# 1978–79 Boston Bruins season

The 1978–79 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 55th season. The Bruins captured their fourth straight division title but were defeated in the postseason in heartbreaking fashion in seven games to their hated rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, and denied an opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup. Don Cherry was subsequently let go as head coach following this defeat.

## Offseason
### NHL Draft

| Round | Overall | Player | Nationality | Position |
| 1 | 16 | Al Secord | Canada | Left Wing |
| 2 | 35 | Graeme Nicolson | Canada | Defenseman |
| 3 | 52 | Brad Knelson | Canada | Defenseman |
| 4 | 68 | George Buat | Canada | Right Wing |
| 5 | 85 | Daryl MacLeod | United States | Left Wing |
| 6 | 102 | Jeff Brubaker | United States | Left Wing |
| 7 | 119 | Murray Skinner | Canada | Goalie |
| 8 | 136 | Bobby Hehir | United States | Center |
| 9 | 153 | Craig MacTavish | Canada | Center |

## Regular season

* Al Secord made his NHL debut with the Bruins during the 1978–79 season.

### Season standings

Adams Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Boston Bruins | 80 | 43 | 23 | 14 | 316 | 270 | 100 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 36 | 28 | 16 | 280 | 263 | 88 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 34 | 33 | 13 | 267 | 252 | 81 |
| Minnesota North Stars | 80 | 28 | 40 | 12 | 257 | 289 | 68 |
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.

### Record vs. opponents

Adams Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
MIN
TOR
Total
Boston
—4−3−15−0−35−1−214−4−6
Buffalo
3−4−1—5−2−14−3−112−9−3
Minnesota
0−5−32−5−1—2−4−24−14−6
Toronto
1−5−23−4−14−2−2—8−11−5
Vs. Norris Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Boston
3−11−30−2−21−2−13−0−18−8−4
Buffalo
3−12−1−10−40−2−23−0−18−8−4
Minnesota
2−1−11−31−31−32−27−12−1
Toronto
2−24−00−3−13−11−1−210−7−3
Vs. Patrick Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Boston
3−11−2−23−21−3−18−8−3
Buffalo
2−2−12−1−11−2−10−3−25−8−5
Minnesota
2−1−11−32−1−12−27−7−2
Toronto
1−41−32−2−12−2−16−11−2
Vs. Smythe Division
1978–79 NHL records
Team
CHI
COL
STL
VAN
Total
Boston
3−1−13−13−14−013−3−1
Buffalo
2−2−13−0−13−0−13−1−111−3−4
Minnesota
2−22−3−12−1−14−1−110−7−3
Toronto
1−2−12−1−14−03−1−110−4−3 :

## Schedule and results

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 12, 1978 | 8–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | T | October 14, 1978 | 4–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | W | October 15, 1978 | 4–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 2–0–1 |
| 4 | W | October 18, 1978 | 3–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 3–0–1 |
| 5 | W | October 20, 1978 | 5–1 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 4–0–1 |
| 6 | L | October 22, 1978 | 5–6 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 4–1–1 |
| 7 | W | October 24, 1978 | 7–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 5–1–1 |
| 8 | T | October 25, 1978 | 2–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 5–1–2 |
| 9 | W | October 28, 1978 | 5–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 6–1–2 |
| 10 | W | November 2, 1978 | 4–1 | New York Islanders (1978–79) | 7–1–2 |
| 11 | L | November 4, 1978 | 3–7 | Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 7–2–2 |
| 12 | T | November 5, 1978 | 1–1 | Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 7–2–3 |
| 13 | W | November 9, 1978 | 6–2 | Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 8–2–3 |
| 14 | L | November 11, 1978 | 1–7 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 8–3–3 |
| 15 | T | November 12, 1978 | 4–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 8–3–4 |
| 16 | L | November 16, 1978 | 4–6 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 8–4–4 |
| 17 | W | November 17, 1978 | 6–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 9–4–4 |
| 18 | W | November 19, 1978 | 5–2 | St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 10–4–4 |
| 19 | W | November 23, 1978 | 5–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 11–4–4 |
| 20 | T | November 25, 1978 | 5–5 | @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 11–4–5 |
| 21 | W | November 26, 1978 | 4–2 | Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 12–4–5 |
| 22 | W | November 30, 1978 | 4–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 13–4–5 |
| 23 | W | December 2, 1978 | 5–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 14–4–5 |
| 24 | W | December 3, 1978 | 3–2 | @ New York Rangers (1978–79) | 15–4–5 |
| 25 | W | December 5, 1978 | 5–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 16–4–5 |
| 26 | W | December 7, 1978 | 6–5 | Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 17–4–5 |
| 27 | L | December 9, 1978 | 2–9 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 17–5–5 |
| 28 | T | December 10, 1978 | 4–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 17–5–6 |
| 29 | W | December 12, 1978 | 7–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 18–5–6 |
| 30 | W | December 14, 1978 | 5–2 | Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 19–5–6 |
| 31 | W | December 16, 1978 | 4–1 | New York Rangers (1978–79) | 20–5–6 |
| 32 | W | December 17, 1978 | 4–1 | @ New York Rangers (1978–79) | 21–5–6 |
| 33 | W | December 21, 1978 | 4–2 | Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 22–5–6 |
| 34 | W | December 23, 1978 | 6–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 23–5–6 |
| 35 | T | December 27, 1978 | 1–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 23–5–7 |
| 36 | L | December 30, 1978 | 1–6 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 23–6–7 |
| 37 | W | December 31, 1978 | 7–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 24–6–7 |
| 38 | W | January 3, 1979 | 6–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 25–6–7 |
| 39 | W | January 5, 1979 | 5–3 | @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 26–6–7 |
| 40 | W | January 6, 1979 | 5–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 27–6–7 |
| 41 | W | January 11, 1979 | 6–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 28–6–7 |
| 42 | L | January 13, 1979 | 3–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 28–7–7 |
| 43 | L | January 14, 1979 | 3–6 | Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 28–8–7 |
| 44 | L | January 16, 1979 | 2–5 | @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 28–9–7 |
| 45 | W | January 18, 1979 | 4–0 | St. Louis Blues (1978–79) | 29–9–7 |
| 46 | L | January 20, 1979 | 1–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 29–10–7 |
| 47 | W | January 22, 1979 | 3–1 | Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 30–10–7 |
| 48 | L | January 25, 1979 | 2–4 | New York Islanders (1978–79) | 30–11–7 |
| 49 | L | January 27, 1979 | 1–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 30–12–7 |
| 50 | L | January 28, 1979 | 3–5 | Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 30–13–7 |
| 51 | T | January 31, 1979 | 2–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 30–13–8 |
| 52 | W | February 1, 1979 | 6–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 31–13–8 |
| 53 | T | February 3, 1979 | 4–4 | @ New York Islanders (1978–79) | 31–13–9 |
| 54 | W | February 4, 1979 | 6–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 32–13–9 |
| 55 | L | February 14, 1979 | 1–5 | @ New York Rangers (1978–79) | 32–14–9 |
| 56 | L | February 15, 1979 | 3–5 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 32–15–9 |
| 57 | T | February 17, 1979 | 3–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 32–15–10 |
| 58 | W | February 20, 1979 | 5–3 | @ Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 33–15–10 |
| 59 | L | February 21, 1979 | 1–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) | 33–16–10 |
| 60 | W | February 24, 1979 | 4–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) | 34–16–10 |
| 61 | L | February 27, 1979 | 2–4 | Colorado Rockies (1978–79) | 34–17–10 |
| 62 | T | March 1, 1979 | 4–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1978–79) | 34–17–11 |
| 63 | W | March 3, 1979 | 5–0 | Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 35–17–11 |
| 64 | W | March 4, 1979 | 6–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 36–17–11 |
| 65 | L | March 8, 1979 | 5–7 | @ Atlanta Flames (1978–79) | 36–18–11 |
| 66 | W | March 10, 1979 | 4–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 37–18–11 |
| 67 | T | March 11, 1979 | 4–4 | New York Islanders (1978–79) | 37–18–12 |
| 68 | L | March 13, 1979 | 2–7 | @ New York Islanders (1978–79) | 37–19–12 |
| 69 | L | March 15, 1979 | 4–7 | New York Rangers (1978–79) | 37–20–12 |
| 70 | W | March 17, 1979 | 4–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) | 38–20–12 |
| 71 | W | March 19, 1979 | 4–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 39–20–12 |
| 72 | L | March 22, 1979 | 1–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) | 39–21–12 |
| 73 | W | March 24, 1979 | 5–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1978–79) | 40–21–12 |
| 74 | L | March 28, 1979 | 2–9 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 40–22–12 |
| 75 | W | March 29, 1979 | 7–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) | 41–22–12 |
| 76 | W | March 31, 1979 | 4–1 | @ Washington Capitals (1978–79) | 42–22–12 |
| 77 | T | April 1, 1979 | 3–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1978–79) | 42–22–13 |
| 78 | T | April 4, 1979 | 3–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 42–22–14 |
| 79 | L | April 5, 1979 | 3–9 | Buffalo Sabres (1978–79) | 42–23–14 |
| 80 | W | April 8, 1979 | 6–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) | 43–23–14 |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Rick Middleton | RW | 71 | 38 | 48 | 86 | 7 | 33 | 12 | 1 | 5 |
| Peter McNab | C | 76 | 35 | 45 | 80 | 10 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Terry O'Reilly | RW | 80 | 26 | 51 | 77 | 205 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Jean Ratelle | C | 80 | 27 | 45 | 72 | 12 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 5 |
| Wayne Cashman | LW | 75 | 27 | 40 | 67 | 63 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 4 |
| Bob Miller | C | 77 | 15 | 33 | 48 | 30 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Don Marcotte | LW | 79 | 20 | 27 | 47 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| John Wensink | LW | 76 | 28 | 18 | 46 | 106 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Bobby Schmautz | RW | 65 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 77 | -1 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| Brad Park | D | 40 | 7 | 32 | 39 | 10 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Milbury | D | 74 | 1 | 34 | 35 | 149 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dick Redmond | D | 64 | 7 | 26 | 33 | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Al Sims | D | 67 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 28 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Rick Smith | D | 65 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 46 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dwight Foster | RW | 44 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 14 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Secord | LW | 71 | 16 | 7 | 23 | 125 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Doak | D | 63 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Stan Jonathan | LW | 33 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 96 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dennis O'Brien | D | 64 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 107 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Walton | C | 14 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bill Bennett | LW | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Songin | RW | 17 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Cheevers | G | 43 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ab DeMarco Jr. | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilles Gilbert | G | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Graeme Nicolson | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Pettie | G | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gerry Cheevers | 2509 | 43 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 132 | 3.16 | 1 |
| Gilles Gilbert | 1254 | 23 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 74 | 3.54 | 0 |
| Jim Pettie | 1037 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 62 | 3.59 | 1 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 43 | 23 | 14 | 268 | 3.35 | 2 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Jean Ratelle | C | 11 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Rick Middleton | RW | 11 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Wayne Cashman | LW | 10 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Don Marcotte | LW | 11 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter McNab | C | 11 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Milbury | D | 11 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Terry O'Reilly | RW | 11 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stan Jonathan | LW | 11 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Park | D | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bobby Schmautz | RW | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwight Foster | RW | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dick Redmond | D | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rick Smith | D | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Miller | C | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Doak | D | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Sims | D | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Wensink | LW | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Cheevers | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilles Gilbert | G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Secord | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gerry Cheevers | 360 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 2.50 | 0 |
| Gilles Gilbert | 314 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 3.06 | 0 |
| Team: | 674 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 31 | 2.76 | 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;

## Playoffs
### Quarter-finals

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score |
| April 16 | Pittsburgh | 2 | Boston | 6 |
| April 18 | Pittsburgh | 3 | Boston | 4 |
| April 21 | Boston | 2 | Pittsburgh | 1 |
| April 22 | Boston | 4 | Pittsburgh | 1 |
Boston wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 0

### Semi-finals

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
In game seven of the Montreal-Boston semi-final, Boston's Rick Middleton scored with four minutes remaining in the third period to give the Bruins a 4–3 lead. Just over a minute later, linesman John D'Amico called a bench minor for too many men on the ice against the Bruins. Montreal's Guy Lafleur scored on the ensuing power play, sending the game to overtime, where Yvon Lambert gave the Canadiens the win and a trip to their fourth straight Stanley Cup Finals.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
| April 26 | Boston | 2 | Montreal | 4 | |
| April 28 | Boston | 2 | Montreal | 5 | |
| May 1 | Montreal | 1 | Boston | 2 | |
| May 3 | Montreal | 3 | Boston | 4 | (OT) |
| May 5 | Boston | 1 | Montreal | 5 | |
| May 8 | Montreal | 2 | Boston | 5 | |
| May 10 | Boston | 4 | Montreal | 5 | (OT) |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 3
* The 1979 NHL Playoffs would mark the end of Don Cherry's tenure with the Bruins. Cherry, who had an uneasy relationship with Bruins General Manager Harry Sinden, was fired by the Bruins after a critical coaching mistake during a 1979 semi-final playoff series against the Canadiens. Up by a goal with less than two minutes left in the seventh game, the Bruins were penalized for having too many men on the ice. The Canadiens' Guy Lafleur scored the tying goal on the subsequent powerplay and ultimately won the game in overtime. Montreal went on to defeat the New York Rangers for their fourth straight Cup title.