By: Danielle DuBois | Follow Me on Twitter @DanielleDuBois
After an overtime win against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, the Boston Bruins have become the fourth team in NHL history to have a 60-win season. With the Bruins becoming one of the four teams to reach this incredible milestone, let’s evaluate the three other teams that have reached this record.
The first team to hit 60 wins in a season was the Montreal Canadiens in 1976-77. That Habs club was one of the most iconic teams in NHL history. The Canadiens broke almost every record possible that season. Montreal had 132 points, outscored their opponents by 216, and scored 387 goals during the season.
The picture-perfect season continued during the playoffs for the Canadiens as they swept the St. Louis Blues in the first round. The Canadiens defeated the Islanders in six games as they sealed the deal for their Cup final appearance. The Canadiens ended up facing off against the Boston Bruins in the finals. Montreal ended up having no troubles against Boston and swept the Bruins to win the Stanley Cup. The 1976-77 season was truly perfect for the Canadiens, which is why when we discuss them today, they are considered the best team in all of NHL history.
The second team to ever hit 60 wins was the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings went 62-13-7 that season and had 131 points. During the regular season, the Red Wings went on a 13-game unbeaten streak where they went 12-0-1. Not only did the Red Wings have the best win record, but they also were tied with the Capitals for most shutouts, allowed the fewest goals, and had the best penalty kill percentage. The team was led by the Selke trophy winner. Sergei Fedorov. Fedorov had 39 goals and 68 assists that season.
The Red Wings went into the playoffs strong, as they had to face the Winnipeg Jets in the first round. Detroit ended up defeating Winnipeg in six games. After their faceoff with the Jets, the Red Wings went up against the St. Louis Blues. The Blues gave them a little more trouble than the Jets, but ultimately the Red Wings won in seven games. All the Red Wings had to do was win eight more games before becoming the Stanley Cup champions. However, happily ever after was not in sight for Detroit. The Red Wings had to face off against the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals and ended up losing in six games. Despite this powerful and record-breaking team, they fell short of the ultimate prize.
The third team to hit the 60-win mark was the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. This season was particularly historic for the Lightning franchise. This was the first time that Tampa Bay had ever won the President’s Trophy, and they won the Atlantic division for the second year in a row. Captain, Steven Stamkos, led the team with 45 goals and 53 assists.
Tampa Bay went into the playoffs with a lot of hope. They had been to the playoffs just the year before and ended up losing in the Eastern Conference Finals. With a strong playoff push in 2018, the Lightning had a strong possibility of doing the same in 2019. However, that was not the case. Despite being such a dominant team during the regular season, the Lightning ended up being swept in the first round of the playoffs. Tampa Bay lost to the second wild-card team, the Columbus Blue Jackets.
That brings us to the 2022-23 Boston Bruins. The Bruins have broken record after record this season. They have talent and look different than any other hockey team in history. However, the fight is nowhere close to being finished. The three historic teams I have listed above all have incredible amounts of talent and have broken multiple records, but at the end of the day, only one team won the Stanley Cup. If you don’t win the cup, do the records mean anything? Well, that’s for you to decide, but for right now, we can only hope that things turn out as they did for the 1977 Canadiens.
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