Boston Bruins won the 1971-72 Stanley Cup Final 4-2 over New York Rangers, 4 were decided by a single goal.
4-2
Series result · 6 games
Boston Bruins lifted the Cup in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden.
Series after
api-web.nhle.com club-schedule-season + gamecenter boxscore · fetched 2026-08-17 · 6 Final games
The road to the Final
8 clubs, 3 rounds
The whole tournament, in the shape that spring actually had: 8 clubs, 3 rounds. Every series carries the games the schedule feed publishes. 36 in all that spring. The champion's road is the lit line — TOR 4-1 · STL 4-0 · NYR 4-2. Hover a series to read it beside the board; choose one to open its games underneath.
Every game of the Final as its own card. Choosing one opens its goal sequence below and repaints the series score in the band above to the moment that game ended.
Game 1 · NYR 5, BOS 6
1972-04-30 · Boston Garden
One-goal game · Tied in the third
Goal sequence
1stNYR 1 · BOS 4
03:52D. RolfeNYRAssists: R. Gilbert, B. ParkGo-ahead1-0
05:07F. StanfieldBOSAssists: J. McKenzieEqualizer1-11m 15s later
15:48K. HodgeBOSAssists: P. Esposito, M. WaltonGo-ahead1-210m 41s later
17:29D. SandersonBOSAssists: E. WestfallInsurance1-3SH1m 41s later
18:14K. HodgeBOSAssists: P. EspositoDagger1-4SH45s later
2ndNYR 1 · BOS 1
10:46K. HodgeBOSAssists: P. Esposito, B. OrrDagger1-512m 32s later
11:54R. GilbertNYRAssists: V. Hadfield, J. RatelleCut the lead2-5PP1m 8s later
3rdNYR 3 · BOS 1
01:56V. HadfieldNYRAssists: W. Tkaczuk, R. GilbertCut the lead3-5PP10m 2s later
07:48W. TkaczukNYRCut the lead4-55m 52s later
09:17B. MacGregorNYRAssists: T. Irvine, P. StemkowskiEqualizer5-51m 29s later
17:44G. BaileyBOSAssists: M. Walton, E. WestfallGAME WINNER5-68m 27s later
Goaltending
E. GiacominNYR59:15 · 6 GA · 6.08 GAA22/28 · .786 SV%L
G. CheeversBOS60:00 · 5 GA · 5.00 GAA24/29 · .828 SV%W
Shots on goal
NYR29
BOS28
DifferentialNYR +1
Points
R. GilbertNYR3
P. EspositoBOS3
K. HodgeBOS3
V. HadfieldNYR2
W. TkaczukNYR2
Shots by player
V. HadfieldNYR9
P. EspositoBOS6
R. SeilingNYR4
W. TkaczukNYR3
K. HodgeBOS3
Three stars
The league publishes three stars in this feed from about 2010; none are on file for this game.
The shape of the Final, its intensity, and who carried it. The Conn Smythe Trophy is voted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and is not carried in this feed. These are the series leader boards, not an award pick, and no composite score is computed.
Shape
Games played6
Series result4-2
GoalsBOS 18 · NYR 16
Overtime games0
Multi-overtime games0
One-goal games4
Decided by three or more2
Shutouts1
Lead changes2
Comeback wins0
Home wins3–3
Empty-net goals0
gamecenter boxscore + landing · fetched 2026-08-17 · Empty-net goals are counted from the goal feed's own goalModifier flag. A count of zero means none was flagged, which for an early Final may mean none was recorded.
This Final measured against its own decade and against every Final the league's game feed covers. The 1970s line covers 10 Finals and 54 games. Rates are per Final game, and every Final contributes only to the rates it has data for: hits-per-game is computed over the Finals since 1997-98 that record hits, not over all of them. Each rate publishes its denominator.
This Final against the era
Overtime games0 of 6
This Final0%
1970s15%
All Finals18%
One-goal games4 of 6
This Final67%
1970s39%
All Finals41%
Shutouts1 of 6
This Final17%
1970s13%
All Finals17%
Goals per game34 goals
This Final5.67
1970s5.93
All Finals5.33
derived from all 98 Finals in data/cup_finals/ · fetched 2026-08-17
Records across the feed
Longest Final2023-24 · 7 games
Most overtime games1950-51 · 5
Highest scoring1972-73 · 9.33 per game
Most one-goal games2014-15 · 5
derived from data/cup_finals/index.json · fetched 2026-08-17
What the record actually holds
Coverage
6 of 14 statistical modules are published for this Final. A module counts as available only if the series contains a non-zero value for it. Historical boxscores carry the same field names as modern ones filled with zeros — 1978-79 publishes hits: 0 for all 170 skaters — so field presence is not evidence and is not treated as such.
Goal-by-goal sequenceGoaltender win/loss decisionsPenalty minutesTeam shots on goalGoaltender shots/saves/save%Goaltender even-strength/PP/SH splitsSkater time on iceHitsBlocked shots, giveaways, takeawaysFaceoff percentageShift countsGoal strength (even, power play, shorthanded)Winning-goal scorer (from the schedule feed)On-ice situation codes
Not published for this Final
Blocked shots, giveaways, takeawaysBlocked shots, giveaways and takeaways begin in 1997-98.
Faceoff percentageFaceoff percentage begins in 1997-98.
Goaltender even-strength/PP/SH splitsEven-strength, power-play and shorthanded shot splits begin in 1997-98.
HitsHits were not recorded as an official statistic until 1997-98.
Shift countsShift counts begin in 1997-98.
On-ice situation codesOn-ice situation codes begin in 2009-10.
Skater time on icePer-skater time on ice begins in 1997-98.
Winning-goal scorer (from the schedule feed)The schedule feed does not name a winning-goal scorer before 2008-09.
Method
Final games are selected from the club schedule feed on seriesStatus.seriesAbbrev of SCF, not on a round number: the Cup Final is round four only in a four-round playoff, and the 1954-55 Final is recorded as round two. No MVP or composite rating is computed. The Conn Smythe is a published award and is not in this feed.
Goal labels are relative to the team that scored. A goal that closes a two-goal gap to one is the scorer's own cut, not the leader's insurance. The winning goal is the champion's goal that put it one clear of the finalist's final total, which is the league's own definition.
Sources: api-web.nhle.com/v1/club-schedule-season/{team}/{season} · api-web.nhle.com/v1/gamecenter/{game}/boxscore · api-web.nhle.com/v1/gamecenter/{game}/landing · data/stanley_cup_champions.json (the site's 107-Final ledger; it drives the season list) · data/franchise_history.json (alias_chain, for season-correct tricodes). Fetched 2026-08-17.
The season list is driven by the site's own Stanley Cup ledger, and tricodes are resolved season by season through the franchise alias chain, so a Final is requested with the code its clubs actually used that year.
BOS
NYR