The “Big Bad Bruins” left their mark on hockey history in several ways.
Not only did they stamp their names on Lord Stanley’s Cup twice in three years, they wove themselves into the very fabric of the spoked-B that they represented every time they took to the ice.
As Phil Esposito routinely lit the lamp and Bobby Orr shattered the perception of what offensive wizardry rested in the skates of blueliners, the bruising play of beloved players like Johnny “Pie” McKenzie, Wayne Cashman, and Derek Sanderson elicited cheers from the hometown crowd with each thunderous check delivered against the old Boston Garden boards.