From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
1978–79 Boston Bruins season
NHL team season
NHL team season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| League | NHL |
| Season | 1978–79 |
| year | 1978 |
| Team | Boston Bruins |
| Conference | Wales |
| ConferenceRank | 2nd |
| Division | Adams |
| DivisionRank | 1st |
| Record | 43–23–14 |
| HomeRecord | 25–10–5 |
| RoadRecord | 18–13–9 |
| GoalsFor | 316 |
| GoalsAgainst | 270 |
| GeneralManager | Harry Sinden |
| Coach | Don Cherry |
| Captain | Wayne Cashman |
| AltCaptain | None |
| Arena | Boston Garden |
| GoalsLeader | Rick Middleton (38) |
| AssistsLeader | Terry O'Reilly (51) |
| PointsLeader | Rick Middleton (86) |
| PIMLeader | Terry O'Reilly (205) |
| WinsLeader | Gerry Cheevers (23) |
| GAALeader | Gerry Cheevers (3.16) |
| DivisionWin | Yes |
The 1978–79 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 55th season. The Bruins captured their fourth straight division title but were defeated in the postseason in heartbreaking fashion in seven games to their hated rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, and denied an opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup. Don Cherry was subsequently let go as head coach following this defeat.
Offseason
NHL draft
| Round | Overall | Player | Nationality | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Al Secord | Canada | Left wing |
| 2 | 35 | Graeme Nicolson | Canada | Defenseman |
| 3 | 52 | Brad Knelson | Canada | Defenseman |
| 4 | 68 | George Buat | Canada | Right wing |
| 5 | 85 | Daryl MacLeod | United States | Left wing |
| 6 | 102 | Jeff Brubaker | United States | Left wing |
| 7 | 119 | Murray Skinner | Canada | Goalie |
| 8 | 136 | Bobby Hehir | United States | Center |
| 9 | 153 | Craig MacTavish | Canada | Center |
Regular season
- Al Secord made his NHL debut with the Bruins during the 1978–79 season.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Schedule and results
|- |1||W||October 12, 1978||8–2 || align="left"| Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||1–0–0 |- |2||T||October 14, 1978||4–4 || align="left"| @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1978–79) ||1–0–1 |- |3||W||October 15, 1978||4–2 || align="left"| Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) ||2–0–1 |- |4||W||October 18, 1978||3–2 || align="left"| @ Los Angeles Kings (1978–79) ||3–0–1 |- |5||W||October 20, 1978||5–1 || align="left"| @ Vancouver Canucks (1978–79) ||4–0–1 |- |6||L||October 22, 1978||5–6 || align="left"| @ Chicago Black Hawks (1978–79) ||4–1–1 |- |7||W||October 24, 1978||7–2 || align="left"| @ St. Louis Blues (1978–79) ||5–1–1 |- |8||T||October 25, 1978||2–2 || align="left"| @ Minnesota North Stars (1978–79) ||5–1–2 |- |9||W||October 28, 1978||5–3 || align="left"| @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1978–79) ||6–1–2
| - |
|---|
| 10 |
| - |
| 11 |
| - |
| 12 |
| - |
| 13 |
| - |
| 14 |
| - |
| 15 |
| - |
| 16 |
| - |
| 17 |
| - |
| 18 |
| - |
| 19 |
| - |
| 20 |
| - |
| 21 |
| - |
| 22 |
| - |
| - |
| 23 |
| - |
| 24 |
| - |
| 25 |
| - |
| 26 |
| - |
| 27 |
| - |
| 28 |
| - |
| 29 |
| - |
| 30 |
| - |
| 31 |
| - |
| 32 |
| - |
| 33 |
| - |
| 34 |
| - |
| 35 |
| - |
| 36 |
| - |
| 37 |
| - |
| - |
| 38 |
| - |
| 39 |
| - |
| 40 |
| - |
| 41 |
| - |
| 42 |
| - |
| 43 |
| - |
| 44 |
| - |
| 45 |
| - |
| 46 |
| - |
| 47 |
| - |
| 48 |
| - |
| 49 |
| - |
| 50 |
| - |
| 51 |
| - |
| - |
| 52 |
| - |
| 53 |
| - |
| 54 |
| - |
| 55 |
| - |
| 56 |
| - |
| 57 |
| - |
| 58 |
| - |
| 59 |
| - |
| 60 |
| - |
| 61 |
| - |
| - |
| 62 |
| - |
| 63 |
| - |
| 64 |
| - |
| 65 |
| - |
| 66 |
| - |
| 67 |
| - |
| 68 |
| - |
| 69 |
| - |
| 70 |
| - |
| 71 |
| - |
| 72 |
| - |
| 73 |
| - |
| 74 |
| - |
| 75 |
| - |
| 76 |
| - |
| - |
| 77 |
| - |
| 78 |
| - |
| 79 |
| - |
| 80 |
| - |
| - |
| Legend:
Player statistics
Regular season
;Scoring
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RW | 71 | 38 | 48 | 86 | 7 | 33 | 12 | 1 | 5 | |
| C | 76 | 35 | 45 | 80 | 10 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| RW | 80 | 26 | 51 | 77 | 205 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 5 | |
| C | 80 | 27 | 45 | 72 | 12 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 5 | |
| LW | 75 | 27 | 40 | 67 | 63 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 4 | |
| C | 77 | 15 | 33 | 48 | 30 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| LW | 79 | 20 | 27 | 47 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 5 | |
| LW | 76 | 28 | 18 | 46 | 106 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| RW | 65 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 77 | -1 | 6 | 1 | 4 | |
| D | 40 | 7 | 32 | 39 | 10 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 74 | 1 | 34 | 35 | 149 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 64 | 7 | 26 | 33 | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 67 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 28 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| D | 65 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 46 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| RW | 44 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 14 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 71 | 16 | 7 | 23 | 125 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 63 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 33 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 96 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| D | 64 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 107 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 14 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| LW | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 17 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 43 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
;Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2509 | 43 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 132 | 3.16 | 1 | |
| 1254 | 23 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 74 | 3.54 | 0 | |
| 1037 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 62 | 3.59 | 1 | |
| **Team:** | 4800 | 80 | 43 | 23 | 14 | 268 | 3.35 | 2 |
Playoffs
;Scoring
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 11 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| RW | 11 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| LW | 10 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| LW | 11 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 11 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 11 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| RW | 11 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 11 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| RW | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| RW | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| D | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| D | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| LW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
;Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 360 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 2.50 | 0 | |
| 314 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 3.06 | 0 | |
| **Team:** | 674 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 31 | 2.76 | 0 |
Playoffs
Quarter-finals
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 16 | Pittsburgh | 2 | **Boston ** | **6** | |
| April 18 | Pittsburgh | 3 | **Boston ** | **4** | |
| April 21 | **Boston ** | **2** | Pittsburgh | 1 | |
| April 22 | **Boston ** | **4** | Pittsburgh | 1 |
Boston wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 0
Semi-finals
Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
In game seven of the Montreal-Boston semi-final, Boston's Rick Middleton scored with four minutes remaining in the third period to give the Bruins a 4–3 lead. Just over a minute later, linesman John D'Amico called a bench minor for too many men on the ice against the Bruins. Montreal's Guy Lafleur scored on the ensuing power play, sending the game to overtime, where Yvon Lambert gave the Canadiens the win and a trip to their fourth straight Stanley Cup Finals.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 26 | Boston | 2 | **Montreal ** | **4** | |
| April 28 | Boston | 2 | **Montreal ** | **5** | |
| May 1 | Montreal | 1 | **Boston ** | **2** | |
| May 3 | Montreal | 3 | **Boston ** | **4** | (OT) |
| May 5 | Boston | 1 | **Montreal ** | **5** | |
| May 8 | Montreal | 2 | **Boston ** | **5** | |
| May 10 | Boston | 4 | **Montreal ** | **5** | (OT) |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4 games to 3
- The 1979 NHL Playoffs would mark the end of Don Cherry's tenure with the Bruins. Cherry, who had an uneasy relationship with Bruins General Manager Harry Sinden, was fired by the Bruins after a critical coaching mistake during a 1979 semi-final playoff series against the Canadiens. Up by a goal with less than two minutes left in the seventh game, the Bruins were penalized for having too many men on the ice. The Canadiens' Guy Lafleur scored the tying goal on the subsequent powerplay and ultimately won the game in overtime. Montreal went on to defeat the New York Rangers for their fourth straight Cup title.
References
References
- "1978-79 Boston Bruins Schedule".
- "1978-79 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com.
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about 1978–79 Boston Bruins season — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report