1926–27 Boston Bruins season



The 1926–27 Boston Bruins season was the team's 3rd in the NHL. The Bruins finished 2nd in the American Division, making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The team competed in the 1927 Stanley Cup Finals, the first to be held exclusively between NHL teams, losing to the Ottawa Senators 2 games to 0.

Regular Season
To begin the season, the Bruins introduced a new jersey with a redesigned bear and modified striping on the body. The primary colour was still white with secondary brown and gold trim. These jerseys would be worn for the next six years.

The collapse of the Western Hockey League not only placed the Stanley Cup in the exclusive control of the NHL, but also resulted in a flood of skilled players bolstering NHL rosters, allowing not only for three new expansion franchises (the New York Rangers, the Chicago Black Hawks and the Detroit Cougars) but providing the Bruins a complete overhaul of their roster. Goaltender Hal Winkler came from the Calgary Tigers and replaced holdover Doc Stewart in net, while Calgary scoring star Harry Oliver would lead the Bruins in scoring. From the Edmonton Eskimos came two players: star scorer Duke Keats and the real prize of the off-season, defenseman Eddie Shore, who in a Bruins' uniform would be one of the great players in hockey history. Another find would be Percy Galbraith, who joined the Bruins after a long career in the senior leagues.

With ten teams, the NHL realigned into two divisions, placing the Bruins in the new American Division with the Black Hawks, the Cougars, the Rangers and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Shore made an impact early, both as a rushing defenseman and as an enforcer, provoking the ire of the Montreal Maroons in a December 23 game in which he and Sprague Cleghorn both slashed repeatedly at Maroons' star Nels Stewart, who ran Bruins goalie Charles Stewart. Nels Stewart lost a tooth and picked up a major penalty, Shore received a major and a $15 fine and Cleghorn was not penalized. The game stopped for 10 minutes while Charles Stewart recovered from a puck taken to the eye.

At the halfway point of the season, the Bruins were in third place behind Chicago. Despite performances such as Oliver's four goal night against the Black Hawks on January 11 (which was attended by only 6,000 fans due to a blizzard), the club executed a major overhaul in mid January, first dealing Carson Cooper to the Canadiens for Billy Boucher and purchasing Hal Winkler from the Rangers, and then trading Duke Keats, who seemed to have faded, for Frank Fredrickson at month's end. Fredrickson and Winkler paid immediate dividends, with the Icelander scoring four goals against the Rangers in his first game in a Boston uniform and Winkler supplanting Doc Stewart as the club's starting goaltender. Nonetheless, the Bruins still relied heavily on rough play, and Cleghorn and Billy Coutu were specifically cited by Toronto Maple Leafs governor Charlie Querrie when he resigned in February as being "only good for chopping and slashing."

Inconsistent play marred the end of the regular season, with the Bruins losing four out of their last seven matches, but they did well enough to secure their first playoff berth. With a combined 31 points between Detroit and Boston, Fredrickson finished fourth in the NHL in scoring with Oliver placing ninth, and Winkler had the fifth lowest goals against average of the league's goaltenders. Eddie Shore finished only three behind Nels Stewart as the league's most penalized player.

Numerous bonuses were given out at season's end to the team's players: $1,600 to Galbraith; $1,400 to Hitchman; $1,000 each to Shore, Oliver, Herberts and Cleghorn; $850 to Winkler; $750 to Fredrickson; $700 to Coutu; $300 each to Stuart and Boucher; and $250 each to Meeking and the team's trainer.

Playoffs
The Bruins Harry Oliver and Percy Galbraith would led all playoff scorers with 6 points each.

Boston Bruins 10, Chicago Black Hawks 5
The Bruins beat the Black Hawks on March 29 (in a game played in New York) 6-1, and tied 4-4 in Boston on the 31st, to win the two-game total-goal series ten goals to five. Bruins goalie Hal Winkler played the third period with his head bandaged after being hit with a high stick from one of the Hawks.

Boston Bruins 3, New York Rangers 1 (1 tie)
The Bruins second series was against the Rangers and was also a two game total-goal series. Game 1 in Boston ended in a scoreless tie and the Bruins won 3-1 on the 4th in New York to win three goals to one.

Ottawa Senators 2, Boston Bruins 0 (2 ties)
See 1927 Stanley Cup Finals.

The Stanley Cup finals, a best-of-five series, began in Boston on April 7, where the Bruins and Senators skated to a scoreless tie. Galbraith scored for Boston in the overtime, but the goal was ruled offside. After two overtime periods, the ice was so bad that league President Frank Calder declared the game a draw.

The second game in Boston on the 9th was won by Ottawa 3-1, as Boston allowed two shorthanded goals in a game marred by five power plays on Shore penalties alone.

On April 11, the series moved to Ottawa, and the teams played to another tie, 1-1. The final game was on April 13, won 3-1 by Ottawa, in a match marked by numerous fights in which several players received match penalties, fines and suspensions, and President Frank Calder was summoned to the ice to sort it all out. The most egregious act was Bruins Billy Coutu attacking the referee, for which he was the first NHL player to be expelled for life from the league.

The Stanley Cup win was the eleventh and final one for the original Ottawa Senators.

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

 * The Bruins did not win any awards this season.

Transactions

 * Acquire Eddie Shore, Harry Oliver, Hal Winkler, Duke Keats and Archie Briden as free agents from the Western Hockey League.
 * Trade Duke Keats and Archie Briden to the Detroit Cougars for Frank Frederickson and Harry Meeking on January 27, 1927.
 * Trade Carson Cooper to the Montreal Canadiens for Billy Boucher on January 17, 1927.
 * Purchase the rights to Hal Winkler from the New York Rangers for $5,000 on January 17, 1927.
 * Sell Stan Jackson to the Ottawa Senators on January 18, 1927.

Farm Teams

 * Boston Tigers, Canadian American Hockey League

Trivia

 * Defenseman Sprague Cleghorn wore jersey #1 for the season. Goalies Charles Stewart and Hal Winkler wore #11 and #17 respectively.
 * Firsts in Bruins history accomplished during this season include:
 * Harry Oliver had the first 4 goal game on January 11, 1927 as the Bruins defeated the Chicago Black Hawks 6-3. Frank Fredrickson matched the feat four games later in a 7-3 victory over the New York Rangers on January 18, 1927.
 * Frank Fredrickson scored the Bruins first playoff goal in a 6-1 win over Chicago on March 29, 1927.
 * Percy Galbraith scored the Bruins first playoff Hat trick in a 4-4 tie against Chicago on March 31, 1927.
 * Harry Oliver and Percy Galbraith led all playoff scorers with 6 points each.
 * Bruins who recorded a hat trick this season include:
 * Carson Cooper during the 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on November 16, 1926.
 * Percy Galbraith during the 4-4 tie against Chicago on March 31, 1927 in the second game of the Stanley Cup Quarter-finals.