May 10 Bruins History: What Happened 51 Years Ago?
By Scott Roche
May 10 is a date that will always go down in Boston Bruins history.
May 10, 1970, that is.
Fifty-one years ago today, on Mother’s Day, Bruin great Bobby Orr scored 40 seconds into overtime in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final off a pass from Derek Sanderson to help the Bruins complete a four-game sweep of the St. Louis Blues to capture the Stanley Cup.
The goal is one that will remain in Bruins history forever, as Orr famously flew through the air after potting the game-winning goal. In 2010, a statue of Orr flying through the air was placed outside of the TD Garden.
Making their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final since 1958, the Bruins dominated the Blues in the Final to sweep the four games, outscoring St. Louis 20-7.
The 1969-70 season saw the Black and Gold tie the Chicago Blackhawks for first place in the East Division with 99 points, but lost the tie-breaker with five fewer wins. That did not stop the Bruins from rolling through the playoffs, beating the New York Rangers in six games, before sweeping the Blackhawks and outscoring them 20-10 to reach the Stanley Cup Final.
Boston had a stacked roster in 1969-70 Orr led Boston with 33 goals and 87 assists for 120 points. Phil Esposito had a team-high 43 goals and 56 assists for 99 points. Johnny Bucyk had 31 goals and 38 assists, with a team-high 14 power play goals. In the postseason, Esposito had 13 goals and 14 assists to lead the Bruins.
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It would be two years before the Bruins win their next Stanley Cup, when they beat the New York Rangers in six games. Thirty-nine years later, the Bruins would beat the Vancouver Canucks in seven games in 2011 to win their last Cup. Since then, Boston has been to the Stanley Cup Final two more times, in 2012-12 and lost to the Blackhawks in six games and then again in 2018-19 when they lost to the Blues in seven games.