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51-52BosBru
1951–52 Boston Bruins
Division 4th NHL
1951–52 record 25–29–16
Goals for 162 (5th)
Goals against 176 (4th)
Team information
General manager Art Ross
Coach Lynn Patrick
Captain Milt Schmidt
Alternate captains Bill Quackenbush
Ed Sandford
Arena Boston Garden
Team leaders
Goals Milt Schmidt (21)
Assists Johnny Peirson (30)
Points Milt Schmidt
Johnny Peirson (50)
Penalty minutes Gus Kyle (127)
Wins Jim Henry (25)
Goals against average Jim Henry (2.51)

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[]

Mackell jersey

Extra arm stripes were added in 1951 as seen on Fleming Mackell's jersey.

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.

Pentti Lund

Former rookie of the year Pentti Lund suffered a severe eye injury in 1951.

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.

Final Standings[]

National Hockey League
GP W L T Pts GF GA
Detroit Red Wings 70 44 14 12 100 215 133
Montreal Canadiens 70 34 26 10 78 195 164
Toronto Maple Leafs 70 29 25 16 74 168 157
Boston Bruins 70 25 29 16 66 162 176
New York Rangers 70 23 34 13 59 192 219
Chicago Black Hawks 70 17 44 9 43 158 241

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[]

1948-55 Bruins logo Regular Season Results 1980s Bruins logo
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 L October 11, 1951 0–1 @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 0–1–0
2 W October 13, 1951 2–1 @ Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 1–1–0
3 L October 14, 1951 3–4 Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 1–2–0
4 L October 17, 1951 2–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 1–3–0
5 T October 21, 1951 1–1 New York Rangers (1951–52) 1–3–1
6 W October 24, 1951 3–1 @ New York Rangers (1951–52) 2–3–1
7 W October 28, 1951 2–0 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 3–3–1
8 W November 1, 1951 3–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 4–3–1
9 W November 4, 1951 4–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 5–3–1
10 T November 6, 1951 0–0 Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 5–3–2
11 L November 8, 1951 2–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 5–4–2
12 T November 11, 1951 1–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 5–4–3
13 L November 13, 1951 1–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 5–5–3
14 T November 17, 1951 1–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 5–5–4
15 T November 18, 1951 3–3 Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 5–5–5
16 L November 20, 1951 0–2 Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 5–6–5
17 T November 21, 1951 3–3 @ New York Rangers (1951–52) 5–6–6
18 L November 25, 1951 1–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 5–7–6
19 T November 27, 1951 1–1 New York Rangers (1951–52) 5–7–7
20 T November 29, 1951 1–1 @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 5–7–8
21 W December 2, 1951 4–1 Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 6–7–8
22 W December 4, 1951 3–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 7–7–8
23 W December 5, 1951 3–2 @ New York Rangers (1951–52) 8–7–8
24 L December 9, 1951 3–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 8–8–8
25 W December 11, 1951 4–2 New York Rangers (1951–52) 9–8–8
26 L December 12, 1951 3–6 @ New York Rangers (1951–52) 9–9–8
27 L December 15, 1951 1–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 9–10–8
28 L December 16, 1951 2–4 Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 9–11–8
29 T December 18, 1951 5–5 Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 9–11–9
30 L December 22, 1951 2–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 9–12–9
31 W December 23, 1951 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 10–12–9
32 L December 25, 1951 2–6 Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 10–13–9
33 L December 29, 1951 0–4 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 10–14–9
34 L January 1, 1952 2–4 New York Rangers (1951–52) 10–15–9
35 W January 5, 1952 3–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 11–15–9
36 L January 6, 1952 2–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 11–16–9
37 W January 8, 1952 7–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 12–16–9
38 W January 13, 1952 5–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 13–16–9
39 L January 15, 1952 0–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 13–17–9
40 L January 17, 1952 0–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 13–18–9
41 L January 19, 1952 2–6 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 13–19–9
42 W January 20, 1952 2–1 Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 14–19–9
43 T January 22, 1952 3–3 New York Rangers (1951–52) 14–19–10
44 L January 26, 1952 3–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 14–20–10
45 L January 27, 1952 0–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 14–21–10
46 W January 29, 1952 3–1 Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 15–21–10
47 T January 31, 1952 0–0 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 15–21–11
48 T February 2, 1952 1–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 15–21–12
49 W February 3, 1952 1–0 Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 16–21–12
50 W February 5, 1952 5–0 Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 17–21–12
51 L February 9, 1952 2–4 New York Rangers (1951–52) 17–22–12
52 L February 10, 1952 0–2 Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 17–23–12
53 L February 13, 1952 2–6 @ New York Rangers (1951–52) 17–24–12
54 W February 17, 1952 5–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 18–24–12
55 L February 18, 1952 2–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 18–25–12
56 T February 21, 1952 3–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 18–25–13
57 L February 24, 1952 2–5 @ New York Rangers (1951–52) 18–26–13
58 L February 26, 1952 3–4 Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 18–27–13
59 T March 1, 1952 1–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 18–27–14
60 T March 2, 1952 2–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 18–27–15
61 W March 4, 1952 4–1 New York Rangers (1951–52) 19–27–15
62 L March 6, 1952 1–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 19–28–15
63 W March 9, 1952 4–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 20–28–15
64 W March 11, 1952 3–2 Detroit Red Wings (1951–52) 21–28–15
65 T March 13, 1952 3–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 21–28–16
66 W March 15, 1952 2–0 @ Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 22–28–16
67 W March 16, 1952 2–1 Montreal Canadiens (1951–52) 23–28–16
68 W March 18, 1952 4–0 Chicago Black Hawks (1951–52) 24–28–16
69 L March 19, 1952 4–6 @ New York Rangers (1951–52) 24–29–16
70 W March 23, 1952 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1951–52) 25–29–16

Playoffs[]

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.

# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 March 25 Boston Bruins 1-5 Montreal Canadiens 0-1
2 March 27 Boston Bruins 0-4 Montreal Canadiens 0-2
3 March 30 Montreal Canadiens 1-4 Boston Bruins 2-1
4 April 1 Montreal Canadiens 2-3 Boston Bruins 2-2
5 April 3 Boston Bruins 1-0 Montreal Canadiens 3-2
6 April 6 Montreal Canadiens 3-2 (2OT) Boston Bruins 3-3
7 April 8 Boston Bruins 1-3 Montreal Canadiens 3-4

Player Stats[]

Regular Season[]

Scoring
# Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
15 Schmidt, MiltMilt Schmidt C/D 69 21 29 50 57
23 Peirson, JohnnyJohnny Peirson RW 68 20 30 50 30
4, 17 Creighton, DaveDave Creighton C 49 20 17 37 18
18, 25 McIntyre, JackJack McIntyre LW/D 52 12 19 31 18
9 Fisher, DuncDunc Fisher RW 65 15 12 27 2
7 Sandford, EdEd Sandford LW 65 13 12 25 54
24 Chevrefils, RealReal Chevrefils LW 33 8 17 25 8
12 Sullivan, RedRed Sullivan C 67 12 12 24 24
11 Quackenbush, BillBill Quackenbush D 69 2 17 19 6
16 Brown, AdamAdam Brown LW 33 8 9 17 6
14 Dumart, WoodyWoody Dumart LW 39 5 8 13 0
6 Kyle, GusGus Kyle D 69 1 12 13 127
10 Laycoe, HalHal Laycoe D 70 5 7 12 61
21 Ezinicki, BillBill Ezinicki RW 28 5 5 10 47
20 Mackell, FlemingFleming Mackell C 30 1 8 9 24
22 Kryzanowski, EdEd Kryzanowski D 70 5 3 8 33
24 Ferguson, LorneLorne Ferguson LW 27 3 4 7 14
16 Labine, LeoLeo Labine RW 15 2 4 6 9
8 Henderson, MurrayMurray Henderson D 56 0 6 6 51
19 Lund, PenttiPentti Lund RW 23 0 5 5 0
4 Lynn, VicVic Lynn LW/D 12 2 2 4 4
20 Barry, RayRay Barry C 18 1 2 3 6
17 Bauer, BobbyBobby Bauer RW 1 1 1 2 0
8, 20 Morrison, JimJim Morrison D 14 0 2 2 2
1 Henry, JimJim Henry G 70 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Henry, JimJim Henry 4200 70 25 29 16 176 2.51 7
Team: 4200 70 25 29 16 176 2.51 7

Playoffs[]

Scoring
# Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
7 Sandford, EdEd Sandford LW 7 2 2 4 0
20 Mackell, FlemingFleming Mackell C 5 2 1 3 12
17 Creighton, DaveDave Creighton C 7 2 1 3 2
15 Schmidt, MiltMilt Schmidt C/D 7 2 1 3 0
18 McIntyre, JackJack McIntyre LW/D 7 1 2 3 2
11 Quackenbush, BillBill Quackenbush D 7 0 3 3 0
24 Chevrefils, RealReal Chevrefils LW 7 1 1 2 6
10 Laycoe, HalHal Laycoe D 7 1 1 2 11
23 Peirson, JohnnyJohnny Peirson RW 7 0 2 2 4
19 Lund, PenttiPentti Lund RW 2 1 0 1 0
16 Labine, LeoLeo Labine RW 5 0 1 1 4
14 Dumart, WoodyWoody Dumart LW 7 0 1 1 0
9 Fisher, DuncDunc Fisher RW 2 0 0 0 0
6 Kyle, GusGus Kyle D 2 0 0 0 4
4 Armstrong, BobBob Armstrong D 5 0 0 0 2
8 Henderson, MurrayMurray Henderson D 7 0 0 0 4
22 Kryzanowski, EdEd Kryzanowski D 7 0 0 0 0
12 Sullivan, RedRed Sullivan C 7 0 0 0 0
1 Henry, JimJim Henry G 7 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Henry, JimJim Henry 448 7 3 4 18 2.41 1
Team: 448 7 3 4 18 2.41 1

[1]

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[]

Transactions[]

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

See Also[]

References[]

  1. 1951-52 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com. hockey-reference.com. Retrieved on 2009-06-11.
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