1952–53 Boston Bruins season



The 1952–53 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 29th season in the NHL. The Bruins finished 3rd in the league and lost in the 1953 Stanley Cup Finals to the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 1.

Off-season
The 6th National Hockey League All-Star Game was held at Detroit on October 5, 1952. Two team of All-Stars played to a 1-1 tie. Bruins Dave Creighton, Ed Sandford and Bill Quackenbush played on the First All-Star team and faced goalie Jim Henry and Milt Schmidt on the Second All-Star team. For the first time since the official All-Star games began in 1947, no Bruin registered a point.

Regular Season
The Bruins enjoyed line-up stability, relatively few injuries and a rock-solid defense led by Bill Quackenbush who made the Second All-Star Team. Jim Henry had another fine season, played all 70 games and had nearly identical statistics to the previous season, including 7 shutouts.

Lack of goal scoring separated the Bruins from making it into the top two in league standings. Fleming Mackell led the team in points, finished 10th in league scoring and his 27 goals were 5th in the league. He was voted to the First All-Star team. Mackell's wingers Ed Sandford and Johnny Peirson continued to be effective though Peirson missed 21 games to injury. Real Chevrefils chipped in 19 goals while rookie Jerry Toppazzini showed promise in his first of ten seasons with the Bruins. Despite injured knees that would plague him until he retired, 35 year old Milt Schmidt was the team's assist leader while Woody Dumart was a superb defensive forward, which he'd demonstrate in the playoffs shadowing Gordie Howe.

The Bruins November 1, 1952 game versus the Toronto Maple Leafs was the first English language televised NHL game in Canada. The broadcast began early in the second period and Foster Hewitt handled the play-by-play. Toronto defeated Boston 3-2 as Sid Smith scored the winning goal.

After a seven game point streak from late November to early December, the Bruins were thumped 11-1 on December 11, 1952 by the Detroit Red Wings. Boston then went on a horrible skid, winning only three games over the next fifteen.

On January 1, 1953, Dave Creighton scored two goals versus Toronto but then broke his leg in a tussle with Fern Flaman. Creighton missed 25 games and George Sullivan was recalled from the minors. During the same game, in a fight with Milt Schmidt, Leafs captain Ted Kennedy fell and suffered a broken collarbone and torn shoulder ligaments. Kennedy would be out the remainder of the season.

By mid-January, the Bruins turned the losing streak around. They lost only twice in a twelve game run which included them blanking the New York Rangers 9-0 on January 24, 1953 led by Jerry Toppazzini's hat trick. However, by February 18, 1953, the Bruins were in a fight for the last playoff spot, tied with the Chicago Black Hawks for fourth in the league and one point behind Toronto. They went on a seven game winless streak that was punctuated by another shellacking by Detroit on March 2, losing 10-2. Meanwhile, Chicago went on a five game point streak which included them meeting Boston for three consecutive games from February 22 to March 1. All three matches were played in Chicago of which the Black Hawks won two with one tie.

The Bruins saving grace was the Maple Leafs mediocre performance in the last half of February followed by Toronto's five game losing streak to start March. Boston and Chicago both played well down the stretch and a Bruins 2-1 victory over the Black Hawks on March 8, 1953 was critical for Boston. Despite Toronto winning their last four games of the season, including beating the Bruins on closing night, the Maple Leafs missed the last playoff spot by 2 points. Much of this was attributed to the absence of Ted Kennedy since the New Years Day game against Boston when he was injured. Boston and Chicago ended up tied with 69 points but the Bruins won the tie breaker, by virtue of having one more win than the Black Hawks. The Bruins finished third in the league, setting up the defending 1952 Stanley Cup champions Detroit Red Wings as their Semi-finals opponent.

Boston Bruins 4, Detroit Red Wings 2
The Bruins and Red Wings last met in the 1946 Semi-finals where the Bruins won 4 games to 1. Detroit were heavy favorites, having finished in first place with 21 more points than Boston. Boston's Woody Dumart effectively checked Gordie Howe, limiting him to 2 goals in the series, having scored 49 in the regular season. Boston's line of Ed Sandford, Johnny Peirson and Fleming Mackell led offensively with Sandford scoring 6 goals. Detroit's coach Tommy Ivan acknowledged that Bruins goalie Jim Henry was the biggest reason for Boston's upset. Detroit had over 40 shots in every game but one in the series.

Game 1 at the Detroit Olympia saw the Red Wings dominate the Bruins from the opening whistle. First period goals by Ted Lindsay and two by Marty Pavelich staked Detroit to a 3-0 lead. A second period goal by Alex Delvecchio and third period goals by Metro Prystai, Johnny Wilson and Lindsay's second lead Detroit to a 7-0 rout with Terry Sawchuk picking up the shutout.

Game 2 at Detroit saw the Bruins bounce back. Playing with a greater commitment to defense and countering off the rush, Fleming Mackell staked the Bruins to a 1-0 lead before Howe tied it up on the Power play with John McIntyre in the box. Making up for his penalty, McIntyre's pass to Dave Creighton put the Bruins ahead 2-1 at the end of the first period. The Wings couldn't solve Jim Henry in the second period but veteran Joe Klukay put the Bruins up 3-1. Third period goals by Bruins Johnny Peirson and Creighton's second of the game stunned the Wings crowd. Two late goals by Metro Prystai weren't enough as the Bruins won 5-3 and tied the series going to Boston.

Game 3 at the Boston Garden was the turning point in the series. In a clean, hard-fought game in which only two penalties were called, Ed Sandford opening the scoring for the Bruins. Tony Leswick tied it up in the second but the Wings couldn't solve Jim Henry and the game went into overtime. Dave Creighton fed Jack McIntyre a pass at 12:29 of the first OT who snapped it past Sawchuk for a Bruins 2-1 win.

Game 4 at Boston was a reversal of Game 1. The Bruins jumped out to a 2-0 lead on first period goals by Sandford and McIntyre. After an early second period fight between Mackell and Pavelich, the Bruins poured it on and goals by Milt Schmidt, McIntyre's second of the game and Dave Creighton made it 5-0 Boston. The Wings recovered later in the second and goals by Prystai and Delvecchio made it 5-2. Henry barred the door in the third period and Sandford's second of the game made it 6-2 Bruins. The Wings were on the brink of elimination going back to Detroit.

Game 5 at Detroit saw the Wings determined to not be eliminated at home. They came out on fire and goals by Lindsay and Bob Goldham in the game's first minute had them in front 2-0. The game got chippy and multiple penalties for high sticking were called. Benny Woit made it 3-0 Wings but the rough play continued as Klukay and Lindsay got into a mix-up. In the second period, Howe scored his second and last goal of the series before Ed Sandford got the Bruins on the board. However, the Wings Johnny Wilson responded and the period ended with the Wings up 5-1. After an early goal in the third period by Sandford, the game boiled over. Leo Labine was given a misconduct for high sticking. Glen Skov made it 6-2 Detroit but the Bruins wouldn't relent and Schmidt made it 6-3. Tony Leswick high sticked Fleming Mackell resulting in a fight and the Bruins going on the power play. Schmidt scored making it 6-4. After Marcel Pronovost took an interference penalty, a frustrated Terry Sawchuk protested to referee Red Storey which resulted in a misconduct. The Wings held on for an unconvincing 6-4 win.

Game 6 at Boston went wrong from the beginning for the Red Wings. Tony Leswick took a slashing penalty and Ed Sandford scored his 6th goal of the series on the power play to open the scoring for Boston. The Bruins went up 2-0 in the second on McIntyre's goal. Late in the second, third liner Reg Sinclair gave the Wings hope, cutting the lead to 2-1. In the third period, the Wings poured it on but to no avail. Woody Dumart continued to hold Howe off the board and a long shot by Fleming Mackell got by Sawchuk making it 3-1 Bruins. Ted Lindsay responded two minutes later but the first playoff goal for Leo Labine sealed a 4-2 victory and a 4-2 series win for the Bruins.

Montreal Canadiens 4, Boston Bruins 1
The teams met the previous year in the 1952 Semi-finals where Montreal prevailed 4 games to 3. Both teams played without their starting goalies during the series but once Gerry McNeil returned in game 3 to replace rookie Jacques Plante he outplayed Boston's backup Gord Henry and notched 2 shutouts for the series win.

Game 1 at the Montreal Forum saw the Canadiens Jacques Plante start in net. Boston was without captain Milt Schmidt, still recovering from an injury suffered in the Semi-finals. An early penalty to Montreal's Ken Mosdell saw the Bruins Bob Armstrong score his first career playoff goal on a give and go with Fleming Mackell that he slapped into the low left corner. Minutes later, Plante was shaken up on a shot by Hal Laycoe and the game stopped while he received treatment. Dickie Moore tied it up when his shot from behind the net went in off the skate of Bruins goalie Jim Henry. In the second period, Modell scored early on a rebound to make it 2-1. Late in the period during a goalmouth scramble, Floyd Curry smacked in it for a 3-1 lead. During the third period with Doug Harvey off for holding, Johnny Peirson (playing with a bandaged head) made it close when he banged in Mackell's pass across goal. But a minute later, Maurice Richard split Laycoe and Armstrong and scored on a breakaway for a 4-2 Montreal win and a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2 in Montreal had Schmidt back in the line-up and the Bruins were bolstered by his play. An early goal by Leo Labine, who deked Doug Harvey and fired a low shot to the left corner, put the Bruins up 1-0. Late in the period, Ed Sandford put in a 5 footer off a pass by Joe Klukay to make it 2-0. Jim Henry twisted his ankle near the end of the first period, forcing Gord Henry to fill in for him. Bert Olmstead scored an early second period goal on a 2 on 1 but Sandford responded with his second of the game on a rebound. In the third period, Schmidt and Woody Dumart showed they still had some of the old magic left as Dumart's pass put Schmidt in the clear and he deked Plante to the ice and slipped in a backhand for a 4-1 Bruins win.

Game 3 at the Boston Garden had Gerry McNeil back in the net for the Canadiens. Tom Johnson took a left wing pass from Mosdell and beat Henry to the far side for a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Paul Masnick's pass from behind the net hit Hal Laycoe's skate and bounced in to make it 2-0. In the third period, Henry couldn't control a blast from the point and Mosdell backhanded in the rebound for a 3-0 Montreal win and a 2-1 lead in the series.

Game 4 in Boston saw Montreal dominate. Henry couldn't stop 40 footers from Lorne Davis, Richard and Dickie Moore which saw the Habs go up 3-0. Dave Creighton backhanded in a Dumart pass to make it 3-1 at the end of the period. Play was close in the second period until Laycoe fell while killing a penalty, resulting in Bernie Geoffrion taking the puck and scoring with a spinning shot at 18:58. At 5:33 of the third, Richard shifted around the Bruins defense and fired a shot top corner. Milt Schmidt responded two minutes later with a backhand goal while speeding down the right wing. With four minutes left, Creighton picked off a Billy Reay clearing pass and drew two defenders to him. Jack McIntyre picked up the loose puck and fired it past McNeil to cut the lead to 5-3. The Bruins pulled the goalie but Schmidt's pass was intercepted by Calum MacKay who killed the rally, making it 6-3. Thirty seconds later, Richard scored on a breakaway for a 7-3 Canadiens win and a 3-1 stranglehold in the series.

Game 5 in Montreal saw only one penalty called during the game. After two sub-par games, Gord Henry played well with both he and Montreal's McNeil stopping numerous scoring chances. The game went into overtime where Elmer Lach picked off Schmidt's clearing pass on the right wing and fired a quick spinning shot past Henry for the Cup winning goal. Ed Sandford led all playoff scorers with 11 points.

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

 * Fleming Mackell, Centre, NHL First Team All-Star
 * Bill Quackenbush, Defenceman, NHL Second Team All-Star

Transactions

 * Sell Ed Kryzanowski to the Chicago Black Hawks on August 15, 1952 then purchase him back on October 31, 1952. He was then sold to the Providence Reds.
 * Purchase Joe Klukay from the Toronto Maple Leafs on September 16, 1952.

Trivia

 * George Sullivan had a 6 point game (1 goal, 5 assists) versus the New York Rangers on January 24, 1953.
 * Ed Sandford led all playoff scorers with 11 points.
 * Bruins who recorded a Hat trick this season include:
 * Fleming Mackell during the 4-1 win over the Chicago Black Hawks on November 9, 1952.
 * Jerry Toppazzini during the 9-0 win over New York on January 24, 1953.

Video
Highlights of the December 21, 1952 game between the Bruins and the Habs. This was the third game of a tryout for Jean Beliveau (who wears #12) and he scores twice in Montreal's 4-3 win. A first period fight between Jack McIntyre and Bernie Geoffrion (in response to McIntyre breaking Billy Reay's cheek bone), a dust-up between Milt Schmidt and Maurice Richard as well as goals by Dave Creighton and Beliveau are shown. The end has highlights of the December 7, 1952 Toronto Maple Leafs versus Chicago Black Hawks game including a goal by George Armstrong.