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1938–39 Boston Bruins season

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The 1938–39 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 15th season in the NHL, and they were coming off of a very successful regular season in 1937–38, winning the American Division with a record of 30–11–7, however, they lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup semi-finals. This season, the Bruins would meet the Maple Leafs in a rematch, and win the series 4–1 to win the Stanley Cup for the second time, and the first time in 10 years.

1938–39 Boston Bruins
Stanley Cup champions
Division1st NHL
1938–39 record36–10–2
Home record20–2–2
Road record16–8–0
Goals for156 (1st)
Goals against76 (1st)
Team information
General managerArt Ross
CoachArt Ross
CaptainCooney Weiland
ArenaBoston Garden
Team leaders
GoalsRoy Conacher (26)
AssistsBill Cowley (34)
PointsBill Cowley (42)
Penalty minutesJack Portland (46)
WinsFrank Brimsek (33)
Goals against averageFrank Brimsek (1.56)

Regular season

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In the off-season, the NHL would lose a franchise, as the Montreal Maroons would fold, leaving the league with seven teams, and eliminating the American and Canadian Division format the league had been using since 1926. The Bruins would make a key acquisition, acquiring Roy Conacher from the Kirkland Lake Hargreaves of the NOHA.

Boston would see goaltender Tiny Thompson get injured during an early season game, forcing the club to sign Frank Brimsek, who played for the Providence Reds of the IAHL. Brimsek stepped in and played great hockey, and when Thompson came back from his injury, the Bruins decided to deal him to the Detroit Red Wings for Norm Smith. Brimsek would help lead the Bruins to 1st place in the NHL standings, as they finished the season with a record of 36–10–2, earning 74 points, their highest point total since the 1929–30 season.

Bill Cowley would lead the team with 42 points, despite missing 14 games due to injuries. His 34 assists were a league high. Rookie Roy Conacher scored an NHL high 26 goals, and added 11 assists to finish with 37 points. Milt Schmidt continued to show improvement, scoring a career high 32 points. Flash Hollett led the Bruins defense with 27 points, as he scored 10 goals and added 17 assists, while Dit Clapper scored 13 goals and 26 points from the blueline.

In goal, rookie Frank Brimsek led the NHL with 33 wins and a 1.56 GAA, earning both the Vezina Trophy and the Calder Memorial Trophy. He also recorded 10 shutouts, which was among the league leaders.

Final standings

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National Hockey League
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Boston Bruins 48 36 10 2 156 76 74
New York Rangers 48 26 16 6 149 105 58
Toronto Maple Leafs 48 19 20 9 114 107 47
New York Americans 48 17 21 10 119 157 44
Detroit Red Wings 48 18 24 6 107 128 42
Montreal Canadiens 48 15 24 9 115 146 39
Chicago Black Hawks 48 12 28 8 91 132 32

[1]

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

Record vs. opponents

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1938–39 NHL Records [2]
Team BOS CHI DET MTL NYA NYR TOR
Boston — 8–0 7–1 6–2 5–2–1 5–3 5–2–1
Chicago 0–8 — 1–5–2 4–4 2–4–2 3–4–1 2–3–3
Detroit 1–7 5–1–2 — 4–3–1 3–3–2 2–6 3–4–1
Montreal 2–6 4–4 3–4–1 — 3–2–3 1–4–3 2–4–2
N.Y. Americans 2–5–1 4–2–2 3–3–2 2–3–3 — 2–5–1 4–3–1
N.Y. Rangers 3–5 4–3–1 6–2 4–1–3 5–2–1 — 4–3–1
Toronto 2–5–1 3–2–2 4–3–1 4–2–2 3–4–1 3–4–1 —


Schedule and results

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# Date Visitor Score Home Record Pts
1 November 3 Boston Bruins 3–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–0–0 2
2 November 6 Boston Bruins 4–1 Detroit Red Wings 2–0–0 4
3 November 13 Boston Bruins 1–2 New York Americans 2–1–0 4
4 November 15 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–1 Boston Bruins 2–1–1 5
5 November 20 Detroit Red Wings 1–4 Boston Bruins 3–1–1 7
6 November 22 New York Rangers 2–4 Boston Bruins 4–1–1 9
7 November 27 New York Americans 2–8 Boston Bruins 5–1–1 11
8 December 1 Boston Bruins 0–2 Montreal Canadiens 5–2–1 11
9 December 4 Boston Bruins 5–0 Chicago Black Hawks 6–2–1 13
10 December 6 Chicago Black Hawks 0–2 Boston Bruins 7–2–1 15
11 December 11 Boston Bruins 3–0 New York Rangers 8–2–1 17
12 December 13 Montreal Canadiens 2–3 Boston Bruins 9–2–1 19
13 December 15 Boston Bruins 1–0 Montreal Canadiens 10–2–1 21
14 December 18 Boston Bruins 2–0 Detroit Red Wings 11–2–1 23
15 December 20 New York Americans 0–3 Boston Bruins 12–2–1 25
16 December 25 New York Rangers 1–0 Boston Bruins 12–3–1 25
17 December 27 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–8 Boston Bruins 13–3–1 27
18 December 29 Boston Bruins 2–4 New York Americans 13–4–1 27
19 December 31 Boston Bruins 1–2 New York Rangers 13–5–1 27
20 January 1 Detroit Red Wings 1–4 Boston Bruins 14–5–1 29
21 January 3 New York Americans 1–2 Boston Bruins 15–5–1 31
22 January 5 Boston Bruins 2–1 Chicago Black Hawks 16–5–1 33
23 January 7 Boston Bruins 0–2 Toronto Maple Leafs 16–6–1 33
24 January 10 Chicago Black Hawks 1–3 Boston Bruins 17–6–1 35
25 January 17 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–2 Boston Bruins 18–6–1 37
26 January 19 Boston Bruins 0–1 Montreal Canadiens 18–7–1 37
27 January 22 Boston Bruins 5–0 Detroit Red Wings 19–7–1 39
28 January 24 Montreal Canadiens 4–6 Boston Bruins 20–7–1 41
29 January 29 Boston Bruins 3–2 New York Americans 21–7–1 43
30 January 31 New York Americans 2–2 Boston Bruins 21–7–2 44
31 February 2 Boston Bruins 2–1 Toronto Maple Leafs 22–7–2 46
32 February 5 Boston Bruins 3–0 Chicago Black Hawks 23–7–2 48
33 February 7 Toronto Maple Leafs 0–2 Boston Bruins 24–7–2 50
34 February 9 Boston Bruins 4–2 New York Rangers 25–7–2 52
35 February 12 New York Rangers 3–2 Boston Bruins 25–8–2 52
36 February 14 Detroit Red Wings 1–2 Boston Bruins 26–8–2 54
37 February 16 Boston Bruins 5–1 Montreal Canadiens 27–8–2 56
38 February 19 Boston Bruins 1–4 Detroit Red Wings 27–9–2 56
39 February 21 Chicago Black Hawks 2–8 Boston Bruins 28–9–2 58
40 February 25 Boston Bruins 0–1 Toronto Maple Leafs 28–10–2 58
41 February 26 Boston Bruins 5–1 Chicago Black Hawks 29–10–2 60
42 February 28 Montreal Canadiens 2–6 Boston Bruins 30–10–2 62
43 March 5 New York Rangers 3–5 Boston Bruins 31–10–2 64
44 March 7 Detroit Red Wings 0–3 Boston Bruins 32–10–2 66
45 March 9 Boston Bruins 9–6 New York Americans 33–10–2 68
46 March 12 Boston Bruins 4–2 New York Rangers 34–10–2 70
47 March 14 Chicago Black Hawks 2–4 Boston Bruins 35–10–2 72
48 March 19 Montreal Canadiens 5–7 Boston Bruins 36–10–2 74

Playoffs

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In the playoffs, Boston would have a 1st round bye, advancing straight to the NHL semi-finals, where they would face the 2nd place New York Rangers in a best of 7 series. New York had 58 points during the regular season, which was 16 less than the Bruins. The series opened at Madison Square Garden in New York, and the Bruins would win a thrilling, triple overtime game by a score of 2–1. Game 2 moved to the Boston Garden, and Boston took a 2–0 series lead with a 3–2 overtime victory. The Bruins took a commanding 3–0 lead in the series with a 4–1 win, looking to close out the series in the 4th game, as the series shifted back to New York. The Rangers would hold off elimination, defeating Boston 2–1, and then in game 5 in Boston, the game would be decided in overtime, with New York once again winning by a 2–1 score to cut the series lead to 3–2. Game 6 was played back in New York, and the Rangers easily defeated the Bruins 3–1, to tie the series up at 3 games, forcing a 7th game to be played in Boston. The game would be tied 1–1 after regulation time, and would not be settled until the 3rd overtime period, when Boston finally snapped the tie, winning the game 2–1, and taking the series 4–3, to advance to the Stanley Cup finals.

The Bruins opponent was the Toronto Maple Leafs, who finished the season with a 19–20–9 record, earning 47 points, which was 27 points fewer than Boston. The Leafs defeated the New York Americans and Detroit Red Wings to earn a spot in the best of seven finals. The series would begin with 2 games in Boston, and each team won a game, as the series moved to Maple Leaf Gardens for games three and four. Boston would take control in Toronto, winning game three by a 3–1 score, then shutting out the Leafs 2–0 in game four, to take a 3–1 series lead. Boston then returned home for game five, and defeated Toronto 3–1, to win their first Stanley Cup in 10 years, and second in team history.

Boston Bruins 4, New York Rangers 3

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# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 March 21 Boston Bruins 2–1 New York Rangers 1–0
2 March 23 New York Rangers 2–3 Boston Bruins 2–0
3 March 26 New York Rangers 1–4 Boston Bruins 3–0
4 March 28 Boston Bruins 1–2 New York Rangers 3–1
5 March 30 New York Rangers 2–1 Boston Bruins 3–2
6 April 1 Boston Bruins 1–3 New York Rangers 3–3
7 April 2 New York Rangers 1–2 Boston Bruins 4–3

Boston Bruins 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 1

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Further information: 1939 Stanley Cup Finals
# Date Visitor Score Home Record
1 April 6 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–2 Boston Bruins 1–0
2 April 9 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–2 Boston Bruins 1–1
3 April 11 Boston Bruins 3–1 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1
4 April 13 Boston Bruins 2–0 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–1
5 April 16 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–3 Boston Bruins 4–1

Player statistics

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Regular season

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Bill Cowley C 34 8 34 42 2
Roy Conacher LW 47 26 11 37 12
Milt Schmidt C/D 41 15 17 32 13
Bobby Bauer RW 48 13 18 31 4
Woody Dumart LW 46 14 15 29 2
Flash Hollett D 44 10 17 27 35
Dit Clapper RW/D 42 13 13 26 22
Gord Pettinger C 48 11 14 25 8
Ray Getliffe C/LW 43 10 12 22 11
Mel Hill RW 46 10 10 20 16
Eddie Shore D 44 4 14 18 47
Cooney Weiland C 45 7 9 16 9
Charlie Sands C/RW 37 7 5 12 10
Jack Crawford D 48 4 8 12 12
Jack Portland D 48 4 5 9 46
Red Hamill LW 6 0 1 1 0
Frank Brimsek G 43 0 0 0 0
Harry Frost RW 4 0 0 0 0
Pat McReavy C 6 0 0 0 0
Terry Reardon C/RW 4 0 0 0 0
Jack Shewchuk D 3 0 0 0 2
Tiny Thompson G 5 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Frank Brimsek 2610 43 33 9 1 68 1.56 10
Tiny Thompson 310 5 3 1 1 8 1.55 0
Team: 2920 48 36 10 2 76 1.56 10

Playoffs

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Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Bill Cowley C 12 3 11 14 2
Roy Conacher LW 12 6 4 10 12
Mel Hill RW 12 6 3 9 12
Milt Schmidt C/D 12 3 3 6 2
Bobby Bauer RW 12 3 2 5 0
Woody Dumart LW 12 1 3 4 6
Flash Hollett D 12 1 3 4 2
Eddie Shore D 12 0 4 4 19
Jack Crawford D 12 1 1 2 9
Ray Getliffe C/LW 11 1 1 2 2
Gord Pettinger C 12 1 1 2 7
Dit Clapper RW/D 12 0 1 1 6
Frank Brimsek G 12 0 0 0 0
Harry Frost RW 1 0 0 0 0
Red Hamill LW 12 0 0 0 8
Jack Portland D 12 0 0 0 11
Charlie Sands C/RW 1 0 0 0 0
Cooney Weiland C 12 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Frank Brimsek 863 12 8 4 18 1.25 1
Team: 863 12 8 4 18 1.25 1

[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;

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  2. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "1938-39 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  • National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007
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