I found an old NHL playoff game on ESPN classic a few nights ago, the infamous "too many men on the ice" Bruins/Canadians playoff game in 1979 that the Bruins should have won. That brought back so many memories because I remember that game vividly. I was 16 years old at the time and watched that game with my father on our old black & white TV. The same one that would host "Pong" and "hockey" games later that year at Christmas time - when video games were crude and in their infancy. Anyway, when Wayne Cashman scored those two goals, memories flooded back. I hadn't seen those goals in nearly 15 years! And Don Cherry was coaching behind the bench and in fact, this would turn out to be his very last game coaching the Bruins - though nobody knew it at the time. Truly that game marked the end of an era. It was all basically downhill for the Bruins after that game, though there would be some bright spots with stars like Cam Neely and Ray Bourque.
The next year, we did have the "Miracle on Ice" and perhaps that was the swan song of hockey in Boston. Interest in hockey has declined around here ever since.
But during the 1970-79 period, the Bruins were the hot ticket in town. What a great era for hockey.
I agree about the fighting. I think it was an essential part of the game's attraction. The Bruins had their "goons" too during the 1970s. Stan Jonathon, John Wensink, to name a couple. There was always a stir in the crowd when the "goon line" took the ice!
It's a shame about the helmets too. Takes the identity away from the players. I think they ought to be optional. Remember that players like Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull played for years and years without helmets and survived. In fact, only a very few players were seriously hurt in the game in the pre-helmet era as a result of not wearing helmets, and in most of those cases, the injuries were caused by another player high sticking on purpose - something that should definitely not be tolerated.