1951–52 Boston Bruins season



The 1951–52 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 28th season in the NHL. The Bruins finished 4th in the league and lost in the Semi-finals to the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 3.

Off-season
The 5th National Hockey League All-Star Game was held at Toronto on October 9, 1951. Two team of All-Stars played to a 2-2 tie. Bruins Milt Schmidt, Max Quackenbush, Ed Sandford and Johnny Peirson were on the First All-Star team. Schmidt assisted on the first goal while Peirson scored the second.

Regular Season
The Bruins continued to use white jerseys with the "spoked B" but added more stripes to the arms for this season. This jersey would remain unchanged until 1958. The black jersey with the block "B" remained unchanged until replaced in 1955. Milt Schmidt wore the "C" while Max Quackenbush, Murray Henderson and Ed Kryzanowski wore the "A."

The Bruins purchased "Sugar" Jim Henry from the Detroit Red Wings as their new starting goalie and relegated Jack Gelineau to the minors. Henry had a rock solid season, played every game for the Bruins and made the Second All-Star Team. His 7 shutouts were the most by a Bruins goalie since Frank Brimsek had 10 in the 1938-39 season. Milt Schmidt led the team in scoring for the second year, finished 10th in league scoring and also made the Second All-Star Team.

By early November, the Bruins had a winning record but an 11 game winless streak for the rest of the month had the New York Rangers and Chicago Black Hawks within a few points of Boston for the last playoff spot. Ray Barry played the first 18 games of the season and was relegated to the minors, never to play in the NHL again. Woody Dumart was out of the line-up and the situation was made worse when during the November 13, 1951 game versus Chicago, Pentti Lund suffered a serious eye injury from a high stick. He lost almost all sight in his right eye, missed 47 games but returned on February 13, 1952 and played in the playoffs. He'd play the next season for the Bruins, his last in the NHL. Without a championship team in over a decade and mired in a slump, attendance dropped significantly. Only 4,888 fans attended the November 27, 1951 game versus the Rangers, the lowest crowd in 17 years. The slide was stopped with the call-up of Dave Creighton, who went on to score 20 goals in 49 games, and Jack McIntyre who chipped in 31 points. Lack of production from veterans Vic Lynn and Bill Ezinicki, obtained the previous season, saw Lynn demoted to the minors and Ezinicki sold. Real Chevrefils was promoted after scoring 48 points in 34 games for the Hershey Bears in his first pro season and he'd continue the scoring pace in Boston. Most significantly, Art Ross acquired Fleming Mackell on January 9, 1952. He'd become the Bruins top scorer during the 1950's and have several incredible playoffs.

The February 26, 1952 game versus the Detroit Red Wings was played at the old Boston Arena due to piping at the Boston Garden malfunctioning. A little over 4,000 people attended the game, the fewest in 24 years.

Bobby Bauer's retirement in 1947 ended the Kraut Line. "Kraut Line Night" was celebrated at the Boston Garden before the March 18, 1952 game versus the Chicago Black Hawks. Having last played in the NHL five years previously, 37 year old Bobby Bauer came out of retirement and played in the game. Although the pace challenged Bauer, he showed flashes of his old brilliance. With the Bruins up 1-0, Milt Schmidt scored his 200th career goal, assisted by Woody Dumart and Bauer. Bauer then added a goal (assisted by Schmidt and Real Chevrefils) and then Schmidt assisted on a goal by Chevrefils in Boston's 4-0 blanking of Chicago. Dave Creighton donned jersey #4 so that Bauer could wear the #17 he made famous.

Montreal Canadiens 4, Boston Bruins 3
Having last met in the 1946 Stanley Cup Finals where the Habs defeated the Bruins 4 games to 1 with three games going to overtime, the 1952 Semi-final series would be even closer with Montreal edging Boston 4 games to 3. The series is famous for Jim Henry playing Games 6 and 7 with a broken nose and Maurice Richard scoring the Game 7 winning goal having been concussed and cut. The photo of the two battered players shaking hands has become iconic.

Game 1 at the Montreal Forum was a clean game that was dominated by Montreal. After Richard put the Habs up in the first period, he assisted on a goal by Dickie Moore in the second. The Bruins Pentti Lund, playing blind in one eye, cut the lead to 2-1 but Richard's second of the game made it 3-1 Montreal at the end of the second period. Goals by Billy Reay and Floyd Curry completed Montreal's 5-1 win.

Game 2 at Montreal was a repeat of Game 1 with a goal by Ken Mosdell and a Hat trick by Bernie Geoffrion. However, Mosdell collided with Boston's Ed Sandford, broke his right leg and was lost for the playoffs. Boston's Gus Kyle was also lost for the remainder of the series and was replaced with rookie Bob Armstrong, who'd go on to become a regular on the Bruins blueline for the next decade.

Game 3 at the Boston Garden had no goals in the first period. At 2:05 of the second period, Hal Laycoe's shot deflected off Doug Harvey's stick past Gerry McNeil for the Bruins first lead of the series. 33 seconds later, Dave Creighton made it 2-0 Boston. 29 seconds later, Ed Sandford's shot fell in the crease and as McNeil tried to clear it, he ran into Paul Meger who accidentally put the puck in his own net. Boston led 3-0 after scoring three goals in 1:02. In the third period, Fleming Mackell made it 4-0 until Montreal's Floyd Curry scored a consolation goal for a 4-1 Bruins win.

Game 4 at Boston saw the first career playoff goal by Real Chevrefils put the Bruins up 1-0 at 9:53 of the first period. In the second period, Milt Schmidt made it 2-0 until Mackell took a tripping penalty and Curry scored a late power play goal. At 6:48 of the third period, Curry tied the score until Mackell scored the game winner on a three on two break. With a 3-2 win, the Bruins had evened the series.

Game 5 at Montreal saw the Bruins play a defensive game. After two scoreless periods, Dave Creighton forced a turnover, passed to Johnny Peirson who fed it to Jack McIntyre. Flying down the right wing, the left shooting McIntyre fired a shot far side that beat McNeil. The Bruins held a 3-2 series lead with Jim Henry posting his first playoff shutout in 10 years.

Game 6 at Boston saw the Bruins jump out to a 2-0 lead on first period goals by Dave Creighton and Milt Schmidt. The Habs Eddie Mazur, who'd never appeared in a regular season game for them, cut the lead in half at 4:53 of the second period. Eight minutes into the third period, Bruins goalie Jim Henry had his nose broken by a Doug Harvey shot. The game was delayed for 17 minutes as Henry was treated. He courageously returned to play but with both eyes black and swollen, he struggled to see the puck at times. At 11:05, Richard fired a 30 foot shot through a screen that sent the game into overtime. After a scoreless first OT, Paul Masnick rapped in a rebound from a Harvey shot that ended the game at 7:49 of the second OT. The series was tied heading back to Montreal.

Game 7 at Montreal was an iconic game for Maurice Richard. In the second period, with the score tied on goals by Eddie Mazur and Ed Sandford, Richard's attempt to cut between Bruins Hal Laycoe and Leo Labine resulted in him falling and hitting his head on the ice. Bleeding from a cut above his left eye and unconscious, he was roused and brought to the dressing room for repairs. While being stitched up, he lost consciousness again. With five minutes left in the game and the teams playing four on four (Laycoe and Billy Reay were in the box for high sticking), Richard made his way back to the Habs bench. Assuring coach Dick Irvin that he was all right, Irvin could see Richard wasn't as he didn't know the game's score and admitted his vision was blurry. Nevertheless, Richard went on the ice, took a pass from Butch Bouchard on the right wing, beat Bill Quackenbush to the outside, faked a shot to the near post on Jim Henry, cut in front of the Bruins net and put the puck in the far side of the net (see Gallery for a photo). Deliriously happy Montreal fans rained debris on the ice and the game was stopped for 5 minutes to clean the mess up. With the Bruins goalie pulled, Bill Reay scored with 34 seconds left for a 3-1 Habs victory and the series win. The players shook hands after the game with Milt Schmidt congratulating Habs rookie Dickie Moore, who he'd battled for most of the series. Jim Henry and Richard's handshake became one of hockey's most iconic photos with Henry's blackened eyes from his broken nose and Richard's bandaged eye still bleeding.

Regular Season

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Playoffs

 * Scoring
 * Goaltending

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts

Awards and Records

 * Milt Schmidt, Centre, NHL Second Team All-Star
 * Jim Henry, Goaltender, NHL Second Team All-Star

Transactions

 * Sell Ed Reigle to the Detroit Red Wings on May 1, 1951.
 * Purchase Adam Brown from the Chicago Black Hawks on August 20, 1951.
 * Trade Paul Ronty to the New York Rangers for Gus Kyle and Pentti Lund on September 20, 1951.
 * Purchase Jim Henry from Detroit on September 28, 1951.
 * Sell Pete Horeck to Chicago on November 1, 1951.
 * Trade Jim Morrison to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Fleming Mackell on January 9, 1952.
 * Sell Bill Ezinicki to Toronto on January 28, 1952.

Trivia

 * Bruins who recorded a Hat trick this season include:
 * Dunc Fisher during the 3-3 tie with the New York Rangers on November 21, 1951.