2007–08 Boston Bruins season

NHL team season

2007–08 Boston Bruins
Division3rd Northeast
Conference8th Eastern
2007–08 record41–29–12
Home record21–16–4
Road record20–13–8
Goals for212
Goals against222
Team information
General managerPeter Chiarelli
CoachClaude Julien
CaptainZdeno Chara
Alternate captainsPatrice Bergeron
Glen Murray
ArenaTD Banknorth Garden
Average attendance15,384 (87.6%)
Team leaders
GoalsMarco Sturm (27)
AssistsMarc Savard (63)
PointsMarc Savard (78)
Penalty minutesZdeno Chara (114)
Plus/minusZdeno Chara (+14)
WinsTim Thomas (28)
Goals against averageTim Thomas (2.44)

The 2007–08 Boston Bruins season began on October 5, 2007. It was the 84th season of the Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Bruins entered the 2007–08 season with a new head coach after the team fired Dave Lewis shortly before the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.[1]

Key dates prior to the start of the season:

  • The 2007 NHL Entry Draft took place in Columbus, Ohio, on June 22–23.
  • The free agency period began on July 1.

Regular season

Divisional standings

Northeast Division
GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 Montreal Canadiens 82 47 25 10 262 222 104
2 Ottawa Senators 82 43 31 8 261 247 94
3 Boston Bruins 82 41 29 12 212 222 94
4 Buffalo Sabres 82 39 31 12 255 242 90
5 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 36 35 11 231 260 83

Conference standings

Eastern Conference
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 z – Montreal Canadiens NE 82 47 25 10 262 222 104
2 y – Pittsburgh Penguins AT 82 47 27 8 247 216 102
3 y – Washington Capitals SE 82 43 31 8 242 231 94
4 New Jersey Devils AT 82 46 29 7 206 197 99
5 New York Rangers AT 82 42 27 13 213 199 97
6 Philadelphia Flyers AT 82 42 29 11 248 233 95
7 Ottawa Senators NE 82 43 31 8 261 247 94
8 Boston Bruins NE 82 41 29 12 212 222 94
8.5
9 Carolina Hurricanes SE 82 43 33 6 252 249 92
10 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 39 31 12 255 242 90
11 Florida Panthers SE 82 38 35 9 216 226 85
12 Toronto Maple Leafs NE 82 36 35 11 231 260 83
13 New York Islanders AT 82 35 38 9 194 243 79
14 Atlanta Thrashers SE 82 34 40 8 216 272 76
15 Tampa Bay Lightning SE 82 31 42 9 223 267 71

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast, SE – Southeast

bold – qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, z – placed first in conference (and division)


Schedule and results

2007–08 game log
October: 6–4–0 (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 3–3–0)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap
1 October 5 Boston Bruins 1–4 Dallas Stars Manny Fernandez 18,532 0–1–0 0 [1]
2 October 6 Boston Bruins 3–1 Phoenix Coyotes Tim Thomas 14,087 1–1–0 2 [2]
3 October 10 Boston Bruins 1–2 Anaheim Ducks Tim Thomas 17,285 1–2–0 2 [3]
4 October 12 Boston Bruins 8–6 Los Angeles Kings Manny Fernandez 17,064 2–2–0 4 [4]
5 October 13 Boston Bruins 2–1 San Jose Sharks Tim Thomas 17,496 3–2–0 6 [5]
6 October 18 Tampa Bay Lightning 1–4 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 16,363 4–2–0 8 [6]
7 October 20 NY Rangers 0–1 Boston Bruins SO Manny Fernandez 15,266 5–2–0 10 [7]
8 October 22 Boston Bruins 1–6 Montreal Canadiens Manny Fernandez 21,273 5–3–0 10 [8]
9 October 25 Chicago Blackhawks 1–3 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 10,290 6–3–0 12 [9]
10 October 27 Philadelphia Flyers 2–1 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 14,956 6–4–0 12 [10]
November: 7–4–2 (Home: 4–1–1; Road: 3–3–1)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap
11 November 1 Buffalo Sabres 3–4 Boston Bruins OT Tim Thomas 13,479 7–4–0 14 [11]
12 November 3 Boston Bruins 2–3 Ottawa Senators Tim Thomas 19,939 7–5–0 14 [12]
13 November 4 Ottawa Senators 2–1 Boston Bruins SO Tim Thomas 10,087 7–5–1 15 [13]
14 November 7 Boston Bruins 1–2 Buffalo Sabres OT Tim Thomas 18,690 7–5–2 16 [14]
15 November 8 Montreal Canadiens 2–1 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 15,183 7–6–2 16 [15]
16 November 10 Buffalo Sabres 1–2 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 17,565 8–6–2 18 [16]
17 November 15 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–5 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 16,373 9–6–2 20 [17]
18 November 17 Boston Bruins 4–7 Montreal Canadiens Tim Thomas 21,173 9–7–2 20 [18]
19 November 20 Boston Bruins 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs Tuukka Rask 19,441 10–7–2 22 [19]
20 November 23 NY Islanders 1–2 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 17,565 11–7–2 24 [20]
21 November 24 Boston Bruins 1–2 NY Islanders Tim Thomas 16,234 11–8–2 24 [21]
22 November 26 Boston Bruins 6–3 Philadelphia Flyers Tuukka Rask 19,457 12–8–2 26 [22]
23 November 29 Boston Bruins 4–3 Florida Panthers Tim Thomas 14,926 13–8–2 28 [23]
December: 6–8–2 (Home: 2–4–1 ; Road: 4–4–1)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap
24 December 1 Boston Bruins 1–4 Tampa Bay Lightning Tim Thomas 18,444 13–9–2 28 [24]
25 December 3 Boston Bruins 3–1 NY Islanders Tim Thomas 11,040 14–9–2 30 [25]
26 December 5 Boston Bruins 3–4 New Jersey Devils OT Tuukka Rask 14,012 14–9–3 31 [26]
27 December 6 Montreal Canadiens 4–2 Boston Bruins Tuukka Rask 14,977 14–10–3 31 [27]
28 December 8 Boston Bruins 2–1 Toronto Maple Leafs Alex Auld 18,819 15–10–3 33 [28]
29 December 10 Boston Bruins 4–1 Buffalo Sabres Alex Auld 18,302 16–10–3 35 [29]
30 December 12 Boston Bruins 5–3 Atlanta Thrashers Alex Auld 14,265 17–10–3 37 [30]
31 December 13 New Jersey Devils 3–1 Boston Bruins Alex Auld 12,064 17–11–3 37 [31]
32 December 15 Columbus Blue Jackets 0–2 Boston Bruins Alex Auld 14,058 18–11–3 39 [32]
33 December 18 Ottawa Senators 3–2 Boston Bruins Alex Auld 14,874 18–12–3 39 [33]
34 December 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–4 Boston Bruins SO Tim Thomas 15,304 18–12–4 40 [34]
35 December 22 St. Louis Blues 4–1 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 14,200 18–13–4 40 [35]
36 December 23 Boston Bruins 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Alex Auld 17,060 18–14–4 40 [36]
37 December 28 Boston Bruins 3–4 Carolina Hurricanes Tim Thomas 18,680 18–15–4 40 [37]
38 December 29 Boston Bruins 0–5 Atlanta Thrashers Alex Auld 18,545 18–16–4 40 [38]
39 December 31 Atlanta Thrashers 2–5 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 17,565 19–16–4 42 [39]
January: 8–3–1 (Home: 5–2–1; Road: 3–1–0)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap
40 January 3 Washington Capitals 0–2 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 12,240 20–16–4 44 [40]
41 January 5 New Jersey Devils 3–4 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 17,565 21–16–4 46 [41]
42 January 8 Carolina Hurricanes 1–0 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 14,549 21–17–4 46 [42]
43 January 10 Montreal Canadiens 5–2 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 17,565 21–18–4 46 [43]
44 January 12 Boston Bruins 4–3 Philadelphia Flyers OT Alex Auld 19,792 22–18–4 48 [44]
45 January 17 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–2 Boston Bruins SO Alex Auld 13,907 22–18–5 49 [45]
46 January 19 NY Rangers 3–4 Boston Bruins SO Tim Thomas 17,565 23–18–5 51 [46]
47 January 20 Boston Bruins 3–1 NY Rangers Tim Thomas 18,200 24–18–5 53 [47]
48 January 22 Boston Bruins 2–8 Montreal Canadiens Alex Auld 21,273 24–19–5 53 [48]
49 January 24 NY Islanders 1–4 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 13,461 25–19–5 55 [49]
50 January 29 Nashville Predators 1–3 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 14,150 26–19–5 57 [50]
51 January 31 Boston Bruins 4–1 Ottawa Senators Tim Thomas 19,959 27–19–5 59 [51]
February: 7–4–1 ; Home: 2–4–0 ; Road: 4–0–1
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap
52 February 2 Detroit Red Wings 3–1 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 17,565 27–20–5 59 [52]
53 February 5 Buffalo Sabres 4–2 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 13,427 27–21–5 59 [53]
54 February 8 Boston Bruins 3–2 Buffalo Sabres SO Alex Auld 14,465 28–21–5 61 [54]
55 February 9 Florida Panthers 6–3 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 14,365 28–22–5 61 [55]
56 February 12 Carolina Hurricanes 3–2 Boston Bruins Alex Auld 15,300 28–23–5 61 [56]
57 February 13 Boston Bruins 2–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Tim Thomas 16,982 29–23–5 63 [57]
58 February 16 Boston Bruins 3–4 Toronto Maple Leafs OT Tim Thomas 19,481 29–23–6 64 [58]
59 February 19 Boston Bruins 3–2 Carolina Hurricanes SO Tim Thomas 17,552 30–23–6 66 [59]
60 February 21 Boston Bruins 5–4 Florida Panthers SO Alex Auld 14,992 31–23–6 68 [60]
61 February 23 Boston Bruins 5–3 Tampa Bay Lightning Alex Auld 20,519 32–23–6 70 [61]
62 February 26 Ottawa Senators 0–4 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 13,451 33–23–6 72 [62]
63 February 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–5 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 17,565 34–23–6 74 [63]
March: 6–5–5 (Home: 5–3–1 ; Road: 1–2–4)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap
64 March 1 Atlanta Thrashers 2–3 Boston Bruins SO Tim Thomas 17,565 35–23–6 76 [64]
65 March 3 Boston Bruins 2–10 Washington Capitals Tim Thomas 16,548 35–24–6 76 [65]
66 March 4 Florida Panthers 1–0 Boston Bruins OT Alex Auld 16,478 35–24–7 77 [66]
67 March 6 Toronto Maple Leafs 8–2 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 17,565 35–25–7 77 [67]
68 March 8 Washington Capitals 1–2 Boston Bruins Alex Auld 17,565 36–25–7 79 [68]
69 March 9 Boston Bruins 0–1 NY Rangers SO Alex Auld 18,200 36–25–8 80 [69]
70 March 11 Boston Bruins 1–4 Ottawa Senators Alex Auld 20,143 36–26–8 80 [70]
71 March 13 Tampa Bay Lightning 3–1 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 13,373 36–27–8 80 [71]
72 March 15 Philadelphia Flyers 2–3 Boston Bruins OT Tim Thomas 17,565 37–27–8 82 [72]
73 March 16 Boston Bruins 1–2 Washington Capitals SO Alex Auld 18,277 37–27–9 83 [73]
74 March 20 Montreal Canadiens 4–2 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 17,565 37–28–9 83 [74]
75 March 22 Boston Bruins 2–3 Montreal Canadiens SO Tim Thomas 21,273 37–28–10 84 [75]
76 March 25 Boston Bruins 6–2 Toronto Maple Leafs Tim Thomas 19,562 38–28–10 86 [76]
77 March 27 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–4 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 17,565 39–28–10 88 [77]
78 March 29 Ottawa Senators 0–4 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 17,565 40–28–10 90 [78]
79 March 30 Boston Bruins 1–2 Buffalo Sabres OT Alex Auld 18,690 40–28–11 91 [79]
April: 1–1–1 (Home: 0–1–0 ; Road: 1–0–1)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap
80 April 2 Boston Bruins 2–3 New Jersey Devils SO Tim Thomas 16,144 40–28–12 92 [80]
81 April 4 Boston Bruins 2–1 Ottawa Senators Tim Thomas 20,232 41–28–12 94 [81]
82 April 6 Buffalo Sabres 3–0 Boston Bruins Tim Thomas 19,563 41–29–12 94 [82]

Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)

Playoffs

The Bruins qualified for the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2003–04 NHL season, facing their traditional arch-rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. The Boston Bruins were down 3–1 in the series facing elimination, but climbed back to 3–3. The series moved to game 7 in Montreal on April 21, however the Bruins lost the game and were narrowly eliminated.

2008 Stanley Cup playoffs
Eastern Conference Quarter-finals vs E1 Montreal Canadiens: 3–4 (Home: 2–1 ; Road: 1–3)
# Date Visitor Score Home OT Boston Goals Montreal Goals Decision Attendance Series Recap
1 April 10 Boston Bruins 1–4 Montreal Canadiens Hnidy S. Kostitsyn, A. Kostitsyn, Smolinski, Kostopoulos Thomas 21,273 0–1 [83]
2 April 12 Boston Bruins 2–3 Montreal Canadiens 2:30 Schaefer, Krejci Hamrlik, S. Kostitsyn, Kovalev Thomas 21,273 0–2 [84]
3 April 13 Montreal Canadiens 1–2 Boston Bruins 9:25 Lucic, Savard Kostopoulos Thomas 17,565 1–2 [85]
4 April 15 Montreal Canadiens 1–0 Boston Bruins Brisebois Thomas 17,565 1–3 [86]
5 April 17 Boston Bruins 5–1 Montreal Canadiens Kessel, Metropolit, Chara, Sturm, Sobotka Kovalev Thomas 21,273 2–3 [87]
6 April 19 Montreal Canadiens 4–5 Boston Bruins Kessel (2), Sobotka, Lucic, Sturm Higgins (2), Plekanec, Bouillon Thomas 17,565 3–3 [88]
7 April 21 Boston Bruins 0–5 Montreal Canadiens Komisarek, Streit, A. Kostitsyn (2), S. Kostitsyn Thomas 21,273 3–4 [89]
  • Scorer of game-winning goal in italics

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/− = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Regular season[2]
Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM
Andrew Alberts 35 0 2 2 4 39
P. J. Axelsson 75 13 16 29 11 15
Patrice Bergeron 10 3 4 7 2 2
Zdeno Chara 77 17 34 51 14 114
Andrew Ference 59 1 14 15 −14 50
Shane Hnidy 43 1 4 5 −4 41
Matt Hunwick 13 0 1 1 −1 4
Phil Kessel 82 19 18 37 −6 28
Chuck Kobasew 73 22 17 39 6 29
David Krejci 56 6 21 27 −3 20
Matt Lashoff 18 1 4 5 −2 0
Milan Lucic 77 8 19 27 −2 89
Glen Metropolit 82 11 22 33 −3 36
Glen Murray 63 17 13 30 −4 50
Petteri Nokelainen 57 7 3 10 0 19
Jeremy Reich 58 2 2 4 −5 78
Marc Savard 74 15 63 78 3 66
Peter Schaefer 63 9 17 26 4 18
Vladimir Sobotka 48 1 6 7 1 24
Mark Stuart 82 4 4 8 2 81
Marco Sturm 80 27 29 56 11 40
Shawn Thornton 58 4 3 7 −1 74
Aaron Ward 65 5 8 13 9 54
Dennis Wideman 81 13 23 36 11 70
Combined — 206 347 553 33 1041

Goaltenders

Note: GPI = Games Played In; MIN = Minutes played; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots Against; GA = Goals against; SV%= Save percentage

Regular season[2]
Player GPI MIN GAA W L OT SO SA GA SV%
Tim Thomas 57 3,341 2.44 28 19 6 3 1731 136 .921
Alex Auld 23 1,213 2.32 9 7 5 2 578 47 .919
Manny Fernandez 4 244 3.93 2 2 0 1 95 16 .832
Tuukka Rask 4 184 3.26 2 1 1 0 88 10 .886
Combined — 4982 2.99 41 29 12 6 2492 209 .904

Awards and records

Records

Milestones

Regular season
Player Milestone Reached
Andrew Ference 400th NHL PIM October 5, 2007
Milan Lucic 1st NHL game October 5, 2007
David Krejci 1st NHL assist
1st NHL point		 October 6, 2007
Phil Kessel 1st NHL hat-trick October 12, 2007
Milan Lucic 1st NHL goal
1st NHL assist
1st NHL point		 October 12, 2007
Marc Savard 500th NHL point October 12, 2007
Peter Schaefer 500th NHL game October 20, 2007
Matt Hunwick 1st NHL game November 10, 2007
Andrew Alberts 200th NHL PIM November 10, 2007
Marc Savard 600th NHL game November 10, 2007
Tuukka Rask 1st NHL game
1st NHL win		 November 20, 2007
Dennis Wideman 18,000th Bruins
all-time goal		 December 31, 2007
Glen Metropolit 100th NHL point January 29, 2008
Marco Sturm 200th NHL assist February 9, 2008
Vladimir Sobotka 1st NHL goal February 13, 2008
P. J. Axelsson 700th NHL game February 21, 2008
David Krejci 1st NHL goal February 26, 2008
Marc Savard 400th NHL assist February 28, 2008
Marco Sturm 200th NHL goal February 28, 2008
Mark Stuart 100th NHL game March 8, 2008

Transactions

The Bruins have been involved in the following transactions during the 2007–08 season.

Trades

June 30, 2007
 To Boston Bruins
Manny Fernandez 		To Minnesota Wild
Petr Kalus
4th-round pick in 2008
July 17, 2007
 To Boston Bruins
Peter Schaefer 		To Ottawa Senators
Shean Donovan
July 23, 2007
 To St. Louis Blues
Hannu Toivonen 		To Boston Bruins
Carl Soderberg
September 11, 2007
 To Boston Bruins
Petteri Nokelainen 		To New York Islanders
Ben Walter
conditional 2nd-round pick in 2009 (Kevin Lynch)
September 24, 2007
 To Anaheim Ducks
Mark Mowers 		To Boston Bruins
Nathan Saunders
Brett Skinner
December 6, 2007
 To Boston Bruins
Alex Auld 		To Phoenix Coyotes
Nate DiCasmirro
5th-round pick in 2009 (Jeff Costello)
January 2, 2008
 To Anaheim Ducks
Brandon Bochenski 		To Boston Bruins
Shane Hnidy
6th-round pick in 2008 (Nicholas Tremblay)

Free agents

Player Former team Contract terms
Shawn Thornton Anaheim Ducks 3 year, $1.55 million
Glen Metropolit* St. Louis Blues Undisclosed

*Invitee to Bruins Training Camp, re-signed after camp

Player New team
Jay Leach Tampa Bay Lightning
Joey MacDonald New York Islanders

Draft picks

Boston's picks at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft in Columbus, Ohio.[3] The Bruins will pick 8th overall when the draft is held June 22–23.

Round # Player Position Nationality College/junior/club team (league)
1 8 Zach Hamill Center  Canada Everett Silvertips (WHL)
2 35 Tommy Cross Defenseman  United States Westminster School (USHS-CT)
5 130 Denis Reul Defenseman  Germany Heilbronner Falken (Germany)
Lewiston Maineiacs (QMJHL)
6 159 Alain Goulet Defenseman  Canada Aurora Tigers (OPJHL)
6 169 Radim Ostrcil Defenseman  Czech Republic HC Vsetín (Czech Republic)
7 189 Jordan Knackstedt Right Wing  Canada Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)

Farm teams

Providence Bruins

The Providence Bruins remain Boston's top affiliate in the American Hockey League in 2007–08.

Johnstown Chiefs

On June 18, 2007, during the ECHL Board of Governors Annual Meeting, the Long Beach Ice Dogs membership in the ECHL was immediately terminated due to the Long Beach ownership group being unable to continue to operate in 2007–08.[4] On September 18, 2007, the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL announced they had entered an affiliation agreement with the Bruins for the 2007–08 season.

See also

References

  • Player stats: Boston Bruins player stats on espn.com
  • Game log: Boston Bruins game log on espn.com
  • Team standings: NHL standings on espn.com
  1. ^ Dave Lewis ousted as Bruins coach, cbc.ca, June 15, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "2007-2008 Regular Season".
  3. ^ 2007 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com [dead link]
  4. ^ ECHL.com Ice Dogs membership terminated Archived 2008-01-16 at the Wayback Machine
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