1977–78 Boston Bruins season

1977–78 Boston Bruins
Adams Division champions
Division1st Adams
Conference2nd Wales
1977–78 record51–18–11
Home record29–6–5
Road record22–12–6
Goals for333
Goals against218
Team information
General managerHarry Sinden
CoachDon Cherry
CaptainWayne Cashman
Alternate captainsNone
ArenaBoston Garden
Team leaders
GoalsPeter McNab (41)
AssistsTerry O'Reilly (61)
PointsTerry O'Reilly (90)
Penalty minutesTerry O'Reilly (211)
WinsRon Grahame (26)
Goals against averageGilles Gilbert (2.53)

The 1977–78 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 54th season in the NHL. The Bruins advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second straight season only to be defeated again by their rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. The season featured the memorable moment of John Wensink challenging the entire Minnesota North Stars bench to a fight during a December contest.

Offseason

NHL Draft

Round # Player Nationality College/Junior/Club team
1 16 Dwight Foster (RW)  Canada Kitchener Rangers (OHA)
2 34 Dave Parro (G)  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)
3 52 Mike Forbes (D)  Canada St. Catharines Fincups (OMJHL)
4 70 Brian McGregor (RW)  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)
5 88 Doug Butler (D)  Canada Saint Louis University (CCHA)
6 106 Keith Johnson (D)  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WCHL)
7 122 Ralph Cox (RW)  United States University of New Hampshire (ECAC)
8 138 Mario Claude (D)  Canada Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)

Regular season

The 1977–78 Bruins set an NHL record (unbroken as of 2023) by having 11 different skaters score 20 goals or more in a season.[1][2][3] The eleven skaters are:

Season standings

Adams Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
80 51 18 11 333 218 113
Buffalo Sabres 80 44 19 17 288 215 105
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 41 29 10 271 237 92
Cleveland Barons 80 22 45 13 230 325 57

[4]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Adams Division record vs. opponents


Schedule and results

1977–78 regular season[6]
October
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
1 T October 13, 1977 2–2 Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 0–0–1
2 L October 15, 1977 1–3 @ New York Islanders (1977–78) 0–1–1
3 L October 16, 1977 0–2 Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 0–2–1
4 W October 19, 1977 7–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 1–2–1
5 W October 22, 1977 4–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 2–2–1
6 T October 23, 1977 3–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 2–2–2
7 T October 25, 1977 4–4 @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 2–2–3
8 L October 26, 1977 0–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 2–3–3
9 W October 29, 1977 5–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 3–3–3
November
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
10 L November 3, 1977 1–4 Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 3–4–3
11 L November 5, 1977 2–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 3–5–3
12 W November 6, 1977 5–3 New York Islanders (1977–78) 4–5–3
13 W November 10, 1977 5–2 Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 5–5–3
14 W November 12, 1977 6–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 6–5–3
15 W November 13, 1977 3–1 Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 7–5–3
16 T November 17, 1977 4–4 Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 7–5–4
17 W November 19, 1977 3–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 8–5–4
18 W November 20, 1977 1–0 Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 9–5–4
19 W November 23, 1977 2–0 @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 10–5–4
20 W November 24, 1977 6–0 Washington Capitals (1977–78) 11–5–4
21 W November 26, 1977 3–2 New York Rangers (1977–78) 12–5–4
22 W November 27, 1977 4–1 St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 13–5–4
December
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
23 W December 1, 1977 4–2 Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 14–5–4
24 T December 3, 1977 4–4 @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 14–5–5
25 W December 4, 1977 3–1 Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 15–5–5
26 W December 8, 1977 6–4 Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 16–5–5
27 W December 10, 1977 6–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 17–5–5
28 W December 11, 1977 8–2 @ New York Rangers (1977–78) 18–5–5
29 L December 15, 1977 4–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 18–6–5
30 L December 17, 1977 1–4 @ New York Islanders (1977–78) 18–7–5
31 W December 18, 1977 2–1 Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 19–7–5
32 W December 21, 1977 6–3 Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 20–7–5
33 W December 23, 1977 6–1 Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 21–7–5
34 W December 27, 1977 6–3 @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) 22–7–5
35 T December 28, 1977 5–5 @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 22–7–6
36 W December 31, 1977 7–0 @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 23–7–6
January
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
37 W January 4, 1978 3–0 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 24–7–6
38 W January 7, 1978 3–1 @ Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 25–7–6
39 L January 8, 1978 3–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 25–8–6
40 L January 10, 1978 2–3 New York Rangers (1977–78) 25–9–6
41 W January 12, 1978 6–1 Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 26–9–6
42 L January 14, 1978 3–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 26–10–6
43 W January 19, 1978 4–1 Washington Capitals (1977–78) 27–10–6
44 W January 21, 1978 7–1 Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 28–10–6
45 L January 22, 1978 2–3 Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 28–11–6
46 W January 26, 1978 4–3 Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 29–11–6
47 W January 27, 1978 5–2 @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) 30–11–6
48 W January 29, 1978 8–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 31–11–6
February
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
49 W February 1, 1978 5–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 32–11–6
50 L February 2, 1978 1–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 32–12–6
51 W February 4, 1978 8–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 33–12–6
52 T February 5, 1978 3–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 33–12–7
53 W February 9, 1978 5–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 34–12–7
54 W February 15, 1978 4–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 35–12–7
55 L February 18, 1978 2–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 35–13–7
56 W February 21, 1978 3–2 @ Colorado Rockies (1977–78) 36–13–7
57 W February 22, 1978 6–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 37–13–7
58 W February 25, 1978 4–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 38–13–7
59 T February 28, 1978 4–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 38–13–8
March
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
60 W March 2, 1978 4–3 Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 39–13–8
61 W March 4, 1978 7–3 Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 40–13–8
62 W March 5, 1978 6–3 Vancouver Canucks (1977–78) 41–13–8
63 W March 7, 1978 7–2 St. Louis Blues (1977–78) 42–13–8
64 T March 9, 1978 2–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1977–78) 42–13–9
65 L March 11, 1978 2–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1977–78) 42–14–9
66 W March 12, 1978 9–3 Los Angeles Kings (1977–78) 43–14–9
67 W March 16, 1978 7–2 Minnesota North Stars (1977–78) 44–14–9
68 W March 18, 1978 6–3 @ New York Rangers (1977–78) 45–14–9
69 W March 19, 1978 6–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 46–14–9
70 W March 21, 1978 5–3 @ Cleveland Barons (1977–78) 47–14–9
71 W March 23, 1978 7–0 Chicago Black Hawks (1977–78) 48–14–9
72 L March 25, 1978 3–6 @ Atlanta Flames (1977–78) 48–15–9
73 T March 26, 1978 2–2 Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 48–15–10
74 T March 28, 1978 4–4 @ Washington Capitals (1977–78) 48–15–11
75 W March 30, 1978 6–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1977–78) 49–15–11
April
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record
76 L April 1, 1978 1–7 @ Montreal Canadiens (1977–78) 49–16–11
77 W April 2, 1978 8–3 New York Rangers (1977–78) 50–16–11
78 L April 6, 1978 2–5 Buffalo Sabres (1977–78) 50–17–11
79 W April 8, 1978 3–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1977–78) 51–17–11
80 L April 9, 1978 2–5 New York Islanders (1977–78) 51–18–11

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Season summary

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Terry O'Reilly RW 77 29 61 90 211 40 5 0 4
Jean Ratelle C 80 25 59 84 10 49 3 0 5
Peter McNab C 79 41 39 80 4 35 5 0 5
Brad Park D 80 22 57 79 79 68 9 0 3
Wayne Cashman LW 76 24 38 62 69 34 1 0 2
Rick Middleton RW 79 25 35 60 8 40 2 0 6
Gregg Sheppard C 54 23 36 59 24 19 5 1 7
Bobby Schmautz RW 54 27 27 54 87 24 4 3 6
Don Marcotte LW 77 20 34 54 16 32 4 2 0
Stan Jonathan LW 68 27 25 52 116 34 0 0 2
Bob Miller C 76 20 20 40 41 16 1 1 4
Mike Milbury D 80 8 30 38 151 52 0 0 0
John Wensink LW 80 16 20 36 181 23 1 0 3
Rick Smith D 79 7 29 36 69 70 0 0 0
John Bucyk LW 53 5 13 18 4 −2 5 0 0
Gary Doak D 61 4 13 17 50 37 1 0 2
Al Sims D 43 2 8 10 6 11 0 0 1
Matti Hagman C 15 4 1 5 2 −1 3 0 1
Dennis O'Brien D 16 2 3 5 29 6 0 0 0
Mike Forbes D 32 0 4 4 15 −5 0 0 0
Dwight Foster RW 14 2 1 3 6 1 0 0 0
Doug Halward D 25 0 2 2 2 1 0 0 0
Gerry Cheevers G 21 0 1 1 14 0 0 0 0
Gilles Gilbert G 25 0 1 1 8 0 0 0 0
Ron Grahame G 40 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Darryl Edestrand D 1 0 0 0 0 −1 0 0 0
Steve Langdon LW 2 0 0 0 0 −1 0 0 0
Clayton Pachal C/LW 10 0 0 0 14 −1 0 0 0
Jim Pettie G 1 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0
Sean Shanahan C/RW 6 0 0 0 7 −1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Ron Grahame 2328 40 26 6 7 107 2.76 3
Gilles Gilbert 1326 25 15 6 2 56 2.53 2
Gerry Cheevers 1086 21 10 5 2 48 2.65 1
Jim Pettie 60 1 0 1 0 6 6.00 0
Team: 4800 80 51 18 11 217 2.71 6

Playoffs

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Brad Park D 15 9 11 20 14 4 0 0
Peter McNab C 15 8 11 19 2 0 0 2
Bobby Schmautz RW 15 7 8 15 11 2 0 1
Terry O'Reilly RW 15 5 10 15 40 1 0 1
Gregg Sheppard C 15 2 10 12 6 0 0 0
Wayne Cashman LW 15 4 6 10 13 3 0 2
Jean Ratelle C 15 3 7 10 0 0 0 0
Don Marcotte LW 15 5 4 9 8 1 0 1
Mike Milbury D 15 1 8 9 27 0 0 0
Rick Middleton RW 15 5 2 7 0 0 0 2
Rick Smith D 15 1 5 6 18 0 0 0
John Wensink LW 15 2 2 4 54 0 0 0
Bob Miller C 13 0 3 3 15 0 0 0
Gary Doak D 12 1 0 1 4 0 0 1
Stan Jonathan LW 15 0 1 1 36 0 0 0
Dennis O'Brien D 14 0 1 1 28 0 0 0
Gerry Cheevers G 12 0 0 0 6 0 0 0
Ron Grahame G 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Al Sims D 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Gerry Cheevers 731 12 8 4 35 2.87 1
Ron Grahame 202 4 2 1 7 2.08 0
Team: 933 15 10 5 42 2.70 1

[7]

Note:
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;

Playoffs

Stanley Cup finals

Date Visitors Score Home Score Notes
May 13 Boston 1 Montreal 4
May 16 Boston 2 Montreal 3 OT
May 18 Montreal 0 Boston 4
May 21 Montreal 3 Boston 4 OT
May 23 Boston 1 Montreal 4
May 25 Montreal 4 Boston 1

Montreal wins the series 4–2.

Larry Robinson won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Awards and records

  • Don Cherry, Runner-Up, Jack Adams Trophy[8]
  • Brad Park, Defenceman, NHL First Team All-Star

References

  1. ^ "1977-78 Bruins Are a Group to Remember".
  2. ^ "Bruins honor 11 20-goal scorers from 1977-78 season".
  3. ^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.174, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
  4. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 151. ISBN 9781894801225.
  5. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "1977-78 Boston Bruins Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
  7. ^ "1977-78 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
  8. ^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 222, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5
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