1972–73 Boston Bruins season

1972–73 Boston Bruins
Division2nd East
1972–73 record51–22–5
Goals for330
Goals against235
Team information
General managerHarry Sinden
CoachBep Guidolin
CaptainVacant
Alternate captainsJohnny Bucyk
Phil Esposito
Dallas Smith
ArenaBoston Garden
Team leaders
GoalsPhil Esposito (55)
AssistsPhil Esposito (75)
PointsPhil Esposito (130)
Penalty minutesCarol Vadnais (127)
Plus/minusBobby Orr (+56)
WinsEddie Johnston (24)
Goals against averageJacques Plante (2.00)

The 1972–73 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 49th season in the NHL.

Offseason

Regular season

Divisional standings

East Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Montreal Canadiens 78 52 10 16 329 184 +145 120
2 Boston Bruins 78 51 22 5 330 235 +95 107
3 New York Rangers 78 47 23 8 297 208 +89 102
4 Buffalo Sabres 78 37 27 14 257 219 +38 88
5 Detroit Red Wings 78 37 29 12 265 243 +22 86
6 Toronto Maple Leafs 78 27 41 10 247 279 −32 64
7 Vancouver Canucks 78 22 47 9 233 339 −106 53
8 New York Islanders 78 12 60 6 170 347 −177 30


Record vs. opponents


Schedule and results

Regular season schedule
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 L October 8, 1972 2–4 Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 0–1–0
2 L October 11, 1972 3–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 0–2–0
3 W October 14, 1972 7–4 @ New York Islanders (1972–73) 1–2–0
4 W October 15, 1972 8–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 2–2–0
5 L October 18, 1972 1–7 @ New York Rangers (1972–73) 2–3–0
6 W October 21, 1972 4–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 3–3–0
7 L October 22, 1972 4–5 Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 3–4–0
8 T October 25, 1972 2–2 @ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 3–4–1
9 L October 26, 1972 3–6 Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 3–5–1
10 W October 28, 1972 3–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 4–5–1
11 W October 29, 1972 9–1 New York Islanders (1972–73) 5–5–1
12 L November 2, 1972 2–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 5–6–1
13 T November 3, 1972 6–6 @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) 5–6–2
14 W November 5, 1972 4–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 6–6–2
15 W November 9, 1972 8–3 Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 7–6–2
16 L November 12, 1972 3–5 Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 7–7–2
17 W November 16, 1972 4–0 St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 8–7–2
18 W November 18, 1972 7–3 @ New York Islanders (1972–73) 9–7–2
19 W November 19, 1972 6–5 Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 10–7–2
20 W November 23, 1972 4–2 California Golden Seals (1972–73) 11–7–2
21 W November 24, 1972 4–0 @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 12–7–2
22 W November 26, 1972 6–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 13–7–2
23 T November 29, 1972 3–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 13–7–3
24 W November 30, 1972 5–4 Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 14–7–3
25 W December 3, 1972 5–1 New York Islanders (1972–73) 15–7–3
26 W December 7, 1972 5–0 St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 16–7–3
27 W December 9, 1972 4–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 17–7–3
28 W December 10, 1972 8–4 California Golden Seals (1972–73) 18–7–3
29 L December 13, 1972 3–7 @ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 18–8–3
30 W December 14, 1972 4–2 New York Rangers (1972–73) 19–8–3
31 W December 17, 1972 5–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 20–8–3
32 W December 19, 1972 3–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 21–8–3
33 W December 21, 1972 8–1 Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 22–8–3
34 W December 23, 1972 3–1 Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 23–8–3
35 W December 27, 1972 3–1 @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 24–8–3
36 W December 29, 1972 2–0 @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 25–8–3
37 W January 1, 1973 8–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 26–8–3
38 L January 4, 1973 2–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 26–9–3
39 L January 7, 1973 4–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 26–10–3
40 T January 11, 1973 1–1 Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 26–10–4
41 W January 13, 1973 4–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 27–10–4
42 W January 14, 1973 6–0 Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 28–10–4
43 L January 18, 1973 7–9 New York Islanders (1972–73) 28–11–4
44 L January 20, 1973 0–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 28–12–4
45 W January 21, 1973 5–2 California Golden Seals (1972–73) 29–12–4
46 L January 24, 1973 2–4 @ New York Rangers (1972–73) 29–13–4
47 L January 25, 1973 2–4 Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 29–14–4
48 L January 27, 1973 2–4 Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 29–15–4
49 W January 28, 1973 6–5 Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 30–15–4
50 W February 1, 1973 5–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 31–15–4
51 L February 3, 1973 3–7 New York Rangers (1972–73) 31–16–4
52 T February 4, 1973 2–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 31–16–5
53 W February 7, 1973 3–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 32–16–5
54 W February 10, 1973 6–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1972–73) 33–16–5
55 W February 11, 1973 2–0 Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 34–16–5
56 W February 13, 1973 7–3 Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 35–16–5
57 W February 15, 1973 3–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1972–73) 36–16–5
58 L February 17, 1973 2–5 @ Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 36–17–5
59 W February 18, 1973 4–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 37–17–5
60 W February 20, 1973 7–6 @ Vancouver Canucks (1972–73) 38–17–5
61 W February 21, 1973 6–2 @ California Golden Seals (1972–73) 39–17–5
62 W February 24, 1973 7–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1972–73) 40–17–5
63 L March 1, 1973 3–4 St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 40–18–5
64 L March 3, 1973 1–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 40–19–5
65 W March 4, 1973 4–0 Chicago Black Hawks (1972–73) 41–19–5
66 L March 7, 1973 2–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1972–73) 41–20–5
67 W March 9, 1973 3–2 @ Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 42–20–5
68 W March 11, 1973 5–3 Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 43–20–5
69 W March 13, 1973 3–0 @ New York Islanders (1972–73) 44–20–5
70 W March 15, 1973 4–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 45–20–5
71 W March 16, 1973 5–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1972–73) 46–20–5
72 W March 18, 1973 7–1 Atlanta Flames (1972–73) 47–20–5
73 W March 22, 1973 5–3 Minnesota North Stars (1972–73) 48–20–5
74 W March 24, 1973 3–0 New York Rangers (1972–73) 49–20–5
75 W March 25, 1973 6–1 Buffalo Sabres (1972–73) 50–20–5
76 W March 28, 1973 6–3 @ New York Rangers (1972–73) 51–20–5
77 L March 31, 1973 3–7 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1972–73) 51–21–5
78 L April 1, 1973 3–5 Montreal Canadiens (1972–73) 51–22–5

Playoffs

Quarterfinals: (E2) Boston Bruins vs. (E3) New York Rangers

April 4 New York Rangers 6–2 Boston Bruins Boston Garden
April 5 New York Rangers 4–2 Boston Bruins Boston Garden
April 7 Boston Bruins 4–2 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
April 8 Boston Bruins 0–4 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
April 10 New York Rangers 6–3 Boston Bruins Boston Garden
New York won series 4–1


Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Phil Esposito C 78 55 75 130 87 16 19 5 11
Bobby Orr D 63 29 72 101 99 56 7 1 3
John Bucyk LW 78 40 53 93 12 18 10 0 10
Ken Hodge RW 73 37 44 81 58 10 16 0 5
Fred Stanfield LW 78 20 58 78 10 12 7 0 2
Wayne Cashman LW 76 29 39 68 100 5 6 0 3
Don Marcotte LW 78 24 31 55 49 32 1 2 3
Gregg Sheppard C 64 24 26 50 18 37 0 2 3
Mike Walton C 56 25 22 47 37 10 0 0 2
Carol Vadnais D 78 7 24 31 127 21 1 0 3
Dallas Smith D 78 4 27 31 72 38 0 0 0
Terry O'Reilly RW 72 5 22 27 109 27 0 0 1
Garnet Bailey LW 57 8 13 21 89 7 0 3 1
Don Awrey D 78 2 17 19 90 29 0 0 0
Derek Sanderson C 25 5 10 15 38 11 0 2 0
Fred O'Donnell RW 72 10 4 14 55 3 0 0 2
Doug Roberts RW 45 4 7 11 7 13 0 0 2
Nick Beverley D 76 1 10 11 26 7 0 0 0
Rich LeDuc C 5 1 1 2 2 −1 0 0 0
Jacques Plante G 8 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0
Ross Brooks G 16 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Eddie Johnston G 45 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Matt Ravlich D 5 0 1 1 0 −5 0 0 0
John Adams G 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gary Doak D 5 0 0 0 2 −1 0 0 0
Ron Jones D 7 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Chris Oddleifson C 6 0 0 0 0 −1 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Eddie Johnston 2510 45 24 17 1 137 3.27 5
Ross Brooks 910 16 11 1 3 40 2.64 1
John Adams 780 14 9 3 1 39 3.00 1
Jacques Plante 480 8 7 1 0 16 2.00 2
Team: 4680 78 51 22 5 232 2.97 9

Playoffs

Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM PPG SHG GWG
Gregg Sheppard C 5 2 1 3 0 0 1 1
Derek Sanderson C 5 1 2 3 13 0 0 0
John Bucyk LW 5 0 3 3 0 0 0 0
Doug Roberts RW 5 2 0 2 6 0 0 0
Wayne Cashman LW 5 1 1 2 4 0 0 0
Don Marcotte LW 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Bobby Orr D 5 1 1 2 7 0 0 0
Fred Stanfield LW 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 0
Mike Walton C 5 1 1 2 2 0 0 0
Dallas Smith D 5 0 2 2 2 0 0 0
Ken Hodge RW 5 1 0 1 7 1 0 0
Phil Esposito C 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0
Fred O'Donnell RW 5 0 1 1 5 0 0 0
Don Awrey D 4 0 0 0 6 0 0 0
Nick Beverley D 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ross Brooks G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gary Doak D 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Eddie Johnston G 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Terry O'Reilly RW 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Jacques Plante G 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Carol Vadnais D 5 0 0 0 8 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Eddie Johnston 160 3 1 2 9 3.38 0
Ross Brooks 20 1 0 0 3 9.00 0
Jacques Plante 120 2 0 2 10 5.00 0
Team: 300 5 1 4 22 4.40 0

[3]

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;

Awards and records

  • Phil Esposito, Runner up, Hart Trophy[4]

Records

Milestones

Regular Season
Player Milestone Reached

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Player Former Team

Claimed from waivers

Player Former team Date claimed off waivers

Draft picks

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)
1 16 Mike Bloom Left Wing  Canada St. Catharines Black Hawks (OMJHL)
2 32 Wayne Elder Defense  Canada London Knights (OMJHL)
3 48 Michel Boudreau Center  Canada Laval National (QMJHL)
4 64 Les Jackson Left Wing  Canada New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)
5 80 Brian Coates Left Wing  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL)
6 96 Peter Gaw Right Wing  Canada Ottawa 67's (OMJHL)
7 112 Gordie Clark Right Wing  Canada University of New Hampshire (ECAC)
8 128 Roy Carmichael Defense  Canada New Westminster Bruins (WCHL)

See also

Farm teams

References

  1. ^ "1972–1973 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "1972-73 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
  4. ^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.220, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5