1979–80 Boston Bruins season

1979–80 Boston Bruins
Division	2nd Adams
Conference	3rd Wales
1979–80 record	46–21–13
Home record	27–9–4
Road record	19–12–9
Goals for	310
Goals against	234
Team information
General manager	Harry Sinden
Coach	Fred Creighton Harry Sinden
Captain	Wayne Cashman
Alternate captains	None
Arena	Boston Garden
Average attendance	12,365 (84.3%)
Team leaders
Goals	Rick Middleton, Peter McNab (40)
Assists	Rick Middleton (52)
Points	Rick Middleton (92)
Penalty minutes	Terry O'Reilly (265)
Wins	Gerry Cheevers (24)
Goals against average	Gilles Gilbert (2.73)
←  1978–79 1980–81  →

The 1979–80 Boston Bruins season was the Bruins' 56th season. In the first round of the NHL Draft, the Bruins drafted defenseman Ray Bourque. The Bruins had two coaches during the season, Fred Creighton had a record of 40 wins, 20 losses and 13 ties, while Harry Sinden had 6 wins and 1 loss. The Bruins lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champions for the second season in a row, this time it was the New York Islanders in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The last remaining active member of the 1979–80 Boston Bruins was defenseman Ray Bourque, who retired after the 2000–01 season, right after winning the Stanley Cup as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.

Offseason

Don Cherry was fired after the 1978–79 season. Fred Creighton, former coach of the Atlanta Flames was brought in to coach the Bruins.

Regular season

General Manager Harry Sinden fired Coach Creighton with 15 days to go in the regular season despite the Bruins' winning record with Creighton. Sinden, who had coached before, took over coaching duties as well.

Divisional standings

Adams Division

	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Buffalo Sabres	80	47	17	16	318	201	110
Boston Bruins	80	46	21	13	310	234	105
Minnesota North Stars	80	36	28	16	311	253	88
Toronto Maple Leafs	80	35	40	5	304	327	75
Quebec Nordiques	80	25	44	11	248	313	61

^[1] Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

League standings ^[2]

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Philadelphia Flyers	PTK	80	48	12	20	327	254	116
2	y – Buffalo Sabres	ADM	80	47	17	16	318	201	110
3	x – Montreal Canadiens	NRS	80	47	20	13	328	240	107
4	Boston Bruins	ADM	80	46	21	13	310	234	105
5	New York Islanders	PTK	80	39	28	13	281	247	91
6	Minnesota North Stars	ADM	80	36	28	16	311	253	88
7	x – Chicago Black Hawks	SMY	80	34	27	19	241	250	87
8	New York Rangers	PTK	80	38	32	10	308	284	86
9	Atlanta Flames	PTK	80	35	32	13	282	269	83
10	St. Louis Blues	SMY	80	34	34	12	266	278	80
11	Toronto Maple Leafs	ADM	80	35	40	5	304	327	75
12	Los Angeles Kings	NRS	80	30	36	14	290	313	74
13	Pittsburgh Penguins	NRS	80	30	37	13	251	303	73
14	Hartford Whalers	NRS	80	27	34	19	303	312	73
15	Vancouver Canucks	SMY	80	27	37	16	256	281	70
16	Edmonton Oilers	SMY	80	28	39	13	301	322	69
17	Washington Capitals	PTK	80	27	40	13	261	293	67
18	Detroit Red Wings	NRS	80	26	43	11	268	306	63
19	Quebec Nordiques	ADM	80	25	44	11	248	313	61
20	Winnipeg Jets	SMY	80	20	49	11	214	314	51
21	Colorado Rockies	SMY	80	19	48	13	234	308	51

Divisions:ADM – Adams, NRS – Norris, PTK – Patrick, SMY – Smythe

bold – The top 16 teams in the league qualified for the playoffs, regardless of division or conference.
x – Won division; y – Won Conference (and division); p – Won Presidents' Trophy (and conference and division)

Record vs. opponents

Adams Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Wales Conference Vs. Adams Division 1979–80 NHL records [3] Team BOS BUF MIN QUE TOR Total Boston — 2–1–1 2–2 4–0 4–0 12–3–1 Buffalo 1–2–1 — 2–1–1 3–1 4–0 10–4–2 Minnesota 2–2 1–2–1 — 2–1–1 2–2 7–7–2 Quebec 0–4 1–3 1–2–1 — 3–1 5–10–1 Toronto 0–4 0–4 2–2 1–3 — 3–13–0 Vs. Norris Division 1979–80 NHL records Team DET HFD LAK MTL PIT Total Boston 2–1–1 2–1–1 2–1–1 1–3 2–2 9–8–3 Buffalo 3–1 3–1 3–0–1 1–1–2 4–0 14–3–3 Minnesota 1–2–1 4–0 0–2–2 1–3 3–1 9–8–3 Quebec 1–2–1 1–1–2 1–3 1–2–1 2–2 6–10–4 Toronto 4–0 2–2 0–3–1 1–3 2–2 9–10–1 Vs. Campbell Conference Vs. Patrick Division 1979–80 NHL records Team ATL NYI NYR PHI WSH Total Boston 4–0 3–1 2–2 1–1–2 2–1–1 12–5–3 Buffalo 3–0–1 2–1–1 2–1–1 0–3–1 4–0 11–5–4 Minnesota 1–1–2 2–0–2 2–1–1 1–3 3–0–1 9–5–6 Quebec 0–3–1 0–4 1–2–1 0–3–1 1–1–2 2–13–5 Toronto 3–1 1–3 2–2 1–1–2 3–1 10–8–2 Vs. Smythe Division 1979–80 NHL records Team CHI COL EDM STL VAN WIN Total Boston 2−2 2−1−1 4−0 1−1−2 1−0−3 3−1 13−5−6 Buffalo 1−1−2 3−1 2−1−1 2−2 1−0−3 3−0−1 12−5−7 Minnesota 1−2−1 3−1 1−1−2 3−1 1−2−1 2−1−1 11−8−5 Quebec 1−2−1 3−1 2−2 2−2 2−2 2−2 12−11−1 Toronto 0−4 3−0−1 1−2−1 2−2 3−1 4−0 13−9−2

Schedule and results

1979–80 regular season [4]
October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 1 W October 11, 1979 4–0 Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 1–0–0 2 W October 13, 1979 5–2 @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 2–0–0 3 L October 14, 1979 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 2–1–0 4 W October 18, 1979 3–2 New York Islanders (1979–80) 3–1–0 5 W October 20, 1979 5–4 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 4–1–0 6 T October 23, 1979 5–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 4–1–1 7 L October 26, 1979 2–3 @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 4–2–1 8 W October 28, 1979 4–1 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 5–2–1 9 T October 30, 1979 4–4 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 5–2–2
November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 10 T November 2, 1979 3–3 @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 5–2–3 11 W November 4, 1979 2–1 @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 6–2–3 12 W November 8, 1979 4–2 Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 7–2–3 13 W November 10, 1979 6–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 8–2–3 14 W November 11, 1979 6–3 Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 9–2–3 15 W November 15, 1979 3–2 Washington Capitals (1979–80) 10–2–3 16 W November 17, 1979 2–0 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 11–2–3 17 W November 18, 1979 5–4 Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 12–2–3 18 W November 20, 1979 5–3 @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 13–2–3 19 W November 22, 1979 7–4 Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 14–2–3 20 L November 24, 1979 1–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 14–3–3 21 W November 25, 1979 4–2 Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 15–3–3 22 L November 27, 1979 2–5 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 15–4–3
December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 23 L December 1, 1979 3–6 @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 15–5–3 24 L December 2, 1979 3–5 Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 15–6–3 25 T December 4, 1979 2–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 15–6–4 26 L December 6, 1979 3–4 @ New York Islanders (1979–80) 15–7–4 27 W December 9, 1979 5–3 Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 16–7–4 28 T December 13, 1979 6–6 Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 16–7–5 29 L December 15, 1979 1–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 16–8–5 30 W December 16, 1979 5–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 17–8–5 31 W December 20, 1979 10–0 Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 18–8–5 32 L December 22, 1979 2–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 18–9–5 33 W December 23, 1979 4–3 @ New York Rangers (1979–80) 19–9–5 34 W December 26, 1979 5–3 @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 20–9–5 35 L December 30, 1979 3–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 20–10–5
January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 36 L January 2, 1980 1–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 20–11–5 37 W January 4, 1980 2–1 @ Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 21–11–5 38 T January 8, 1980 2–2 @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 21–11–6 39 L January 10, 1980 4–7 St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 21–12–6 40 W January 12, 1980 5–3 Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 22–12–6 41 W January 13, 1980 6–2 Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 23–12–6 42 W January 16, 1980 3–1 @ Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 24–12–6 43 W January 17, 1980 7–1 Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 25–12–6 44 W January 19, 1980 6–3 New York Rangers (1979–80) 26–12–6 45 W January 21, 1980 3–0 Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 27–12–6 46 W January 24, 1980 4–3 Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 28–12–6 47 W January 26, 1980 6–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 29–12–6 48 L January 27, 1980 3–5 Pittsburgh Penguins (1979–80) 29–13–6 49 L January 30, 1980 2–8 @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 29–14–6 50 W January 31, 1980 4–2 New York Islanders (1979–80) 30–14–6
February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 51 W February 2, 1980 7–2 Quebec Nordiques (1979–80) 31–14–6 52 T February 3, 1980 3–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 31–14–7 53 W February 7, 1980 8–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 32–14–7 54 W February 9, 1980 5–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1979–80) 33–14–7 55 L February 10, 1980 2–3 Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 33–15–7 56 T February 14, 1980 3–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1979–80) 33–15–8 57 W February 16, 1980 5–3 @ Colorado Rockies (1979–80) 34–15–8 58 L February 20, 1980 0–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 34–16–8 59 T February 23, 1980 4–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 34–16–9 60 W February 24, 1980 4–2 @ Edmonton Oilers (1979–80) 35–16–9 61 W February 27, 1980 6–3 @ Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 36–16–9 62 L February 28, 1980 2–5 New York Rangers (1979–80) 36–17–9
March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 63 W March 1, 1980 4–0 Los Angeles Kings (1979–80) 37–17–9 64 L March 2, 1980 1–2 @ New York Rangers (1979–80) 37–18–9 65 W March 5, 1980 5–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 38–18–9 66 W March 8, 1980 5–3 @ New York Islanders (1979–80) 39–18–9 67 T March 9, 1980 1–1 Hartford Whalers (1979–80) 39–18–10 68 L March 12, 1980 4–6 @ Washington Capitals (1979–80) 39–19–10 69 W March 13, 1980 4–2 Detroit Red Wings (1979–80) 40–19–10 70 T March 15, 1980 2–2 Vancouver Canucks (1979–80) 40–19–11 71 T March 16, 1980 3–3 Washington Capitals (1979–80) 40–19–12 72 T March 18, 1980 3–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 40–19–13 73 L March 19, 1980 4–7 @ Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 40–20–13 74 W March 22, 1980 5–2 @ Atlanta Flames (1979–80) 41–20–13 75 W March 23, 1980 7–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1979–80) 42–20–13 76 W March 27, 1980 7–1 St. Louis Blues (1979–80) 43–20–13 77 W March 30, 1980 3–1 Winnipeg Jets (1979–80) 44–20–13
April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 78 W April 2, 1980 5–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1979–80) 45–20–13 79 L April 5, 1980 1–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1979–80) 45–21–13 80 W April 6, 1980 4–2 Minnesota North Stars (1979–80) 46–21–13
Legend:   Win (2 points)  Loss (0 points)  Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

• Lost quarter-finals (4–1) to New York Islanders
• Won Preliminary round (3–2) over Pittsburgh Penguins

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Rick Middleton	RW	80	40	52	92	24	31	9	0	4
Peter McNab	C	74	40	38	78	10	24	11	0	9
Jean Ratelle	C	67	28	45	73	8	11	14	0	1
Raymond Bourque	D	80	17	48	65	73	52	3	2	1
Terry O'Reilly	RW	71	19	42	61	265	17	3	0	5
Dick Redmond	D	76	14	33	47	39	37	6	0	5
Bob Miller	C	80	16	25	41	53	9	0	1	2
Stan Jonathan	LW	79	21	19	40	208	20	0	0	3
Al Secord	LW	77	23	16	39	170	20	1	0	2
Dwight Foster	RW	57	10	28	38	42	23	1	1	2
Bobby Lalonde	C	71	10	25	35	28	14	1	2	0
Wayne Cashman	LW	44	11	21	32	19	-3	3	1	2
Craig MacTavish	C	46	11	17	28	8	16	0	0	2
Rick Smith	D	78	8	18	26	62	22	0	0	2
Mike Milbury	D	72	10	13	23	59	7	1	0	0
Brad Park	D	32	5	16	21	27	11	2	0	2
John Wensink	LW	69	9	11	20	110	7	0	0	2
Brad McCrimmon	D	72	5	11	16	94	-3	1	0	1
Don Marcotte	LW	32	4	11	15	0	4	0	1	1
Bobby Schmautz	RW	20	8	6	14	8	-1	4	0	0
Gary Doak	D	52	0	5	5	45	14	0	0	0
Tom Songin	RW	17	1	3	4	16	0	0	0	0
Gilles Gilbert	G	33	0	1	1	10	0	0	0	0
Marco Baron	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Yves Belanger	G	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gerry Cheevers	G	42	0	0	0	62	0	0	0	0
Doug Morrison	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dennis O'Brien	D	3	0	0	0	2	-4	0	0	0
Jim Stewart	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Gerry Cheevers	2479	42	24	11	7	116	2.81	4
Gilles Gilbert	1933	33	20	9	3	88	2.73	1
Yves Belanger	328	8	2	0	3	19	3.48	0
Marco Baron	40	1	0	0	0	2	3.00	0
Jim Stewart	20	1	0	1	0	5	15.00	0
Team:	4800	80	46	21	13	230	2.87	5

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Peter McNab	C	10	8	6	14	2	3	0	1
Raymond Bourque	D	10	2	9	11	27	0	0	0
Terry O'Reilly	RW	10	3	6	9	69	2	0	1
Brad Park	D	10	3	6	9	4	0	0	0
Dwight Foster	RW	9	3	5	8	2	0	1	1
Rick Middleton	RW	10	4	2	6	5	0	0	0
Wayne Cashman	LW	10	3	3	6	32	1	0	0
Bob Miller	C	10	3	2	5	4	0	1	0
Craig MacTavish	C	10	2	3	5	7	0	0	0
Don Marcotte	LW	10	2	3	5	4	0	0	1
Dick Redmond	D	10	0	3	3	9	0	0	0
Al Secord	LW	10	0	3	3	65	0	0	0
Brad McCrimmon	D	10	1	1	2	28	0	0	0
Rick Smith	D	6	1	1	2	2	0	0	0
Mike Milbury	D	10	0	2	2	50	0	0	0
Bobby Lalonde	C	4	0	1	1	2	0	0	0
Gerry Cheevers	G	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gary Doak	D	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stan Jonathan	LW	9	0	0	0	29	0	0	0
Jean Ratelle	C	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
John Wensink	LW	4	0	0	0	5	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Gerry Cheevers	619	10	4	6	32	3.10	0
Team:	619	10	4	6	32	3.10	0

^[5]

Note:

Pos = Position;GP = Games played; G =  Goals; A =  Assists; Pts =  Points; PIM =  Penalty minutes; +/- =  Plus/minus; PPG =  Power-play goals; SHG =  Short-handed goals; GWG =  Game-winning goals

Pos = Position;GP = Games played; 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;

Awards and records

• Ray Bourque, Calder Memorial Trophy Winner

Draft picks

Boston's picks at the 1980 NHL entry draft were as follows:

Round	#	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	8	Ray Bourque	Defense	Canada	Verdun Éperviers (QMJHL)
1	15	Brad McCrimmon	Defense	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
2	36	Doug Morrison	Right wing	Canada	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
3	57	Keith Crowder	Right wing	Canada	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
4	78	Larry Melnyk	Defense	Canada	New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
5	99	Marco Baron	Goaltender	Canada	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
6	120	Mike Krushelnyski	Center	Canada	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)

See also

• 1979–80 NHL season

References

• Bruins on Database Hockey
• Bruins on Hockey Database
• Bruins on Hockey Reference

1. Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN   9781894801225.
2. "1979–80 NHL Standings". NHL.com. National Hockey League.
3. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
4. "1979-80 Boston Bruins Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
5. "1979-80 Boston Bruins Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved June 9, 2009.