This is very ’70s. (Photo via icehockey.wikia.com)
First off, here is the entire tournament bracket!
The opening game of this seres was the largest-margin of victory with the ‘8th-seeded ’73-’74 Bruins winning 5-1. Only three players did not register a point in the win for the reigning representatives and only Wayne Cashman and Don Marcotte posted multi-point games. The ’73-’74 Bruins then held a 3-1 lead after periods in Game 2 with two of those goals coming from Phil Esposito. However, two goals in the second half of the third period forced an overtime for the 6th-seeded ’10-’11 Bruins. Rich Peverley scored the game-tying goal with just under three minutes left in regulation. Esposito then completed his hat trick attempt by scoring five plus minutes into OT to give the reigning reps a 2-0 series lead. Then, thanks to two goals from Derek Sanderson, the ’73-’74 Bruins won Game 3 by a score of 5-2. Goaltender Gilles Gilbert posted his biggest game, stopping 35 of 37 shots against. Game 4 was tied 3-3 after two periods with the ’10-’11 Bruins coming back from a 3-1 deficit in the second. It remained tied until just under two minutes left when John Bucyk scored the game and series-clincher for the ’73-’74 Bruins.
| 1st Period | 2nd Period | 3rd Period | Overtime | Total | |
| ’73-’74 Bruins | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | 5 |
| ’10-’11 Bruins | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 |
GAME SUMMARY: ’73-’74 BOS – 5 ’10-’11 BOS – 1 (1-0 ’73-’74 BOS)
STARS OF THE GAME:
1st Star: LW – Wayne Cashman (’73-’74 BOS) – 1 G 1 A 2 P +2 3 S
2nd Star: LW – Don Marcotte (’73-’74 BOS) – 1 G 1 A 2 P +2 2 S
3rd Star: G – Gilles Gilbert (’73-’74 BOS) – W 1.00 GAA .966 SV% (28 SV’s)
| 1st Period | 2nd Period | 3rd Period | Overtime | Total | |
| ’73-’74 Bruins | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| ’10-’11 Bruins | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
GAME SUMMARY: ’73-’74 BOS – 4 ’10-’11 BOS – 3 (OT) (2-0 ’73-’74 BOS)
STARS OF THE GAME:
1st Star: C – Phil Esposito (’73-’74 BOS) – 3 G 0 A 3 P +4 7 S
2nd Star: C – Rich Peverley (’10-’11 BOS) – 2 G 0 A 2 P +2 5 S
3rd Star: RW – Ken Hodge (’73-’74 BOS) – 1 G 1 A 2 P +4 4 S
| 1st Period | 2nd Period | 3rd Period | Overtime | Total | |
| ’10-’11 Bruins | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 |
| ’73-’74 Bruins | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | 5 |
GAME SUMMARY: ’73-’74 BOS – 5 ’10-’11 BOS – 2 (3-0 ’73-’74 BOS)
STARS OF THE GAME:
1st Star: C – Derek Sanderson (’73-’74 BOS) – 2 G 0 A 2 P +2 4 S
2nd Star: C – Phil Esposito (’73-’74 BOS) – 1 G 1 A 2 P +1 5 S 2 PIM
3rd Star: G – Gilles Gilbert (’73-’74 BOS) – W 2.00 GAA .946 SV% (35 SV’s)
| 1st Period | 2nd Period | 3rd Period | Overtime | Total | |
| ’10-’11 Bruins | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 |
| ’73-’74 Bruins | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 4 |
GAME SUMMARY: ’73-’74 BOS – 4 ’10-’11 BOS – 3 (4-0 ’73-’74 BOS)
STARS OF THE GAME:
1st Star: LW – John Bucyk (’73-’74 BOS) – 1 G 1 A 2 P +1 2 S
2nd Star: RW – Bobby Schmautz (’73-’74 BOS) – 1 G 1 A 2 P +1 3 S
3rd Star: D – Zdeno Chara (’10-’11 BOS) – 1 G 1 A 2 P -2 1 S 2 PIM
The ’73-’74 Boston Bruins are the 45th team to qualify for the upcoming 2015 Ultimate NHL Playoff. It will be their second trip to the tournament and they are the 22nd team that will repeat as their franchises representatives. Up next is the 2015 Detroit Red Wings Qualifying Tournament!
