We continue with our special segment to the second NHL Saturday miniseries, since we really have not explored the Original Six era (1943-1967) on The Daily McPlay. This was that 25-year stretch where the National Hockey League had just six teams: the Boston Bruins, the Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, the Montréal Canadiens, and the New York Rangers. It’s time to explore that era, properly.

Thus, it’s a go for the Boston Bruins today. Overall since the franchise’s formation in 1924, the Bruins have won six Stanley Cups—but absolutely none of them came in the Original Six era. Go figure. The organization has split its six titles evenly: three before the Original Six era and three after it. But 76 postseason appearances in 98 seasons means the Bruins have been in a lot of postseason scrums. A lot.

No. 5: 1946-47 Boston Bruins

A relatively middling 26-23-11 record generated 63 points for Boston, which meant third place—in every way: No. 3 on offense, No. 3 on defense, and No. 3 in the overall SRS rankings. Facing the Canadiens in the semifinal playoffs, the Bruins really pushed the top-seeded Habs to the limits in a five-game series. Montréal needed an OT win in Game 2 at home and a 2OT victory in Game 5 at home to survive.

The Bruins were led in scoring by center Milt Schmidt (27G, 35A, 40 PIMs), right wing Bobby Bauer (30G, 24A), and left wing Woody Dumart (24G, 28A). Defensively, Boston featured defenseman Pat Egan (7G, 18A, 89 PIMs) and goaltender Frank Brimsek (2.92 GAA, 3 shutouts). Dropping those two games in extra time cost Boston a chance to play for the Cup, but the Bruins tired out the Habs, who lost in the Cup Finals.

No. 4: 1948-49 Boston Bruins

This team finished second with a 29-23-8 record for 66 points. The No. 2 offense and the No. 4 defense added up to the No. 3 ranking in the overall SRS. Yet despite having home ice against the sub-.500 Maple Leafs, the Bruins could not advance to the Cup Finals: they lost the first two games at home and could manage only an OT victory in Game 3 on the road in a five-game series that was somewhat embarrassing.

C Paul Ronty (20G, 29A), RW Johnny Peirson (22G, 21A, 43 PIMs), and LW Ken Smith (20G, 20A) were the underwhelming leaders in scoring, while Egan (6G, 18A, 92 PIMs) and Brimsek (2.72, 1 SO) again did their best on the other end of the ice. But Boston scored just five goals in its four losses to Toronto in the postseason. Meanwhile, the Leafs scored at least three times in every contest, and that was the difference.

No. 3: 1956-57 Boston Bruins

Despite finishing third with a 34-24-12 record for 80 points, these Bruins were a strong group with the No. 3 offense, the No. 3 defense, and the No. 3 overall SRS ranking. They proved it in the semifinals by beating the top-seeded Red Wings in five games: Detroit managed just a Game 2 victory at home. In the Cup Finals, however, the Canadiens returned the favor, winning the championship series in five games themselves.

C Don McKenney (21G, 39A) was the leading scorer on this team that featured 12 skaters with at least 31 points on the season. Meanwhile, legendary G Terry Sawchuk (18-10-6, 2.38, 2 SOs) split time in net with G Don Simmons (13-9-4, 2.42, 4 SOs). The latter started all the Detroit games in the postseason, but despite playing nearly the same in all five games of the Finals, Boston just couldn’t score (6 goals) against Montréal.

No. 2: 1942-43 Boston Bruins

In the first season of the Original Six era, the Bruins posted a 24-17-9 record for 57 points. This was good enough for second place, thanks to the No. 2 offense, the No. 3 defense, and the No. 3 overall SRS ranking. With three OT wins, Boston beat Montréal in the semifinals over five games to advance to the Cup Finals. But the Red Wings shut out the Bruins twice in a four-game sweep that saw Boston score just 5 times total.

C Bill Cowley (27G, 45A), C Art Jackson (22G, 31A), and LW Buzz Boll (25G, 27A) formed a top trio on the scoring charts, while D Flash Hollett (19G, 25A) and Brimsek (1 SO starting all 50 games) again did the dirty work. The only game Boston lost to the Habs was Game 4 on the road, but in the Finals against Detroit? The Bruins were shut out in Games 3 and 4 at home by Red Wings G Johnny Mowers—let the joke write itself.

No. 1: 1967-68 Boston Bruins

Ironic that the final season of the Original Six produced the best Boston team of the era itself, despite a third-place finish with a 37-27-10 record (84 points). The Bruins sported the No. 1 offense, the No. 6 defense, and the No. 2 overall SRS ranking. But the Canadiens swept Boston in the semifinals, outscoring them 15-8 in the process and winning twice by a single goal—thus ending the Original Six era for the Bruins, firmly.

C Phil Esposito (35G, 49A) was the top scorer, although an age-19 defenseman named Bobby Orr (11G, 20A, 63 PIMs) was just starting to make his name in the league. G Gerry Cheevers (21-19-6, 3 SOs) anchored the crease for the team that would win Cups in 1970 and 1972. But Esposito couldn’t find the net in the postseason, and Cheevers’ .895 save percentage was nowhere good enough to beat Montréal.