27	54	87	24	4	3	6
Marcotte, DonDon Marcotte	LW	77	20	34	54	16	32	4	2	0
Jonathan, StanStan Jonathan	LW	68	27	25	52	116	34	0	0	2
Miller, BobBob Miller	C	76	20	20	40	41	16	1	1	4
Milbury, MikeMike Milbury	D	80	8	30	38	151	52	0	0	0
Wensink, JohnJohn Wensink	LW	80	16	20	36	181	23	1	0	3
Smith, RickRick Smith	D	79	7	29	36	69	70	0	0	0
Bucyk, JohnJohn Bucyk	LW	53	5	13	18	4	-2	5	0	0
Doak, GaryGary Doak	D	61	4	13	17	50	37	1	0	2
Sims, AlAl Sims	D	43	2	8	10	6	11	0	0	1
Hagman, MattiMatti Hagman	C	15	4	1	5	2	-1	3	0	1
O'Brien, DennisDennis O'Brien	D	16	2	3	5	29	6	0	0	0
Forbes, MikeMike Forbes	D	32	0	4	4	15	-5	0	0	0
Foster, DwightDwight Foster	RW	14	2	1	3	6	1	0	0	0
Halward, DougDoug Halward	D	25	0	2	2	2	1	0	0	0
Cheevers, GerryGerry Cheevers	G	21	0	1	1	14	0	0	0	0
Gilbert, GillesGilles Gilbert	G	25	0	1	1	8	0	0	0	0
Grahame, RonRon Grahame	G	40	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Edestrand, DarrylDarryl Edestrand	D	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Langdon, SteveSteve Langdon	LW	2	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Pachal, ClaytonClayton Pachal	C/LW	10	0	0	0	14	-1	0	0	0
Pettie, JimJim Pettie	G	1	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	0
Shanahan, SeanSean Shanahan	C/RW	6	0	0	0	7	-1	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Grahame, RonRon Grahame	2328	40	26	6	7	107	2.76	3
Gilbert, GillesGilles Gilbert	1326	25	15	6	2	56	2.53	2
Cheevers, GerryGerry Cheevers	1086	21	10	5	2	48	2.65	1
Pettie, JimJim Pettie	60	1	0	1	0	6	6.00	0
Team:	4800	80	51	18	11	217	2.71	6

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Park, BradBrad Park	D	15	9	11	20	14	4	0	0
McNab, PeterPeter McNab	C	15	8	11	19	2	0	0	2
Schmautz, BobbyBobby Schmautz	RW	15	7	8	15	11	2	0	1
O'Reilly, TerryTerry O'Reilly	RW	15	5	10	15	40	1	0	1
Sheppard, GreggGregg Sheppard	C	15	2	10	12	6	0	0	0
Cashman, WayneWayne Cashman	LW	15	4	6	10	13	3	0	2
Ratelle, JeanJean Ratelle	C	15	3	7	10	0	0	0	0
Marcotte, DonDon Marcotte	LW	15	5	4	9	8	1	0	1
Milbury, MikeMike Milbury	D	15	1	8	9	27	0	0	0
Middleton, RickRick Middleton	RW	15	5	2	7	0	0	0	2
Smith, RickRick Smith	D	15	1	5	6	18	0	0	0
Wensink, JohnJohn Wensink	LW	15	2	2	4	54	0	0	0
Miller, BobBob Miller	C	13	0	3	3	15	0	0	0
Doak, GaryGary Doak	D	12	1	0	1	4	0	0	1
Jonathan, StanStan Jonathan	LW	15	0	1	1	36	0	0	0
O'Brien, DennisDennis O'Brien	D	14	0	1	1	28	0	0	0
Cheevers, GerryGerry Cheevers	G	12	0	0	0	6	0	0	0
Grahame, RonRon Grahame	G	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sims, AlAl Sims	D	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Cheevers, GerryGerry Cheevers	731	12	8	4	35	2.87	1
Grahame, RonRon Grahame	202	4	2	1	7	2.08	0
Team:	933	15	10	5	42	2.70	1

^[3]

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;

Playoffs

Stanley Cup finals

Date	Visitors	Score	Home	Score	Notes
May 13	Boston	1	Montreal	4
May 16	Boston	2	Montreal	3	OT
May 18	Montreal	0	Boston	4
May 21	Montreal	3	Boston	4	OT
May 23	Boston	1	Montreal	4
May 25	Montreal	4	Boston	1

Montreal wins the series 4–2.

Larry Robinson won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Roster

THIS IS AN INCOMPLETE LIST

Boston Bruins
Goaltenders		Defensemen		Wingers		Centers GM: Coach:

Awards and records

• Don Cherry, Runner-Up, Jack Adams Trophy^[4]
• Brad Park, Defenceman, NHL First Team All-Star

References

• Bruins on Hockey Database

1. ↑ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.174, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
2. ↑ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225. 
3. ↑ "1977-78 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-09. 
4. ↑ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 222, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5

Boston Bruins Founded in 1924 Based in Boston, Massachusetts Franchise Team General Managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks Seasons Current season History All-time roster Records Award Winners Personnel Owner Jeremy Jacobs President Cam Neely General manager Peter Chiarelli Head coach Claude Julien Team captain Zdeno Chára Current roster Arena Boston Arena Boston Garden TD Garden Rivalries Bruins–Canadiens rivalry Retired numbers 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 15 24 77 Affiliates AHL Providence Bruins ECHL South Carolina Stingrays General managers Ross Patrick Emms Schmidt Sinden O'Connell Gorton Chiarelli Head coaches Ross Denneny Ross Patrick Ross Weiland Ross Clapper Boucher Patrick Schmidt Watson Schmidt Sinden Johnson Guidolin Cherry Creighton Sinden Cheevers Sinden Goring O'Reilly Milbury Bowness Sutter Kasper Burns Keenan Ftorek O'Connell Sullivan Lewis Julien Media NESN WBZ-FM/Radio Network Broadcasters Culture Rene Rancourt The Goal Willie O'Ree North Station Original Six The Big Bad Bruins The Kraut Line

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1977–78 NHL season Patrick Atlanta NY Islanders NY Rangers Philadelphia Adams Boston Buffalo Cleveland Toronto Norris Detroit Los Angeles Montreal Pittsburgh Washington Smythe Chicago Colorado Minnesota St. Louis Vancouver See also Draft All-Star Game 1978 Stanley Cup Finals