1968-69 NHL season

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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 1 Regular season 1.1 Final standings 1.2 Scoring leaders 1.3 Leading goaltenders 2 Stanley Cup playoffs 2.1 Playoff bracket 3 NHL awards 4 See also 5 References

[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. 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 21rst, 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. Though the Kings didn't do well, Desjardins recorded 4 shutouts during the season.

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.

[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	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

[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

[edit] Leading goaltenders

[edit] Stanley Cup playoffs

[edit] Playoff bracket

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Finals
	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 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, Edward J. Jeremiah

[edit] 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

[edit] References

• Hockey Database
• NHL.com
• hickoksports.com

NHL seasons
1964-65 | 1965-66 | 1966-67 | 1967-68 | 1968-69 | 1969-70 | 1970-71 | 1971-72 | 1972-73