Orr says current Bruins match up well with 1970 Stanley Cup champions

Bobby Orr said he sees plenty of similarities between his Boston Bruins team that won the Stanley Cup 50 years ago and the Bruins of this season.

"They have some good kids coming and the good young players there now, they are going to be very good for a long time," the Hall of Fame defenseman said Wednesday. "And like our team, you've got to have the vets, they have the seasoned veterans as we did, you have the young kids coming in like we did."

The Bruins last season lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to the St. Louis Blues. This season, Boston had the best record in the NHL (44-14-12) when the season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. It has two players among the top six scorers: 23-year-old forward David Pastrnak (95 points; 48 goals, 47 assists, tied for third) and 31-year-old forward Brad Marchand (87 points; 28 goals, 59 assists, sixth). Pastrnak is tied with Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin for the NHL lead in goals.

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The 1969-70 Bruins (40-17, 19 ties) were paced by Orr, who led the NHL in scoring with 120 points (33 goals, 87 assists) and Hall of Fame center Phil Esposito, who was second with 99 points (NHL-leading 43 goals, 56 assists).

Orr was 21 years old when the 1969-70 season began and was one of Boston's youngest players, with 23-year-old center Derek Sanderson, who scored 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists). Among the Bruins' leading veterans that season were Esposito, who was 27; 32-year-old forward John McKenzie (70 points; 29 goals, 41 assists); and 34-year-old forward Johnny Bucyk (69 points; 31 goals, 38 assists).

"I look at the Boston Bruins, a lot of players on [the 2019-20] team would have been great on our team," Orr said. "I think a lot of players on my team, the '70s teams, would do very well with the Bruins today also. … It's a different generation obviously. We didn't train like they train today. … It was all on your own, the training that you did. … There's more teams now too, so the talent is spread out a little bit. When I started, it was six [teams]."

Sunday is the 50th anniversary of Orr scoring his iconic series-clinching overtime goal in Game 4 of the 1970 Stanley Cup Final against the Blues. The championship will be revisited in the NHL Network Originals documentary "The 1970 Boston Bruins: Big Bad & Bobby," which premieres Sunday (8 p.m. ET, NHLN, SNE, SNO, SNW, SNP), but Orr and his teammates won't be able to celebrate together because of the pandemic. A ceremony to honor the team at TD Garden scheduled for March 24 was postponed until fall.

"When this all started, we decided to stay in Florida," Orr said. "There isn't a lot going on. It's going to be a very quiet Mother's Day. … I wish we could do a lot more, but it's pretty quiet down here."

Orr, who wrote a message to health care workers at Massachusetts General hospital last month, reiterated those sentiments Wednesday.

"With everything that's going on, I think it's a good time to celebrate and thank all the front-line workers, first responders, all the different organizations of assistants in health care," he said. "I think it's a great time to celebrate them and thank them for the sacrifices they've made. These people go to work every day, making huge sacrifices; they are saving lives, comforting so many people."

Orr and the Boston Bruins foundation announced a raffle in which those who donate would be entered to win a replica statue of "The Goal" as well as a special Mother's Day phone call from Orr to someone of the winner's choosing.

"For me, I played a game and they call us heroes? I don't think so," Orr said. "It's not a game to these health care workers and front-liners. It's real life, and I think we do owe them so much."