# 1966–67 Boston Bruins season

The 1966–67 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 43rd season in the NHL. Despite the debut of Bobby Orr, the Bruins finished in last place and did not qualify for the playoffs. It was the last time the team would miss the playoffs until 1997, as they would embark on a streak of 29 straight seasons in the playoffs the next season.

## Offseason
### NHL Draft

| Round | Overall | Player | Nationality | Position |
| 1 | 1 | Barry Gibbs | Canada | Defenceman |
| 2 | 7 | Rick Smith | Canada | Defenceman |
| 3 | 13 | Garnet Bailey | Canada | Left Wing |
| 4 | 19 | Tom Webster | Canada | Right Wing |

## Regular season

* Bobby Orr made his NHL debut October 19, with an assist in a 6–2 win over Detroit.

### Bobby Orr

In his first professional season—although missing nine games with a knee injury presaging such woes throughout his career—he won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's outstanding rookie and, while the perennially cellar-dwelling Bruins finished in last place that season, sparked a renaissance that propelled the Bruins to make the playoffs the following twenty-nine straight seasons. New York Rangers defenseman Harry Howell, the winner of the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman in Orr's rookie year, famously predicted that he was glad to win when he did, because "Orr will own this trophy from now on."

### Season standings

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 70 | 41 | 17 | 12 | 264 | 170 | +94 | 94 |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 70 | 32 | 25 | 13 | 202 | 188 | +14 | 77 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 70 | 32 | 27 | 11 | 204 | 211 | −7 | 75 |
| 4 | New York Rangers | 70 | 30 | 28 | 12 | 188 | 189 | −1 | 72 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 70 | 27 | 39 | 4 | 212 | 241 | −29 | 58 |
| 6 | Boston Bruins | 70 | 17 | 43 | 10 | 182 | 253 | −71 | 44 |

### Record vs. opponents

1966–67 NHL Records :
| Team | BOS | CHI | DET | MTL | NYR | TOR |
| Boston | — | 2–11–1 | 6–6–2 | 5–7–2 | 2–8–4 | 2–11–1 |
| Chicago | 11–2–1 | — | 10–4 | 5–2–7 | 7–5–2 | 8–4–2 |
| Detroit | 6–6–2 | 4–10 | — | 4–10 | 7–7 | 6–6–2 |
| Montreal | 7–5–2 | 2–5–7 | 10–4 | — | 7–5–2 | 6–6–2 |
| New York | 8–2–4 | 5–7–2 | 7–7 | 5–7–2 | — | 5–5–4 |
| Toronto | 11–2–1 | 4–8–2 | 6–6–2 | 6–6–2 | 5–5–4 | — |

## Schedule and results

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 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| John Bucyk | LW | 59 | 18 | 30 | 48 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Pit Martin | C | 70 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 40 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Bobby Orr | D | 61 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 102 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| John McKenzie | RW | 69 | 17 | 19 | 36 | 98 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Ed Westfall | D/RW | 70 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Murray Oliver | C | 65 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Wayne Connelly | C | 64 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ron Schock | C | 66 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ron Murphy | LW | 39 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ron Stewart | RW | 56 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Tommy Williams | RW | 29 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Bob Dillabough | C | 60 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ted Green | D | 47 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 67 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Gilles Marotte | D | 67 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 112 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Joe Watson | D | 69 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Woytowich | D | 64 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Skip Krake | C | 15 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Goldsworthy | RW | 18 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J.P. Parise | LW | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Rivers | RW | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Awrey | D | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Doak | D | 29 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Johnston | G | 34 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ross Lonsberry | LW | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dallas Smith | D | 33 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Beverley | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Buchanan | C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Cheevers | G | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ted Hodgson | RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bernie Parent | G | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Derek Sanderson | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glen Sather | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barry Wilkins | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

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

## Awards and records

* Bobby Orr, Calder Memorial Trophy
* Bobby Orr, NHL Second Team All-Star