1926–27 Boston Bruins season

The 1926–27 Boston Bruins season was the team's third in the NHL. The Bruins finished second in the American Division, making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The team competed in the first Stanley Cup finals to be held exclusively between NHL teams, losing to the Ottawa Senators.

1926–27 Boston Bruins
Division2nd American
1926–27 record21–20–3 (45 points)
Goals for97
Goals against89
Team information
General managerArt Ross
CoachArt Ross
CaptainLionel Hitchman
ArenaBoston Arena
Team leaders
GoalsHarry Oliver (18)
AssistsPercy Galbraith (8)
PointsHarry Oliver (24)
Penalty minutesEddie Shore (130)
WinsHal Winkler (12)
Goals against averageHal Winkler (1.66)

Regular season
See also: 1926–27 NHL season

The collapse of the Western Hockey League not only placed the Stanley Cup in the exclusive control of the NHL, but also resulted in a flood of skilled players bolstering NHL rosters, allowing not only for three new expansion franchises (the New York Rangers, the Chicago Black Hawks and the Detroit Cougars) but providing the Bruins a complete overhaul of their roster. Goaltender Hal Winkler came from the Calgary Tigers and replaced holdover Doc Stewart in net, while former Calgary scoring star Harry Oliver led the Bruins in scoring. From the Edmonton Eskimos came two players: star scorer Duke Keats and the real prize of the offseason, defenseman Eddie Shore, who in a Bruins' uniform became one of the great players in hockey history.[1] Another find was Percy Galbraith, who joined the Bruins after a long career in the senior leagues.[2]

With ten teams, the NHL realigned into two divisions, placing the Bruins in the new American Division with the Black Hawks, the Cougars, the Rangers and the Pittsburgh Pirates.[3]

Shore made an impact early, both as a rushing defenseman and as an enforcer, provoking the ire of the Montreal Maroons in a December 23 game in which he and Sprague Cleghorn both slashed repeatedly at Maroons' star Nels Stewart, much to the disgust of the Maroons' team owner, who after the game blasted the referee in the newspapers as "incompetent." [4] At the halfway point of the season, the Bruins were in third place behind Chicago.

Despite performances such as Oliver's four goal night against the Black Hawks on January 11, the club executed a major overhaul in mid January, first dealing Carson Cooper to the Canadiens for Billy Boucher and purchasing Hal Winkler from the Rangers, and then trading Duke Keats, who seemed to have faded, for Frank Fredrickson at month's end.[5] Fredrickson and Winkler paid immediate dividends, with the Icelander scoring four goals against the Rangers in his first game in a Boston uniform and Winkler supplanting Doc Stewart as the club's starting goaltender.[6] Nonetheless, the Bruins still relied heavily on rough play, and Cleghorn and Couto were specifically cited by Toronto Maple Leafs governor Charlie Querrie when he resigned in February as being "only good for chopping and slashing." [7]

Inconsistent play marred the end of the regular season, with the Bruins losing four out of their last seven matches, but they did well enough to secure their first playoff berth. With a combined 31 points between Detroit and Boston, Fredrickson finished fourth in the NHL in scoring with Oliver placing ninth, and Winkler had the fifth lowest goals against average of the league's goaltenders. Eddie Shore finished only three behind Nels Stewart as the league's most penalized player.[8]

Numerous bonuses were given out at season's end to the team's players: $1,600 to Galbraith; $1,400 to Hitchman; $1,000 each to Shore, Oliver, Herbert and Cleghorn; $850 to Winkler; $750 to Fredrickson; $700 to Coutu; $300 each to Stuart and Boucher; and $250 each to Meeking and the team's trainer.[5]

Final standings
American Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
New York Rangers4425136957256
Boston Bruins4421203978945
Chicago Black Hawks441922311511641
Pittsburgh Pirates44152637910833
Detroit Cougars44122847610528

[9]

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
1926-27 NHL Records
Team BOS CHI DET MON MTM NYA NYR OTT PIT TOR
Boston —3–2–15–11–2–12–22–22–3–11–34–21–3
Chicago 2–3–1—3–2–12–22–22–1–12–42–22–42–2
Detroit 1–52–3–1—0–41–33–11–3–21–32–41–2–1
M. Canadiens 2–1–12–24–0—5–15–11–31–53–0–15–1
M. Maroons 2–22–23–11–5—4–21–2–11–3–21–2–15–1
N.Y. Americans 2–21–2–11–31–52–4—1–33–34–02–3–1
N.Y. Rangers 3–2–14–23–15–13–1–23–3—0–3–15–12–1–1
Ottawa 3–12–23–15–13–1–23–33–0–1—3–15–0–1
Pittsburgh 2–44–24–20–3–12–1–10–41–51–3—1–2–1
Toronto 3–12–22–1–11–51–53–2–11–2–20–5–12–1–1—

Schedule and results
Regular season schedule
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1WNovember 16, 19264–1Montreal Canadiens (1926–27)1–0–0
2WNovember 18, 19262–0@ Detroit Cougars (1926–27)2–0–0
3LNovember 20, 19261–5@ Chicago Black Hawks (1926–27)2–1–0
4LNovember 23, 19261–2Montreal Maroons (1926–27)2–2–0
5LNovember 30, 19261–2Ottawa Senators (1926–27)2–3–0
6WDecember 4, 19264–3 OT@ Pittsburgh Pirates (1926–27)3–3–0
7LDecember 7, 19260–1New York Rangers (1926–27)3–4–0
8LDecember 12, 19261–2 OT@ New York Rangers (1926–27)3–5–0
9WDecember 14, 19267–2Detroit Cougars (1926–27)4–5–0
10TDecember 16, 19262–2 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1926–27)4–5–1
11WDecember 18, 19263–0Pittsburgh Pirates (1926–27)5–5–1
12LDecember 21, 19263–5Toronto Maple Leafs (1926–27)5–6–1
13WDecember 23, 19262–1@ Montreal Maroons (1926–27)6–6–1
14WDecember 28, 19262–1New York Americans (1926–27)7–6–1
15LDecember 30, 19261–4@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1926–27)7–7–1
16LJanuary 2, 19270–3@ New York Americans (1926–27)7–8–1
17WJanuary 4, 19272–1 OTOttawa Senators (1926–27)8–8–1
18LJanuary 8, 19270–3Montreal Maroons (1926–27)8–9–1
19WJanuary 11, 19276–3Chicago Black Hawks (1926–27)9–9–1
20LJanuary 13, 19272–3@ Detroit Cougars (1926–27)9–10–1
21LJanuary 15, 19274–5@ Ottawa Senators (1926–27)9–11–1
22WJanuary 18, 19277–3New York Rangers (1926–27)10–11–1
23TJanuary 20, 19272–2 OT@ New York Rangers (1926–27)10–11–2
24TJanuary 22, 19272–2 OT@ Chicago Black Hawks (1926–27)10–11–3
25WJanuary 25, 19273–1Pittsburgh Pirates (1926–27)11–11–3
26LJanuary 29, 19270–2@ Pittsburgh Pirates (1926–27)11–12–3
27WFebruary 1, 19271–0Toronto Maple Leafs (1926–27)12–12–3
28LFebruary 5, 19270–1@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1926–27)12–13–3
29WFebruary 8, 19272–0Detroit Cougars (1926–27)13–13–3
30WFebruary 12, 19273–2@ Montreal Maroons (1926–27)14–13–3
31WFebruary 15, 19273–0Chicago Black Hawks (1926–27)15–13–3
32LFebruary 20, 19271–3@ New York Rangers (1926–27)15–14–3
33WFebruary 22, 19273–2Detroit Cougars (1926–27)16–14–3
34LFebruary 26, 19270–2@ Montreal Canadiens (1926–27)16–15–3
35LMarch 1, 19270–3@ New York Americans (1926–27)16–16–3
36WMarch 5, 19275–0New York Americans (1926–27)17–16–3
37WMarch 8, 19275–2Pittsburgh Pirates (1926–27)18–16–3
38LMarch 13, 19270–4Chicago Black Hawks (1926–27)18–17–3
39WMarch 15, 19272–1 OT@ Chicago Black Hawks (1926–27)19–17–3
40LMarch 17, 19270–1@ Ottawa Senators (1926–27)19–18–3
41WMarch 19, 19273–1@ Detroit Cougars (1926–27)20–18–3
42LMarch 22, 19270–1Montreal Canadiens (1926–27)20–19–3
43LMarch 24, 19273–4@ Pittsburgh Pirates (1926–27)20–20–3
44WMarch 26, 19274–3 OTNew York Rangers (1926–27)21–20–3

Playoffs

The Bruins beat the Black Hawks on March 29 (in a game played in New York) 6–1, and tied 4–4 in Boston on the 31st, to win the two-game total-goal series ten goals to five.[10]

Their second series against the Rangers was also a two-game total-goal series, where they played to a scoreless tie in Boston on April 2 and won 3–1 on the 4th in New York to win three goals to one.[11]

The Stanley Cup finals, a best-of-five series, began in Boston on April 7, where the Bruins and Senators skated to a scoreless tie. Galbraith scored for Boston in the overtime, but the goal was ruled offside. The second game in Boston on the 9th was won by Ottawa 3–1, as Boston allowed two shorthanded goals in a game marred by five power plays on Shore penalties alone.[12]

On April 11, the series moved to Ottawa, and the teams played to another tie, 1–1. The final game was on April 13, won 3–1 by Ottawa, in a match marked by numerous fights in which several players received match penalties, fines and suspensions, and league President Frank Calder was summoned to the ice to sort it all out. The most egregious act was Bruin Billy Coutu attacking the referee, for which he was the first NHL player to be expelled for life from the league.[13]

The Stanley Cup win was the eleventh and final one for the original Ottawa Senators.

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Harry OliverRW421862417
Jimmy HerbertC/RW341572251
Frank FredricksonC281472133
Eddie ShoreD4012618130
Percy GalbraithLW/D42981726
Duke KeatsC17471120
Lionel HitchmanD4136970
Sprague CleghornD4471884
Billy StuartD4331420
Archie BridenLW162248
Billy BoucherRW1420212
Billy CoutuD4011235
Harry MeekingLW231012
Charles CahillRW10000
Carson CooperRW100000
Charles StewartG210000
Hal WinklerG230000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Hal Winkler1445231292401.664
Charles Stewart1303219111492.262
Team:27484421203891.946

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Harry OliverRW84264
Percy GalbraithLW/D83362
Frank FredricksonC822420
Jimmy HerbertC/RW83038
Eddie ShoreD811240
Sprague CleghornD81018
Billy CoutuD71014
Lionel HitchmanD810131
Billy BoucherRW80002
Harry MeekingLW70000
Billy StuartD80006
Hal WinklerG80000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Hal Winkler520822131.502
Team:520822131.502

[14]

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;

Transactions
  • Acquired Eddie Shore, Harry Oliver, Hal Winkler, Duke Keats and Archie Briden as free agents from the Western Hockey League.[15]
  • Traded Carson Cooper to the Montreal Canadiens for Billy Boucher, January 17, 1927.[16]
  • Purchased Hal Winkler from the New York Rangers for $5,000, January 17, 1927.[17]
  • Traded Duke Keats and Archie Briden to the Detroit Cougars for Frank Frederickson and Harry Meeking, January 27, 1927.[18]

Roster

References
  • Coleman, Charles L. (1964). Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol I. Kendall-Hunt Publishing.
  • Coleman, Charles L. (1969). Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol II. Sherbrooke: National Hockey League. OCLC 7485243.
  • Klein, Jeff Z.; Reif, Karl-Eric (1997). The Klein & Reif Hockey Compendium. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-4529-5.
  • Vautour, Kevin (1997). The Bruins Book. Toronto: ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55022-334-7.

Footnotes
  1. Coleman 1969, p. 709
  2. Coleman 1969, p. 12
  3. Coleman 1969, p. 9
  4. Coleman 1969, p. 13
  5. Vautour 1997, p. 42
  6. Coleman 1969, p. 14
  7. Coleman 1969, p. 15
  8. Coleman 1969, p. 19
  9. Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  10. Coleman 1964, p. 24
  11. Coleman 1964, p. 25
  12. Coleman 1964, p. 26
  13. Coleman 1964, p. 27
  14. "1926-27 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  15. Coleman 1964, p. 488
  16. "Hockey Hall of Fame website". Carson Cooper. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
  17. "Hockey Hall of Fame website". Hal Winkler. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
  18. "Hockey Hall of Fame website". Frank Fredrickson. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.