1968-69 NHL SEASON

The '1968-69 NHL season' was the 52nd season of the National Hockey League. Twelve teams each played 76 games. 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.

Contents
Regular season
Final standings
Scoring leaders
Leading goaltenders
Stanley Cup playoffs
Playoff bracket
NHL awards
All-Star teams
Debuts
Last games
See also
References

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. 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 7th. 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 record for most goals by a rookie with 34.
Norm Ferguson of Oakland also tied the mark with 34.
On December 21st, 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, and a labeled backhand by Jean Beliveau on
a three on one break.
Los Angeles introduced a fine rookie goaltender named 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 2nd, 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 20th'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. The game ended in a 5-5 tie.
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 Pts GF GA PIM
'Montreal Canadiens' 76 46 19 11 103 271 202 780
'Boston Bruins' 76 42 18 16 100 303 221 1297
'New York Rangers' 76 41 26 9 91 231 196 806
'Toronto Maple Leafs' 76 35 26 15 85 234 217 961
Detroit Red Wings 76 33 31 12 78 239 221 885
Chicago Black Hawks 76 34 33 9 77 280 246 842

West Division GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
'St. Louis Blues' 76 37 25 14 88 204 157 838
'Oakland Seals' 76 29 36 11 69 219 251 811
'Philadelphia Flyers' 76 20 35 21 61 174 225 964
'Los Angeles Kings' 76 24 42 10 58 185 260 698
Pittsburgh Penguins 76 20 45 11 51 189 252 677
Minnesota North Stars 76 18 43 15 51 189 270 862

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

Leading goaltenders

Stanley Cup playoffs


Playoff bracket

NHL awards


Prince of Wales Trophy: Montreal Canadiens
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: St. Louis Blues
Art Ross Memorial 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

All-Star teams

First Team   Position   Second Team
Glenn Hall, St. Louis Blues GEd Giacomin, New York Rangers
Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins DTed Green, Boston Bruins
Tim Horton, Toronto Maple Leafs DTed Harris, Montreal Canadiens
Phil Esposito, Boston Bruins CJean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens
Gordie Howe, Detroit Red Wings RWYvan Cournoyer, Montreal Canadiens
Bobby Hull, Chicago Blackhawks LWFrank Mahovlich, Detroit Red Wings

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

Jean Pronovost, Pittsburgh Penguins

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 Blackhawks

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

See also



List of Stanley Cup champions

1968 NHL Amateur Draft

22nd National Hockey League All-Star Game

National Hockey League All-Star Game

1968 in sports

1969 in sports

References



Hockey Database

NHL.com

hickoksports.com

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