Articles in English / Sports History

Boston Bruins Milestone Teams: 1971-72, Stanley Cup No. 5

by achidlovski · October 12, 2016

Front row (left to right):
Gerry Cheevers, John Bucyk, Phil Esposito, Milt Schmidt (GM), Tom Johnson (Head Coach), Ed Westfall, Ted Green, Ed Johnson;
Middle row (left to right):
Dan Canney (Trainer), Mike Walton, Garnet Bailey, Carol Vadnais, Don Awrey, Don Marcotte, Wayne Cashman, John Forristal (Asst. Trainer);
Back row (left to right):
John MacKenzie, Bobby Orr, Dallas Smith, Ken Hodge, Derek Sanderson, Fred Stanfield

Boston Bruins 1971-72 is one of my all-time favorite teams. This team is a perfect match of purely Boston Bruins team spirit and presence of really high caliber players on the roster. Like in the previous season, the Bruins dominated the League in the regular season and finished 1st with 119 points. Bobby Orr wins his 5th consecutive Norris Trophy and 3rd Hart Trophy. Phil Espostito wins the Art Ross Trophy. He leads the NHL in points (133) and goals (66).

In the playoffs, the Bruins outplayed the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games in the quaterfinals and swept the St. Louis Blues in four straight games in the semifinals. In the Stanley Cup finals, the Bruins faced the New York Rangers that managed to knock off the Canadiens and Penguins on their way to the finals.

The Bruins won their second Stanley Cup in three years by beating the New York Rangers in six games.

Gerry Cheevers was spectacular and earned a reputation of the greatest clutch goalie of the time. Bobby Orr received the Conn Smythe Award.

Boston Bruins 1971-1972

Record: 40-17-19 (99 points), Finished 1st in NHL
Coach: Tom Johnson (54-13-11)
Captain:
Arena: Boston Garden

Playoffs

Won Stanley Cup Final (4-2) versus New York Rangers
Won Semi-Finals (4-0) versus St. Louis Blues
Won Quarter-Finals (4-1) versus Toronto Maple Leafs

Team Roster

No.	Player	Pos	Age	Ht	Wt	S/C	Exp	Birth Date	Summary
26	Don Awrey	D	28	6-0	175	L/-	8	July 18, 1943	1 G, 8 A, 9 P
14	Ace Bailey	LW	23	5-11	192	L/-	3	June 13, 1948	9 G, 13 A, 22 P
27	Nick Beverley	D	24	6-2	185	R/-	2	April 21, 1947	0 G, 0 A, 0 P
22	Ivan Boldirev	C	22	6-0	190	L/-	1	August 15, 1949	0 G, 2 A, 2 P
9	John Bucyk	LW	36	6-0	215	L/-	16	May 12, 1935	32 G, 51 A, 83 P
12	Wayne Cashman	LW	26	6-1	208	R/-	5	June 24, 1945	23 G, 29 A, 52 P
30	Gerry Cheevers	G	31	5-11	185	-/L	7	December 7, 1940	27-5-8, 2.50 GAA
7	Phil Esposito	C	29	6-1	205	L/-	8	February 20, 1942	66 G, 67 A, 133 P
6	Ted Green	D	31	5-10	200	R/-	10	March 23, 1940	1 G, 16 A, 17 P
8	Ken Hodge	RW	27	6-2	210	R/-	7	June 25, 1944	16 G, 40 A, 56 P
1	Eddie Johnston	G	36	6-0	190	-/L	9	November 24, 1935	27-8-3, 2.71 GAA
29	Ron Jones	D	20	6-1	195	L/-	R	April 11, 1951	0 G, 0 A, 0 P
27	Reggie Leach	RW	21	6-0	180	R/-	1	April 23, 1950	7 G, 13 A, 20 P
21	Don Marcotte	LW	24	5-11	183	L/-	4	April 15, 1947	6 G, 4 A, 10 P
19	John McKenzie	RW	34	5-9	175	R/-	11	December 12, 1937	22 G, 47 A, 69 P
24	Terry O’Reilly	RW	20	6-1	200	R/-	R	June 7, 1951	1 G, 0 A, 1 P
4	Bobby Orr	D	23	6-0	197	L/-	5	March 20, 1948	37 G, 80 A, 117 P
25	Garry Peters	C	29	5-10	185	L/-	7	October 9, 1942	0 G, 0 A, 0 P
23	Matt Ravlich	D	33	5-10	185	L/-	7	July 12, 1938	0 G, 1 A, 1 P
28	Doug Roberts	RW	29	6-2	212	R/-	6	October 28, 1942	1 G, 0 A, 1 P
16	Derek Sanderson	C	25	6-0	185	L/-	6	June 16, 1946	25 G, 33 A, 58 P
20	Dallas Smith	D	30	5-11	180	L/-	9	October 10, 1941	8 G, 22 A, 30 P
10	Rick Smith	D	23	5-11	190	L/-	3	June 29, 1948	2 G, 12 A, 14 P
17	Fred Stanfield	C	27	5-10	185	L/-	7	May 4, 1944	23 G, 56 A, 79 P
24	Bob Stewart	D	21	6-1	206	L/-	R	November 10, 1950	0 G, 0 A, 0 P
10	Carol Vadnais	D	26	6-1	185	L/-	5	September 25, 1945	4 G, 6 A, 10 P
11	Mike Walton	C/RW	27	5-10	175	L/-	6	January 3, 1945	28 G, 28 A, 56 P
18	Ed Westfall	RW	31	6-1	197	R/-	10	September 19, 1940	18 G, 26 A, 44 P