1948–49 Boston Bruins season

1948–49 Boston Bruins
Division	2nd NHL
1948–49 record	29–23–8
Goals for	178 (2nd)
Goals against	163 (4th)
Team information
General manager	Art Ross
Coach	Dit Clapper
Captain	Milt Schmidt
Alternate captains	Jack Crawford Murray Henderson
Arena	Boston Garden
Team leaders
Goals	Johnny Peirson Grant Warwick (22)
Assists	Paul Ronty (29)
Points	Paul Ronty (49)
Penalty minutes	Pat Egan (92)
Wins	Frank Brimsek (26)
Goals against average	Frank Brimsek (2.72)

The 1948–49 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 25th season in the NHL. The Bruins finished 2nd in the league and lost in the Semi-finals to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4 games to 1.

Regular Season

Milt Schmidt wears the first "Spoked B" Bruins jersey.

To celebrate their 25th year in the NHL, the Bruins retired the "number" jerseys they'd worn since the 1935-36 season for a white jersey with the "spoked B" logo for the first time. On the horizontal spokes to the left and right of the "B" was "24" and "49", marking the year the Bruins entered the NHL and the 25th anniversary year. Jersey numbers remained gold with a black outline. Milt Schmidt wore the "C" while Jack Crawford and Murray Henderson wore the "A's."

Ed Sandford from Pete Babando, October 16, 1948.

The 2nd National Hockey League All-Star Game was held at Chicago on November 3, 1948. Bruins Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart and Frank Brimsek played for the All-Stars against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The All-Stars won 3-1 with Dumart scoring the winning goal. Brimsek, wearing number 0, recorded the win. The November 10, 1948 game versus the Detroit Red Wings was postponed to the following night due to fog in the Boston Garden caused by a heat wave.

With Milt Schmidt missing 16 games, still ailing from a knee injury sustained the previous season, several Bruins playing in their first full season for the team ably stepped up. Paul Ronty put up 49 points to lead the team and finish 5th in league scoring. Johnny Peirson and Grant Warwick netted 22 goals, both top 10 in the league while Ronty and Kenny Smith scored 20 and Pete Babando 19. By the end of November, the Bruins had a 10-2-3 record.

Fern Flaman, Frank Brimsek, Edgar Laprade, October 31, 1948.

Tragedy struck Bruins star goalie Frank Brimsek in January 1949 when his young son became gravely ill. Les Colvin played his only NHL game filling in for Brimsek during a 4-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on January 22, 1949. Gord Henry was recalled from the Hershey Bears for his first NHL game and recorded a shutout in a 3-0 win over Montreal on January 23. The Bruins then signed Jack Gelineau to man the nets after Brimsek's son died. Gelineau was attending law school at McGill University in Montreal and continued his studies. Gelineau played 4 games, went 2-2 and would become the Bruins starting goalie in 1949-50 and win the Calder Memorial Trophy. Brimsek returned for the February 6, 1949 game versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Bruins called up Dave Creighton and Zellio Toppazzini for the February 12, 1949 game versus the New York Rangers. Both would score in their NHL debuts. Creighton would become a full-time player for the Bruins in 1949-50 and have a ten year NHL career. Zellio never became an NHL regular but his younger brother Jerry Toppazzini would have a very successful career and play a dozen seasons, mostly with the Bruins. Boston won their last game of the season 7-2 over Toronto while Montreal lost theirs, resulting in the Bruins edging out the Canadiens for second place.

Final Standings

National Hockey League

	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
Detroit Red Wings	60	34	19	7	75	195	145
Boston Bruins	60	29	23	8	66	178	163
Montreal Canadiens	60	28	23	9	65	152	126
Toronto Maple Leafs	60	22	25	13	57	147	161
Chicago Black Hawks	60	21	31	8	50	173	211
New York Rangers	60	18	31	11	47	133	172

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Game Log

Regular Season Results
No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 16, 1948	4–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49)	1–0–0
2	W	October 20, 1948	8–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49)	2–0–0
3	W	October 24, 1948	4–1	New York Rangers (1948–49)	3–0–0
4	W	October 28, 1948	5–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49)	4–0–0
5	T	October 30, 1948	3–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1948–49)	4–0–1
6	L	October 31, 1948	0–2	@ New York Rangers (1948–49)	4–1–1
7	L	November 7, 1948	3–7	@ Detroit Red Wings (1948–49)	4–2–1
8	W	November 11, 1948	4–1	Detroit Red Wings (1948–49)	5–2–1
9	W	November 14, 1948	3–2	Montreal Canadiens (1948–49)	6–2–1
10	W	November 17, 1948	2–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49)	7–2–1
11	T	November 20, 1948	2–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49)	7–2–2
12	L	November 21, 1948	1–4	New York Rangers (1948–49)	7–3–2
13	W	November 24, 1948	5–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1948–49)	8–3–2
14	W	November 27, 1948	2–0	@ Montreal Canadiens (1948–49)	9–3–2
15	W	November 28, 1948	6–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49)	10–3–2
16	W	December 1, 1948	5–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49)	11–3–2
17	L	December 4, 1948	2–3	Detroit Red Wings (1948–49)	11–4–2
18	W	December 5, 1948	2–1	Montreal Canadiens (1948–49)	12–4–2
19	T	December 7, 1948	2–2	@ New York Rangers (1948–49)	12–4–3
20	L	December 8, 1948	3–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49)	12–5–3
21	L	December 11, 1948	2–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49)	12–6–3
22	L	December 12, 1948	3–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49)	12–7–3
23	L	December 15, 1948	2–4	Montreal Canadiens (1948–49)	12–8–3
24	L	December 19, 1948	2–7	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49)	12–9–3
25	W	December 22, 1948	5–2	Detroit Red Wings (1948–49)	13–9–3
26	L	December 23, 1948	2–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1948–49)	13–10–3
27	W	December 25, 1948	2–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49)	14–10–3
28	L	December 29, 1948	2–10	@ Detroit Red Wings (1948–49)	14–11–3
29	T	December 31, 1948	2–2	@ New York Rangers (1948–49)	14–11–4
30	W	January 1, 1949	4–1	New York Rangers (1948–49)	15–11–4
31	L	January 5, 1949	0–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49)	15–12–4
32	W	January 6, 1949	3–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1948–49)	16–12–4
33	L	January 9, 1949	2–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49)	16–13–4
34	L	January 12, 1949	3–5	Montreal Canadiens (1948–49)	16–14–4
35	W	January 16, 1949	3–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49)	17–14–4
36	W	January 19, 1949	5–2	@ New York Rangers (1948–49)	18–14–4
37	L	January 22, 1949	2–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1948–49)	18–15–4
38	W	January 23, 1949	3–0	Montreal Canadiens (1948–49)	19–15–4
39	L	January 26, 1949	1–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49)	19–16–4
40	L	January 30, 1949	0–4	Detroit Red Wings (1948–49)	19–17–4
41	W	February 2, 1949	5–3	New York Rangers (1948–49)	20–17–4
42	W	February 5, 1949	3–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1948–49)	21–17–4
43	L	February 6, 1949	2–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49)	21–18–4
44	W	February 9, 1949	5–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49)	22–18–4
45	W	February 12, 1949	4–2	New York Rangers (1948–49)	23–18–4
46	T	February 13, 1949	4–4	Detroit Red Wings (1948–49)	23–18–5
47	L	February 16, 1949	1–5	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49)	23–19–5
48	L	February 19, 1949	2–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49)	23–20–5
49	T	February 21, 1949	2–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1948–49)	23–20–6
50	W	February 23, 1949	3–2	@ New York Rangers (1948–49)	24–20–6
51	T	February 27, 1949	2–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49)	24–20–7
52	T	March 2, 1949	1–1	Detroit Red Wings (1948–49)	24–20–8
53	L	March 5, 1949	0–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1948–49)	24–21–8
54	L	March 6, 1949	0–1	Montreal Canadiens (1948–49)	24–22–8
55	W	March 9, 1949	8–1	New York Rangers (1948–49)	25–22–8
56	W	March 12, 1949	2–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49)	26–22–8
57	W	March 13, 1949	6–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1948–49)	27–22–8
58	W	March 15, 1949	4–2	@ New York Rangers (1948–49)	28–22–8
59	L	March 16, 1949	3–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1948–49)	28–23–8
60	W	March 20, 1949	7–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49)	29–23–8

Playoffs

Toronto Maple Leafs 4, Boston Bruins 1

Having met the year before in the 1948 Semi-finals, the Leafs dispatched the Bruins again by the same 4-1 series score.

Game 1 at Maple Leaf Gardens saw Turk Broda earn a shutout. A Power play goal by the Leafs Harry Watson at 5:15 of the first with the Bruins Pat Egan in the box opened the scoring. Watson potted his second goal in the second frame while Max Bentley completed the 3-0 win with his goal in the third period.

Leafs #4 Harry Watson scores the winner, Game 2 of the 1949 Semi-finals, March 24, 1949.

Game 2 in Toronto was a closer match with the Leafs Ray Timgren scoring on the power play at 3:36 of the first with the Bruins Pat Egan again in the box. Woody Dumart scored a Shorthanded goal on the same Leafs PP to even the score. Late in the second period, the Bruins Paul Ronty scored his first playoff goal to put the Bruins up 2-1. Harry Watson was once again the hero, scoring twice in the third period to win it 3-2 for the Leafs.

Game 3 at the Boston Garden saw the Leafs open the scoring for the third consecutive game when Ted Kennedy scored at 8:46. The Bruins Grant Warwick tied it up and Dumart's 2nd of the playoffs had the Bruins up 2-1 at the end of the first period. The Leafs Bill Barilko took a tripping penalty in the second and Johnny Peirson extended the Bruins lead on the power play. However, the Leafs Gus Mortson scored a shorthanded goal on the same PP and then Joe Klukay tied it at 3-3 with 3 seconds left in the second period. Ed Sandford and Fleming Mackell traded goals in the third and the game went into overtime. Just after 17:00, a face-off in the Leafs zone saw Sandford win it against Ted Kennedy and get the puck to Dumart whose one-timer beat Broda for a 5-4 win for home team. Bruins all-star defenseman Jack Crawford had to leave the game with a rib injury and would miss game 4.

Game 4 in Boston saw Fleming Mackell opening the scoring for the Leafs for the 4th consecutive game. Johnny Peirson tied it up on the power play and the already playing without Crawford, the Bruins lost Jimmy Peters with an injured shoulder after he took a check from Bill Juzda. In the second period, after the Bruins Milt Schmidt left the game with an injury, the shorthanded Bruins couldn't hold off the Leafs who took a 2-1 lead on a goal by Sid Smith. In the third period, a slashing penalty to the Bruins Murray Henderson with 5 minutes left resulted in Smith scoring on the PP for a 3-1 Leafs win and a 3-1 stranglehold in the series.

Brimsek makes a save while #10 Fern Flaman and #16 Ed Harrison assist. Game 5 of the 1949 Semi-Finals, March 30, 1949.

Game 5 in Toronto again saw the Leafs score first when Cal Gardner scored on the PP. Playing without Crawford, Peters and Schmidt, the Bruins Grant Warwick tied it up, also on the PP, until Ray Timgren's trickler made it past Frank Brimsek to put the Leafs up 2-1 at the end of the first period. Six minor penalties were called in the second period but Max Bentley's second of the series was the only goal, putting the Leafs up 3-1. Desperate, the Bruins poured it on in the third but when Fern Flaman was called for boarding at 9:29, the fans littered the ice, causing a 15 minute delay before play started again. Johnny Peirson made it close with less than a minute left but the Leafs held on for a 3-2 win to take the series in 5 games.

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Record
1	March 22	Toronto Maple Leafs	3-0	Boston Bruins	1-0
2	March 24	Toronto Maple Leafs	3-2	Boston Bruins	2-0
3	March 26	Boston Bruins	5-4 (OT)	Toronto Maple Leafs	1-2
4	March 29	Boston Bruins	1-3	Toronto Maple Leafs	1-3
5	March 30	Toronto Maple Leafs	3-2	Boston Bruins	4-1

Player Stats

Regular Season

Scoring

#	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
20	Ronty, PaulPaul Ronty	C	60	20	29	49	11
23	Peirson, JohnnyJohnny Peirson	RW	59	22	21	43	45
18	Smith, KennyKenny Smith	LW	59	20	20	40	6
12	Warwick, GrantGrant Warwick	RW	58	22	15	37	14
7	Sandford, EdEd Sandford	LW	56	16	20	36	57
24	Babando, PetePete Babando	LW	58	19	14	33	34
15	Schmidt, MiltMilt Schmidt	C/D	44	10	22	32	25
9	Peters, JimmyJimmy Peters	RW	60	16	15	31	8
4	Egan, PatPat Egan	D	60	6	18	24	92
14	Dumart, WoodyWoody Dumart	LW	59	11	12	23	6
10	Flaman, FernFern Flaman	D	60	4	12	16	62
6	Crawford, JackJack Crawford	D	55	2	13	15	14
8	Henderson, MurrayMurray Henderson	D	60	2	9	11	28
16	Harrison, EdEd Harrison	C/LW	59	5	5	10	20
17	Creighton, DaveDave Creighton	C	12	1	3	4	0
22	Kryzanowski, EdEd Kryzanowski	D	36	1	3	4	10
19	Toppazzini, ZellioZellio Toppazzini	RW	5	1	1	2	0
21	Thompson, CliffCliff Thompson	D	10	0	1	1	0
1	Colvin, LesLes Colvin	G	1	0	0	0	0
1	Henry, GordGord Henry	G	1	0	0	0	0
1	Gelineau, JackJack Gelineau	G	4	0	0	0	0
1	Brimsek, FrankFrank Brimsek	G	54	0	0	0	2

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Brimsek, FrankFrank Brimsek	3240	54	26	20	8	147	2.72	1
Gelineau, JackJack Gelineau	240	4	2	2	0	12	3.00	0
Henry, GordGord Henry	60	1	1	0	0	0	0.00	1
Colvin, LesLes Colvin	60	1	0	1	0	4	4.00	0
Team:	3600	60	29	23	8	163	2.72	2

Playoffs

Scoring

#	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
23	Peirson, JohnnyJohnny Peirson	RW	5	3	1	4	4
7	Sandford, EdEd Sandford	LW	5	1	3	4	2
14	Dumart, WoodyWoody Dumart	LW	5	3	0	3	0
20	Ronty, PaulPaul Ronty	C	5	1	2	3	2
12	Warwick, GrantGrant Warwick	RW	5	2	0	2	0
15	Schmidt, MiltMilt Schmidt	C/D	4	0	2	2	8
18	Smith, KennyKenny Smith	LW	5	0	2	2	4
9	Peters, JimmyJimmy Peters	RW	4	0	1	1	0
10	Flaman, FernFern Flaman	D	5	0	1	1	8
8	Henderson, MurrayMurray Henderson	D	5	0	1	1	2
22	Kryzanowski, EdEd Kryzanowski	D	5	0	1	1	2
19	Toppazzini, ZellioZellio Toppazzini	RW	2	0	0	0	0
6	Crawford, JackJack Crawford	D	3	0	0	0	0
17	Creighton, DaveDave Creighton	C	3	0	0	0	0
16	Harrison, EdEd Harrison	C/LW	4	0	0	0	0
24	Babando, PetePete Babando	LW	4	0	0	0	2
4	Egan, PatPat Egan	D	5	0	0	0	16
1	Brimsek, FrankFrank Brimsek	G	5	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Brimsek, FrankFrank Brimsek	316	5	1	4	16	3.04	0
Team:	316	5	1	4	16	3.04	0

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 receive any awards this season.

Transactions

• Trade Jack McGill to the Montreal Canadiens for Gerry Brown and Harold Jackson on June 30, 1948.

Trivia

• No Bruins recorded a Hat trick this season.

Gallery

Ed Sandford sporting the Bruins new "Spoked B" jersey.

Frank Brimsek sporting the Bruins new "Spoked B" jersey.

Cliff Thompson sporting the Bruins new "Spoked B" jersey.

Johnny Peirson, Paul Ronty, Kenny Smith sport the new "Spoked B" jersey, 1948.

1948-49 Bruins defense - Jack Crawford, Pat Egan, Frank Brimsek, Ed Kryzanowski, Fern Flaman, Murray Henderson.

Bruins and Canadiens in the 1948-49 season.

Les Colvin played his only NHL game for the Bruins in 1949.

Brimsek stops Leafs #17 Cal Gardner in 1949 Semi-finals action.

Jack Crawford clears the puck away from Leafs #4 Harry Watson while goalie Frank Brimsek, #9 Jimmy Peters and Pat Egan watch during the 1949 Semi-finals.

Ray Timgren scores in Game 5 of the 1949 Semi-finals.

See Also

• 1948–49 NHL season

References

• 1948–49 Boston Bruins Games. Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-05-06.