# 1970–71 Boston Bruins season

The 1970–71 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 47th season in the NHL. As defending champions, Boston set many NHL records. They earned 54 wins and 121 points, surpassing the previous records set by the 1968–69 Montreal Canadiens. They also scored 399 goals to shatter their own record set in 1968–69, and their goal differential of +192 surpassed the previous record set by the 1943–44 Montreal Canadiens as well. The NHL's top four scorers (Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, Johnny Bucyk, and Ken Hodge), each with over 100 points, were all Bruins; previously, there had only been four players in the history of the NHL with 100-point seasons, and no other NHL franchise has ever produced the top four scorers in a season (the Bruins replicated the feat in 1973–74). With 76 goals and 152 points, Esposito broke Bobby Hull's single season record for goals, as well as his own single season points record, both set in 1968–69. Finally, with 102 assists, Orr broke the single season record for most assists that he set the previous year.
However, the team's unprecedented offence was shut down by rookie goaltender Ken Dryden, who guided the Montreal Canadiens to a seven-game upset against the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs.
All of the Bruins' aforementioned records have since been broken:
* The Montreal Canadiens earned 58 wins and 127 points in 1975–76.
* Montreal earned a goal differential of +216 in 1976–77.
* Wayne Gretzky scored 109 assists and 164 points in 1980–81.
* Gretzky scored 92 goals while the Edmonton Oilers scored 417 total goals in 1981–82.

## Offseason

* Bobby Orr signed the NHL's first one million dollar contract (to be paid out over five years).

### NHL Draft

| Round | Overall | Player |
| 1 | 3 | Reggie Leach |
| 1 | 4 | Rick MacLeish |
| 1 | 9 | Ron Plumb |
| 1 | 13 | Bob Stewart |
| 2 | 27 | Dan Bouchard |
| 3 | 41 | Ray Brownlee |
| 4 | 55 | Gord Davies |
| 5 | 69 | Bob Roselle |
| 6 | 83 | Murray Wing |
| 7 | 96 | Glenn Siddall |

## Regular season

The 1970–71 Bruins set an NHL record by having 10 different skaters score 20 goals or more in a season. The record was broken by the 1977–78 Bruins when they had 11 different skaters with 20 goals or more.

### Playoffs

The postseason ended quickly for the Bruins as they lost in the opening round to the Montreal Canadiens and their rookie goaltender Ken Dryden in a seven-game upset.

### Season standings

East Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 78 | 57 | 14 | 7 | 399 | 207 | +192 | 121 |
| 2 | New York Rangers | 78 | 49 | 18 | 11 | 259 | 177 | +82 | 109 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 78 | 42 | 23 | 13 | 291 | 216 | +75 | 97 |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 78 | 37 | 33 | 8 | 248 | 211 | +37 | 82 |
| 5 | Buffalo Sabres | 78 | 24 | 39 | 15 | 217 | 291 | −74 | 63 |
| 6 | Vancouver Canucks | 78 | 24 | 46 | 8 | 229 | 296 | −67 | 56 |
| 7 | Detroit Red Wings | 78 | 22 | 45 | 11 | 209 | 308 | −99 | 55 |

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

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 11, 1970 | 7–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 14, 1970 | 8–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | W | October 16, 1970 | 5–1 | @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) | 3–0–0 |
| 4 | W | October 18, 1970 | 5–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) | 4–0–0 |
| 5 | T | October 22, 1970 | 3–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) | 4–0–1 |
| 6 | W | October 25, 1970 | 4–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) | 5–0–1 |
| 7 | L | October 29, 1970 | 3–5 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) | 5–1–1 |
| 8 | W | October 31, 1970 | 6–0 | New York Rangers (1970–71) | 6–1–1 |
| 9 | W | November 1, 1970 | 5–0 | Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) | 7–1–1 |
| 10 | L | November 5, 1970 | 0–2 | St. Louis Blues (1970–71) | 7–2–1 |
| 11 | T | November 7, 1970 | 2–2 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) | 7–2–2 |
| 12 | W | November 8, 1970 | 6–1 | Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) | 8–2–2 |
| 13 | W | November 10, 1970 | 6–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) | 9–2–2 |
| 14 | L | November 14, 1970 | 2–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) | 9–3–2 |
| 15 | L | November 15, 1970 | 1–2 | California Golden Seals (1970–71) | 9–4–2 |
| 16 | W | November 18, 1970 | 8–4 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) | 10–4–2 |
| 17 | W | November 21, 1970 | 5–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) | 11–4–2 |
| 18 | W | November 22, 1970 | 4–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) | 12–4–2 |
| 19 | T | November 24, 1970 | 5–5 | @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) | 12–4–3 |
| 20 | W | November 26, 1970 | 3–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) | 13–4–3 |
| 21 | T | November 28, 1970 | 3–3 | @ New York Rangers (1970–71) | 13–4–4 |
| 22 | W | November 29, 1970 | 4–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) | 14–4–4 |
| 23 | L | December 2, 1970 | 3–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) | 14–5–4 |
| 24 | T | December 3, 1970 | 4–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) | 14–5–5 |
| 25 | W | December 5, 1970 | 4–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) | 15–5–5 |
| 26 | W | December 6, 1970 | 6–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) | 16–5–5 |
| 27 | W | December 10, 1970 | 8–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) | 17–5–5 |
| 28 | W | December 12, 1970 | 1–0 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) | 18–5–5 |
| 29 | W | December 13, 1970 | 6–2 | Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) | 19–5–5 |
| 30 | W | December 16, 1970 | 6–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) | 20–5–5 |
| 31 | W | December 19, 1970 | 7–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) | 21–5–5 |
| 32 | W | December 20, 1970 | 7–2 | Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) | 22–5–5 |
| 33 | W | December 23, 1970 | 2–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) | 23–5–5 |
| 34 | W | December 25, 1970 | 8–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) | 24–5–5 |
| 35 | L | December 26, 1970 | 2–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) | 24–6–5 |
| 36 | W | December 30, 1970 | 6–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) | 25–6–5 |
| 37 | W | January 1, 1971 | 9–4 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) | 26–6–5 |
| 38 | W | January 3, 1971 | 5–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) | 27–6–5 |
| 39 | W | January 7, 1971 | 6–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) | 28–6–5 |
| 40 | L | January 9, 1971 | 3–4 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) | 28–7–5 |
| 41 | W | January 10, 1971 | 7–4 | California Golden Seals (1970–71) | 29–7–5 |
| 42 | W | January 14, 1971 | 9–5 | Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) | 30–7–5 |
| 43 | L | January 16, 1971 | 2–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) | 30–8–5 |
| 44 | W | January 17, 1971 | 9–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) | 31–8–5 |
| 45 | W | January 23, 1971 | 6–2 | Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) | 32–8–5 |
| 46 | W | January 24, 1971 | 4–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) | 33–8–5 |
| 47 | T | January 27, 1971 | 2–2 | @ New York Rangers (1970–71) | 33–8–6 |
| 48 | W | January 28, 1971 | 6–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) | 34–8–6 |
| 49 | W | January 31, 1971 | 6–0 | St. Louis Blues (1970–71) | 35–8–6 |
| 50 | W | February 3, 1971 | 7–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) | 36–8–6 |
| 51 | W | February 6, 1971 | 4–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) | 37–8–6 |
| 52 | T | February 7, 1971 | 4–4 | Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) | 37–8–7 |
| 53 | W | February 9, 1971 | 6–3 | New York Rangers (1970–71) | 38–8–7 |
| 54 | W | February 11, 1971 | 5–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) | 39–8–7 |
| 55 | W | February 14, 1971 | 5–1 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) | 40–8–7 |
| 56 | L | February 16, 1971 | 4–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) | 40–9–7 |
| 57 | W | February 19, 1971 | 5–0 | @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) | 41–9–7 |
| 58 | L | February 20, 1971 | 4–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) | 41–10–7 |
| 59 | W | February 23, 1971 | 6–3 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) | 42–10–7 |
| 60 | W | February 25, 1971 | 8–3 | Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) | 43–10–7 |
| 61 | W | February 28, 1971 | 4–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) | 44–10–7 |
| 62 | W | March 2, 1971 | 6–0 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) | 45–10–7 |
| 63 | W | March 4, 1971 | 7–0 | California Golden Seals (1970–71) | 46–10–7 |
| 64 | W | March 6, 1971 | 6–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) | 47–10–7 |
| 65 | W | March 7, 1971 | 4–1 | St. Louis Blues (1970–71) | 48–10–7 |
| 66 | W | March 10, 1971 | 8–1 | @ California Golden Seals (1970–71) | 49–10–7 |
| 67 | W | March 11, 1971 | 7–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) | 50–10–7 |
| 68 | W | March 13, 1971 | 6–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) | 51–10–7 |
| 69 | W | March 16, 1971 | 11–4 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) | 52–10–7 |
| 70 | W | March 18, 1971 | 7–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) | 53–10–7 |
| 71 | W | March 20, 1971 | 5–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) | 54–10–7 |
| 72 | L | March 21, 1971 | 5–7 | Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) | 54–11–7 |
| 73 | L | March 24, 1971 | 1–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) | 54–12–7 |
| 74 | L | March 27, 1971 | 3–6 | New York Rangers (1970–71) | 54–13–7 |
| 75 | L | March 28, 1971 | 1–2 | @ New York Rangers (1970–71) | 54–14–7 |
| 76 | W | March 31, 1971 | 6–3 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) | 55–14–7 |
| 77 | W | April 3, 1971 | 8–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) | 56–14–7 |
| 78 | W | April 4, 1971 | 7–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) | 57–14–7 |

## Playoffs
### Quarterfinals: (E1) Boston Bruins vs. (E3) Montreal Canadiens

* Montreal won series 4–3

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

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Phil Esposito | C | 78 | 76 | 76 | 152 | 71 | 71 | 25 | 1 | 16 |
| Bobby Orr | D | 78 | 37 | 102 | 139 | 91 | 124 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| John Bucyk | LW | 78 | 51 | 65 | 116 | 8 | 36 | 22 | 0 | 5 |
| Ken Hodge | RW | 78 | 43 | 62 | 105 | 113 | 71 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| Wayne Cashman | LW | 77 | 21 | 58 | 79 | 100 | 59 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| John McKenzie | RW | 65 | 31 | 46 | 77 | 120 | 27 | 11 | 0 | 3 |
| Fred Stanfield | LW | 75 | 24 | 52 | 76 | 12 | 32 | 8 | 0 | 3 |
| Derek Sanderson | C | 71 | 29 | 34 | 63 | 130 | 39 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Ed Westfall | D/RW | 78 | 25 | 34 | 59 | 48 | 58 | 0 | 7 | 5 |
| Wayne Carleton | LW | 69 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 44 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Dallas Smith | D | 73 | 7 | 38 | 45 | 68 | 94 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Ted Green | D | 78 | 5 | 37 | 42 | 60 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Marcotte | LW | 75 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 30 | 20 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| Don Awrey | D | 74 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 141 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rick Smith | D | 67 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 44 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mike Walton | C | 22 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reggie Leach | RW | 23 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garnet Bailey | LW | 36 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 44 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Johnston | G | 38 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ivan Boldirev | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Cheevers | G | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Schock | LW | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Speer | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Eddie Johnston | 2280 | 38 | 30 | 6 | 2 | 96 | 2.53 | 4 |
| Gerry Cheevers | 2400 | 40 | 27 | 8 | 5 | 109 | 2.72 | 3 |
| Team: | 4680 | 78 | 57 | 14 | 7 | 205 | 2.63 | 7 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Bobby Orr | D | 7 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Phil Esposito | C | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Fred Stanfield | LW | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Bucyk | LW | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Hodge | RW | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Cashman | LW | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| John McKenzie | RW | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Derek Sanderson | C | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ed Westfall | D/RW | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Dallas Smith | D | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Walton | C | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ted Green | D | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Awrey | D | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Garnet Bailey | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Carleton | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Cheevers | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Johnston | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reggie Leach | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Marcotte | LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Smith | D | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Gerry Cheevers | 360 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 3.50 | 0 |
| Eddie Johnston | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7.00 | 0 |
| Team: | 420 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 28 | 4.00 | 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

* Prince of Wales Trophy: || Boston Bruins
* Art Ross Trophy: || Phil Esposito
* Hart Memorial Trophy: || Bobby Orr
* James Norris Memorial Trophy: || Bobby Orr
* Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: || Johnny Bucyk
* Lester B. Pearson Award: || Phil Esposito
* NHL Plus/Minus Award: || Bobby Orr
* Johnny Bucyk, Left Wing, NHL First Team All-Star
* Phil Esposito, Center, NHL First Team All-Star
* Phil Esposito, Club Record, Most Points in a Season, 152
* Phil Esposito, NHL Record, Most Shots on Goal in One Season (550)
* Ken Hodge, Right Wing, NHL First Team All-Star
* Bobby Orr, Defence, NHL First Team All-Star
* Bobby Orr, Club Record, Most Assists in a Season, 102
* Bobby Orr, NHL Record, Most Assists by a Defenseman in One Season (102)
* Bobby Orr, NHL Record, Most Points by a Defenseman in One Season (139)