1946–47 Boston Bruins season



The 1946–47 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 23nd season in the NHL. The Kraut Line of Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart continued with their scoring prowess and all three finished in the top 10 league scorers and made the All-Star team. The Bruins finished 3rd in the league and lost in the Semi-finals to the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 1.

Off-season
Herb Cain was demoted to the Hershey Bears, never to play in the NHL again. Cain was the NHL Scoring Leader in the 1943–44 Boston Bruins season, with a record (since surpassed) 82 points and finished second to Maurice Richard in goal scoring during the 1944-45 season. Cain's production declined in the 1945-46 season and he was reputedly demoted due to a contract dispute with Art Ross. Cain is the only NHL scoring leader that has not been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Regular Season
This was the first year that the team captain and assistants were identified with a letter on their jersey. Bobby Bauer wore the "C" and defensemen Jack Crawford and Murray Henderson the "A." For some reason, the Boston Bruins official position is that Crawford was the team captain. However, there are no photos nor NHL game sheets in which he is designated as such while there are several photos of Bauer with the "C", such as the team picture.

The Bruins enjoyed line-up stability and relatively few injuries. Goal scoring rose across the league from the previous season with the Kraut Line leading the team and acquisition Joe Carveth chipping in 21 goals. Milt Schmidt finished 4th in league scoring, made the First All-Star Team and was runner-up for the Hart Memorial Trophy. Woody Dumart and Bobby Bauer (with 30 goals and only 4 penalty minutes) both made the Second Team and Bauer won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. The defense was solid and joined by 19 year old Fern Flaman for 23 games, the first of a dozen seasons he'd play for the Bruins. Frank Brimsek continued his brilliant play and was voted a Second Team All-Star.

Johnny Peirson had a 5 game tryout beginning on January 4, 1947 while the Bruins shopped Bill Shill, who would be sold. After gaining experience in the minors for a year, Peirson would join the Bruins for good and play nine seasons for them. The third line was overhauled for the January 15, 1947 game against the Chicago Black Hawks with Eddie Barry, Jack McGill and Mark Marquess being called up to the team. Marquess would have an immediate impact, scoring twice in his debut, but this would be his only NHL season. Also in this game, Fern Flaman filled in for Babe Pratt and would play 23 games before becoming a regular the next season.

Dit Clapper had retired from playing the year before to coach full-time but due to an injury to Jack Crawford, was called back into service on November 24, 1946 for 3 games and later on December 11, 1946 for 2 games when Babe Pratt was hurt. He also played two games in January 1947. He was the first player in NHL history to play 20 seasons in the league. Before the February 12, 1947 game versus the New York Rangers, Clapper was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was the first active player to be inducted. The Bruins celebrated with a 10-1 victory over the Rangers. Clapper's #5 jersey was retired before the March 1, 1947 game against the Montreal Canadiens.

Before the April 1, 1947 playoff game against Montreal, Eddie Shore was similarly honoured with entrance to the Hall of Fame and his #2 jersey was retired. Pat Egan, who had been wearing #2 up until April 1, donned #22 for the rest of the playoffs.

Montreal Canadiens 4, Boston Bruins 1
Having met the year before in the 1946 Stanley Cup Finals where the Habs defeated the Bruins 4 games to 1, the Canadiens would repeat the victory in 5 games, though two games were decided in overtime.

Game 1 at the Montreal Forum saw the Bruins jump out to an early lead on a goal by Ken Smith. Bill Durnan would not allow another and goals by Toe Blake, Jimmy Peters and Johnny Quilty secured a 3-1 win for the Habs.

Game 2 in Montreal was a tight checking affair with a scoreless first period. Bobby Bauer scored for the Bruins at 3:02 of the second period which held up until Ken Reardon tied it with less than a minute left in the game. Montreal's Ken Mosdell was the OT hero 5:38 in and the Habs took a 2-0 series lead to Boston. Bruins All-Star defenseman Jack Crawford was lost to injury for the remainder of the series.

Game 3 at the Boston Garden was a rough affair with several brawls. Maurice Richard opened the scoring :38 seconds in which Ken Mosdell extended five minutes later. At the 14:38 minute mark, Woody Dumart and Richard got into a scrap, resulting in a major penalty to Richard. The second period saw 4 majors handed out and Richard receive a game misconduct. Energized, the Bruins struck for 3 goals by Milt Schmidt, Joe Carveth and Schmidt again and led 3-2 at the end of the second period. Ken Reardon was knocked out of the series after receiving a check from Bep Guidolin and breaking his toe after hitting the boards. Deflated, the Habs didn't counter and Dumart's first of the playoffs 14:48 into the third period led the Bruins to a 4-2 win.

Game 4 in Boston saw Eddie Shore honored with entry into the Hockey Hall of Fame and his #2 jersey retired. Playing without defensemen Crawford and Murray Henderson, Montreal's Billy Reay ruined the celebration with a 4 goal performance as the Habs took a 3-1 stranglehold on the series.

Game 5 in Montreal saw the Bruins Pentti Lund play his first ever game in place of Jack McGill. After a scoreless first period, Toe Blake scored 45 seconds into the second but the Bruins Carveth and Schmidt scored within 20 seconds of each other to make it 2-1 Bruins at the end of the period. Richard tied it up at 7:43 of the third but Ken Smith put the Bruins up 3-2 at 11:40. With time running out, Richard scored again with a little over 3 minutes remaining and the game headed to overtime. The Bruins had a scary moment when Fern Flaman took a penalty 15:25 into the first OT, but managed to kill it off. Late in the second OT, a shot by Murph Chamberlain hit the post and dropped for Johnny Quilty who rapped in the winner. Montreal won the series 4 games to 1.

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

 * Dit Clapper becomes the first player in league history to play in 20 seasons.
 * Bill Cowley becomes the then NHL career leading scorer with 529 points during the 10-1 win over the New York Rangers on February 12, 1947.
 * Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Bobby Bauer (3rd win)
 * Hart Memorial Trophy: Milt Schmidt, Runner-up
 * Milt Schmidt, Centre, NHL First Team All-Star
 * Bobby Bauer, Right Wing, NHL Second Team All-Star
 * Woody Dumart, Left Wing, NHL Second Team All-Star
 * Frank Brimsek, Goaltender, NHL Second Team All-Star

Transactions

 * Purchase Don Grosso from the Chicago Black Hawks on June 1, 1946.
 * Purchase Babe Pratt from the New York Rangers on June 19, 1946.
 * Trade Roy Conacher to the Detroit Red Wings for Joe Carveth.
 * Sell Jack Church to New York on September 17, 1946.
 * Sell Bill Shill to the Montreal Canadiens on February 15, 1947.

Farm Teams

 * Hershey Bears, American Hockey League (AHL)

Trivia

 * Pat Egan had been wearing jersey #2 all season until it was retired in honour of Eddie Shore on April 1, 1947. Egan switched to jersey #22 for the remainder of the playoffs. This was the first time a Bruin wore #22 and was the highest number, up to that time, that a Bruin had ever worn.
 * The Bruins played the first penalty-free game in their history during the 3-3 tie versus the Detroit Red Wings on November 6, 1946.
 * Bruins who recorded a hat trick this season include:
 * Joe Carveth during the 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on November 13, 1946.
 * Bobby Bauer (all in the first period) during the 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 20, 1946.
 * Bobby Bauer during the 5-4 win over the Maple Leafs on March 5, 1947. A natural hat trick, all goals were scored on the power play in the first period.
 * Joe Carveth during the 7-3 win over the Chicago Black Hawks on March 19, 1947.

Video
Over 11 minutes of silent clips of the March 15, 1947 Bruins-Leafs game which ended in a 5-5 tie. Goals by Joe Klukay and Harry Watson are shown.