1927–28 Boston Bruins season

The 1927–28 Boston Bruins season was the team's fourth in the NHL. The Bruins finished first in the American Division, marking its first division title in franchise history and its second playoff appearance. The team lost in the playoffs to the eventual Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers.

1927–28 Boston Bruins
American Division champions
Division1st American
1927–28 record20–13–11 (51 points)
Goals for77
Goals against70
Team information
General managerArt Ross
CoachArt Ross
CaptainSprague Cleghorn
ArenaBoston Arena
Average attendance6773
Team leaders
GoalsHarry Oliver (13)
AssistsEddie Shore (6)
PointsHarry Oliver (18)
Penalty minutesEddie Shore (165)
WinsHal Winkler (20)
Goals against averageHal Winkler (1.51)

Offseason

The league adopted a goal net designed by Bruins general manager Art Ross; the so-called "Ross goal" would be the standard net into the 1980s.[1]

Prominent newcomers included Dutch Gainor and Dit Clapper, both of whose rights were purchased from the minor leagues, and who would make a significant impact with the Bruins down the years.[2] The Bruins also obtained Fred Gordon in the offseason, acquiring him from the Detroit Cougars for Harry Meeking,[3] while Red Stuart was traded to Boston's Minneapolis minor league team, for the rights to Gainor and Nobby Clark.[4]

Regular season
See also: 1927–28 NHL season

For the second straight season, Harry Oliver led the Bruins in scoring, and although the team's attack was relatively anemic – the Bruins finished with 77 goals, leading only the last-place teams in both divisions, the Chicago Black Hawks and the New York Americans – they cut down sharply in goals allowed, leading the division behind Hal Winkler's goaltending. Eddie Shore was the team's great star, finishing just one point behind Oliver in scoring and leading the league in penalty minutes by a wide margin.

Winkler in his own turn had fifteen shutouts, tied with Alex Connell for the league lead and a new NHL record; Winkler's mark remains the Bruins' single-season record for shutouts, over ninety years later, and is still tied for the second-most shutouts recorded in a single season. Although veteran Sprague Cleghorn was fading and missed a quarter of the season with injuries, Shore and defense partner Lionel Hitchman were ironmen, playing most of each game.[5]

With Boston's first place finish, the Bruins became the first team to win the Prince of Wales Trophy, awarded for the first time in this season.[6]

Final standings
American Division
GP W L T GF GA PIM Pts
Boston Bruins44201311777055851
New York Rangers4419169947946247
Pittsburgh Pirates4419178677639546
Detroit Cougars4419196887939544
Chicago Black Hawks4473436813437517

[7]

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

Schedule and results
Regular season schedule
No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1TNovember 15, 19271–1 OTChicago Black Hawks (1927–28)0–0–1
2WNovember 19, 19275–2Detroit Cougars (1927–28)1–0–1
3WNovember 22, 19271–0Toronto Maple Leafs (1927–28)2–0–1
4LNovember 26, 19273–4 OTNew York Americans (1927–28)2–1–1
5TNovember 27, 19271–1 OT@ New York Rangers (1927–28)2–1–2
6WNovember 29, 19274–0Montreal Maroons (1927–28)3–1–2
7TDecember 1, 19270–0 OT@ Pittsburgh Pirates (1927–28)3–1–3
8LDecember 3, 19272–3@ Ottawa Senators (1927–28)3–2–3
9TDecember 6, 19271–1 OTMontreal Canadiens (1927–28)3–2–4
10WDecember 10, 19272–0@ Chicago Black Hawks (1927–28)4–2–4
11WDecember 11, 19272–1 OT@ Detroit Cougars (1927–28)5–2–4
12LDecember 13, 19272–3New York Rangers (1927–28)5–3–4
13LDecember 17, 19271–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1927–28)5–4–4
14WDecember 20, 19271–0Ottawa Senators (1927–28)6–4–4
15WDecember 27, 19272–0New York Rangers (1927–28)7–4–4
16LDecember 29, 19271–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1927–28)7–5–4
17WJanuary 1, 19283–2@ New York Americans (1927–28)8–5–4
18TJanuary 3, 19280–0 OTPittsburgh Pirates (1927–28)8–5–5
19LJanuary 7, 19281–4@ Montreal Maroons (1927–28)8–6–5
20WJanuary 10, 19283–1Chicago Black Hawks (1927–28)9–6–5
21TJanuary 12, 19282–2 OT@ New York Rangers (1927–28)9–6–6
22WJanuary 14, 19284–2@ Ottawa Senators (1927–28)10–6–6
23LJanuary 17, 19281–3Montreal Canadiens (1927–28)10–7–6
24TJanuary 21, 19281–1 OT@ Chicago Black Hawks (1927–28)10–7–7
25LJanuary 22, 19282–3 OT@ Detroit Cougars (1927–28)10–8–7
26TJanuary 24, 19280–0 OTPittsburgh Pirates (1927–28)10–8–8
27LJanuary 28, 19280–1@ Pittsburgh Pirates (1927–28)10–9–8
28WJanuary 31, 19282–1New York Americans (1927–28)11–9–8
29WFebruary 7, 19284–2Detroit Cougars (1927–28)12–9–8
30TFebruary 11, 19281–1 OT@ Montreal Canadiens (1927–28)12–9–9
31WFebruary 14, 19281–0Chicago Black Hawks (1927–28)13–9–9
32WFebruary 19, 19282–0@ New York Rangers (1927–28)14–9–9
33WFebruary 21, 19282–0Pittsburgh Pirates (1927–28)15–9–9
34LFebruary 25, 19281–3@ Montreal Maroons (1927–28)15–10–9
35WFebruary 28, 19282–1Montreal Maroons (1927–28)16–10–9
36TMarch 3, 19280–0 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1927–28)16–10–10
37WMarch 6, 19281–0Ottawa Senators (1927–28)17–10–10
38TMarch 10, 19283–3 OTNew York Rangers (1927–28)17–10–11
39WMarch 11, 19281–0@ New York Americans (1927–28)18–10–11
40WMarch 13, 19283–0Detroit Cougars (1927–28)19–10–11
41WMarch 15, 19283–1@ Chicago Black Hawks (1927–28)20–10–11
42LMarch 17, 19281–3@ Pittsburgh Pirates (1927–28)20–11–11
43LMarch 20, 19282–6Toronto Maple Leafs (1927–28)20–12–11
44LMarch 24, 19282–7@ Detroit Cougars (1927–28)20–13–11

[9]

Playoffs

The Bruins gained a first-round bye by virtue of winning the division, and played the New York Rangers in the second round in a two-game, total goal series. Their scoring problems of the regular season continued, exacerbated by a flu bug going through the dressing room and various minor injuries; Shore, Clapper, Gainor and Connor were particularly affected.[10]

Boston tied the first game 1–1 in New York, the Rangers' final home game of the playoffs – this was the first of perennial disruptions to the Rangers' playoff schedule due to Madison Square Garden hosting the circus in the spring. The Bruins lost the second match in Boston 4–1, on three Ranger third-period goals as the weakened Brown-and-Gold folded at last, to drop the total-goal series five goals to two. Harry Oliver, who scored a goal in each game, was the sole offensive threat.[11]

Player statistics

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Harry OliverRW431351820
Eddie ShoreD4311617165
Frank FredricksonC411041483
Dutch GainorC42841235
Jimmy HerbertC/RW12831122
Percy GalbraithLW/D42651126
Harry ConnorLW42911036
Lionel HitchmanD4453887
Dit ClapperRW/D4041520
Fred GordonRW4332540
Sprague CleghornD3722414
Hago HarringtonLW221017
Nobby ClarkD50000
Martin LauderD/C30002
Hal WinklerG440000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO
Hal Winkler278044201311701.5115
Team:278044201311701.5115

Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM
Harry OliverRW22024
Frank FredricksonC20114
Percy GalbraithLW/D20116
Dit ClapperRW/D20002
Sprague CleghornD20000
Harry ConnorLW20000
Dutch GainorC20006
Fred GordonRW20000
Hago HarringtonLW20000
Lionel HitchmanD20002
Eddie ShoreD20008
Hal WinklerG20000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO
Hal Winkler12020152.500
Team:12020152.500

[12]

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 Dutch Gainor from Minneapolis of the American Hockey Association for Red Stuart, cash and future considerations, October 24, 1927.[13]
  • Purchased Dit Clapper from Boston of the Canadian-American League, October 25, 1927.[14]
  • Sold the rights to Duke Keats to Chicago, Carson Cooper to Detroit and Billy Boucher to the Americans.[15]
  • Traded Jimmy Herbert to Toronto for the rights to Eric Pettinger and $15,000, December 21, 1927.[16]

See also

References
  1. Vautour, Kevin (1997). The Bruins Book. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-55022-334-7.
  2. Coleman, Charles L. (1969). Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol II. Sherbrooke, PQ: Kendall-Hunt Publishing. p. 35.
  3. "Fred Gordon Stats". hockey-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  4. "Hockey Hall of Fame website". Dutch Gainor. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
  5. Coleman, Charles L. (1969). Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol II. Sherbrooke, PQ: Kendall-Hunt Publishing. p. 39.
  6. Vautour, Kevin (1997). The Bruins Book. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-55022-334-7.
  7. 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.
  8. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  9. "1927–28 Boston Bruins Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  10. Coleman, Charles L. (1969). Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol II. Sherbrooke, PQ: Kendall-Hunt Publishing. p. 49.
  11. Coleman, Charles L. (1969). Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol II. Sherbrooke, PQ: Kendall-Hunt Publishing. p. 50.
  12. "1927-28 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  13. "Hockey Hall of Fame website". Dutch Gainor. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
  14. "Hockey Hall of Fame website". Dit Clapper. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
  15. Vautour, Kevin (1997). The Bruins Book. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-55022-334-7.
  16. "Boston Bruins website". Jimmy Herberts. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
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