# 1974–75 Boston Bruins season

The 1974–75 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 51st season in the NHL.

## Regular season

On December 22, 1974, Phil Esposito scored the 500th goal of his career.

### Divisional standings

Adams Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Buffalo Sabres | 80 | 49 | 16 | 15 | 354 | 240 | +114 | 113 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 80 | 40 | 26 | 14 | 345 | 245 | +100 | 94 |
| 3 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 80 | 31 | 33 | 16 | 280 | 309 | −29 | 78 |
| 4 | California Golden Seals | 80 | 19 | 48 | 13 | 212 | 316 | −104 | 51 |

### Record vs. opponents

Adams Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1974–75 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CAL
TOR
Total
Boston
—1–4–14–21–2–36–8–4
Buffalo
4–1–1—4–0–24–1–112–2–4
California
2–40–4–2—1–3–23–11–4
Toronto
2–1–31–4–13–1–2—6–6–6
Vs. Norris Division
1974–75 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Boston
4–12–30–3–22–1–24–0–112–8–5
Buffalo
3–1–11–3–14–0–13–0–25–016–4–5
California
2–2–11–2–20–50–4–13–26–15–4
Toronto
3–1–10–4–12–1–21–44–110–11–4
Vs. Patrick Division
1974–75 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Boston
4–0–12–23–12–1–111–4–2
Buffalo
1–2–12–0–24–10–3–17–6–4
California
2–21–2–10–2–22–35–9–3
Toronto
1–32–2–12–1–10–3–15–9–3
Vs. Smythe Division
1974–75 NHL records
Team
CHI
KCS
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Boston
2–22–1–13–0–11–2–13–111–6–3
Buffalo
3–14–03–12–0–22–214–4–2
California
1–31–2–11–32–1–10–45–13–2
Toronto
2–22–1–13–12–0–21–310–7–3 :

## Schedule and results

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | L | October 10, 1974 | 5–9 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) | 0–1–0 |
| 2 | T | October 13, 1974 | 2–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) | 0–1–1 |
| 3 | L | October 16, 1974 | 0–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) | 0–2–1 |
| 4 | W | October 17, 1974 | 4–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) | 1–2–1 |
| 5 | W | October 20, 1974 | 5–0 | California Golden Seals (1974–75) | 2–2–1 |
| 6 | T | October 23, 1974 | 5–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) | 2–2–2 |
| 7 | T | October 24, 1974 | 4–4 | St. Louis Blues (1974–75) | 2–2–3 |
| 8 | W | October 27, 1974 | 8–2 | Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) | 3–2–3 |
| 9 | T | October 30, 1974 | 3–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) | 3–2–4 |
| 10 | L | November 2, 1974 | 2–3 | @ New York Islanders (1974–75) | 3–3–4 |
| 11 | W | November 3, 1974 | 10–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) | 4–3–4 |
| 12 | T | November 5, 1974 | 2–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) | 4–3–5 |
| 13 | W | November 7, 1974 | 10–4 | Washington Capitals (1974–75) | 5–3–5 |
| 14 | W | November 10, 1974 | 4–3 | Atlanta Flames (1974–75) | 6–3–5 |
| 15 | L | November 12, 1974 | 3–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1974–75) | 6–4–5 |
| 16 | L | November 14, 1974 | 1–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) | 6–5–5 |
| 17 | W | November 16, 1974 | 7–5 | Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) | 7–5–5 |
| 18 | W | November 17, 1974 | 5–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) | 8–5–5 |
| 19 | W | November 21, 1974 | 4–2 | California Golden Seals (1974–75) | 9–5–5 |
| 20 | W | November 23, 1974 | 5–2 | @ New York Rangers (1974–75) | 10–5–5 |
| 21 | W | November 24, 1974 | 7–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) | 11–5–5 |
| 22 | W | November 27, 1974 | 3–1 | @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) | 12–5–5 |
| 23 | L | November 30, 1974 | 0–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) | 12–6–5 |
| 24 | T | December 4, 1974 | 4–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) | 12–6–6 |
| 25 | L | December 5, 1974 | 4–6 | Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) | 12–7–6 |
| 26 | W | December 8, 1974 | 3–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) | 13–7–6 |
| 27 | W | December 10, 1974 | 6–2 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) | 14–7–6 |
| 28 | W | December 12, 1974 | 8–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) | 15–7–6 |
| 29 | W | December 14, 1974 | 12–1 | Washington Capitals (1974–75) | 16–7–6 |
| 30 | W | December 15, 1974 | 5–2 | New York Islanders (1974–75) | 17–7–6 |
| 31 | W | December 17, 1974 | 5–3 | Atlanta Flames (1974–75) | 18–7–6 |
| 32 | W | December 19, 1974 | 11–3 | New York Rangers (1974–75) | 19–7–6 |
| 33 | L | December 21, 1974 | 4–8 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) | 19–8–6 |
| 34 | W | December 22, 1974 | 5–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) | 20–8–6 |
| 35 | L | December 27, 1974 | 2–5 | @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) | 20–9–6 |
| 36 | L | December 28, 1974 | 4–6 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) | 20–10–6 |
| 37 | W | January 2, 1975 | 5–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) | 21–10–6 |
| 38 | W | January 4, 1975 | 8–0 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) | 22–10–6 |
| 39 | T | January 7, 1975 | 3–3 | @ Washington Capitals (1974–75) | 22–10–7 |
| 40 | W | January 9, 1975 | 5–1 | Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) | 23–10–7 |
| 41 | W | January 11, 1975 | 5–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) | 24–10–7 |
| 42 | L | January 15, 1975 | 3–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) | 24–11–7 |
| 43 | L | January 16, 1975 | 1–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) | 24–12–7 |
| 44 | T | January 18, 1975 | 4–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) | 24–12–8 |
| 45 | W | January 19, 1975 | 6–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) | 25–12–8 |
| 46 | L | January 23, 1975 | 2–3 | Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) | 25–13–8 |
| 47 | T | January 26, 1975 | 2–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) | 25–13–9 |
| 48 | T | January 27, 1975 | 3–3 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1974–75) | 25–13–10 |
| 49 | W | January 30, 1975 | 6–0 | California Golden Seals (1974–75) | 26–13–10 |
| 50 | L | February 1, 1975 | 2–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) | 26–14–10 |
| 51 | W | February 2, 1975 | 5–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) | 27–14–10 |
| 52 | T | February 5, 1975 | 3–3 | @ Atlanta Flames (1974–75) | 27–14–11 |
| 53 | W | February 6, 1975 | 3–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1974–75) | 28–14–11 |
| 54 | W | February 8, 1975 | 8–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) | 29–14–11 |
| 55 | W | February 9, 1975 | 5–1 | New York Islanders (1974–75) | 30–14–11 |
| 56 | L | February 12, 1975 | 3–8 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) | 30–15–11 |
| 57 | L | February 13, 1975 | 1–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) | 30–16–11 |
| 58 | L | February 16, 1975 | 3–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1974–75) | 30–17–11 |
| 59 | W | February 18, 1975 | 3–1 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1974–75) | 31–17–11 |
| 60 | L | February 21, 1975 | 4–6 | @ California Golden Seals (1974–75) | 31–18–11 |
| 61 | L | February 22, 1975 | 0–6 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1974–75) | 31–19–11 |
| 62 | W | February 25, 1975 | 6–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) | 32–19–11 |
| 63 | W | February 27, 1975 | 9–4 | Detroit Red Wings (1974–75) | 33–19–11 |
| 64 | W | March 2, 1975 | 6–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1974–75) | 34–19–11 |
| 65 | W | March 4, 1975 | 8–0 | @ Washington Capitals (1974–75) | 35–19–11 |
| 66 | W | March 7, 1975 | 4–2 | @ Atlanta Flames (1974–75) | 36–19–11 |
| 67 | W | March 9, 1975 | 5–2 | Atlanta Flames (1974–75) | 37–19–11 |
| 68 | W | March 11, 1975 | 6–3 | New York Rangers (1974–75) | 38–19–11 |
| 69 | L | March 12, 1975 | 3–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1974–75) | 38–20–11 |
| 70 | L | March 15, 1975 | 1–3 | @ New York Islanders (1974–75) | 38–21–11 |
| 71 | W | March 16, 1975 | 7–2 | St. Louis Blues (1974–75) | 39–21–11 |
| 72 | L | March 19, 1975 | 1–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) | 39–22–11 |
| 73 | W | March 22, 1975 | 8–2 | Washington Capitals (1974–75) | 40–22–11 |
| 74 | L | March 23, 1975 | 5–7 | @ New York Rangers (1974–75) | 40–23–11 |
| 75 | L | March 26, 1975 | 1–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1974–75) | 40–24–11 |
| 76 | T | March 29, 1975 | 1–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) | 40–24–12 |
| 77 | T | March 30, 1975 | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1974–75) | 40–24–13 |
| 78 | L | April 1, 1975 | 1–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) | 40–25–13 |
| 79 | L | April 3, 1975 | 2–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1974–75) | 40–26–13 |
| 80 | T | April 6, 1975 | 4–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1974–75) | 40–26–14 |

### Playoffs

* Chicago won series 2–1

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Bobby Orr | D | 80 | 46 | 89 | 135 | 101 | 80 | 16 | 2 | 4 |
| Phil Esposito | C | 79 | 61 | 66 | 127 | 62 | 18 | 27 | 4 | 8 |
| John Bucyk | LW | 78 | 29 | 52 | 81 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 4 |
| Gregg Sheppard | C | 76 | 30 | 48 | 78 | 19 | 43 | 5 | 7 | 4 |
| Carol Vadnais | D | 79 | 18 | 56 | 74 | 129 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Ken Hodge | RW | 72 | 23 | 43 | 66 | 90 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 2 |
| Don Marcotte | LW | 80 | 31 | 33 | 64 | 76 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Bobby Schmautz | RW | 56 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 63 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Andre Savard | C | 77 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 45 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Terry O'Reilly | RW | 68 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 146 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Wayne Cashman | LW | 42 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Dave Forbes | LW | 69 | 18 | 12 | 30 | 80 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dallas Smith | D | 79 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 84 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Al Sims | D | 75 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 73 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hank Nowak | LW | 21 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 26 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Darryl Edestrand | D | 68 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 56 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Walt McKechnie | C | 53 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | −6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Earl Anderson | RW | 19 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dave Hynes | LW | 19 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Graham | LW | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilles Gilbert | G | 53 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Langdon | LW | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Broderick | G | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ross Brooks | G | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gordie Clark | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Doak | D | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | −3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Rathwell | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Sarner | RW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gilles Gilbert | 3029 | 53 | 23 | 17 | 11 | 158 | 3.13 | 3 |
| Ross Brooks | 967 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 48 | 2.98 | 0 |
| Ken Broderick | 804 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 32 | 2.39 | 1 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 40 | 26 | 14 | 238 | 2.97 | 4 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Bobby Orr | D | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bobby Schmautz | RW | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carol Vadnais | D | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Phil Esposito | C | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gregg Sheppard | C | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Hodge | RW | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Andre Savard | C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Wayne Cashman | LW | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dallas Smith | D | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Bucyk | LW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Marcotte | LW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hank Nowak | LW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Earl Anderson | RW | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darryl Edestrand | D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Doak | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Forbes | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilles Gilbert | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry O'Reilly | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gilles Gilbert | 188 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 3.83 | 0 |
| Team: | 188 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 3.83 | 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
### Milestones

Regular Season :
| Player | Milestone | Reached |

## Free agents

| Player | Former Team |

### Claimed from waivers

| Player | Former team | Date claimed off waivers |

## Draft picks

| Round | # | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 18 | Don Larway | Right wing | Canada | Swift Current Broncos (WCHL) |
| 2 | 25 | Mark Howe | Left wing | United States | Houston Aeros (WHA) |
| 2 | 36 | Peter Sturgeon | Left wing | Canada | Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL) |
| 3 | 54 | Tom Edur | Defense | Canada | Cleveland Crusaders (WHA) |
| 4 | 72 | Bill Reed | Defense | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL) |
| 5 | 90 | Jamie Bateman | Left wing | Canada | Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 108 | Bill Best | Left wing | Canada | Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) |
| 7 | 126 | Ray Maluta | Defense | Canada | Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) |
| 8 | 143 | Daryl Drader | Defense | Canada | University of North Dakota (WCHA) |
| 9 | 160 | Pete Roberts | Center | United States | St. Cloud Junior Blues (MWJHL) |
| 10 | 175 | Peter Waselovich | Goaltender | United States | University of North Dakota (WCHA) |