1973–74 Boston Bruins season

1973–74 Boston Bruins
Division	1st East
1973–74 record	52–17–9
Goals for	349 (1st)
Goals against	221 (3rd)
Team information
General manager	Harry Sinden
Coach	Bep Guidolin
Captain	Johnny Bucyk
Alternate captains	Phil Esposito Bobby Orr
Arena	Boston Garden
Average attendance	14,842
Team leaders
Goals	Phil Esposito (68)
Assists	Bobby Orr (90)
Points	Phil Esposito (145)
Penalty minutes	Carol Vadnais (123)
Wins	Gilles Gilbert (34)
Goals against average	Ross Brooks (2.36)

The 1973–74 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 50th season in the NHL. The Bruins finished first in the East Division and the league but lost in the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals to the Philadelphia Flyers 4 games to 2.

Regular Season

Final Standings

East Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Boston Bruins	78	52	17	9	349	221	113
Montreal Canadiens	78	45	24	9	293	240	99
New York Rangers	78	40	24	14	300	251	94
Toronto Maple Leafs	78	35	27	16	274	230	86
Buffalo Sabres	78	32	34	12	242	250	76
Detroit Red Wings	78	29	39	10	255	319	68
Vancouver Canucks	78	24	43	11	224	296	59
New York Islanders	78	19	41	18	182	247	56

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

Game Log

Regular Season Schedule

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	W	October 10, 1973	6–4	Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)	1–0–0
2	W	October 13, 1973	9–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)	2–0–0
3	W	October 14, 1973	3–2	New York Islanders (1973–74)	3–0–0
4	L	October 17, 1973	3–4	@ Atlanta Flames (1973–74)	3–1–0
5	W	October 21, 1973	8–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)	4–1–0
6	L	October 23, 1973	2–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1973–74)	4–2–0
7	W	October 25, 1973	9–4	Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)	5–2–0
8	W	October 27, 1973	3–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)	6–2–0
9	T	October 28, 1973	3–3	Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)	6–2–1
10	W	October 31, 1973	5–0	@ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)	7–2–1
11	L	November 3, 1973	4–6	@ New York Islanders (1973–74)	7–3–1
12	W	November 4, 1973	4–1	California Golden Seals (1973–74)	8–3–1
13	L	November 7, 1973	3–7	@ New York Rangers (1973–74)	8–4–1
14	W	November 8, 1973	2–1	Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)	9–4–1
15	W	November 11, 1973	4–2	Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)	10–4–1
16	W	November 14, 1973	4–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)	11–4–1
17	W	November 15, 1973	10–2	New York Rangers (1973–74)	12–4–1
18	W	November 17, 1973	8–0	Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)	13–4–1
19	W	November 18, 1973	5–2	Atlanta Flames (1973–74)	14–4–1
20	W	November 22, 1973	4–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)	15–4–1
21	W	November 25, 1973	3–1	Los Angeles Kings (1973–74)	16–4–1
22	T	November 28, 1973	3–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)	16–4–2
23	W	December 2, 1973	5–3	New York Islanders (1973–74)	17–4–2
24	W	December 8, 1973	5–2	Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)	18–4–2
25	T	December 9, 1973	3–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)	18–4–3
26	W	December 13, 1973	4–2	Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)	19–4–3
27	W	December 15, 1973	7–2	Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)	20–4–3
28	W	December 16, 1973	5–3	California Golden Seals (1973–74)	21–4–3
29	W	December 20, 1973	6–5	Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)	22–4–3
30	L	December 22, 1973	2–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)	22–5–3
31	W	December 23, 1973	4–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)	23–5–3
32	L	December 29, 1973	1–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74)	23–6–3
33	W	December 30, 1973	8–1	@ California Golden Seals (1973–74)	24–6–3
34	T	January 1, 1974	2–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)	24–6–4
35	W	January 4, 1974	4–2	@ New York Rangers (1973–74)	25–6–4
36	W	January 5, 1974	6–2	@ New York Islanders (1973–74)	26–6–4
37	T	January 10, 1974	2–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)	26–6–5
38	L	January 12, 1974	3–7	Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)	26–7–5
39	W	January 13, 1974	5–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)	27–7–5
40	T	January 16, 1974	5–5	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)	27–7–6
41	W	January 19, 1974	8–0	@ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)	28–7–6
42	W	January 20, 1974	5–2	Los Angeles Kings (1973–74)	29–7–6
43	W	January 22, 1974	1–0	@ St. Louis Blues (1973–74)	30–7–6
44	L	January 24, 1974	1–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)	30–8–6
45	W	January 26, 1974	4–0	@ New York Islanders (1973–74)	31–8–6
46	W	January 27, 1974	5–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)	32–8–6
47	W	January 31, 1974	4–2	Atlanta Flames (1973–74)	33–8–6
48	L	February 2, 1974	2–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)	33–9–6
49	W	February 3, 1974	5–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)	34–9–6
50	W	February 7, 1974	5–3	St. Louis Blues (1973–74)	35–9–6
51	W	February 9, 1974	5–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)	36–9–6
52	W	February 10, 1974	4–0	Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)	37–9–6
53	W	February 13, 1974	9–6	@ California Golden Seals (1973–74)	38–9–6
54	W	February 15, 1974	4–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1973–74)	39–9–6
55	W	February 16, 1974	5–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74)	40–9–6
56	T	February 20, 1974	5–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1973–74)	40–9–7
57	W	February 23, 1974	6–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1973–74)	41–9–7
58	L	February 24, 1974	2–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)	41–10–7
59	W	February 28, 1974	8–1	Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)	42–10–7
60	T	March 2, 1974	4–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)	42–10–8
61	L	March 3, 1974	4–6	Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)	42–11–8
62	L	March 5, 1974	1–4	@ Atlanta Flames (1973–74)	42–12–8
63	W	March 6, 1974	8–0	@ St. Louis Blues (1973–74)	43–12–8
64	T	March 9, 1974	4–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1973–74)	43–12–9
65	L	March 10, 1974	2–6	@ California Golden Seals (1973–74)	43–13–9
66	W	March 12, 1974	4–0	Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)	44–13–9
67	W	March 14, 1974	4–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1973–74)	45–13–9
68	W	March 16, 1974	5–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)	46–13–9
69	W	March 17, 1974	5–2	New York Rangers (1973–74)	47–13–9
70	W	March 21, 1974	7–0	St. Louis Blues (1973–74)	48–13–9
71	L	March 23, 1974	3–4	Atlanta Flames (1973–74)	48–14–9
72	W	March 24, 1974	6–3	Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)	49–14–9
73	W	March 27, 1974	3–2	@ New York Rangers (1973–74)	50–14–9
74	L	March 30, 1974	3–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74)	50–15–9
75	W	March 31, 1974	6–1	Detroit Red Wings (1973–74)	51–15–9
76	L	April 3, 1974	2–6	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1973–74)	51–16–9
77	L	April 6, 1974	2–6	@ Montreal Canadiens (1973–74)	51–17–9
78	W	April 7, 1974	6–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1973–74)	52–17–9

Player Stats

Regular Season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Esposito, PhilPhil Esposito	C	78	68	77	145	58	51	14	4	9
Orr, BobbyBobby Orr	D	74	32	90	122	82	84	11	0	4
Hodge, KenKen Hodge	RW	76	50	55	105	43	40	15	0	11
Cashman, WayneWayne Cashman	LW	78	30	59	89	111	49	5	2	2
Bucyk, JohnJohn Bucyk	LW	76	31	44	75	8	13	12	0	9
Vadnais, CarolCarol Vadnais	D	78	16	43	59	123	35	6	0	1
Marcotte, DonDon Marcotte	LW	78	24	26	50	18	44	0	3	3
Sheppard, GreggGregg Sheppard	C	75	16	31	47	21	23	0	3	3
O'Reilly, TerryTerry O'Reilly	RW	76	11	24	35	94	30	0	0	1
Savard, AndreAndre Savard	C	72	16	14	30	39	16	0	0	1
Smith, DallasDallas Smith	D	77	6	21	27	64	26	0	0	0
Forbes, DaveDave Forbes	LW	63	10	16	26	41	9	0	0	1
Oddleifson, ChrisChris Oddleifson	C	49	10	11	21	25	16	0	0	1
Sanderson, DerekDerek Sanderson	C	29	8	12	20	48	17	0	0	1
Schmautz, BobbyBobby Schmautz	RW	27	7	13	20	31	6	1	0	1
O'Donnell, FredFred O'Donnell	RW	43	5	7	12	43	3	0	0	1
Sims, AlAl Sims	D	76	3	9	12	22	64	0	0	1
Edestrand, DarrylDarryl Edestrand	D	52	3	8	11	20	19	1	0	2
LeDuc, RichRich LeDuc	C	28	3	3	6	12	3	0	0	0
Doak, GaryGary Doak	D	69	0	4	4	44	-2	0	0	0
Broderick, KenKen Broderick	G	5	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Roberts, DougDoug Roberts	RW	7	0	1	1	2	2	0	0	0
Gilbert, GillesGilles Gilbert	G	54	0	1	1	9	0	0	0	0
Beverley, NickNick Beverley	D	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Gryp, BobBob Gryp	LW	1	0	0	0	0	-2	0	0	0
Gibson, DougDoug Gibson	C	2	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Hynes, DaveDave Hynes	LW	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Simmons, AlAl Simmons	D	3	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0
Brooks, RossRoss Brooks	G	21	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Gilbert, GillesGilles Gilbert	3210	54	34	12	8	158	2.95	6
Brooks, RossRoss Brooks	1170	21	16	3	0	46	2.36	3
Broderick, KenKen Broderick	300	5	2	2	1	16	3.20	0
Team:	4680	78	52	17	9	220	2.82	9

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Sheppard, GreggGregg Sheppard	C	16	11	8	19	4	0	2	2
Bucyk, JohnJohn Bucyk	LW	16	8	10	18	4	3	0	1
Orr, BobbyBobby Orr	D	16	4	14	18	28	1	0	2
Hodge, KenKen Hodge	RW	16	6	10	16	16	2	0	1
Esposito, PhilPhil Esposito	C	16	9	5	14	25	4	0	2
Cashman, WayneWayne Cashman	LW	16	5	9	14	46	1	0	1
Vadnais, CarolCarol Vadnais	D	16	1	12	13	42	1	0	0
Schmautz, BobbyBobby Schmautz	RW	16	3	6	9	44	0	0	0
Smith, DallasDallas Smith	D	16	1	7	8	20	0	0	0
O'Reilly, TerryTerry O'Reilly	RW	16	2	5	7	38	0	0	0
Marcotte, DonDon Marcotte	LW	16	4	2	6	8	0	0	1
Savard, AndreAndre Savard	C	16	3	2	5	24	0	0	0
Edestrand, DarrylDarryl Edestrand	D	16	1	2	3	15	0	0	0
Gilbert, GillesGilles Gilbert	G	16	0	3	3	8	0	0	0
Forbes, DaveDave Forbes	LW	16	0	2	2	6	0	0	0
Gibson, DougDoug Gibson	C	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Simmons, AlAl Simmons	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
LeDuc, RichRich LeDuc	C	5	0	0	0	9	0	0	0
Sims, AlAl Sims	D	16	0	0	0	12	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Gilbert, GillesGilles Gilbert	977	16	10	6	43	2.64	1
Team:	977	16	10	6	43	2.64	1

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; 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

• Bobby Orr had the only seven point game in Bruins history, and the first by an NHL defenseman, during the 10-2 win over the New York Rangers on November 15, 1973.
• Prince of Wales Trophy: Boston Bruins (13th win)
• Art Ross Trophy: Phil Esposito (5th win)
• Hart Memorial Trophy: Phil Esposito (2nd win)
• James Norris Memorial Trophy: Bobby Orr (7th win)
• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: John Bucyk
• Phil Esposito, Center, NHL First Team All-Star
• Bobby Orr, Defence, NHL First Team All-Star
• Ken Hodge, Right Wing, NHL First Team All-Star
• Wayne Cashman, Left Wing, NHL Second Team All-Star

Transactions

• Trade Fred Stanfield to the Minnesota North Stars for Gilles Gilbert on May 22, 1973.
• Lose Ron Jones to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the intra-league draft on June 12, 1973.
• Trade Don Awrey to the St. Louis Blues for Jake Rathwell and a second round draft pick (Mark Howe) on October 5, 1973.
• Trade Nick Beverley to Pittsburgh for Darryl Edestrand on October 25, 1973.
• Sell Doug Roberts to the Detroit Red Wings on November 23, 1973.
• Trade Chris Oddleifson and Fred O'Donnell to the Vancouver Canucks for Bobby Schmautz on February 7, 1974.

Draft Picks

See also: 1973 NHL Amateur Draft

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	6	André Savard	Canada	Québec Remparts (QMJHL)
2	31	Jimmy Jones	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHA)
3	36	Doug Gibson	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OHA)
3	47	Al Sims	Canada	Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
4	63	Steve Langdon	Canada	London Knights (OHA)
5	79	Peter Crosbie	Canada	London Knights (OHA)
6	95	Jean-Pierre Bourgouyne	Canada	Shawinigan Bruins (QMJHL)
7	111	Walter Johnson	Canada	Oshawa Generals (OHA)
8	127	Virgil Gates	Canada	Swift Current Broncos (WCHL)
9	142	Jim Pettie	Canada	St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA)
10	157	Yvon Bouillon	Canada	Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)

Trivia

• John Adams wore jersey #31 for the season. This was the first time a Bruin wore #31 and was the highest number, up to that time, that a Bruin had ever worn.
• Ken Hodge had a six point game during the 9-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings on October 13, 1973.
• Bobby Orr had the only seven point game in Bruins history, and the first by an NHL defenseman, during the 10-2 win over the New York Rangers on November 15, 1973.
• Bruins who recorded a Hat trick this season include:
  • Phil Esposito during the 6-4 win over the Vancouver Canucks on October 10, 1973.
• Bobby Orr during the 10-2 win over New York on November 15, 1973.

Gallery

Ted Irvine, Gilles Gilbert, Bobby Orr, Dallas Smith, January 4, 1974. Names were put on the Bruins jerseys for the first time in their history.

Phil Esposito displaying the Bruins 50th anniversary patch.

Ken Hodge scores the series winner, 1974 Quarter-finals Game 4, April 14, 1973.

Video

Ten minutes of highlights of the Bruins-North Stars game on February 20, 1974.

Boston Bruins @ Minnesota Northstars 2 20 74

Bruins-Flyers Game 1 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals on May 7, 1974.

1974 Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 Boston Bruins - Philadelphia Flyers

Bruins-Flyers Game 2 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals on May 9, 1974.

1974 Stanley Cup Finals Game 2 Philadelphia Flyers - Boston Bruins.

Bruins-Flyers Game 4 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals on May 14, 1974.

NHL 1973 74. Stanley Cup Finals, game 4. Philadelphia Flyers - Boston Bruins

Bruins-Flyers Game 5 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals on May 16, 1974.

1974 Stanley Cup Finals Boston Bruins - Philadelphia Flyers

Bruins-Flyers Game 6 of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals on May 19, 1974.

Philadelphia Flyers vs Boston Bruins. 19 May 1974

References

• Bruins on Hockey Database