1968–69 NHL season Information & 1968–69 NHL season Links at HealthHaven.com

The 1968–69 NHL season was the 52nd season of the National Hockey League. Twelve teams each played 76 games (two more than in 1967–68). For the second time in a row, the Montreal Canadiens faced the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup finals. Montreal won for their second Stanley Cup in a row as they swept the Blues in four, which was the exact same result of the previous season.

[edit] Regular season

Prior to this season no player had ever achieved 100 points in a season. This season saw not just one player reach 100, but three. The Boston Bruins' Phil Esposito led the way with 49 goals, 77 assists for an astounding new record of 126 points, as well as setting a record with linemates Wayne Cashman and Ron Murphy for most points in a season by a forward line. Bobby Hull of Chicago set a new record for goals with 58 and came in second in overall scoring with 107. Forty-one year old Gordie Howe came in third with 103 points.

Red Berenson of St. Louis tied an NHL record, scoring six goals for the Blues in an 8–0 conquest of the Philadelphia Flyers November 7. He became the first player to score a double hat trick on a road game. ^[1]Doug Favell was the victim of the goals.

Despite finishing last in the West Division, Minnesota came up with a fine rookie left wing in Danny Grant, who tied Nels Stewart's forty year old record for most goals by a rookie with 34. Norm Ferguson of Oakland also tied the mark with 34.

On December 21, with Gump Worsley out because of a nervous breakdown and Rogie Vachon out with a broken hand, rookie goaltender Tony Esposito of the Canadiens and Gerry Cheevers of the Bruins hooked up in a classic scoreless tie. Esposito made 41 saves, many of the stellar variety, against Johnny McKenzie, Fred Stanfield, Ron Murphy and big brother Phil. Cheevers made 34 saves, including breakaways by Henri Richard and Bobby Rousseau.

Los Angeles introduced rookie goaltender Gerry Desjardins who did a fine job for the ailing Wayne Rutledge, who was bothered by a groin injuries most of the season. Desjardins recorded 4 shutouts during the season in helping the Kings make the playoffs and win their first round series over Oakland.

On March 2, Phil Esposito became the first NHL player to score 100 points in a season in a 4–0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In March 20's Boston-Chicago game, two milestones were accomplished. Bobby Hull broke his own record for goals with his 55th goal, and Bobby Orr broke Flash Hollett's record for goals by a defenceman with his 21rst goal.

[edit] Final standings

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

East Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
Montreal Canadiens	76	46	19	11	271	202	103
Boston Bruins	76	42	18	16	303	221	100
New York Rangers	76	41	26	9	231	196	91
Toronto Maple Leafs	76	35	26	15	234	217	85
Detroit Red Wings	76	33	31	12	239	221	78
Chicago Black Hawks	76	34	33	9	280	246	77

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

West Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PTS
St. Louis Blues	76	37	25	14	204	157	88
Oakland Seals	76	29	36	11	219	251	69
Philadelphia Flyers	76	20	35	21	174	225	61
Los Angeles Kings	76	24	42	10	185	260	58
Pittsburgh Penguins	76	20	45	11	189	252	51
Minnesota North Stars	76	18	43	15	189	270	51

^[2]

[edit] Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Phil Esposito	Boston Bruins	74	49	77	126	79
Bobby Hull	Chicago Black Hawks	74	58	49	107	48
Gordie Howe	Detroit Red Wings	76	44	59	103	58
Stan Mikita	Chicago Black Hawks	74	30	67	97	52
Ken Hodge	Boston Bruins	75	45	45	90	75
Yvan Cournoyer	Montreal Canadiens	76	43	44	87	31
Alex Delvecchio	Detroit Red Wings	72	25	58	83	8
Red Berenson	St. Louis Blues	76	35	47	82	43
Frank Mahovlich	Detroit Red Wings	76	49	29	78	38
Jean Ratelle	New York Rangers	76	32	46	78	26

[edit] Leading goaltenders

Goals against average: Jacques Plante-St. Louis Blues- 1.96 G.A.A

Wins: Ed Giacomin-New York Rangers- 37 Wins

Shutouts: Glenn Hall-( St. Louis Blues)- 8 Shutouts

[edit] Playoffs

[edit] Playoff bracket

Quarter-finals			Semi-finals			Stanley Cup Final

1	Montreal Canadiens	4
3	New York Rangers	0
			1	Montreal Canadiens	4
East Division
			2	Boston Bruins	2
2	Boston Bruins	4

4	Toronto Maple Leafs	0
						E1	Montreal Canadiens	4
						W1	St. Louis Blues	0
1	St. Louis Blues	4
3	Philadelphia Flyers	0
			1	St. Louis Blues	4
West Division
			4	Los Angeles Kings	0
2	Oakland Seals	3

4	Los Angeles Kings	4

[edit] NHL awards

Prince of Wales Trophy:	Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl:	St. Louis Blues
Art Ross Trophy:	Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:	Ted Hampson, Oakland Seals
Calder Memorial Trophy:	Danny Grant, Minnesota North Stars
Conn Smythe Trophy:	Serge Savard, Montreal Canadiens
Hart Memorial Trophy:	Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins
James Norris Memorial Trophy:	Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:	Alex Delvecchio, Detroit Red Wings
NHL Plus/Minus Award:	Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins
Vezina Trophy:	Glenn Hall & Jacques Plante, St. Louis Blues
Lester Patrick Trophy:	Robert M. Hull

[edit] All-Star teams

First Team	Position	Second Team
Glenn Hall, St. Louis Blues	G	Ed Giacomin, New York Rangers
Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins	D	Ted Green, Boston Bruins
Tim Horton, Toronto Maple Leafs	D	Ted Harris, Montreal Canadiens
Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins	C	Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens
Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings	RW	Yvan Cournoyer, Montreal Canadiens
Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks	LW	Frank Mahovlich, Detroit Red Wings

[edit] Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1968–69 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Bob Berry, Montreal Canadiens
Guy Lapointe, Montreal Canadiens
Jude Drouin, Montreal Canadiens
Tony Esposito, Montreal Canadiens
Brad Park, New York Rangers
Pat Quinn, Toronto Maple Leafs
Jean Pronovost, Pittsburgh Penguins

[edit] Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1968–69 (listed with their last team):

Kenny Wharram, Chicago Black Hawks
Kent Douglas, Detroit Red Wings
Gilles Tremblay, Montreal Canadiens
Allan Stanley, Philadelphia Flyers
Billy Harris, Pittsburgh Penguins
Doug Harvey, St. Louis Blues
Pierre Pilote, Toronto Maple Leafs

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Hockey’s Book of Firsts, p.27, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
^ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.162, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5

[0] Hockey’s Book of Firsts, p.27, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9

[1] National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p.162, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5

[1]

[2]

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