# 1968–69 Boston Bruins season

The 1968–69 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 45th season in the NHL.

## Regular season

The Bruins set several league records for scoring, both team and individual. Phil Esposito broke league records for points and assists, becoming the first player in NHL history to exceed 100 points, with 126 and 77 respectively. With linemates Ken Hodge and Ron Murphy, he shared in a new record for most points by a forward line with 263. Bobby Orr set new league records for goals and points by a defenseman with 21 and 64. The team as a whole scored the most goals in history with 303, and were awarded the most penalty minutes with 1297.

### Season standings

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 76 | 46 | 19 | 11 | 271 | 202 | +69 | 103 |
| 2 | Boston Bruins | 76 | 42 | 18 | 16 | 303 | 221 | +82 | 100 |
| 3 | New York Rangers | 76 | 41 | 26 | 9 | 231 | 196 | +35 | 91 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 76 | 35 | 26 | 15 | 234 | 217 | +17 | 85 |
| 5 | Detroit Red Wings | 76 | 33 | 31 | 12 | 239 | 221 | +18 | 78 |
| 6 | Chicago Black Hawks | 76 | 34 | 33 | 9 | 280 | 246 | +34 | 77 |

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

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 11, 1968 | 4–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 13, 1968 | 3–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | W | October 16, 1968 | 2–1 | @ Oakland Seals (1968–69) | 3–0–0 |
| 4 | L | October 17, 1968 | 1–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | W | October 19, 1968 | 5–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) | 4–1–0 |
| 6 | L | October 24, 1968 | 1–2 | St. Louis Blues (1968–69) | 4–2–0 |
| 7 | L | October 26, 1968 | 0–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) | 4–3–0 |
| 8 | W | October 27, 1968 | 4–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 5–3–0 |
| 9 | W | October 30, 1968 | 4–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) | 6–3–0 |
| 10 | L | October 31, 1968 | 5–7 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 6–4–0 |
| 11 | W | November 3, 1968 | 5–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 7–4–0 |
| 12 | W | November 6, 1968 | 7–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) | 8–4–0 |
| 13 | T | November 10, 1968 | 1–1 | St. Louis Blues (1968–69) | 8–4–1 |
| 14 | T | November 13, 1968 | 1–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) | 8–4–2 |
| 15 | L | November 14, 1968 | 2–4 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) | 8–5–2 |
| 16 | W | November 17, 1968 | 6–3 | Oakland Seals (1968–69) | 9–5–2 |
| 17 | W | November 21, 1968 | 4–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) | 10–5–2 |
| 18 | W | November 23, 1968 | 5–1 | New York Rangers (1968–69) | 11–5–2 |
| 19 | W | November 24, 1968 | 7–4 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) | 12–5–2 |
| 20 | T | November 27, 1968 | 4–4 | @ St. Louis Blues (1968–69) | 12–5–3 |
| 21 | L | November 30, 1968 | 1–4 | New York Rangers (1968–69) | 12–6–3 |
| 22 | W | December 1, 1968 | 4–0 | Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) | 13–6–3 |
| 23 | T | December 5, 1968 | 2–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 13–6–4 |
| 24 | W | December 7, 1968 | 4–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 14–6–4 |
| 25 | L | December 8, 1968 | 4–7 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 14–7–4 |
| 26 | T | December 11, 1968 | 2–2 | @ New York Rangers (1968–69) | 14–7–5 |
| 27 | W | December 14, 1968 | 10–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 15–7–5 |
| 28 | W | December 15, 1968 | 5–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) | 16–7–5 |
| 29 | W | December 19, 1968 | 6–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) | 17–7–5 |
| 30 | T | December 21, 1968 | 0–0 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 17–7–6 |
| 31 | W | December 22, 1968 | 7–5 | Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 18–7–6 |
| 32 | L | December 25, 1968 | 1–3 | Oakland Seals (1968–69) | 18–8–6 |
| 33 | W | December 28, 1968 | 6–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1968–69) | 19–8–6 |
| 34 | T | December 29, 1968 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 19–8–7 |
| 35 | W | January 2, 1969 | 4–2 | @ New York Rangers (1968–69) | 20–8–7 |
| 36 | T | January 4, 1969 | 2–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) | 20–8–8 |
| 37 | W | January 9, 1969 | 3–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) | 21–8–8 |
| 38 | W | January 11, 1969 | 6–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 22–8–8 |
| 39 | W | January 12, 1969 | 8–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) | 23–8–8 |
| 40 | T | January 15, 1969 | 5–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) | 23–8–9 |
| 41 | W | January 16, 1969 | 5–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) | 24–8–9 |
| 42 | W | January 18, 1969 | 5–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) | 25–8–9 |
| 43 | W | January 19, 1969 | 5–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) | 26–8–9 |
| 44 | T | January 23, 1969 | 2–2 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 26–8–10 |
| 45 | W | January 25, 1969 | 4–0 | St. Louis Blues (1968–69) | 27–8–10 |
| 46 | W | January 26, 1969 | 4–3 | Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) | 28–8–10 |
| 47 | T | January 29, 1969 | 3–3 | @ Oakland Seals (1968–69) | 28–8–11 |
| 48 | W | January 30, 1969 | 7–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) | 29–8–11 |
| 49 | W | February 2, 1969 | 4–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 30–8–11 |
| 50 | W | February 5, 1969 | 7–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 31–8–11 |
| 51 | L | February 6, 1969 | 1–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1968–69) | 31–9–11 |
| 52 | W | February 8, 1969 | 6–5 | Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) | 32–9–11 |
| 53 | T | February 9, 1969 | 3–3 | Oakland Seals (1968–69) | 32–9–12 |
| 54 | W | February 11, 1969 | 7–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 33–9–12 |
| 55 | L | February 15, 1969 | 1–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 33–10–12 |
| 56 | L | February 16, 1969 | 1–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 33–11–12 |
| 57 | L | February 19, 1969 | 0–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) | 33–12–12 |
| 58 | L | February 23, 1969 | 0–9 | @ New York Rangers (1968–69) | 33–13–12 |
| 59 | W | February 26, 1969 | 4–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) | 34–13–12 |
| 60 | W | February 27, 1969 | 9–0 | @ Oakland Seals (1968–69) | 35–13–12 |
| 61 | W | March 1, 1969 | 8–5 | New York Rangers (1968–69) | 36–13–12 |
| 62 | W | March 2, 1969 | 4–0 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) | 37–13–12 |
| 63 | T | March 5, 1969 | 2–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 37–13–13 |
| 64 | L | March 8, 1969 | 4–7 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69) | 37–14–13 |
| 65 | W | March 9, 1969 | 7–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1968–69) | 38–14–13 |
| 66 | T | March 11, 1969 | 3–3 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69) | 38–14–14 |
| 67 | L | March 13, 1969 | 1–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69) | 38–15–14 |
| 68 | L | March 15, 1969 | 4–7 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) | 38–16–14 |
| 69 | W | March 16, 1969 | 11–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69) | 39–16–14 |
| 70 | W | March 19, 1969 | 3–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69) | 40–16–14 |
| 71 | T | March 20, 1969 | 5–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 40–16–15 |
| 72 | W | March 22, 1969 | 5–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69) | 41–16–15 |
| 73 | L | March 23, 1969 | 2–4 | @ New York Rangers (1968–69) | 41–17–15 |
| 74 | T | March 27, 1969 | 3–3 | New York Rangers (1968–69) | 41–17–16 |
| 75 | L | March 29, 1969 | 3–5 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 41–18–16 |
| 76 | W | March 30, 1969 | 6–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1968–69) | 42–18–16 |

## Playoffs

Quarterfinals
| Date | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 4/2/1969 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 10–0 | Win |
| 4/3/1969 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 7–0 | Win |
| 4/5/1969 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 4–3 | Win |
| 4/6/1969 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs | 3–2 | Win |
Semifinals
| Date | Opponent | Score | Result |
| 4/10/1969 | @ Montreal Canadiens | 3–2 | Loss |
| 4/13/1969 | @ Montreal Canadiens | 4–3 | Loss |
| 4/17/1969 | Montreal Canadiens | 5–0 | Win |
| 4/20/1969 | Montreal Canadiens | 3–2 | Win |
| 4/22/1969 | @ Montreal Canadiens | 4–2 | Loss |
| 4/24/1969 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–1 | Loss |

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Phil Esposito | C | 74 | 49 | 77 | 126 | 79 | 10 | 2 | 9 |
| Ken Hodge | RW | 75 | 45 | 45 | 90 | 75 | 9 | 1 | 7 |
| John Bucyk | LW | 70 | 24 | 42 | 66 | 18 | 11 | 0 | 3 |
| Bobby Orr | D | 67 | 21 | 43 | 64 | 133 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| John McKenzie | RW | 60 | 29 | 27 | 56 | 99 | 8 | 1 | 7 |
| Fred Stanfield | LW | 71 | 25 | 29 | 54 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Ron Murphy | LW | 60 | 16 | 38 | 54 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Derek Sanderson | C | 61 | 26 | 22 | 48 | 146 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Ted Green | D | 65 | 8 | 38 | 46 | 99 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Ed Westfall | D/RW | 70 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 22 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Wayne Cashman | LW | 51 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 49 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Dallas Smith | D | 75 | 4 | 24 | 28 | 74 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Eddie Shack | LW | 50 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 74 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Glen Sather | LW | 76 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 67 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Don Awrey | D | 73 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 149 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommy Williams | RW | 26 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garnet Bailey | LW | 8 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gary Doak | D | 22 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Smith | D | 48 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Lorentz | C/RW | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Harrison | C | 16 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jean Gauthier | D | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Webster | RW | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grant Erickson | LW | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Marcotte | LW | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barry Wilkins | D | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Hurley | D | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Johnston | G | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Lesuk | LW | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Atkinson | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Cheevers | G | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barry Gibbs | D | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Junkin | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Leiter | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ross Lonsberry | LW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gerry Cheevers | 3112 | 52 | 28 | 12 | 12 | 145 | 2.80 | 3 |
| Eddie Johnston | 1440 | 24 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 74 | 3.08 | 2 |
| Joe Junkin | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 4560 | 76 | 42 | 18 | 16 | 219 | 2.88 | 5 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Phil Esposito | C | 10 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Ken Hodge | RW | 10 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| John Bucyk | LW | 10 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Derek Sanderson | C | 9 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 36 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Ed Westfall | D/RW | 10 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Ted Green | D | 10 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Murphy | LW | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Orr | D | 10 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| John McKenzie | RW | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fred Stanfield | LW | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dallas Smith | D | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Shack | LW | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Awrey | D | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Cashman | LW | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garnet Bailey | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Cheevers | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Johnston | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Lesuk | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glen Sather | LW | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Smith | D | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Webster | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gerry Cheevers | 572 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 1.68 | 3 |
| Eddie Johnston | 65 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3.69 | 0 |
| Team: | 637 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 1.88 | 3 |
    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

* Phil Esposito, Art Ross Trophy
* Phil Esposito, Hart Memorial Trophy
* Phil Esposito, NHL First Team All-Star
* Ted Green, NHL Second Team All-Star
* Bobby Orr, James Norris Memorial Trophy
* Bobby Orr, NHL Plus/Minus Award
* Bobby Orr, NHL First Team All-Star

## Draft picks
### NHL Draft

| Round | Overall | Player | Nationality | Position |
| 1 | 12 | Danny Schock | Canada | Left Wing |
| 2 | 18 | Fraser Rice | Canada | Center |
| 3 | 24 | Brian St. John | Canada | Center |