The 2009–10

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

season was the Bruins' 86th season in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). Their regular season began with a nationally-televised home game against the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

on October 1, 2009, and ended with a road game against the same Capitals team on April 11, 2010. The Bruins failed to defend their regular-season division and conference titles from the 2008–09 season.

Off-season

At the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, the Bruins chose Jordan Caron with their first-round pick, 25th overall. The NHL announced on July 15, 2009, that the Bruins would face the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

in the 2010 NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

. Due to salary cap constraints and free agent movement, general manager Peter Chiarelli made substantial changes to the Bruins' lineup in the offseason. Most notable was the trade of leading goalscorer

Phil Kessel Philip Joseph Kessel Jr. (born October 2, 1987) is an American professional ice hockey winger for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Peng ...

, who declined contract offers and was traded to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

for three draft picks on September 18. Other departures included winger P. J. Axelsson—at 11 seasons, the longest tenured Bruin—center

Stephane Yelle Stephane may refer to: * Stéphane, a French given name * Stephane (Ancient Greece), a vestment in ancient Greece * Stephane (Paphlagonia) Stephane ( grc, Στεφάνη) was a small port town on the coast of ancient Paphlagonia, according to Arri ...

, defensemen Shane Hnidy and Steve Montador, and goaltender Manny Fernandez. These veteran players were considered expendable due to competition from younger, lower-paid players in the Bruins organization. Chiarelli entered the 2009 off-season with the goal of acquiring an offensive-minded defenseman, in part due to Boston's weakness in that area during the previous playoffs. On July 24, defenseman Derek Morris signed a one-year contract with the team. Gritty forward Steve Begin was also signed to provide forward depth. In goal, Fernandez was replaced with rookie

Tuukka Rask Tuukka Mikael Rask (born 10 March 1987) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. Rask was drafted 21st overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs before being traded to the Boston Bruins in 2006, where he played ...

, who had spent several seasons playing in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL).

Pre-season

Regular season

The Bruins were slow to gain traction with their retooled roster, alternating wins and losses in the early weeks of the season. Chiarelli quickly dealt popular winger Chuck Kobasew to the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

, while penalty-killing expert

Daniel Paille Daniel Joseph Paille (born April 15, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He was originally drafted 20th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft and also played in the National Hockey League with the ...

was brought in from the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

in exchange for draft picks, a move that was interpreted as a sign of dissatisfaction with the team's productivity. In particular, the team struggled offensively in Kessel's absence. Having nearly finished first in scoring the previous season, the Bruins lingered near the bottom of the league in goal production. However, they were able to stay competitive due to their exceptional defense and strong goaltending tandem. While defending

Vezina Trophy The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two NHL general managers vote to determine the winner. It is named in ...

winner Tim Thomas was recovering from an early injury, rookie netminder Tuukka Rask emerged as a potential

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...

candidate. A four-game winning streak in November set the Bruins back on course, and a 5–1–0 home record in December got them back into the divisional race by Christmas. Perhaps the most memorable game of the season was the

Winter Classic The NHL Winter Classic (french: La Classique hivernale de la LNH) is an annual regular season outdoor ice hockey game played in the National Hockey League (NHL) on or around New Year's Day, generally in a football or baseball stadium in an area ...

, which the Bruins hosted at

in Boston. Despite trailing for most of the game, the team rallied in the final moments and won in overtime before a large national audience. After the game, Thomas was announced as a member of the United States men's hockey team, joining five teammates (

Patrice Bergeron Patrice Bergeron-Cleary (born July 24, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bergeron played junior hockey with the Acadie–Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Ju ...

, Zdeno Chara,

Marco Sturm Marco Johann Sturm (born September 8, 1978) is a German professional ice hockey coach and former winger who played in the National Hockey League and Deutsche Eishockey Liga. He is currently the Head Coach of the Ontario Reign. Sturm began his ca ...

David Krejci David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and Miroslav Satan) who would represent various countries in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. The Bruins went on a long losing streak lasting from mid-January to just before the Olympic break. In the 81st game of the season, the Bruins scored three shorthanded goals in a span of 64 seconds. This outburst during a single penalty kill not only equaled their previous shorthanded goal total for the entire season, it was a NHL record for the fastest three shorthanded goals during a game. The 4–2 victory over the Hurricanes secured a playoff spot for the Bruins. The Bruins finished the regular season having scored 196 goals (excluding 10 shootout-winning goals), the fewest in the NHL. They were the most disciplined team in the League, with a league-low 37 power-play goals against.

Divisional standings

Conference standings

Game log

Playoffs

The Bruins clinched a playoff spot for the third consecutive season.

Playoff log

* Scorer of game-winning goal in ''italics'' * *Denotes if necessary

Player statistics

Skaters

''Note: GP = Games played; G =

Goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus-minus; PIM =

Penalty minutes A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penaltie ...

'' *^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Bruins. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only. *^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. *^(G)Denotes goaltender.

Goaltenders

''Note: GPI = Games Played In; MIN = Minutes played; GAA =

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending ...

; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; SO =

Shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

; SA = Shots Against; GA = Goals against; SV% =

Save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal ...

Awards and records

Awards

On April 8, prior to the game against the

, the team announced its award winners for the season.

Milestones

On December 23, Claude Julien coached his 200th game for Boston, a 6–4 win over

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Transactions

The Bruins have been involved in the following transactions during the 2009–10 season. ;Trades ;Free agents acquired ;Free agents lost ;Player signings

Draft picks

Boston's picks at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Farm teams

;

– Providence Bruins (

standings Standings or rankings are listings which compare sports teams or individuals, institutions, nations, companies, or other entities by ranking them in order of ability or achievement. A table or chart (such as a league table, a ladder or a leaderb ...

)

Notes

References

External links

2009–10 Boston Bruins season at ESPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-10 Boston Bruins season Boston Bruins seasons

Bruins Bruins