1940 – 41 Boston Bruins season The 1940 – 41 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins ' 17th season in the National Hockey League , and they were coming off of a successful season in 1939 – 40 , leading the NHL in points for the third season in a row , as they finished with a 31 – 12 – 5 record , accumulating 67 points . However , the Bruins lost to the New York Rangers in the NHL semi - finals , ending their chances for a second - straight Stanley Cup . This year , the Bruins repeated as regular - season champs and returned to the Final , and defeated the Detroit Red Wings four games to none to win the organization ' s third Stanley Cup . Regular season . Boston would have a slow start to the season , going winless in their first 4 games ( 0 – 2 – 2 ) , and sat with a 6 – 7 – 3 record 16 games into the season , fighting with the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Americans for 3rd place in the league . The Bruins would then go on a record breaking unbeaten streak , as they would have a 15 – 0 – 8 record in their next 23 games , and sit in 2nd place to the Toronto Maple Leafs . After a 2 – 0 loss to the New York Rangers , Boston would finish the season 6 – 0 – 2 to pass the Leafs , and finish with the most points in the NHL for the 4th straight year . Boston had an amazing 21 – 1 – 10 record to close out the season . Bill Cowley would lead the NHL in scoring with 62 points , as he scored 17 goals and added 45 assists . Roy Conacher led the Bruins in goals with 24 , and added 14 assists for a career high 38 points . Eddie Wiseman and Bobby Bauer had productive seasons , earning 40 and 39 points respectively , while Milt Schmidt finished with 38 . Team captain Dit Clapper led the Boston blueline with 26 points , while Flash Hollett led the Bruins defense with 9 goals . In goal , Frank Brimsek had another outstanding season , winning 27 games , while earning 6 shutouts and posting a 2 . 01 GAA . Playoffs . In the playoffs , Boston would have a first - round bye , advancing straight to the NHL semi - finals , where they would face the second place Toronto Maple Leafs in a best of seven series . The Bruins finished 5 points ahead of the Leafs during the regular season . The series opened at the Boston Garden , with each team winning a game , before moving to Maple Leaf Gardens for games three and four . The Leafs took a 2 – 1 series lead with a big 7 – 2 victory , however , Boston evened the series up at two games each with a solid 2 – 1 win in game four . Game 5 shifted back to Boston , but it was Toronto who took a 3 – 2 series lead , with a 2 – 1 overtime victory . The series moved back to Toronto for the 6th game , and with Boston facing elimination , the Bruins would hold off the Leafs for a 2 – 1 win to force a 7th and deciding game in Boston . The Bruins once again would fend off Toronto , hanging on for a 2 – 1 win , to take the series 4 – 3 , and earn a spot in the Stanley Cup final . The Bruins opponent was the Detroit Red Wings , who finished the regular season with 53 points , 14 less than Boston . Detroit had defeated the New York Rangers and Chicago Black Hawks to earn a spot in the final . The series opened in Boston , with the Bruins winning the first 2 games by close scores of 3 – 2 and 2 – 1 to take a 2 – 0 series lead . The series moved to the Detroit Olympia for the next 2 games , but Boston would complete the sweep , winning games 3 and 4 by scores of 4 – 2 and 3 – 1 to become the first team in NHL history to sweep a 4 game series , and win their 2nd Stanley Cup in 3 seasons , and their 3rd in franchise history . 1941 Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Champions . Bill Cowley , Des Smith , Dit Clapper , Frank Brimsek , Flash Hollett , John Crawford , Bobby Bauer , Pat McReavy , Herb Cain , Mel Hill , Milt Schmidt , Woody Dumart , Roy Conacher , Terry Reardon , Art Jackson , Eddie Wiseman , Art Ross ( manager ) , Cooney Weiland ( coach ) , Win Green ( trainer )