1963-64 season
Record: 18-40-12 (48 points)
The Bruins started the 1963-64 season in an all too familiar predicament, going winless in their first seven games. In December, the B’s would enter a different territory they hadn’t seen in a long time.
The Bruins defeated the Blackhawks 2-1 on December 12. The win bolstered Boston out of last place for the first time in three years, edging out the New York Rangers by two points. The Blackhawks had only lost four games all season up to that point, twice to the Bruins.
So this is where everything turned around for the Bruins, they would stay out of last place, no more embarrassing winless streaks, and make their way back into the playoffs, right? Wrong.
Days later, Boston would find themselves back in an 11-game winless streak and in last place again by the end of December. Schmidt took this time to call out Johnny Bucyk’s below-par performance.
“Bucyk is a guy who could do a lot for us if he puts his mind to it. He just has to go out there and punish himself,” Schmidt told reporters.
“If something doesn’t start happening pretty soon, though, I won’t hesitate about breaking them up,” Schmidt clarified when asked about splitting up Boston’s top scoring line of Bucyk, Oliver, and Tommy Williams. “As I said, a lot depends on Bucyk and whether he is willing to punish himself for the good of the team.”
The Bruins were able to put together a three game win streak in mid-January, but the woes continued after that. The Bruins finished the season in last, but improved in points for the second season in a row.