1968-69 NHL season - Wiki slovník

1968–69 NHL season
1968–69 NHL season
League	National Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 11, 1968 – May 4, 1969
Number of games	76
Number of teams	12
TV partner(s)	CBC, SRC (Canada); CBS (United States)
Draft
Top draft pick	Michel Plasse
Picked by	Montreal Canadiens
Regular season
Season champions	Montreal Canadiens
Season MVP	Phil Esposito (Bruins)
Top scorer	Phil Esposito (Bruins)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Serge Savard (Canadiens)
Stanley Cup
Champions	Montreal Canadiens
Runners-up	St. Louis Blues
NHL seasons
	← 1967–68 1969–70 →

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 their second consecutive Stanley Cup as they swept the Blues in four, an identical result to the previous season.

Teams

Division	Team	City	Arena	Capacity
1968-69 National Hockey League
East	Boston Bruins	Boston, Massachusetts	Boston Garden	14,659
	Chicago Black Hawks	Chicago, Illinois	Chicago Stadium	16,666
	Detroit Red Wings	Detroit, Michigan	Detroit Olympia	15,000
	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal, Quebec	Montreal Forum	19,000
	New York Rangers	New York, New York	Madison Square Garden	17,250
	Toronto Maple Leafs	Toronto, Ontario	Maple Leaf Gardens	16,316
West	Los Angeles Kings	Inglewood, California	The Forum	16,005
	Minnesota North Stars	Bloomington, Minnesota	Metropolitan Sports Center	15,000
	Oakland Seals	Oakland, California	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena	15,000
	Philadelphia Flyers	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Spectrum	14,558
	Pittsburgh Penguins	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Civic Arena	12,580
	St. Louis Blues	St. Louis, Missouri	St. Louis Arena	14,500

Regular season

Bruins

Black Hawks

Red Wings

Kings

North Stars

Canadiens

Rangers

Seals

Flyers

Penguins

Blues

Maple Leafs

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East Division

West Division

Prior to this season no player in NHL history had ever achieved 100 points in a season, but 1968–69 saw three achieve the feat. The Boston Bruins' Phil Esposito led the way with 49 goals and 77 assists for a 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. Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings came in third with 103 points.

Red Berenson came up one goal short of tying an NHL record, scoring six goals^[1] for the St. Louis Blues (all against goaltender Doug Favell) in an 8–0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on November 7. He became the first player to score a double hat trick in a road game.^[2]

Despite finishing last in the West Division, Minnesota was led by rookie left wing Danny Grant, who along with Oakland rookie Norm Ferguson tied Nels Stewart's forty-year-old record for most goals by a rookie with 34.

On December 21, with Montreal goalies Gump Worsley (nervous breakdown) and Rogie Vachon (injured) both unavailable, rookie Tony Esposito and Boston's Gerry Cheevers both achieved shutouts in a rare scoreless tie. Esposito made 41 saves, and Cheevers made 34 saves.

Los Angeles introduced rookie goaltender Gerry Desjardins, who took over the starter's job from Wayne Rutledge, who was bothered by 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 Boston-Chicago game on March 20, 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 21st goal.

This would be the last time until the 1997–98 season that the Chicago Black Hawks missed the playoffs.

The league held a beauty pageant for the first time this season, with a contestant from every franchise. Miss Minnesota North Stars Lynn Marie Stewart was named Miss NHL 1968, and was named the NHL "ambassador" for the 1968–69 season, making various appearances and helping to present the Stanley Cup. The league held just two more pageants in 1970 and 1972 before abandoning the concept.

Final standings

East Division^[3]
v
t
e
		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Montreal Canadiens	76	46	19	11	271	202	+69	103
2	Boston Bruins	76	42	18	16	303	221	+82	100
3	New York Rangers	76	41	26	9	231	196	+35	91
4	Toronto Maple Leafs	76	35	26	15	234	217	+17	85
5	Detroit Red Wings	76	33	31	12	239	221	+18	78
6	Chicago Black Hawks	76	34	33	9	280	246	+34	77

West Division^[3]
v
t
e
		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	St. Louis Blues	76	37	25	14	204	157	+47	88
2	Oakland Seals	76	29	36	11	219	251	−32	69
3	Philadelphia Flyers	76	20	35	21	174	225	−51	61
4	Los Angeles Kings	76	24	42	10	185	260	−75	58
5	Pittsburgh Penguins	76	20	45	11	189	252	−63	51
6	Minnesota North Stars	76	18	43	15	189	270	−81	51

Playoffs