# 1969–70 Boston Bruins season

The 1969–70 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 46th season in the NHL. The Bruins were coming off of a successful season in 1968–69, as they finished with a franchise record 100 points, sitting in 2nd place in the Eastern Division, however, they would lose to the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Division finals. This year, the Bruins would go all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals and win the Stanley Cup.

## Regular season

The year was marred by an infamous incident in a preseason game against the St. Louis Blues, when veteran Ted Green had an ugly stick fight with Wayne Maki of the Blues. Green suffered a fractured skull and a brain injury as a result of the fight, necessitating a permanent steel plate put in his head and missing the entirety of the season. Both were charged with assault as a result of the incident, the first time NHL players faced criminal charges as a result of on-ice violence, and were eventually acquitted.
Boston got off to a quick start, going unbeaten in their first 7 games (6–0–1), which immediately was followed by a 5-game winless streak. The Bruins though would snap out of their mini-slump, and never have a 2-game losing streak for the remainder of the season, finishing the year with a 40–17–19 record, earning 99 points, which tied the Chicago Black Hawks for 1st place in the Eastern Division. Chicago was awarded 1st place though due to having more wins than Boston, as the Hawks recorded 45.
Bobby Orr had a breakout season, leading the league with 120 points, becoming the first defenseman in league history to record over 100 points, while setting an NHL record with 87 assists. Orr also scored 33 goals, which also was a record by a defenseman. Orr also provided toughness, leading the Bruins with 125 PIM. Phil Esposito had another very strong season, scoring 43 goals and earning 99 points, while John McKenzie registered 70 points. Thirty-four-year-old John Bucyk scored a career high 31 goals and tied his career best with 69 points.
In goal, Gerry Cheevers received the majority of playing time, winning a team high 24 games, and having a team best 2.72 GAA and 4 shutouts. Eddie Johnston was his backup, as he won 16 games, had a 2.98 GAA, and 3 shutouts.

### Season standings

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 76 | 45 | 22 | 9 | 250 | 170 | +80 | 99 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 76 | 40 | 17 | 19 | 277 | 216 | +61 | 99 |
| 3 | Detroit Red Wings | 76 | 40 | 21 | 15 | 246 | 199 | +47 | 95 |
| 4 | New York Rangers | 76 | 38 | 22 | 16 | 246 | 189 | +57 | 92 |
| 5 | Montreal Canadiens | 76 | 38 | 22 | 16 | 244 | 201 | +43 | 92 |
| 6 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 76 | 29 | 34 | 13 | 222 | 242 | −20 | 71 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record | Pts |
| 1 | October 12 | New York Rangers | 1–2 | Boston Bruins | 1–0–0 | 2 |
| 2 | October 15 | Oakland Seals | 0–6 | Boston Bruins | 2–0–0 | 4 |
| 3 | October 18 | Boston Bruins | 3–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2–0–1 | 5 |
| 4 | October 19 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 0–4 | Boston Bruins | 3–0–1 | 7 |
| 5 | October 22 | Boston Bruins | 3–2 | Minnesota North Stars | 4–0–1 | 9 |
| 6 | October 24 | Boston Bruins | 4–2 | Oakland Seals | 5–0–1 | 11 |
| 7 | October 25 | Boston Bruins | 3–2 | Los Angeles Kings | 6–0–1 | 13 |
| 8 | October 29 | Boston Bruins | 2–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 6–1–1 | 13 |
| 9 | November 1 | Boston Bruins | 2–9 | Montreal Canadiens | 6–2–1 | 13 |
| 10 | November 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 4–4 | Boston Bruins | 6–2–2 | 14 |
| 11 | November 5 | St. Louis Blues | 4–4 | Boston Bruins | 6–2–3 | 15 |
| 12 | November 8 | Boston Bruins | 2–3 | Detroit Red Wings | 6–3–3 | 15 |
| 13 | November 10 | Oakland Seals | 3–8 | Boston Bruins | 7–3–3 | 17 |
| 14 | November 13 | Detroit Red Wings | 1–3 | Boston Bruins | 8–3–3 | 19 |
| 15 | November 15 | New York Rangers | 6–5 | Boston Bruins | 8–4–3 | 19 |
| 16 | November 16 | Los Angeles Kings | 4–7 | Boston Bruins | 9–4–3 | 21 |
| 17 | November 21 | Boston Bruins | 2–2 | Chicago Black Hawks | 9–4–4 | 22 |
| 18 | November 23 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–2 | Boston Bruins | 9–4–5 | 23 |
| 19 | November 26 | Boston Bruins | 0–3 | New York Rangers | 9–5–5 | 23 |
| 20 | November 27 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4–6 | Boston Bruins | 10–5–5 | 25 |
| 21 | November 29 | Boston Bruins | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens | 10–5–6 | 26 |
| 22 | November 30 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–4 | Boston Bruins | 11–5–6 | 28 |
| 23 | December 4 | Boston Bruins | 4–4 | Detroit Red Wings | 11–5–7 | 29 |
| 24 | December 6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–6 | Boston Bruins | 12–5–7 | 31 |
| 25 | December 7 | Minnesota North Stars | 2–2 | Boston Bruins | 12–5–8 | 32 |
| 26 | December 10 | Boston Bruins | 2–5 | New York Rangers | 12–6–8 | 32 |
| 27 | December 11 | New York Rangers | 1–2 | Boston Bruins | 13–6–8 | 34 |
| 28 | December 13 | Boston Bruins | 5–3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 14–6–8 | 36 |
| 29 | December 14 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1–2 | Boston Bruins | 15–6–8 | 38 |
| 30 | December 18 | Boston Bruins | 3–3 | St. Louis Blues | 15–6–9 | 39 |
| 31 | December 20 | Boston Bruins | 6–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 16–6–9 | 41 |
| 32 | December 21 | Montreal Canadiens | 5–2 | Boston Bruins | 16–7–9 | 41 |
| 33 | December 25 | Los Angeles Kings | 1–7 | Boston Bruins | 17–7–9 | 43 |
| 34 | December 28 | Boston Bruins | 5–4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 18–7–9 | 45 |
| 35 | December 31 | Boston Bruins | 1–5 | Detroit Red Wings | 18–8–9 | 45 |
| 36 | January 3 | Boston Bruins | 6–2 | Los Angeles Kings | 19–8–9 | 47 |
| 37 | January 7 | Boston Bruins | 6–1 | Oakland Seals | 20–8–9 | 49 |
| 38 | January 10 | Boston Bruins | 3–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 20–9–9 | 49 |
| 39 | January 11 | Oakland Seals | 3–6 | Boston Bruins | 21–9–9 | 51 |
| 40 | January 15 | Los Angeles Kings | 3–6 | Boston Bruins | 22–9–9 | 53 |
| 41 | January 17 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–0 | Boston Bruins | 22–10–9 | 53 |
| 42 | January 18 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–6 | Boston Bruins | 23–10–9 | 55 |
| 43 | January 22 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3–3 | Boston Bruins | 23–10–10 | 56 |
| 44 | January 24 | Boston Bruins | 1–8 | New York Rangers | 23–11–10 | 56 |
| 45 | January 25 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1–3 | Boston Bruins | 24–11–10 | 58 |
| 46 | January 29 | Minnesota North Stars | 5–6 | Boston Bruins | 25–11–10 | 60 |
| 47 | January 31 | Boston Bruins | 3–3 | Montreal Canadiens | 25–11–11 | 61 |
| 48 | February 1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 6–7 | Boston Bruins | 26–11–11 | 63 |
| 49 | February 4 | Boston Bruins | 4–8 | Chicago Black Hawks | 26–12–11 | 63 |
| 50 | February 5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1–5 | Boston Bruins | 27–12–11 | 65 |
| 51 | February 7 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–2 | Boston Bruins | 27–12–12 | 66 |
| 52 | February 8 | St. Louis Blues | 1–7 | Boston Bruins | 28–12–12 | 68 |
| 53 | February 11 | Boston Bruins | 3–2 | St. Louis Blues | 29–12–12 | 70 |
| 54 | February 14 | Boston Bruins | 3–0 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 30–12–12 | 72 |
| 55 | February 17 | Boston Bruins | 3–3 | Oakland Seals | 30–12–13 | 73 |
| 56 | February 18 | Boston Bruins | 5–5 | Los Angeles Kings | 30–12–14 | 74 |
| 57 | February 21 | Boston Bruins | 4–2 | Minnesota North Stars | 31–12–14 | 76 |
| 58 | February 22 | Boston Bruins | 3–6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 31–13–14 | 76 |
| 59 | February 26 | New York Rangers | 3–5 | Boston Bruins | 32–13–14 | 78 |
| 60 | February 28 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0–3 | Boston Bruins | 33–13–14 | 80 |
| 61 | March 1 | St. Louis Blues | 1–3 | Boston Bruins | 34–13–14 | 82 |
| 62 | March 4 | Boston Bruins | 1–3 | St. Louis Blues | 34–14–14 | 82 |
| 63 | March 7 | Boston Bruins | 5–5 | Philadelphia Flyers | 34–14–15 | 83 |
| 64 | March 8 | Montreal Canadiens | 0–2 | Boston Bruins | 35–14–15 | 85 |
| 65 | March 11 | Boston Bruins | 0–0 | Chicago Black Hawks | 35–14–16 | 86 |
| 66 | March 14 | Boston Bruins | 1–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 35–15–16 | 86 |
| 67 | March 15 | Detroit Red Wings | 5–5 | Boston Bruins | 35–15–17 | 87 |
| 68 | March 19 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–3 | Boston Bruins | 36–15–17 | 89 |
| 69 | March 21 | Boston Bruins | 4–5 | Minnesota North Stars | 36–16–17 | 89 |
| 70 | March 22 | Minnesota North Stars | 0–5 | Boston Bruins | 37–16–17 | 91 |
| 71 | March 25 | Boston Bruins | 3–1 | New York Rangers | 38–16–17 | 93 |
| 72 | March 28 | Detroit Red Wings | 5–5 | Boston Bruins | 38–16–18 | 94 |
| 73 | March 29 | Boston Bruins | 2–2 | Detroit Red Wings | 38–16–19 | 95 |
| 74 | April 1 | Boston Bruins | 3–6 | Montreal Canadiens | 38–17–19 | 95 |
| 75 | April 4 | Boston Bruins | 4–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 39–17–19 | 97 |
| 76 | April 5 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1–3 | Boston Bruins | 40–17–19 | 99 |

## Playoffs

In the playoffs, Boston faced the New York Rangers in the quarterfinals, which finished in 4th place in the Eastern Division with 92 points, seven less than the Bruins. The series opened at the Boston Garden, and the Bruins continued their winning ways at home, taking the first two games to take an early series lead. The series then moved to Madison Square Garden in New York for the next two games, and the Rangers responded with two close wins, tying the series up at two games each. Boston returned home for game 5, and took a 3–2 series lead with a hard-fought 3–2 win, going on to beat the Rangers in game 6 on the road 4–1 to advance to the Eastern Division finals.
The Bruins opponent for the division finals was the Chicago Black Hawks, which finished with 99 points (the same as Boston, but with more wins, so Chicago was awarded home ice for the series). Boston surprised the Chicago fans by taking the first two games held at Chicago Stadium with relative ease to take a 2–0 series lead. Boston then won game 3 by a 5–2 score at the Boston Garden, taking a commanding 3–0 lead in the series. The Black Hawks kept game 4 close, but lost the game 5–4, as Boston swept Chicago to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1958.
Boston Bruins vs. St. Louis Blues
Boston faced the winner of the Western Division, the St. Louis Blues, making its 3rd straight Stanley Cup Finals appearance. The Blues had been swept by the Montreal Canadiens in both their previous appearances in the Finals. St. Louis defeated the Minnesota North Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins to reach the Finals. The series opened at the St. Louis Arena, and the Bruins had no problems at all in their first two games, defeating the Blues by scores of 6–1 and 6–2 to take a 2–0 series lead. The series shifted to Boston for the next two games, and the Bruins dominated game 3, winning 4–1. St. Louis forced the 4th game into sudden death; however the Bruins, on an overtime goal by Bobby Orr, won 4–3, thus winning an NHL record 10th straight playoff game and their first Stanley Cup since 1941. The still photo of Orr flying through the air after scoring "The Goal" — he had been tripped in the act of shooting by Blues defenseman Noel Picard — became one of the most iconic images of hockey history, and was the basis of a bronze sculpture of the event outside the TD Garden's main entrance in 2010, the date of the event's 40th anniversary.

### Boston Bruins 4, New York Rangers 2

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | April 8 | New York Rangers | 2–8 | Boston Bruins | 1–0 |
| 2 | April 9 | New York Rangers | 3–5 | Boston Bruins | 2–0 |
| 3 | April 11 | Boston Bruins | 3–4 | New York Rangers | 2–1 |
| 4 | April 12 | Boston Bruins | 2–4 | New York Rangers | 2–2 |
| 5 | April 14 | New York Rangers | 2–3 | Boston Bruins | 3–2 |
| 6 | April 16 | Boston Bruins | 4–1 | New York Rangers | 4–2 |

### Boston Bruins 4, Chicago Black Hawks 0

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | April 19 | Boston Bruins | 6–3 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1–0 |
| 2 | April 21 | Boston Bruins | 4–1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–0 |
| 3 | April 23 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2–5 | Boston Bruins | 3–0 |
| 4 | April 26 | Chicago Black Hawks | 4–5 | Boston Bruins | 4–0 |

### Boston Bruins 4, St. Louis Blues 0

| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | Record |
| 1 | May 3 | Boston Bruins | 6–1 | St. Louis Blues | 1–0 |
| 2 | May 5 | Boston Bruins | 6–2 | St. Louis Blues | 2–0 |
| 3 | May 7 | St. Louis Blues | 1–4 | Boston Bruins | 3–0 |
| 4 | May 10 | St. Louis Blues | 3–4 | Boston Bruins | 4–0 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Bobby Orr | D | 76 | 33 | 87 | 120 | 125 | 11 | 4 | 3 |
| Phil Esposito | C | 76 | 43 | 56 | 99 | 50 | 18 | 1 | 5 |
| John McKenzie | RW | 72 | 29 | 41 | 70 | 114 | 9 | 1 | 6 |
| John Bucyk | LW | 76 | 31 | 38 | 69 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 6 |
| Fred Stanfield | LW | 73 | 23 | 35 | 58 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| Ken Hodge | RW | 72 | 25 | 29 | 54 | 87 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Derek Sanderson | C | 50 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 118 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Ed Westfall | D/RW | 72 | 14 | 22 | 36 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Cashman | LW | 70 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 79 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wayne Carleton | LW | 42 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dallas Smith | D | 75 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 119 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Jim Lorentz | C/RW | 68 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Garnet Bailey | LW | 58 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 82 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Don Awrey | D | 73 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 120 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Marcotte | LW | 35 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rick Smith | D | 69 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 65 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gary Doak | D | 44 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ron Murphy | LW | 20 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jim Harrison | C | 23 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bill Speer | D | 27 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Johnston | G | 37 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Webster | RW | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Beverley | D | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Cheevers | G | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Lesuk | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frank Spring | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barry Wilkins | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gerry Cheevers | 2384 | 41 | 24 | 8 | 8 | 108 | 2.72 | 4 |
| Eddie Johnston | 2176 | 37 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 108 | 2.98 | 3 |
| Team: | 4560 | 76 | 40 | 17 | 19 | 216 | 2.84 | 7 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Phil Esposito | C | 14 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Bobby Orr | D | 14 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| John Bucyk | LW | 14 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| John McKenzie | RW | 14 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Fred Stanfield | LW | 14 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Hodge | RW | 14 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wayne Cashman | LW | 14 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Derek Sanderson | C | 14 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 72 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Ed Westfall | D/RW | 14 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Wayne Carleton | LW | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Awrey | D | 14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Smith | D | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dallas Smith | D | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Marcotte | LW | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jim Lorentz | C/RW | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Speer | D | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Cheevers | G | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Doak | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Johnston | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Lesuk | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Schock | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gerry Cheevers | 781 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 29 | 2.23 | 0 |
| Eddie Johnston | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 841 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 33 | 2.35 | 0 |
    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, Art Ross Trophy
* Bobby Orr, Conn Smythe Trophy
* Bobby Orr, Hart Memorial Trophy
* Bobby Orr, Norris Trophy
* Bobby Orr, NHL Plus/Minus Award
* Bobby Orr, NHL Record, Plus/Minus +124

## Draft picks

Boston's draft picks at the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 3 | Don Tannahill | Canada | Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA) |
| 1 | 4 | Frank Spring | Canada | Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) |
| 1 | 11 | Ivan Boldirev | Yugoslavia | Oshawa Generals (OHA) |
| 2 | 22 | Art Quoquochi | Canada | Montreal Junior Canadiens (OHA) |
| 3 | 34 | Nels Jacobson | Canada | Winnipeg Jets (WCHA) |
| 4 | 46 | Ron Fairbrother | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WCHL) |
| 5 | 58 | Jeremy Wright | Canada | Calgary Centennials (WCHL) |
| 6 | 69 | Jim Jones | Canada | Peterborough Petes (OHA) |