(Photo Credit: Boston Bruins / NHL Archives)

By: Camryn Meece | Follow me on Twitter / X @MeeceCamryn

Bob Miller was the last one. On April 8, 1978, the Bruins faced the Toronto Maple Leafs in their second-to-last regular-season game. Miller entered the game with 19 goals, needing one more to become the 11th Bruins player to reach 20 for the 1977-78 season. With Toronto’s net empty, Miller scored with six seconds remaining in the third period to reach the mark.

Boston got goals from all over its lineup that season, with the 11 players combining for 283 of the Bruins’ 333 goals. Peter McNab led the team with 41 goals, but he was the only Bruin to score more than 30. Nine other players finished between 20 and 29 goals. That kind of scoring balance was rare in the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Bruins had already come close to the record earlier in the decade. In 1970-71, Boston had 10 different 20-goal scorers, setting an NHL record at the time. Wayne Cashman was the only player from that group who was still in Boston when the Bruins set the record again in 1977-78, scoring 24 goals that season. The 1970-71 mark was later matched by the 1974-75 Montreal Canadiens and the 1980-81 St. Louis Blues before Boston finally broke it.

The 1977-78 Bruins had a mix of established veterans and younger players. Jean Ratelle, Wayne Cashman and Don Marcotte had been with Boston for years, while Rick Middleton and Stan Jonathan were becoming bigger parts of the team. Don Cherry was in his second season as the Bruins head coach, and when Boston built a three- or four-goal lead, he could give his third and fourth lines more ice time. This gave more players a chance to contribute and helped spread the scoring throughout the lineup. Four of Boston’s 11 20-goal scorers also set career highs that season: Peter McNab, Terry O’Reilly, Stan Jonathan and Bob Miller.

The Bruins also got unexpected production from the blue line. Brad Park, one of Boston’s veteran defensemen, scored 22 goals that season. That gave Boston another 20-goal scorer who was not a forward. With players contributing from different positions and lines, the Bruins kept finding ways to score.

The Bruins finished the regular season with 51 wins and 113 points, winning the Adams Division. They then reached the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year, where they faced the Montreal Canadiens. Boston’s season ended with a 4-2 series loss to Montreal.

The Bruins’ roster changed over the next few seasons, but several of the players from that team remained in Boston. Rick Middleton, who scored 25 goals that season, became one of Boston’s top scorers and eventually served as one of Boston’s co-captains from 1985-88. Terry O’Reilly, Wayne Cashman and Don Marcotte also remained with the Bruins into the 1980s.

Others didn’t stay in Boston much longer. Gregg Sheppard was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins after the 1978-79 season, while Bobby Schmautz signed with the Edmonton Oilers that same summer. The players eventually went their separate ways, but the record they set in Boston has remained. Nearly 50 years later, no NHL team has matched the Bruins’ 11 20-goal scorers in a single season.