1929 – 30 Boston Bruins season The 1929 – 30 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins ' sixth season in the NHL . In defending its American Division title for the second straight season , the Bruins took advantage of new rules and its powerhouse lineup to record the best single season winning percentage in NHL history - a record which still stands . However , the club failed to defend its Stanley Cup title , losing in the finals to the Montreal Canadiens . Regular season . " See also : 1929 – 30 NHL season " To combat low scoring - the previous season had the fewest goals per game recorded before or thereafter - a major rule change was implemented . Players were now allowed forward passing in the offensive zone , instead of only in the defensive and neutral zones . This led to abuse : players sat in front of the opposing net waiting for a pass , and goals scored nearly tripled league - wide . The rule was changed again mid - season in December 1929 , and players were no longer allowed to enter the offensive zone before the puck , thus giving birth to the modern offside rule . In the meantime , however , Boston took advantage of the new rule from its opening match , defeating Detroit 5 - 2 before a sellout crowd behind Cooney Weiland ' s two goals . The team was noted in the press for its skill in dealing with the new infractions called for hanging back , recording many fewer penalties than the other teams in early season play . After a rough match on November 23 against the Montreal Maroons , superstar defenseman Eddie Shore went to the hospital with multiple injuries , missing the return match against the Maroons on the 26th . Bruins ' president Charles Adams presented Shore with a check for $ 500 , purportedly $ 100 for each facial scar he received at the hands of the Maroons . The Bruins went on a tear starting with a 3 - 2 win over Pittsburgh on November 30 , winning fourteen straight games through to a January 9 4 - 3 win against Pittsburgh ; this set a new league mark for consecutive wins that would last for 52 years until the New York Islanders broke it in 1982 , and is still the third longest such streak in league history . The streak was broken by the New York Americans - the league ' s last place team at the time - on January 12 . The Dynamite Line of Cooney Weiland , Dit Clapper and Dutch Gainor was responsible for most of the team ' s goals to that point , and by the halfway mark of the season , the Bruins had a 20 - 3 record , nearly twice as many wins as any other team in the league . In another unusual incident involving Shore , well known for his fighting ability , the Bruins ' defenseman was challenged to a boxing match by baseball player Art Shires . While NHL President Frank Calder said that Shore ' s participation was up to Bruins ' manager Art Ross to decide , baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis vetoed Shires ' participation , and the match was never held . The Bruins had yet another streak ( broken by a Chicago Black Hawks overtime win on March 13 ) of seventeen games without a defeat , tying the then - league record . By season ' s end , Weiland led the league in scoring ( one goal shy of Joe Malone ' s 1918 record of 44 , Dit Clapper had finished third , and Dutch Gainor ninth . The Dynamite Line scored 102 of the Bruins ' league record 179 goals , as many as last - place Pittsburgh managed . Among the many marks set by the Bruins in the 1930 season that remain NHL records was the longest home winning streak in a single season of twenty games ; the fewest ties in an NHL season with 1 ; and the fewest losses in a season with 5 . Playoffs . As the American Division champions , Boston enjoyed a first round bye in the playoffs , and faced the Montreal Maroons , the Canadian Division champions , in the semi - finals in a best - of - five series . The first game of the series was a grueling overtime match in which Bruins ' coach Art Ross was noted for ceaseless criticism of the officiating and the ice condition , to the annoyance of the home crowd in Montreal , won on a Harry Oliver overtime goal at the 45 minute mark . The Bruins won the second match handily on two goals from Clapper , partially due to an injury forcing Montreal star Babe Siebert out only a few minutes into the game , but with Siebert ' s return in the third game the match was much closer . Unusually , Montreal starter Buck Boucher broke a leg 24 minutes into overtime , and his replacement , little - used defenseman Archie Wilcox , scored the game winner at the 26 minute mark . Siebert did not dress for the final game , and the Bruins overwhelmed the Maroons to reach the Cup finals , behind two goals from Marty Barry , earning the Bruins a rest while they waited for their next opponents . Boston Bruins 3 , Montreal Maroons 1 . The Bruins were heavily favored to retain the Stanley Cup , but were shocked in the first game of the best - of - three Finals by the play of Canadiens ' goaltender George Hainsworth , who shut out the Bruins ' powerful offense . In the second game , Montreal went out to a three - goal lead until Eddie Shore began a rally with a goal that spurred the Bruins to tie the match , before the Canadiens scored the final goal to win the Cup . It was the first time all season long the Bruins had lost two games in a row , and the stunning defeat of the regular season champions in such a short series spurred the league to change the Cup Finals to a best - of - five series for subsequent years . Awards and records . " NB : Up through the 1930 season , the NHL did not select end - of - season All - Star Teams . " Post - season exhibition . The Bruins played a three game series in Vancouver against the Pacific Coast Hockey League champion Vancouver Lions . They then moved on to California , where they played the Oakland Sheiks , San Francisco Tigers , and the Los Angeles Richfields of the California League and the Chicago Black Hawks .