As part of the Boston Bruins 100th anniversary of their entry into the National Hockey League, they are celebrating multiple chapters in their team's history. Prior to Saturday night's game against the New York Rangers, the Bruins brought back several key members of the team's famed “Lunchpail AC” team that played in the mid-1970s and '80s.

The team had a number of star players, including Hall of Famer Ray Bourque and the team's all-time greats Rick Middleton and Terry O'Reilly, but it was the return of fallen hero Normand Leveille that brought down the house. Leveille was felled by a brain aneurysm while playing in a 1982 game in Vancouver as 20-year-old player on the rise.

Leveille was wheeled out to center ice by Bourque, and he rose out of his wheelchair to drop the ceremonial puck. That action drew a standing ovation from the TD Garden crowd, and many were driven to tears, including Bourque.

“He was going to be a great player for the Bruins,” Bourque explained on the Bruins broadcast at the start of the second period. “His skating, shooting and his drive showed that he was a can't-miss prospect.”

The Bruins of that era never won the Stanley Cup, but they were coached by the legendary Don Cherry and they made it to the finals against the greatest Montreal Canadiens teams in 1977 and 1978. The following year, they met the Canadiens in semifinal round and the Bruins had a lead late in the 7th game on the road, but a too many men on the ice penalty enabled Guy Lafleur to tie the score and the Habs won the game and series in overtime.