# 1976–77 Boston Bruins season

The 1976–77 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 53rd season in the NHL. The season involved participating in the Stanley Cup finals.

## Offseason
### NHL Draft

| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 16 | Clayton Pachal (C) | Canada | New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) |
| 2 | 34 | Lorry Gloeckner (D) | Canada | Victoria Cougars (WCHL) |
| 4 | 70 | Bob Miller (C) | United States | Ottawa 67's (OMJHL) |
| 5 | 88 | Peter Vandemark (LW) | Canada | Oshawa Generals (OMJHL) |
| 6 | 106 | Ted Olson (LW) | Canada | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |

## Regular season
### Season standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 49 | 23 | 8 | 312 | 240 | 106 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 48 | 24 | 8 | 301 | 220 | 104 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 33 | 32 | 15 | 301 | 285 | 81 |
| Cleveland Barons | 80 | 25 | 42 | 13 | 240 | 292 | 63 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents

Adams Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CLE
TOR
Total
Boston
—3–35–13–2–111–6–1
Buffalo
3–3—5–15–0–113–4–1
Cleveland
1–51–5—2–44–14–0
Toronto
2–3–10–5–14–2—6–10–1
Vs. Norris Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Boston
4–12–2–13–23–1–14–0–116–6–3
Buffalo
4–13–22–2–10–4–14–113–10–2
Cleveland
2–31–2–20–50–3–25–08–13–4
Toronto
3–1–12–1–21–2–21–2–22–39–9–7
Vs. Patrick Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Boston
2–21–2–14–0–11–38–7–2
Buffalo
2–1–11–3–14–02–29–6–2
Cleveland
2–1–10–3–10–3–11–3–13–10–4
Toronto
4–12–1–11–2–11–2–18–6–3
Vs. Smythe Division
1976–77 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Boston
4–03–11–2–12–1–14–014–4–2
Buffalo
3–13–0–12–1–12–23–0–113–4–3
Cleveland
3–12–1–11–1–22–1–12–1–110–5–5
Toronto
1–2–12–1–13–12–22–1–110–7–3 :

## Schedule and results

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 7, 1976 | 6–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | L | October 9, 1976 | 5–7 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | W | October 10, 1976 | 4–3 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | W | October 13, 1976 | 5–1 | @ New York Rangers (1976–77) | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | W | October 15, 1976 | 5–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 4–1–0 |
| 6 | W | October 17, 1976 | 5–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 5–1–0 |
| 7 | L | October 19, 1976 | 5–6 | @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 5–2–0 |
| 8 | W | October 20, 1976 | 2–1 | @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 6–2–0 |
| 9 | W | October 23, 1976 | 4–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 7–2–0 |
| 10 | W | October 27, 1976 | 4–3 | @ New York Rangers (1976–77) | 8–2–0 |
| 11 | W | October 30, 1976 | 4–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 9–2–0 |
| 12 | L | October 31, 1976 | 1–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 9–3–0 |
| 13 | W | November 4, 1976 | 7–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 10–3–0 |
| 14 | W | November 7, 1976 | 3–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 11–3–0 |
| 15 | W | November 10, 1976 | 6–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 12–3–0 |
| 16 | T | November 11, 1976 | 2–2 | New York Islanders (1976–77) | 12–3–1 |
| 17 | W | November 14, 1976 | 5–3 | Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 13–3–1 |
| 18 | W | November 18, 1976 | 3–2 | Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 14–3–1 |
| 19 | W | November 19, 1976 | 4–1 | @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 15–3–1 |
| 20 | W | November 21, 1976 | 4–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 16–3–1 |
| 21 | W | November 24, 1976 | 4–0 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 17–3–1 |
| 22 | W | November 25, 1976 | 4–2 | Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 18–3–1 |
| 23 | L | November 27, 1976 | 2–4 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 18–4–1 |
| 24 | L | November 30, 1976 | 2–6 | Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 18–5–1 |
| 25 | W | December 1, 1976 | 5–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 19–5–1 |
| 26 | L | December 3, 1976 | 1–3 | @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 19–6–1 |
| 27 | T | December 5, 1976 | 5–5 | Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 19–6–2 |
| 28 | L | December 9, 1976 | 1–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 19–7–2 |
| 29 | L | December 11, 1976 | 3–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 19–8–2 |
| 30 | L | December 12, 1976 | 3–5 | Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 19–9–2 |
| 31 | W | December 16, 1976 | 5–2 | St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 20–9–2 |
| 32 | L | December 18, 1976 | 4–6 | @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 20–10–2 |
| 33 | W | December 19, 1976 | 6–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 21–10–2 |
| 34 | L | December 21, 1976 | 0–3 | @ New York Islanders (1976–77) | 21–11–2 |
| 35 | T | December 23, 1976 | 3–3 | New York Rangers (1976–77) | 21–11–3 |
| 36 | W | December 26, 1976 | 6–3 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 22–11–3 |
| 37 | W | December 29, 1976 | 8–1 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 23–11–3 |
| 38 | L | January 1, 1977 | 2–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 23–12–3 |
| 39 | W | January 5, 1977 | 3–2 | @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 24–12–3 |
| 40 | L | January 8, 1977 | 1–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 24–13–3 |
| 41 | W | January 9, 1977 | 4–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 25–13–3 |
| 42 | W | January 11, 1977 | 3–2 | @ Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 26–13–3 |
| 43 | W | January 13, 1977 | 4–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 27–13–3 |
| 44 | T | January 15, 1977 | 3–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 27–13–4 |
| 45 | W | January 17, 1977 | 7–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 28–13–4 |
| 46 | L | January 20, 1977 | 3–4 | New York Islanders (1976–77) | 28–14–4 |
| 47 | W | January 21, 1977 | 5–2 | @ Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 29–14–4 |
| 48 | W | January 23, 1977 | 3–0 | Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 30–14–4 |
| 49 | L | January 27, 1977 | 4–6 | Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 30–15–4 |
| 50 | T | January 29, 1977 | 3–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 30–15–5 |
| 51 | L | January 30, 1977 | 2–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 30–16–5 |
| 52 | T | February 1, 1977 | 3–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 30–16–6 |
| 53 | W | February 3, 1977 | 5–4 | St. Louis Blues (1976–77) | 31–16–6 |
| 54 | L | February 4, 1977 | 3–6 | @ Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 31–17–6 |
| 55 | W | February 6, 1977 | 5–2 | Washington Capitals (1976–77) | 32–17–6 |
| 56 | L | February 10, 1977 | 3–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 32–18–6 |
| 57 | L | February 12, 1977 | 3–8 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 32–19–6 |
| 58 | W | February 13, 1977 | 4–2 | Cleveland Barons (1976–77) | 33–19–6 |
| 59 | W | February 16, 1977 | 7–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1976–77) | 34–19–6 |
| 60 | L | February 19, 1977 | 0–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 34–20–6 |
| 61 | L | February 23, 1977 | 1–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1976–77) | 34–21–6 |
| 62 | W | February 25, 1977 | 5–2 | @ Colorado Rockies (1976–77) | 35–21–6 |
| 63 | T | February 27, 1977 | 2–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 35–21–7 |
| 64 | W | March 1, 1977 | 8–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 36–21–7 |
| 65 | W | March 3, 1977 | 4–1 | @ New York Rangers (1976–77) | 37–21–7 |
| 66 | W | March 5, 1977 | 3–1 | Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 38–21–7 |
| 67 | W | March 6, 1977 | 6–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1976–77) | 39–21–7 |
| 68 | W | March 8, 1977 | 3–2 | Atlanta Flames (1976–77) | 40–21–7 |
| 69 | W | March 10, 1977 | 10–3 | New York Rangers (1976–77) | 41–21–7 |
| 70 | W | March 12, 1977 | 3–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 42–21–7 |
| 71 | T | March 13, 1977 | 2–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1976–77) | 42–21–8 |
| 72 | W | March 17, 1977 | 4–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 43–21–8 |
| 73 | L | March 21, 1977 | 1–5 | Montreal Canadiens (1976–77) | 43–22–8 |
| 74 | W | March 23, 1977 | 6–0 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1976–77) | 44–22–8 |
| 75 | L | March 24, 1977 | 2–6 | Philadelphia Flyers (1976–77) | 44–23–8 |
| 76 | W | March 26, 1977 | 7–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 45–23–8 |
| 77 | W | March 27, 1977 | 3–0 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1976–77) | 46–23–8 |
| 78 | W | March 30, 1977 | 4–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1976–77) | 47–23–8 |
| 79 | W | April 2, 1977 | 5–3 | @ New York Islanders (1976–77) | 48–23–8 |
| 80 | W | April 3, 1977 | 7–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1976–77) | 49–23–8 |

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/− | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Jean Ratelle | C | 78 | 33 | 61 | 94 | 22 | 19 | 8 | 1 | 6 |
| Peter McNab | C | 80 | 38 | 48 | 86 | 11 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| Gregg Sheppard | C | 77 | 31 | 36 | 67 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 5 |
| Brad Park | D | 77 | 12 | 55 | 67 | 67 | 47 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Terry O'Reilly | RW | 79 | 14 | 41 | 55 | 147 | 38 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Bobby Schmautz | RW | 57 | 23 | 29 | 52 | 62 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Wayne Cashman | LW | 65 | 15 | 37 | 52 | 76 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Don Marcotte | LW | 80 | 27 | 18 | 45 | 20 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| John Bucyk | LW | 49 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 12 | −2 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Rick Middleton | RW | 72 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Stan Jonathan | LW | 69 | 17 | 13 | 30 | 69 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Matti Hagman | C | 75 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Milbury | D | 77 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 166 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Rick Smith | D | 46 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 30 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dallas Smith | D | 58 | 2 | 20 | 22 | 40 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Earl Anderson | RW | 40 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Dave Forbes | LW | 73 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 47 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Gary Doak | D | 76 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 107 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hank Nowak | LW | 24 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| John Wensink | LW | 23 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ray Maluta | D | 23 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Halward | D | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Cheevers | G | 45 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darryl Edestrand | D | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilles Gilbert | G | 34 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Zanussi | D | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clayton Pachal | C/LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Pettie | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Sims | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gerry Cheevers | 2700 | 45 | 30 | 10 | 5 | 137 | 3.04 | 3 |
| Gilles Gilbert | 2040 | 34 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 97 | 2.85 | 1 |
| Jim Pettie | 60 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 49 | 23 | 8 | 237 | 2.96 | 4 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Jean Ratelle | C | 14 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Bobby Schmautz | RW | 14 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Gregg Sheppard | C | 14 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Brad Park | D | 14 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Marcotte | LW | 14 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Terry O'Reilly | RW | 14 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rick Middleton | RW | 13 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wayne Cashman | LW | 14 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Smith | D | 14 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter McNab | C | 14 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Stan Jonathan | LW | 14 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Milbury | D | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| John Wensink | LW | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Doak | D | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Forbes | LW | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matti Hagman | C | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Earl Anderson | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Bucyk | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Cheevers | G | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darryl Edestrand | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilles Gilbert | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Halward | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Sims | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gerry Cheevers | 858 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 44 | 3.08 | 1 |
| Gilles Gilbert | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 878 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 47 | 3.21 | 1 |
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Playoffs

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
| Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| May 7 | Boston | 3 | Montreal | 7 | |
| May 10 | Boston | 0 | Montreal | 3 | |
| May 12 | Montreal | 4 | Boston | 2 | |
| May 14 | Montreal | 2 | Boston | 1 | OT |
Montreal wins the series 4–0.
Guy Lafleur won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

## Awards and honors

* John Bucyk, Lester Patrick Trophy