The Game of Numbers is an exclusive THW series looking at upcoming milestones around the NHL. Each team will be looked at individually in three parts – individual player milestones, franchise player milestones, and players that rank in the top 100 in NHL history in any big statistical category.
As one of the Original Six franchises in the National Hockey League, the Boston Bruins have a storied history – one filled with legendary players and franchise records in each statistical category. In recent years, the team has rebuilt that winning tradition through drafting and trades. They’ve added players like Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, along with goaltender Tuukka Rask who’ve started to take over in the statistical sense.
While they certainly haven’t grabbed the top spots in Bruins history, players like Bergeron and other team leaders are on the hunt. They continue to pursue personal milestones on route to climbing the ladder in Boston’s historical franchise lists.
Boston Bruins’ Individual Milestones
Chara may be the most experienced player on the Boston team, but that doesn’t mean others aren’t chasing individual milestones. From Bergeron to newcomers like Kevan Miller and Reilly Smith, each player works their entire career to fulfill all that they can while on the ice – games played, goals, and points – all of which can be captured one milestone after another.
Games Played:
- 1,200 games played – Zdeno Chara (1,195)
- 700 games played – Dennis Seidenberg (697), Max Talbot (666)
- 600 games played – David Krejci (551)
- 400 games played – Brad Marchand (377)
- 300 games played – Adam McQuaid (283), Tuukka Rask (266)
- 200 games played – Torey Krug (160)
- 100 games played – Kevan Miller (88), Ryan Spooner (56)
Goals:
- 200 goals – Loui Eriksson (182), Zdeno Chara (169)
- 100 goals – Max Talbot (89), Matt Beleskey (57)
Assists:
- 400 assists – Zdeno Chara (369)
- 300 assists – David Krejci (292), Loui Eriksson (259)
- 200 assists – Dennis Seidenberg (174), Chris Kelly (159)
- 100 assists – Torey Krug (55), Matt Beleskey (55)
Points:
- 600 points – Patrice Bergeron (550)
- 300 points – Chris Kelly (275)
- 200 points – Max Talbot (197)
- 100 points – Torey Krug (81)
Boston Bruins’ Franchise Milestones
Setting team milestones is hard to come by now with players not spending full careers with on franchise as often as the once did. However, there are the select few that don the same logo year after year until they retire – setting franchise marks during that time. For now, Patrice Bergeron could be that guy.
Thus far, he’s spent his entire career playing for the Boston Bruins. He – and current goaltender Tuukka Rask – seem to be working their way up the franchises all-time lists. With others having played just as many games in a Bruins uniform, the lists of this storied franchise could be changing hands quicker than some could’ve imagined.
Games Played:
- Patrice Bergeron (740) needs 15 games played to pass Mike Milbury (754) for 13th on the team’s all-time list.
- Zdeno Chara (665) needs 18 games played to pass Fern Flaman (682) for 18th on the team’s all-time list.
- Tuukka Rask (266) needs 12 games played to pass Gilles Gilbert (277) for 7th on the team’s all-time goalie list.
Goals:
- Patrice Bergeron (206) needs 4 goals to pass Glen Murray (209) for 15th on the team’s all-time list.
Assists:
- Patrice Bergeron (344) needs 3 assists to pass Bill Cowley and Milt Schmidt (346) for 10th on the team’s all-time list.
- David Krejci (292) needs 4 assists to pass Jean Ratelle (295) for 15th on the team’s all-time list.
Points:
- Patrice Bergeron (550) needs 26 points to pass Milt Schmidt (575) for 11th on the team’s all-time list.
Powerplay Goals:
- Zdeno Chara (66) needs 14 powerplay goals to pass Ken Hodge (79) for 5th on the team’s all-time list.
- Patrice Bergeron (57) needs 4 powerplay goals to pass Peter Mcnab (60) for 8th on the team’s all-time list.
Game-Winning Goals:
- Patrice Bergeron (40) needs 1 game-winning goal to pass Peter Mcnab (40) for 6th on the team’s all-time list.
- David Krejci (25) needs 2 game-winning goals to pass Gregory Sheppard and Keith Crowder (26) for 13th on the team’s all-time list.
Wins:
- Tuukka Rask (136) needs 1 win to pass Andy Moog (136) for 7th on the team’s all-time list.
Shutouts:
- Tuukka Rask (26) needs 1 shutout to pass Gerry Cheevers (26) for 5th on the team’s all-time list.
‘Top 100’ Milestones
The Boston Bruins scored large in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs when they landed goaltender Tuukka Rask. Since he became a Bruin, Rask has stood on his head numerous times and helped lead the team to some playoff success. But nothing says it more than his overall ranking when it comes to shutouts.
- Rask (26) needs 1 shutout to pass Steve Mason, Jeff Hackett, Byron Dafoe, Gary Smith, Ron Tugnutt, Gerry Cheevers and Glenn Resch (26) for 76th on the NHL’s all-time list.
More from the ‘Game of Numbers’ series:
Eastern Conference: BOS | BUF | CAR | CLB | DET | FLA | MTL | NJD | NYI | NYR | OTT | PHI | PIT | TBL | TOR | WSH
Western Conference: ANA | ARZ | CAL | CHI | COL | DAL | EDM | LAK | MIN | NSH | SJS | STL | VAN | WPG
NOTE: The ‘Game of Numbers’ series is subject to updates as the 2014-15 season progresses. Individual marks will only appear if the player is within 50 of the specific statistical milestone, while franchise marks only recognize the top 20 in club history.
For more, follow Andrew on Twitter at @AndrewGForbes or his THW column at @Tape2TapeTHW.