By: Camryn Meece | Follow me on Twitter / X @MeeceCamryn
The Boston Bruins won 65 games during the 2022-23 regular season. It was the most wins by a National Hockey League (NHL) team in a single season, and more than three years later, nobody has beaten it. Boston finished the season with a 65-12-5 record and 135 points. Before the Bruins reached 63 wins, the record belonged to the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning, each of which won 62 games. The Bruins tied that record on April 8, 2023, when they defeated the New Jersey Devils 2-1 at TD Garden.
The next night, Boston defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3, earning its 63rd win of the season. David Pastrňák scored three goals in the game, including an empty-net goal that gave Boston the record. The Bruins finished the season with 65 wins, setting the NHL record. The Bruins also set the NHL record for points in a season, passing the 132 points recorded by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens. So how did Boston go from a first-round playoff exit the year before to winning 65 games?
The Bruins were already coming off a 51-win season in 2021-22, but their season ended in the first round of the playoffs. Boston lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games, and the organization decided to make a change behind the bench. Bruce Cassidy was fired after six seasons as head coach, and the Bruins hired Jim Montgomery to replace him in July 2022.
Two important pieces returned for the 2022-23 season. Patrice Bergeron returned for his 19th NHL season after considering retirement, while David Krejčí returned to Boston after spending the previous season playing in the Czech Republic. Bergeron had recorded 65 points in 73 games the year before, while Krejčí had been one of the Bruins’ top centers for more than a decade before leaving for Czechia. Their return gave Boston more experience at center.
Boston acquired Pavel Zacha from the New Jersey Devils during the offseason in exchange for Erik Haula. Zacha had scored 36 points in 70 games with New Jersey the previous season, but he had a career year in his first season with Boston. He scored 21 goals and 57 points in 82 games, both career highs at the time. Zacha also gave Jim Montgomery some flexibility in the lineup, as he could play center or either wing.
Hampus Lindholm entered his first full season with Boston after being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in March 2022. He played a team-high 23:11 per game and finished the season with 53 points in 80 games. His plus-49 rating was the best in the NHL, while he formed a regular defensive pairing with Brandon Carlo. With Charlie McAvoy and other experienced defensemen on the roster, Boston had plenty of depth on the blue line.
Goaltending was another big part of Boston’s success. Linus Ullmark started 49 games during the regular season and went 40-6-1, finishing with a 1.89 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage. His season earned him the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender. Jeremy Swayman started the other 37 games and went 24-6-4 with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. Together, Ullmark and Swayman earned 64 of Boston’s 65 wins.
The Bruins allowed 177 goals during the regular season, the fewest in the NHL. The Carolina Hurricanes were second with 213 goals. Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Carlo were a driving force on the blue line. McAvoy finished with 52 points in 67 games and averaged 22:18 of ice time per game, while Lindholm had 53 points in 80 games and averaged 23:11. Lindholm and Carlo also regularly played together. By the end of January that season, Boston had scored 16 goals and allowed eight in the 347 minutes the two defensemen had played together at even strength.
There was also plenty of scoring to go along with the strong defense. David Pastrňák led the team with 61 goals and 113 points, while Brad Marchand had 67 points in 73 games. Patrice Bergeron finished with 27 goals and 58 points, and Pavel Zacha and David Krejčí added 57 and 56 points, respectively. Five players finished with at least 56 points, so Boston was not relying on just one or two players to score.
Special teams were another important part of the season. Boston’s power play finished the regular season at 22.2 percent, while the penalty kill ranked first in the NHL at 87.3 percent. David Pastrňák led the team with 18 power-play goals, and Patrice Bergeron had nine. Boston also scored eight shorthanded goals during the season.
The 2022-23 season got off to a strong start under Montgomery. Boston won eight of its first nine games and went 14-0-0 at home to begin the season. But the team did not slow down as the season went on. Boston reached 20 wins in just 23 games, had only 12 regulation losses all season, and finished with a 65-12-5 record. The team also won eight straight games to close out the regular season.
That consistency came from having several parts of the team working at the same time. Boston had strong goaltending from Ullmark and Swayman, a defense that allowed the fewest goals in the NHL, scoring throughout the lineup, and strong special teams. The return of Bergeron and Krejčí, along with Montgomery taking over behind the bench and the additions of Zacha and Lindholm, also gave the team a different look than the one eliminated in the first round the year before. All of it came together for a 65-12-5 regular season and 135 points. Boston became the first team in NHL history to win 65 games in a single season.
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