1928 – 29 Boston Bruins season The 1928 – 29 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins ' fifth season in the NHL . Boston defended its American Division title , and went on to defeat the New York Rangers in the finals to become the third American - based team to become Stanley Cup champions . Regular season . " See also : 1928 – 29 NHL season " In the off - season , the Bruins acquired Cy Denneny from the Ottawa Senators , who became a player - coach for the team , taking over from Art Ross , who stepped down to concentrate on his general manager duties . The team also had a new goaltender with the retirement of Hal Winkler , rookie Tiny Thompson , who spent the 1927 – 28 season with the Bruins ' farm team , the Minneapolis Millers of the AHA , and a promising new forward , Cooney Weiland , who also played with Minneapolis . The team also moved into a new home , the Boston Garden . In their debut game at the Garden , the Bruins lost 1 – 0 to the Montreal Canadiens . Boston got off to a slow start , and through their first 14 games , the Bruins had a record of 5 – 7 – 2 , tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates . As the season progressed , Boston made a few trades , acquiring star Mickey MacKay from the Pirates and Bill Carson from the Toronto Maple Leafs . Lester Patrick and the New York Rangers offered Winthrop native Myles Lane to the Bruins , astonishingly asking for superstar Eddie Shore in return . Bruins ' general manager Art Ross replied famously , " You are so many Myles from Shore you need a life preserver . " Nonetheless , the Bruins purchased Lane ' s rights for $ 7 , 500 . Further , Weiland was matched with Dit Clapper and Dutch Gainor on a powerful forward line which garnered the nickname " Dynamite Line , " one of the first named forward lines in history . The Bruins rebounded with a 13 game unbeaten streak , which gave them a 16 – 7 – 4 record and suddenly in contention with the New York Rangers for top spot in the American Division . Boston had a 10 – 6 – 1 record in their remaining 17 games , and held off the Rangers to defend their American Division and the Prince of Wales Trophy , finishing with a 26 – 13 – 5 mark and a team record 57 points . Harry Oliver led Boston in scoring , with 17 goals and 23 points . Dutch Gainor and defenseman Eddie Shore finished just behind Oliver with 19 points , while rookie Cooney Weiland tallied 11 goals and 18 points . Shore led the club with 96 penalty minutes , while team captain Lionel Hitchman finished with 64 penalty minutes . In goal , Tiny Thompson had an impressive rookie season , winning 26 games while posting a 1 . 15 goals against average — both Bruins ' records , as well as recording 12 shutouts . Thompson ' s 1 . 15 GAA remains the Bruins ' single - season record and is the second lowest ever recorded over a full season in NHL history . Playoffs . In the playoffs , Boston had a 1st round bye , due to finishing on top of the American Division , and faced the Montreal Canadiens , the winners of the Canadian Division , in the semi - finals in a best - of - five series . The series began with two games at the Boston Garden , and the Bruins , led by Tiny Thompson , won both games by identical 1 – 0 scores to take a 2 – 0 series lead . Game Three shifted to Montreal , and while the Canadiens were able to solve Thompson for two goals , Boston scored three of their own , and swept the series . In the Stanley Cup finals , Boston faced their divisional rival - and the team that eliminated them from the playoffs the previous season - the New York Rangers in a best - of - three series . New York had defeated the Detroit Cougars and the Toronto Maple Leafs to earn a spot in the finals . Game One was played in Boston , and Thompson again shut the door , as the Bruins won the game 2 – 0 . Boston completed the two game sweep at Madison Square Garden in New York City , defeating the Rangers 2 – 1 , to clinch the first Stanley Cup in team history and making them the third American team to win the Cup championship .