2010–11 Boston Bruins season

2010–11 Boston Bruins
Stanley Cup champions
Eastern Conference champions
Northeast Division champions
Division1st Northeast
Conference3rd Eastern
2010–11 record46–25–11
Home record22–13–6
Road record24–12–5
Goals for246
Goals against195
Team information
General managerPeter Chiarelli
CoachClaude Julien
CaptainZdeno Chara
Alternate captainsPatrice Bergeron
Mark Recchi
ArenaTD Garden
Average attendance17,565 (100%)
Total: 702,600
Team leaders
GoalsMilan Lucic (30)
AssistsDavid Krejci (49)
PointsDavid Krejci (62)
Milan Lucic (62)
Penalty minutesShawn Thornton (122)
Plus/minusZdeno Chara (+33)
WinsTim Thomas (35)
Goals against averageTim Thomas (2.00)
The 2011 Stanley Cup champion Bruins meet U.S. President Barack Obama.

The 2010–11 Boston Bruins season was the 87th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on November 1, 1924. The Bruins were the winners of the 2011 Stanley Cup, winning their first championship in 39 years.

Off-season

At the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles, California, Boston selected Tyler Seguin with their first-round pick, second overall. A week earlier, on June 16, 2010, Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs and principal Charlie Jacobs announced that Cam Neely had been named president of the Boston Bruins. Neely, a former player and 2005 Hall of Fame inductee, became the eighth president in club history.

The Bruins sought to "tweak the composition" during the off-season, trading puck-moving defenseman Dennis Wideman to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Nathan Horton.

The Reading Royals, Boston's affiliate within the ECHL, renewed their relationship during the off-season. This marked the second year the organizations shared affiliation, with the Royals playing host to several Bruins prospects including goaltender Matt Dalton and defenseman Rob Kwiet.

Pre-season

On June 21, 2010, the Bruins announced their seven-game pre-season schedule. Closing out the schedule were two exhibition matches, the first in Belfast, Northern Ireland, against the Belfast Giants Select, a unified team composed of an All-Star selection of the best EIHL players from each team. The Bruins went on to beat the Giants Select 5–1 after being held scoreless for the first period. Rookie star Tyler Seguin scored a pair of goals. The Bruins then faced off against Bili Tygri Liberec of the Czech Extraliga in their final pre-season match, with veteran Patrice Bergeron putting on a five-point display that included two breakaway goals in a 7–1 victory for the Bruins.

Regular season

As part of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Games, the Bruins began their season on Saturday, October 9, playing against the Phoenix Coyotes at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. There they split their two games with the Coyotes. The Bruins spent much of the months of October, November and December playing well but slightly behind the Montreal Canadiens for first-place in the division before passing the Canadiens on December 27 with a 3–2 shootout win over the Florida Panthers. Play during this time was highlighted by excellent play for goaltender Tim Thomas, who started the season as a backup but had five shutouts by the middle of December, and by Milan Lucic's excellent offensive production, including his first natural hat-trick on November 18. In January, the Bruins continued to hold first-place in the division, aided at one point by hat-tricks from Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara on January 11 and January 17, respectively. The Bruins started February with fight-filled wins against the Dallas Stars, whom they beat 6–3, and the Canadiens, against whom they picked up their first win of the season on their fourth try by a score of 8–6. The Bruins then hit a three-game losing streak, but recovered to string together a seven-game winning streak that stretched into March. The first six wins of the streak were on the road, including a 3–1 win in the Bruins' only game of the regular season against the Vancouver Canucks, which led the NHL at that time for points and would eventually win the Presidents' Trophy. After the streak, the Bruins would go on to lose six of their next seven games, including a 4–1 loss to their rivals, the Canadiens, in which team captain Zdeno Chara was nearly suspended for a hit on Max Pacioretty. They nonetheless managed five points during this time, as three of their losses came in overtime. Following this lapse, the Bruins responded with a win over the New Jersey Devils and a 7–0 win in their last game of the regular season against the Montreal Canadiens. Two games later, the Bruins clinched a playoff spot with a 2–1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. In the next game, Tim Thomas picked up his ninth shutout of the season. Two games later, in their first game in April, the Bruins clinched the Northeast Division with a 3–2 win in their last ever game against the Atlanta Thrashers, who were set to relocate to Winnipeg for the next season.

The Bruins tied the New York Rangers for the most shutouts for, with 11.

Standings

Northeast Division
GP W L OTL ROW GF GA Pts
1 y – Boston Bruins 82 46 25 11 44 246 195 103
2 Montreal Canadiens 82 44 30 8 41 216 209 96
3 Buffalo Sabres 82 43 29 10 38 245 229 96
4 Toronto Maple Leafs 82 37 34 11 32 218 251 85
5 Ottawa Senators 82 32 40 10 30 192 250 74
Eastern Conference
R Div GP W L OTL ROW GF GA Pts
1 z – Washington Capitals SE 82 48 23 11 43 224 197 107
2 y – Philadelphia Flyers AT 82 47 23 12 44 259 223 106
3 y – Boston Bruins NE 82 46 25 11 44 246 195 103
4 Pittsburgh Penguins AT 82 49 25 8 39 238 199 106
5 Tampa Bay Lightning SE 82 46 25 11 40 247 240 103
6 Montreal Canadiens NE 82 44 30 8 41 216 209 96
7 Buffalo Sabres NE 82 43 29 10 38 245 229 96
8 New York Rangers AT 82 44 33 5 35 233 198 93
8.5
9 Carolina Hurricanes SE 82 40 31 11 35 236 239 91
10 Toronto Maple Leafs NE 82 37 34 11 32 218 251 85
11 New Jersey Devils AT 82 38 39 5 35 174 209 81
12 Atlanta Thrashers SE 82 34 36 12 29 223 269 80
13 Ottawa Senators NE 82 32 40 10 30 192 250 74
14 New York Islanders AT 82 30 39 13 26 229 264 73
15 Florida Panthers SE 82 30 40 12 26 195 229 72

bold – qualified for playoffs; y – Won division; z – Placed first in conference (and division)
AT – Atlantic Division, NE – Northeast Division, SE – Southeast Division


Schedule and results

Pre-season

Regular season

2010–11 Game Log

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

Playoffs

The Boston Bruins qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Their conference quarter-final matchup was against their archrival, the sixth-seeded Montreal Canadiens. The series started off disastrously for the Bruins, as they dropped two games in their own building. They would come back to win the next three games and, after dropping Game 6, would ultimately win Game 7 in overtime at home on a Nathan Horton goal. The next round featured a sweep of the second-seeded Philadelphia Flyers who, the previous year, had come back from down three games to none against the Bruins to win the series. This propelled them to their first conference finals since the 1992 Stanley Cup playoffs. In the conference finals, the Bruins matched up against the fifth-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning. After dropping the first game by a lopsided score, the Bruins fought back to win the next two games before dropping game four to knot the series at 2–2. The Bruins took Game 5 to put them a win away from the conference championship. Game 6 was another loss for the Bruins, but Game 7 resulted in a 1–0 victory to send them to their first Stanley Cup Finals in 21 years. In the finals, the Bruins met the Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver took the first two games at home, each by a goal, to build a 2–0 series lead. The Bruins responded with two lopsided wins at home to tie the series 2–2, but Vancouver won Game 5 in their building to move the Bruins one game away from losing the Cup. The Bruins managed to win Game 6 to tie the series and then won their third Game 7 of the post-season to win the Stanley Cup, their first in 39 years. After Game 7, Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy for the post-season's most valuable player.

Playoff log

2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs
  • 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

Goaltenders

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

Awards and records

Awards

Player Award Notes
Tim Thomas Conn Smythe Trophy Awarded to the player judged most valuable to his team during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Tim Thomas Vezina Trophy Awarded to the goaltender who is adjudged to be the best at this position.
Zdeno Chara Mark Messier Leadership Award Awarded to the player who best leads by positive example.
Tim Thomas
Zdeno Chara
NHL first All-Star team
NHL second All-Star team
Voted by representatives of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.

On April 6, prior to the game against the New York Islanders, the team announced its award winners for the season.

Player Award Notes
Brad Marchand NESN Seventh Player Award Awarded to the player who exceeded the expectations of Bruins fans during the season.
Shawn Thornton Eddie Shore Award Awarded to the player who exhibits exceptional hustle and determination.
Tim Thomas Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy Awarded by the Boston Chapter of the PHWA, for outstanding performance during home games.
Andrew Ference John P. Bucyk Award Awarded to the Bruin with the greatest off-ice charitable contributions.
Tim Thomas
Patrice Bergeron
Milan Lucic
Three Star Awards Awarded to the top performers at home over the course of the season.

Tim Thomas was named First Star of the Week on November 1, 2010 and again on January 24, 2011. He was also named Second Star of the Month for October.
Patrice Bergeron was named Second Star of the week on January 17, 2011, and First Star of the Month for January.

Records

Player Milestone
Tim Thomas Highest save percentage in a regular season (.938%)
Most saves by a goaltender in a playoff run (798)
Most saves by a goaltender in a Stanley Cup finals series (238)

Milestones

Tyler Seguin, Jordan Caron, Jamie Arniel, Steven Kampfer and Matt Bartkowski all made their NHL debuts this season.

Transactions

The Bruins have been involved in the following transactions during the 2010–11 season.

Trades

June 22, 2010 To Florida Panthers
Dennis Wideman
1st-round pick in 2010
3rd-round pick in 2011
To Boston Bruins
Nathan Horton
Gregory Campbell
June 26, 2010 To Chicago Blackhawks
7th-round pick in 2011
To Boston Bruins
7th-round pick in 2010
June 26, 2010 To St. Louis Blues
Vladimir Sobotka
To Boston Bruins
David Warsofsky
November 29, 2010 To Colorado Avalanche
Matt Hunwick
To Boston Bruins
Colby Cohen
December 9, 2010 To Tampa Bay Lightning
Levi Nelson
To Boston Bruins
Juraj Simek
December 9, 2010 To Florida Panthers
Jeff LoVecchio
Jordan Knackstedt
To Boston Bruins
Sean Zimmerman
Conditional 7th-round pick in 2011
December 11, 2010 To Los Angeles Kings
Marco Sturm
To Boston Bruins
Future considerations
February 15, 2011 To Ottawa Senators
2nd-round pick in 2011
To Boston Bruins
Chris Kelly
February 18, 2011 To Atlanta Thrashers
Mark Stuart
Blake Wheeler
To Boston Bruins
Rich Peverley
Boris Valabik
February 18, 2011 To Toronto Maple Leafs
1st-round pick in 2011
Conditional 2nd-round pick in 2012
Joe Colborne
To Boston Bruins
Tomas Kaberle
February 27, 2011 To Anaheim Ducks
Brian McGrattan
Sean Zimmerman
To Boston Bruins
David Lailberte
Stefan Chaput
February 28, 2011 To Minnesota Wild
Jeff Penner
Mikko Lehtonen
To Boston Bruins
Anton Khudobin

Player signings

Player Contract terms
Yuri Alexandrov 2 years, $1.46 million entry-level contract
Shawn Thornton 2 years, $1.625 million
Dennis Seidenberg 4 years, $13 million
Johnny Boychuk 2 years, $3.75 million
Mark Recchi 1 year, $1.7 million
Daniel Paille 2 years, $2.15 million
Mark Stuart 1 year, $1.675 million
Andrew Bodnarchuk 1 year, $577,500
Gregory Campbell 2 years, $2.2 million
Jeff LoVecchio 1 year, $605,000
Adam McQuaid 2 years, $1.15 million
Blake Wheeler 1 year, $2.2 million
Tyler Seguin 3 years, $2.7 million entry-level contract
Patrice Bergeron 3 years, $15 million contract extension
Zdeno Chara 7 years, $45.5 million contract extension
David Warsofsky 3 years, $1.9375 million entry-level contract
Tyler Randell 3 years, $1.8 million entry-level contract
Ryan Button 3 years, $1.855 million entry-level contract

Draft picks

Boston's picks at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles, California.

Round # Player Position Nationality College/junior/club team (league)
1 2a Tyler Seguin Center  Canada Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
2 32a Jared Knight Center  United States London Knights (OHL)
2 45 Ryan Spooner Center  Canada Peterborough Petes (OHL)
4 97b Craig Cunningham Left wing  Canada Vancouver Giants (WHL)
5 135 Justin Florek Left wing  United States Northern Michigan University (CCHA)
6 165 Zane Gothberg Goaltender  United States Thief River Falls High School (USHS-MN)
7 195 Maxim Chudinov Defense  Russia HC Severstal (KHL)
7 210c Zach Trotman Defense  United States Lake Superior State University (CCHA)
Notes on draft picks
  • ^a1 ^a2 The Toronto Maple Leafs' first and second-round picks went to the Bruins as the result of a trade on September 18, 2009, that sent Phil Kessel to Toronto in exchange for these picks.
  • ^b The Carolina Hurricanes' fourth-round pick went to the Bruins as the result of a trade on July 24, 2009, that sent Aaron Ward to Carolina for this pick and Patrick Eaves.
  • ^c The Chicago Blackhawks' seventh-round pick went to the Bruins as the result of a trade on June 26, 2010, that sent Boston's seventh-round pick in 2011 to Chicago for this pick.
  • The Bruins' first-round pick, 15th overall, was traded to the Florida Panthers as a result of the trade in which the Bruins acquired Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell on June 22, 2010.
  • The Bruins' third-round pick, 75th overall, was traded to the Buffalo Sabres as a result of the trade in which the Bruins acquired Daniel Paille on October 20, 2009.

Affiliates

Providence Bruins

The Providence Bruins, based in Providence, Rhode Island, are the Bruins AHL affiliate.

Reading Royals

The Reading Royals, based in Reading, Pennsylvania, are the Bruins ECHL affiliate. The Royals will again look to compete in the Kelly Cup playoffs.

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-03-10 15:14 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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