Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/61746
F ront Runners teammates raise the Stanley Cup. Bobby Orr and all orr nothing ON A 90-DEGREE DAY IN MAY 1970, BOBBY ORR FLEW ACROSS THE ICE TO BRING THE BRUINS THEIR FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP IN 29 YEARS. by jessica laniewski E xcitement was as high as the unusually warm temperatures when the Boston Bruins met the St. Louis Blues in a fierce face-off on May 10, 1970, in the Stanley Cup finals. The Bruins, who had finished the regular season second overall in the National Hockey League with a 40-17-19 record, hadn't hoisted the Stanley Cup since 1941. Now, led by the incomparable Canadian Bobby Orr, the team had a fighting chance of achieving victory. The 22-year-old was the first defenseman in history to win the league's scoring title, and fans eager to see him in action packed the old Boston Garden to the rafters. The Bruins dominated the series against the Blues, outscoring them 16-4, but found the fourth game of the finals to be more challenging. The last game went into a heated overtime, until the Bruins' golden boy made the shot heard round the world. Forty seconds into overtime, Orr sunk the puck into the back of the Blues' net off an assist from Derek Sanderson, ending the game and securing the Bruins' win of hockey's biggest prize. Orr was awarded the prestigious Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP after accruing points in every game during the 1970 Stanley Cup series. The Boston Bruins would go on to win one more Stanley Cup in 1972 before ending their next drought (of 39 years) with an emotional win in Vancouver last year. Here's hoping the team holds the cup overhead again this spring. BC 18 bostoncommon-magazine.com photography by b. bennett/getty images