2007–08 Boston Bruins season

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).

2007–08 Boston Bruins
Division	3rd Northeast
Conference	8th Eastern
2007–08 record	41–29–12
Home record	21–16–4
Road record	20–13–8
Goals for	212
Goals against	222
Team information
General manager	Peter Chiarelli
Coach	Claude Julien
Captain	Zdeno Chara
Alternate captains	Patrice Bergeron Glen Murray
Arena	TD Banknorth Garden
Average attendance	15,384 (87.6%)
Team leaders
Goals	Marco Sturm (27)
Assists	Marc Savard (63)
Points	Marc Savard (78)
Penalty minutes	Zdeno Chara (114)
Plus/minus	Zdeno Chara (+14)
Wins	Tim Thomas (28)
Goals against average	Tim Thomas (2.44)

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

• 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

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.

Roster

Boston Bruins
Goaltenders 29 – Alex Auld  30 – Tim Thomas  35 – Manny Fernandez  40 – Tuukka Rask  Injured reserve None currently		Defensemen 6 – Dennis Wideman  21 – Andrew Ference  33 – Zdeno Chara  – C 34 – Shane Hnidy  38 – Bobby Allen  41 – Andrew Alberts  44 – Aaron Ward  45 – Mark Stuart  48 – Matt Hunwick  49 – Matt Lashoff		Wingers 11 – P. J. Axelsson  12 – Chuck Kobasew  13 – Glen Metropolit  16 – Marco Sturm  17 – Milan Lucic  22 – Shawn Thornton  27 – Glen Murray  – A 32 – Jeff Hoggan  42 – Pascal Pelletier  53 – Jeremy Reich  72 – Peter Schaefer		Centers 37 – Patrice Bergeron  – A 46 – David Krejci  56 – Petteri Nokelainen  60 – Vladimir Sobotka  81 – Phil Kessel  91 – Marc Savard  GM: Peter Chiarelli Coach: Claude Julien

See also

• 2006–07 NHL season

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. "2007-2008 Regular Season".
3. 2007 NHL Entry Draft Results nhl.com
4. ECHL.com Ice Dogs membership terminated Archived 2008-01-16 at the Wayback Machine