1966–67 Boston Bruins season

1966–67 Boston Bruins
Division	6th NHL
1966–67 record	17–43–10
Goals for	182 (6th)
Goals against	253 (6th)
Team information
General manager	Hap Emms
Coach	Harry Sinden
Captain	Johnny Bucyk
Arena	Boston Garden
Average attendance	13,062
Team leaders
Goals	Pit Martin (20)
Assists	Johnny Bucyk (30)
Points	Johnny Bucyk (48)
Penalty minutes	Gilles Marotte (112)
Wins	Eddie Johnston (8)
Goals against average	Gerry Cheevers (3.33)

The 1966–67 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 43rd season in the NHL. The highlight of the season was the NHL debut of Bobby Orr. The Bruins finished in sixth and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Off-season

New Bruins coach Harry Sinden with Bobby Orr and Gilles Marotte at training camp, October 10, 1966.

After the multitude of trades and transactions in the previous season, GM Hap Emms made none during the off-season, save purchasing Wayne Connelly from the San Francisco Seals. In the front office, Milt Schmidt was promoted to assistant GM and Harry Sinden took over as coach.

A star defenseman who had won the 1958 World Hockey Championship with the Whitby Dunlops and a silver medal at the 1960 Olympics, Sinden had been a player-coach for two of the Bruins minor league affiliates, the Kingston Frontenacs and the Oklahoma City Blazers. Only 33 years old, he was the youngest coach in NHL history at the time. However, he possessed detailed knowledge of Boston's talent pipeline and had played with many of those who would be a part of the team's resurgence.

Pre-season

Bobby Orr during an exhibition game against the Detroit Red Wings in Hamilton, Ontario, September 29, 1966.

Training camp opened on September 10, 1966 in London, Ontario with 38 players in attendance. Bobby Orr had an assist in the exhibition season opener and as the pre-season wore on, was paired with Gilles Marotte. Orr suffered a slight shoulder muscle tear during the October 1 game and was kept out of the line-up for the games on October 2 and 7.

September 23, 1966: Boston 1, Toronto Maple Leafs 1 @ London, Ontario
September 24, 1966: Boston 6, Oklahoma City Blazers 4 @ Oshawa, Ontario
September 29, 1966: Boston 4, Detroit Red Wings 2 @ Hamilton, Ontario
September 30, 1966: New York Rangers 3, Boston 0 @ London, Ontario
October 1, 1966: New York Rangers 3, Boston 0 @ Kingston, Ontario
October 2, 1966: Boston 3, Toronto Maple Leafs 1 @ Peterborough, Ontario
October 7, 1966: Detroit Red Wings 3, Boston 1 @ London, Ontario
October 8, 1966: Boston 5, Rochester Americans 2 @ Rochester, New York
October 11, 1966: New York Rangers 3, @ Boston 1
October 12, 1966: @ Boston 3, Montreal Canadiens 0

Forbes Kennedy and Albert Langlois, who'd both played the previous season, did not make the Bruins line-up out of training camp. Bobby Orr had worn jerseys #19 and #27 during camp but with the departure of Langlois (who was sold to the Los Angeles Blades), Orr was given the jersey number Langlois had worn the year before, #4.

Regular Season

John Bucyk became the Bruins 12th captain in 1966.

With Leo Boivin being traded the previous season, John Bucyk became team captain. After finishing out of the playoffs for seven consecutive seasons, many of the players who'd lead the Bruins to the post season in 1968 were in place. The goaltending tandem of Gerry Cheevers and Eddie Johnston shared the duties with Bernie Parent, the first time in NHL history that three goaltenders worked in regular rotation. Defensemen Ted Green, Don Awrey, Gary Doak and Rick Smith would all be part of the 1970 Stanley Cup team as would forwards John Bucyk, John McKenzie, Ed Westfall and Derek Sanderson, who all played in 1966-67. The Bruins had high hopes for young defensemen Gilles Marotte, Bob Woytowich and Joe Watson. Ron Schock played his first full NHL season while Wayne Connelly had his fourth stint with the Bruins.

However, the greatest reason for hope the Bruins would end their playoff drought was the debut of 18 year old Bobby Orr. The most heralded junior player since Jean Béliveau, Orr had shattered every record for junior defensemen and had scored 94 points in only 47 games in his last year playing for the Oshawa Generals. Orr easily made the team out of training camp and was given jersey #4, which the departed Al Langlois had last worn.

Bobby Orr impressed and had an assist in his first game, October 19, 1966.

Bobby Orr made his NHL debut in the season opener on October 19, 1966 and had an assist in a 6–2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. Hockey critics were impressed, citing that he played defense like a veteran, moved opponents from around the net, blocked shots and made adept plays in moving the puck from his own end. In Orr's third game on October 23, he picked off a pass from John Ferguson and fired a screen shot that tied up the game with the Montreal Canadiens for his first NHL goal. The Bruins demonstrated their improvement in October with close losses against Montreal and had a 1-3-1 record.

Bobby Orr, Gerry Cheevers, Pit Martin, Joe Watson, November 10, 1966.

In the November 9, 1966 game versus the Chicago Black Hawks, Ed Johnston was hurt, requiring Bernie Parent to sub in for him. Gerry Cheevers was recalled, played the next eight consecutive games and showed he was ready to be an NHL starter. Tom Williams returned from injury on November 13 (he didn't start the season due to a right knee ligament strain) and the Bruins experienced relative success, with a 5-5-2 record in the month while beating every team at least once except the surprising New York Rangers. The top line of Bucyk, Murray Oliver, John McKenzie paced the Bruins scoring, while the Pit Martin, Ron Schock, Wayne Connelly line provided secondary scoring. Orr had his first fight on November 19 against Vic Hadfield of the Rangers and then his first two goal game on November 23, also against the Rangers. Ed Johnston returned for the Bruins last game of November on the 27th, which Orr missed and Boston lost 5-4. The Bruins were just one point out of a playoff spot as the month ended.

Wayne Connelly, Glen Sather, Dave Balon, Gerry Cheevers, December 28, 1966.

However, disaster struck during the December 4, 1966 game versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs Marcel Pronovost caught Bobby Orr with a hip check along the boards. Orr's left knee was twisted, straining the ligaments and resulting in him missing eight games. The Bruins only won once with Orr out of the line-up, continued to go winless after he returned and had a terrible 1-10-4 record in December. Scoring only 25 goals in 15 games during the month, it effectively ending any chance of making the playoffs. Williams and Bob Dillabough had no goals while first line center Murray Oliver had only 13 points total by month's end.

Team scoring improved in January as Tommy Williams returned to playing with his old "BOW Line" partners Bucyk and Oliver and the line began scoring. However, Williams was again lost to injury, and was in and out of the line-up the rest of the season. After playing 18 games and scoring twice, J. P. Parisé was sent to the minors and Wayne Rivers was recalled. Ed Johnston played the majority of the games in January and the Bruins had a 5-7-0 record in which many of the losses were by one goal.

Bobby Orr scores, February 18, 1967.

The close losses continued into February as Bill Goldsworthy was called up and scored his first NHL goal during the February 11, 1967 game versus Montreal. However, the Bruins defense leader Ted Green injured his knee in this game. Requiring surgery, he missed the remainder of the season and Gary Doak was recalled. Without Green, the Bruins won only 4 of their last 20 games of the season. Skip Krake was recalled and scored his first NHL goal on Valentine's Day, 1967. He'd show promise and finish with 6 goals in 15 games. Orr continued scoring and accepted all fighting challenges. Showing prowess with his fists, veterans stopped running him. Despite playing on a team that allowed 71 more goals than it scored, Orr finished with a plus/minus of +1 and was second on the team in penalty minutes, behind Gilles Marotte. Marotte had the worst plus/minus, at -41. This would be one factor that led to him being traded.

Bobby Orr accepts the Calder Memorial Trophy.

Bobby Orr finished the season with 41 points, second only to veteran defenseman Pierre Pilote of Chicago. Named to the Second All-Star Team, he won the Calder Memorial Trophy by a wide margin, with his defense partner Joe Watson finishing fourth in voting. Orr was sixth in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy and third for the James Norris Memorial Trophy as best defenseman. The winner of the Norris Trophy, Harry Howell famously predicted that he was glad to win when he did, because "Orr will own this trophy from now on."

Final Standings

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

National Hockey League

	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Chicago Black Hawks	70	41	17	12	94	264	170	757
Montreal Canadiens	70	32	25	13	77	202	188	879
Toronto Maple Leafs	70	32	27	11	75	204	211	736
New York Rangers	70	30	28	12	72	188	189	664
Detroit Red Wings	70	27	39	4	58	212	241	719
Boston Bruins	70	17	43	10	44	182	253	764

Game Log

Regular Season Schedule

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 19, 1966	6–2	Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	1–0–0
2	L	October 22, 1966	1–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	1–1–0
3	L	October 23, 1966	2–3	Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	1–2–0
4	T	October 29, 1966	3–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	1–2–1
5	L	October 30, 1966	1–8	@ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	1–3–1
6	W	November 1, 1966	3–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	2–3–1
7	L	November 3, 1966	1–7	New York Rangers (1966–67)	2–4–1
8	L	November 6, 1966	2–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	2–5–1
9	T	November 9, 1966	3–3	@ New York Rangers (1966–67)	2–5–2
10	W	November 10, 1966	4–0	Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	3–5–2
11	W	November 13, 1966	2–1	Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	4–5–2
12	T	November 19, 1966	3–3	New York Rangers (1966–67)	4–5–3
13	W	November 20, 1966	5–2	Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	5–5–3
14	L	November 23, 1966	4–5	@ New York Rangers (1966–67)	5–6–3
15	W	November 24, 1966	8–3	Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	6–6–3
16	L	November 26, 1966	2–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	6–7–3
17	L	November 27, 1966	4–5	Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	6–8–3
18	L	December 1, 1966	1–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	6–9–3
19	T	December 3, 1966	2–2	New York Rangers (1966–67)	6–9–4
20	L	December 4, 1966	3–8	Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	6–10–4
21	L	December 7, 1966	2–4	@ New York Rangers (1966–67)	6–11–4
22	L	December 8, 1966	2–10	Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	6–12–4
23	T	December 11, 1966	2–2	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	6–12–5
24	L	December 14, 1966	1–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	6–13–5
25	L	December 15, 1966	0–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	6–14–5
26	W	December 18, 1966	3–1	Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	7–14–5
27	L	December 21, 1966	1–5	@ New York Rangers (1966–67)	7–15–5
28	L	December 24, 1966	0–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	7–16–5
29	L	December 25, 1966	2–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	7–17–5
30	T	December 27, 1966	4–4	Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	7–17–6
31	T	December 28, 1966	1–1	@ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	7–17–7
32	L	December 31, 1966	1–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	7–18–7
33	L	January 1, 1967	2–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	7–19–7
34	L	January 7, 1967	2–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	7–20–7
35	W	January 8, 1967	3–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	8–20–7
36	L	January 12, 1967	0–3	New York Rangers (1966–67)	8–21–7
37	W	January 14, 1967	5–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	9–21–7
38	L	January 15, 1967	1–3	Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	9–22–7
39	L	January 19, 1967	2–4	Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	9–23–7
40	W	January 21, 1967	6–2	New York Rangers (1966–67)	10–23–7
41	W	January 22, 1967	3–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	11–23–7
42	L	January 25, 1967	1–2	@ New York Rangers (1966–67)	11–24–7
43	W	January 26, 1967	4–1	@ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	12–24–7
44	L	January 29, 1967	2–3	Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	12–25–7
45	L	February 1, 1967	1–6	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	12–26–7
46	L	February 2, 1967	3–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	12–27–7
47	L	February 4, 1967	3–4	New York Rangers (1966–67)	12–28–7
48	L	February 5, 1967	0–5	Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	12–29–7
49	W	February 8, 1967	2–1	@ New York Rangers (1966–67)	13–29–7
50	L	February 11, 1967	3–4	Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	13–30–7
51	L	February 12, 1967	1–2	Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	13–31–7
52	W	February 14, 1967	6–3	Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	14–31–7
53	W	February 16, 1967	5–1	@ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	15–31–7
54	L	February 18, 1967	3–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	15–32–7
55	T	February 23, 1967	2–2	@ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	15–32–8
56	L	February 25, 1967	3–6	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	15–33–8
57	T	February 26, 1967	3–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	15–33–9
58	L	March 2, 1967	2–5	Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	15–34–9
59	T	March 4, 1967	4–4	New York Rangers (1966–67)	15–34–10
60	L	March 5, 1967	3–5	Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	15–35–10
61	L	March 8, 1967	1–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	15–36–10
62	W	March 12, 1967	7–3	Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	16–36–10
63	L	March 15, 1967	2–11	@ Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	16–37–10
64	W	March 18, 1967	5–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1966–67)	17–37–10
65	L	March 19, 1967	1–3	@ New York Rangers (1966–67)	17–38–10
66	L	March 23, 1967	3–5	Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	17–39–10
67	L	March 25, 1967	3–4	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	17–40–10
68	L	March 26, 1967	3–6	Montreal Canadiens (1966–67)	17–41–10
69	L	March 30, 1967	1–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1966–67)	17–42–10
70	L	April 2, 1967	2–5	Toronto Maple Leafs (1966–67)	17–43–10

Playoffs

• The Bruins did not qualify for the post season.

Player Stats

Regular Season

Scoring

#	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
9	Bucyk, JohnJohn Bucyk	LW	59	18	30	48	12	4	0	1
7	Martin, PitPit Martin	C	70	20	22	42	40	4	0	1
4	Orr, BobbyBobby Orr	D	61	13	28	41	102	3	1	0
19	McKenzie, JohnJohn McKenzie	RW	69	17	19	36	98	3	1	5
18	Westfall, EdEd Westfall	D/RW	70	12	24	36	26	1	0	0
16	Oliver, MurrayMurray Oliver	C	65	9	26	35	16	1	0	2
17	Connelly, WayneWayne Connelly	C	64	13	17	30	12	1	0	1
23	Schock, RonRon Schock	C	66	10	20	30	8	1	0	1
28	Murphy, RonRon Murphy	LW	39	11	16	27	6	0	0	1
12, 24	Stewart, RonRon Stewart	RW	56	14	10	24	31	5	0	1
11	Williams, TommyTommy Williams	RW	29	8	13	21	2	2	0	2
22	Dillabough, BobBob Dillabough	C	60	6	12	18	14	0	1	1
6	Green, TedTed Green	D	47	6	10	16	67	5	0	1
10	Marotte, GillesGilles Marotte	D	67	7	8	15	112	1	1	0
14	Watson, JoeJoe Watson	D	69	2	13	15	38	1	0	0
8	Woytowich, BobBob Woytowich	D	64	2	7	9	43	0	0	0
21	Krake, SkipSkip Krake	C	15	6	2	8	4	2	0	0
26	Goldsworthy, BillBill Goldsworthy	RW	18	3	5	8	21	0	0	0
27	Parise, J.P.J.P. Parise	LW	18	2	2	4	10	0	0	0
21, 27	Rivers, WayneWayne Rivers	RW	8	2	1	3	6	0	0	0
24	Awrey, DonDon Awrey	D	4	1	0	1	6	0	0	0
29	Lonsberry, RossRoss Lonsberry	LW	8	0	1	1	2	0	0	0
25	Doak, GaryGary Doak	D	29	0	1	1	50	0	0	0
20	Smith, DallasDallas Smith	D	33	0	1	1	24	0	0	0
1	Johnston, EddieEddie Johnston	G	34	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
29	Wilkins, BarryBarry Wilkins	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	Sanderson, DerekDerek Sanderson	C	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	Beverley, NickNick Beverley	D	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	Buchanan, RonRon Buchanan	C	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	Hodgson, TedTed Hodgson	RW	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	Sather, GlenGlen Sather	LW	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	Parent, BernieBernie Parent	G	18	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
30	Cheevers, GerryGerry Cheevers	G	22	0	0	0	12	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Johnston, EddieEddie Johnston	1880	34	8	21	2	116	3.70	0
Cheevers, GerryGerry Cheevers	1298	22	5	10	6	72	3.33	1
Parent, BernieBernie Parent	1022	18	4	12	2	62	3.64	0
Team:	4200	70	17	43	10	250	3.57	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

• Calder Memorial Trophy: Bobby Orr
• Bobby Orr, Defenceman, NHL Second Team All-Star

Transactions

• The Bruins made no trades nor did they make any selections in the intra-league draft.

Draft Picks

The 1966 NHL Entry Draft involved picking 18-year-olds. Unlike all the past drafts, several of the players picked played for the Bruins with Rick Smith and Garnet "Ace" Bailey playing on the two Stanley Cup winning teams in the 1970's.

Round	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (league)
1	Barry Gibbs	D	Canada	Estevan Bruins
2	Rick Smith	D	Canada	Hamilton Red Wings
3	Garnet Bailey	LW	Canada	Edmonton Oil Kings
4	Tom Webster	RW	Canada	Niagara Falls Flyers

Trivia

• No Bruins recorded a Hat trick this season.

Gallery

Bobby Orr wearing #19 during a team practice, September 1966.

Joe Watson, Wayne Connelly, Ross Lonsberry, Bobby Orr and Ted Rodgson at Bruins training camp, October 10, 1966.

Ed Westfall, Claude Larose, Ted Green, Gerry Cheevers, December 28, 1966.

Bobby Orr, Denis DeJordy and Ed Van Impe (who was runner-up to Orr for the Calder Memorial Trophy) in 1966-67 season action.

Bernie Parent, Ron Schock, Henri Richard, Gary Doak in 1966-67 season action.

Tom Williams, Harry Sinden, Pit Martin, Bobby Orr, Ron Stewart in 1966-67 season.

Paul Henderson and Bobby Orr in 1966-67 season action.

Doug Mohns, Bernie Parent, Bobby Orr and #7 Phil Esposito in 1966-67 season action.

Tom Williams, Pete Stemkowski, Bobby Orr in 1966-67 action.

Video

A minute and a half clip showing Bobby Rousseau scoring while Bobby Orr serves his first NHL penalty on October 22, 1966.

Bruins-Habs, Bobby Rousseau scores (1966-67)

The second and third period of the Bruins-Leafs match from November 26, 1966.

1966 11 26 TORONTO VS BOSTON ORIG CBC Telecast Bobby Orr Rookie

Nearly 10 minutes of random clips from the 1966-67 season set to Mexican horn music. At 1:45, Boston's Wayne Connelly scores, assisted by Ron Schock, which tied the December 28, 1966 game versus the Montreal Canadiens at 1-1.

Blades and Brass

References

• Bruins on Hockey Database