The 1972 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1971–72 season, and the culmination of the 1972 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers. It was the Rangers' first appearance in the finals since 1950. The Bruins were making their first appearance since their victory in the 1970 Finals. It was the second Boston-New York Final series, the other being the 1929 Finals.

The Bruins defeated the Rangers in six games to win their second Stanley Cup in three years. This was only the second Stanley Cup Final contested by New York in which the Rangers hosted all of their home games. The first such Final, held in 1929, had lasted only two games. All other previous Finals contested by the Rangers had partly or entirely coincided with an annual circus formerly held at Madison Square Garden, compelling the Rangers to play Finals games at neutral sites and/or at the venues of their opponents.

This was the last time the Bruins won the Stanley Cup until 2011.

Paths to the Finals This was the fourth meeting between teams from Boston and New York City for a major professional sports championship. This previously occurred in two World Series (1912, 1916), and the 1929 Stanley Cup Final.

Boston defeated their rival in the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games and swept the St. Louis Blues to advance to the Final.

New York defeated the defending champion Montreal Canadiens in six games and the Chicago Black Hawks in a sweep to set up an "Original Six" Final.

Game summaries Bobby Orr, who tallied 4 goals and 4 assists in the series, won the Conn Smythe Trophy for the second time. He also scored his second Cup-clinching goal, having first accomplished the feat in the 1970 finals. Phil Esposito had 41 shots in the series but was held without a goal.

Game one

Game one in Boston saw both teams play poorly. The Bruins at one point led 5–1 as Ken Hodge completed a hat trick, and Hodge and Derek Sanderson scored short-handed goals on the same Ranger power play at the end of the first period. However, the Rangers tied the game with goals from Gilbert, Hatfield, Tkaczuk, and Bruce MacGregor. With 2:16 remaining in the third period, Garnet "Ace" Bailey beat Rangers star defenseman Brad Park to have the Bruins prevail 6–5.

Gary Doak of the Rangers was ejected from the game after a heated argument with referee Bill Friday over a penalty he received at 18:50 of the first period.

Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st NYR Dale Rolfe (3) Rod Gilbert (6) and Brad Park (4) 03:52 1–0 NYR BOS Fred Stanfield (7) Jim McKenzie 05:07 1–1 BOS Ken Hodge (5) Phil Esposito (8) and Mike Walton (3) 15:48 2–1 BOS BOS Derek Sanderson (1) – sh Ed Westfall (2) 17:29 3–1 BOS BOS Ken Hodge (6) – sh Phil Esposito (9) 18:14 4–1 BOS 2nd BOS Ken Hodge (7) Phil Esposito (10) and Bobby Orr (16) 10:46 5–1 BOS NYR Rod Gilbert (4) – pp Vic Hadfield (7) and Jean Ratelle (1) 11:54 5–2 BOS 3rd NYR Vic Hadfield (7) – pp Walt Tkaczuk (5) and Rod Gilbert (7) 01:56 5–3 BOS NYR Walt Tkaczuk (4) Unassisted 07:48 5–4 BOS NYR Bruce MacGregor (2) Ted Irvine (2) and Pete Stemkowski (6) 09:17 5–5 BOS Garnet Bailey (2) Mike Walton (4) and Ed Westfall (3) 17:44 6–5 BOS Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st BOS John McKenzie Elbowing 00:38 2:00 BOS Wayne Cashman High-sticking 03:17 2:00 NYR Ted Irvine High-sticking 03:17 2:00 NYR Walt Tkaczuk Holding 05:24 2:00 BOS John McKenzie Roughing 05:49 2:00 NYR Glen Sather Roughing 05:49 2:00 BOS Wayne Cashman Slashing 09:28 2:00 BOS Don Awrey Elbowing 16:44 2:00 NYR Gary Doak Elbowing 18:45 2:00 NYR Gary Doak Misconduct 18:45 10:00 NYR Gary Doak Game misconduct 18:45 10:00 BOS Phil Esposito High-sticking 19:30 2:00 NYR Walt Tkaczuk High-sticking 19:30 2:00 2nd BOS Ken Hodge Hooking 03:57 2:00 BOS Johnny Bucyk Tripping 08:22 2:00 BOS Phil Esposito Hooking 11:49 2:00 BOS Phil Esposito Elbowing 19:21 2:00 3rd BOS Derek Sanderson Hooking 01:12 2:00 NYR Brad Park Tripping 03:38 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 7 11 11 29 12 7 9 28

Game two

Game two had Gilles Villemure replace Eddie Giacomin in goal for the Rangers. He played well, but the Bruins did too and won 2–1. Eddie Johnston also replaced Cheevers in goal for the Bruins.

Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st BOS Johnny Bucyk (9) – pp Bobby Orr (17) and Fred Stanfield (8) 16:15 1–1 2nd NYR Rod Gilbert (5) Jim Neilson (3) and Vic Hadfield (8) 07:23 1–1 3rd BOS Ken Hodge (8) – pp Mike Walton (5) and Phil Esposito (11) 11:53 2–1 BOS Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st BOS Don Awrey Elbowing 01:26 2:00 NYR Vic Hadfield Holding 02:07 2:00 BOS Wayne Cashman Elbowing 06:03 2:00 BOS Carol Vadnais High-sticking 08:42 2:00 NYR Dale Rolfe Slashing 11:30 2:00 BOS Carol Vadnais Roughing 14:08 2:00 NYR Glen Sather Roughing 14:08 2:00 NYR Gary Doak High-sticking 15:55 2:00 BOS Ken Hodge Slashing 19:14 2:00 2nd NYR Pete Stemkowski Tripping 03:21 2:00 BOS Garnet Bailey Misconduct 11:17 10:00 BOS Dallas Smith Holding 11:17 2:00 NYR Brad Park Hooking 12:18 2:00 3rd BOS John McKenzie Boarding 03:02 2:00 NYR Bruce MacGregor Tripping 09:56 2:00 NYR Walt Tkaczuk Tripping 11:46 2:00 BOS Don Awrey Elbowing 15:25 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 12 6 10 28 11 8 6 25

Game three

In New York, Giacomin and Cheevers were back in goal for game three as the Rangers won 5–2. Brad Park opened the scoring with a power play goal and scored another in the first period. Rod Gilbert also had two goals in the game. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st NYR Brad Park (3) – pp Vic Hadfield (9) and Bill Fairbairn (4) 01:22 1–0 NYR NYR Rod Gilbert (6) – pp Brad Park (5) and Bobby Rousseau (10) 11:19 2–0 NYR NYR Brad Park (4) – pp Rod Gilbert (8) 13:00 3–0 NYR BOS Mike Walton (6) Carol Vadnais (2) 14:04 3–1 NYR 2nd BOS Bobby Orr (2) Dallas Smith (9) and Wayne Cashman (7) 01:10 3–2 NYR NYR Rod Gilbert (7) Bobby Rousseau (11) and Brad Park (6) 03:46 4–2 NYR NYR Pete Stemkowski (4) Bruce MacGregor (5) and Ted Irvine (3) 19:23 5–2 NYR 3rd None Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st BOS Dallas Smith Hooking 00:12 2:00 NYR Ted Irvine Cross-checking 02:09 2:00 NYR Glen Sather Roughing 04:39 2:00 NYR Jim Neilson Boarding 07:17 2:00 BOS Garnet Bailey Hooking 09:35 2:00 BOS Bobby Orr High-sticking 12:43 2:00 NYR Dale Rolfe Holding 15:20 2:00 BOS Carol Vadnais High-sticking 18:15 2:00 2nd NYR Rod Gilbert Interference 04:28 2:00 NYR Dale Rolfe Tripping 09:24 2:00 BOS Mike Walton Tripping 09:49 2:00 BOS Ken Hodge Hooking 12:35 2:00 3rd NYR Pete Stemkowski Slashing 02:17 2:00 NYR Ted Irvine Boarding 07:38 2:00 BOS Don Marcotte High-sticking 10:50 2:00 NYR Rod Gilbert High-sticking 10:50 2:00 BOS Derek Sanderson Slashing 12:00 2:00 NYR Rod Seiling Holding 12:00 2:00 BOS Derek Sanderson Misconduct 19:59 10:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 14 6 14 34 14 17 8 39 Game four

Giacomin, facing Johnston in this game, was having trouble with a knee he injured during the Chicago series and lost game four 3–2. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st BOS Bobby Orr (3) Mike Walton (6) 05:26 1–0 BOS BOS Bobby Orr (4) – pp Jim McKenzie (12) and Johnny Bucyk (10) 08:17 2–0 BOS 2nd BOS Don Marcotte (3) – sh Bobby Orr (18) 16:33 3–0 BOS NYR Ted Irvine (4) Pete Stemkowski (7) and Ric Seiling (4) 18:38 3–1 BOS 3rd NYR Rod Seiling (1) – pp Ted Irvine (4) and Pete Stemkowski (8) 18:35 3–2 NYR Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st BOS Phil Esposito High-sticking 01:24 2:00 BOS Derek Sanderson Fighting – major 01:39 5:00 NYR Bobby Rousseau Fighting – major 01:39 5:00 BOS Don Marcotte High-sticking 03:20 2:00 BOS Ed Westfall Misconduct 03:20 10:00 NYR Gary Doak Interference 03:20 2:00 BOS Don Awrey Fighting – major 07:21 5:00 NYR Gene Carr High-sticking 07:21 2:00 NYR Gene Carr Fighting – major 07:21 5:00 BOS Phil Esposito Holding 09:45 2:00 NYR Ted Irvine Charging 09:45 2:00 BOS Mike Walton Slashing 11:44 2:00 BOS John McKenzie Fighting – major 16:15 5:00 BOS John McKenzie Misconduct 16:15 10:00 BOS Bobby Orr Fighting – major 16:15 5:00 NYR Brad Park Fighting – major 16:15 5:00 NYR Glen Sather Fighting – major 16:15 5:00 BOS Dallas Smith Hooking 18:28 2:00 2nd BOS Ken Hodge Hooking 00:22 2:00 BOS Garnet Bailey Elbowing 05:32 2:00 BOS Carol Vadnais Fighting – major 05:32 5:00 NYR Vic Hadfield Fighting – major 05:32 5:00 NYR Pete Stemkowski Tripping 06:10 2:00 NYR Gary Doak Holding 08:15 2:00 BOS Mike Walton High-sticking 15:33 2:00 BOS Don Awrey Tripping 19:09 2:00 3rd NYR Pete Stemkowski Tripping 09:01 2:00 BOS Don Awrey Hooking 15:02 2:00 BOS Ken Hodge Tripping 17:18 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 5 10 9 24 6 11 6 23

Game five

Game five in Boston had Villemure again replace Giacomin, while Johnston remained in goal for the Bruins. Boston led 2–1 after two periods. However, Bobby Rousseau scored twice in the third period, his second at 12:45 turned out to be the winner in a 3–2 win for the Rangers. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st BOS Wayne Cashman (2) Ken Hodge (6) and Phil Esposito (12) 03:55 1–0 BOS NYR Dale Rolfe (4) Walt Tkaczuk (6) and Bill Fairbairn (7) 13:45 1–1 BOS Ken Hodge (9) – pp Fred Stanfield (9) and Phil Esposito (13) 16:07 2–1 BOS 2nd None 3rd NYR Bobby Rousseau (5) Brad Park (7) and Bruce MacGregor (6) 02:56 2–2 NYR Bobby Rousseau (6) Ted Irvine (5) 12:45 3–2 NYR Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st BOS John McKenzie Elbowing 00:50 2:00 BOS Don Awrey Charging 04:28 2:00 BOS Don Awrey Elbowing 04:28 2:00 BOS Walt Tkaczuk Tripping 09:51 2:00 NYR Dale Rolfe Interference 14:14 2:00 NYR Rod Gilbert Hooking 18:00 2:00 2nd NYR Brad Park Elbowing 00:29 2:00 BOS Phil Esposito High-sticking 06:36 2:00 BOS Dallas Smith Holding 06:36 2:00 NYR Rod Seiling High-sticking 06:36 2:00 BOS Don Awrey Slashing 15:08 2:00 NYR Gary Doak Slashing 16:23 2:00 NYR Walt Tkaczuk Hooking 16:48 2:00 3rd NYR Rod Seiling Holding 04:07 2:00 BOS Phil Esposito Hooking 05:07 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 7 9 10 26 12 9 17 38

Game six

Game six in New York saw Boston play flawlessly and Gerry Cheevers made 33 saves to record his second shutout of the postseason in a 3–0 victory. Bobby Orr's first-period marker ended up standing as the Stanley Cup-winning goal, and he also assisted on the Bruins' second goal. Orr spent 10 minutes in the penalty box after arguing with referee Art Skov but upon his return on the ice played a crucial role in killing off a penalty to the Bruins. Wayne Cashman scored two goals, one of which trickled in behind Gilles Villemure.