Open Mic: The Best Boston Bruins Lineup of All Time

A day late and a dollar short. That's my life in a nutshell. But, I have composed the greatest Boston Bruins lineup of all time.

When looking at an "Original Six" franchise, compiling a team with only 21 starting players is tough. Boston has a long history of great players, and numerous Hall of Famers.

Line 1:

LW: Johnny Bucyk      

C: Phil Esposito

RW: Cam Neely

D: Ray Borque & Bobby Orr

(All Hall Of Famers here, folks—no surprise.)

Notable mentions: Derek Sanderson (C)

Line 2:

LW: Wayne Cashman

C: Milt Schmidt

RW: Rick "Nifty" Middleton

D: Brad Park & Ed "Shadow" Westfall

Notable mentions: Joe Thornton (C) Ken Hodge (W) Zdeno Chara (D)

Line 3:

LW: Charlie Simmer

C:  Petr McNab

RW: Brian Rolston

D: Don Sweeney & Glen Wesley

Notable mentions: Adam Oates (C) Craig Janney (C) Bob Joyce (W) Joe Juneau

Line 4:

LW: Lyndon Byers

C: P.J. Stock

RW: Terry O'Rielly

D: Lionel Hitchman & Eddie Shore

Notable mentions: Kenny Linesman (C) Jay Miller (W) Mike Milbury (D)

Goaltenders:

G:Tiny Thompson

G:Andy Moog

Notable mentions: Gerry Cheevers, Bill Ranford, Eddie Johnson & Terry Sawchuk

Coaches:

Mike Milbury

Terry O'Reilly

Don Cherry

Notable mention: Pat Burns

In my 30 years of existence, I have yet to see a better line that Janney-Joyce-Neely in real-life. Their 1988-89 season was epic. A line that combined a total of 71 goals, 115 assists and 186 regular-season points en route to the playoffs. The Bruins lost a nail-biter, first-round playoff to the Montreal Canadiens in a best-of-five series, three games to two. All games were decided by only one goal.

Terry O'Reilly was the coach of that team, preceded by Mike Milbury.

And I will put my fourth line against any enforcer teams out there.

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