A century ago, on this day, the Boston Bruins stepped out onto the sheet at the Boston Arena for the very first game of their long, winding, storied history.
Across from them stood the Montreal Maroons. And it was the Maroons’ Chuck Dinsmore, a Toronto product, who potted the first goal on that night, wiring home the first puck that ever fluttered the twine of a Bruins cage. A period later, Port Arthur, Ont.’s Smokey Harris netted the first goal by anyone wearing a Bruins sweater, levelling the score — Cornwall, Ont.’s Carson Cooper followed it up with the first game-winner in the fledgling franchise’s history.
It was a sterling start for the newcomers, and as it turned out, a rare feeling for that group, those Bruins going on to lose their next 11 games, winning only six of 30 tilts that first season.
A hundred years on, the Bruins are set to take the ice for a memorable matchup against another Montreal club. On Sunday afternoon, the B’s will face off against the Canadiens at TD Garden for Boston’s long-awaited Centennial Game, the meeting coming 100 years to the day after that first night at the Boston Arena.
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Bruins Centennial Game on Sportsnet
The Boston Bruins celebrate the club’s Centennial Game in an Original Six clash against the Montreal Canadiens. Watch the game on Sportsnet at 3 p.m. ET.
To mark the occasion, the club unveiled a statue outside TD Garden on Saturday honouring the 100-year anniversary, with franchise legends old and new on hand to take in the moment.
“Since 1924, the Boston Bruins have been woven into the fabric of our city with the same grit, passion and heart as our hometown,” an engraving at the base of the monument reads. “One hundred years of unforgettable moments shared together will be remembered and cherished for centuries to come.”
Ahead of Boston’s centennial celebration, here’s a look at the numbers that define the past 100 years of Bruins hockey:
6: The number of times the Bruins have lifted the Stanley Cup — the first of those championships came in 1929, the club captained by Lionel Hitchman then; the most recent came in 2011, with Zdeno Chara wearing the ‘C’ on his sweater. The B’s have made it to the Cup Final 20 total times in their history, losing 14 times (most recently, the club fell to Chicago in 2013, and to St. Louis in 2019).
12: The number of 50-goal campaigns recorded by a Bruins player. Phil Esposito leads the franchise on that front with five to his name (highlighted by a franchise-best 76-goal effort, along with three 60-goal seasons and another 50-goal campaign), followed by Cam Neely’s three 50-goal seasons — David Pastrnak, Rick Middleton, Ken Hodge, and Johnny Bucyk each reached the plateau once.
26: The number of 100-point campaigns recorded by a Bruins player. Esposito sits tied with Bobby Orr with the most in franchise history (six) — among those is Esposito’s franchise-leading 152-point campaign. Pastrnak, Hodge, Middleton, Adam Oates and Barry Pederson each achieved the feat twice, while Bucyk, Joe Juneau, Brad Marchand and Joe Thornton each did so once.
308: The number of wins amassed by franchise icon Tuukka Rask, the most by any netminder in team history. Rask also leads all B’s goaltenders all-time in total saves (14,345), minutes in net (32,402), points (17, somehow), and save percentage among those who played more than a handful of seasons in a Bruins sweater (.921).
545: The number of goals amassed by Bucyk, the most by anyone in Bruins history. Current B’s captain Marchand sits just a few spots behind him, in fourth, with 409 to his name.
702: The total number of post-season games played by the Bruins over the past century. They’ve won 344 of those games, have lost 352, and have tied six times. Only the Canadiens have played more post-season games (768) and won more in the playoffs (440). Similarly, only the Canadiens have scored more goals in the post-season (2,290), than the Bruins’ 2,034.
1,506: The number of points amassed by Ray Bourque, the most in Bruins history. Marchand sits fifth on the all-time Bruins ranking, with 946.
1,518: The number of games played by Bourque in a Bruins sweater, also the most in team history. Marchand sits fourth, with 1,054.
6,897: The total number of regular-season games the Bruins have played during their 100-year run as a hockey club, including that first one on Dec. 1, 1924. They’ve won 3,415 of those games, lost 2,472, tied 791 and lost 219 in overtime. That’s good for an all-time point percentage of .568, the second-highest mark among all NHL clubs. Only the Canadiens best them on that front, with a mark of .579 (the Vegas Golden Knights technically sit first, at .692, but have been around for 92 fewer years.)
19,745: The total number of goals scored against the Bruins over the past century. The first one was potted by Dinsmore on that first night in 1924 — the 19,745th was scored by Pittsburgh Penguin Philip Tomasino on Friday. All-time, the Bruins have a goals-against-per-game mark of 2.86, the fifth-best of all NHL franchises (omitting those that have played fewer than 1,000 total games in the league). Above Boston on that front are a familiar rival and a collection of younger franchises: Minnesota (2.64), Montreal (2.72), Nashville (2.72), and Anaheim (2.82).
21,919: The total number of goals scored by the Bruins over the past century. The first came from Harris in Game 1 of the franchise’s history, while the 21,919th came from Charlie Coyle on Friday. All-time, the Bruins’ goals-per-game mark sits at 3.18 — that’s good for sixth-best among all NHL franchises (again, omitting younger clubs that have played fewer than 1,000 big-league games). Besting Boston are the Edmonton Oilers (3.33), Pittsburgh Penguins (3.30), Colorado Avalanche (3.25), Philadelphia Flyers (3.23) and Calgary Flames (3.23).
In honour of Sunday’s opponent, the Canadiens, here’s a closer look at the numbers that define the lengthy history of the Bruins-Canadiens rivalry, which has spanned a century in its own right:
4: The number of goals scored by the winning club in the first-ever meeting between the Bruins and Canadiens, which came just seven days after the B’s inaugural game against the Maroons. The Canadiens emerged as the victor that night, winning 4-3 courtesy of an opening tally from Howie Morenz and a hat trick from Aurele Joliat. Carson Cooper netted a pair for Boston, while Bobby Rowe scored once as well in the losing effort.
7: The number of times the Bruins and Canadiens have met in the Stanley Cup Final over the past century — in 1930, 1946, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1977 and 1978. The Canadiens hoisted the Cup at the end of the series all seven times.
10: The biggest margin of victory in a game between the two clubs, coming in a 10-0 Bruins win in February 1993. However, the most goals ever scored by either club on the other was 13, by Montreal in a 13-4 Canadiens win in November 1943.
34: The total number of playoff series featuring the Bruins and Canadiens over the years — the first came in 1929, the most recent in 2014. Montreal has won the majority of those meetings, taking 25 of those series, while Boston won nine of them. Four of the past five playoff meetings between the two clubs have gone to seven games (in 2004, 2008, 2011 and 2014) — Montreal won three of those four, to Boston’s one.
61: The total number of shutout wins by the Bruins over the Canadiens — the Habs have managed 55 total shutouts over the Bruins in return.
110: The most penalty minutes ever recorded by Boston in a Bruins-Canadiens game (a 6-2 Canadiens win in October 1975). Terry O’Reilly led the crew that amassed double-digit PIMs that night, with 26 to his name, followed by Bobby Schmautz (21), Hank Nowak (19), Wayne Cashman (15), and Al Simmons (15). Six other Bruins players made trips to the penalty box that night as well, while the Canadiens earned 70 PIMs themselves. On the other side, the game that saw Montreal record its highest PIMs total against Boston came in November 1986 (in a 3-1 Canadiens win), when Montreal amassed 95 total penalty minutes. Montreal’s David Maley and Chris Nilan collected 25 apiece to lead the team — the Bruins picked up 83 total PIMs that night, too, led by Jay Miller, who had 25 himself.
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177: The total number of post-season games between the two clubs — the Canadiens have the edge over that span with 106 wins, the Bruins taking the other 71 meetings.
531: The total number of goals scored by the Canadiens on the Bruins in the post-season (95 more than the total scored by the Bruins against the Canadiens in the post-season, 436).
762: The total number of regular-season games between the two clubs — Montreal has the edge here too, having won 364 of those meetings, while Boston has won 295 of them.
2,279: The total number of goals scored by the Canadiens on the Bruins in the regular season (241 more than the number scored by the Bruins on the Canadiens in the regular season, 2,038). The first goal from a Canadiens player against the Bruins came from Morenz; the first the other way came from Cooper. The most recent goal scored by a Canadiens player against Boston came earlier this year, from Brendan Gallagher, while the most recent scored by a Bruin against Montreal came that same night, from Mark Kastelic.
Sunday afternoon, at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+), under the TD Garden lights, the two clubs will take the ice with a chance to add to that 100-year history, their meeting marking the beginning of a new century of Bruins hockey.
