1968–69 St. Louis Blues season

The 1968–69 St. Louis Blues season was the second in the history of the franchise. The Blues won the NHL's West Division title for the first time in their history. In the playoffs, the Blues swept the Philadelphia Flyers and the Los Angeles Kings, winning both series four games to none, before losing the Stanley Cup Finals in four straight to the Montreal Canadiens for the second straight season.

Regular season

On November 7, 1968, Red Berenson scored six goals in a road game versus the Philadelphia Flyers. He became the first player to score a double hat trick on a road game.^[1] Goaltenders Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante shared the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie tandem for that season, and set the Blues' record (broken in 2011–12) of 13 shutouts. For Hall, it was his third Vezina, while Plante, who had come out of retirement during the summer of 1968, took home his seventh. It was the second major award that an NHL expansion team has earned. Hall also earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL Playoffs MVP the previous season.

Final standings

West Division^[2]
		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

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 11, 1968	3–4	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69)	0–1–0
2	W	October 12, 1968	6–0	Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	1–1–0
3	L	October 16, 1968	2–4	Montreal Canadiens (1968–69)	1–2–0
4	W	October 19, 1968	4–1	Oakland Seals (1968–69)	2–2–0
5	L	October 23, 1968	4–6	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69)	2–3–0
6	W	October 24, 1968	2–1	@ Boston Bruins (1968–69)	3–3–0
7	L	October 26, 1968	2–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	3–4–0
8	W	October 30, 1968	4–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	4–4–0
9	L	November 2, 1968	0–2	Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	4–5–0
10	T	November 3, 1968	4–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69)	4–5–1
11	W	November 6, 1968	3–1	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	5–5–1
12	W	November 7, 1968	8–0	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	6–5–1
13	L	November 9, 1968	1–4	@ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69)	6–6–1
14	T	November 10, 1968	1–1	@ Boston Bruins (1968–69)	6–6–2
15	W	November 13, 1968	3–1	@ New York Rangers (1968–69)	7–6–2
16	T	November 16, 1968	1–1	Detroit Red Wings (1968–69)	7–6–3
17	T	November 17, 1968	3–3	Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	7–6–4
18	W	November 20, 1968	7–0	Oakland Seals (1968–69)	8–6–4
19	W	November 23, 1968	1–0	Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69)	9–6–4
20	T	November 27, 1968	4–4	Boston Bruins (1968–69)	9–6–5
21	W	November 28, 1968	3–1	@ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69)	10–6–5
22	W	November 30, 1968	1–0	Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	11–6–5
23	T	December 4, 1968	3–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69)	11–6–6
24	T	December 7, 1968	1–1	Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	11–6–7
25	T	December 8, 1968	4–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	11–6–8
26	L	December 11, 1968	3–6	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69)	11–7–8
27	L	December 12, 1968	4–5	@ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69)	11–8–8
28	L	December 14, 1968	2–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69)	11–9–8
29	W	December 15, 1968	3–1	Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	12–9–8
30	W	December 20, 1968	1–0	@ Oakland Seals (1968–69)	13–9–8
31	T	December 21, 1968	2–2	New York Rangers (1968–69)	13–9–9
32	W	December 25, 1968	2–0	@ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	14–9–9
33	W	December 26, 1968	3–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	15–9–9
34	L	December 28, 1968	2–6	Boston Bruins (1968–69)	15–10–9
35	T	January 1, 1969	0–0	@ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	15–10–10
36	W	January 3, 1969	3–1	@ Oakland Seals (1968–69)	16–10–10
37	W	January 4, 1969	3–1	Detroit Red Wings (1968–69)	17–10–10
38	W	January 7, 1969	5–0	Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	18–10–10
39	L	January 8, 1969	1–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69)	18–11–10
40	W	January 11, 1969	6–1	Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69)	19–11–10
41	W	January 12, 1969	2–0	@ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	20–11–10
42	W	January 15, 1969	4–3	Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	21–11–10
43	T	January 18, 1969	2–2	New York Rangers (1968–69)	21–11–11
44	W	January 19, 1969	3–1	@ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	22–11–11
45	L	January 23, 1969	2–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69)	22–12–11
46	L	January 25, 1969	0–4	@ Boston Bruins (1968–69)	22–13–11
47	W	January 26, 1969	3–1	Oakland Seals (1968–69)	23–13–11
48	W	January 29, 1969	2–1	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	24–13–11
49	L	January 30, 1969	3–4	New York Rangers (1968–69)	24–14–11
50	W	February 1, 1969	2–0	@ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69)	25–14–11
51	W	February 2, 1969	5–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69)	26–14–11
52	L	February 4, 1969	2–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	26–15–11
53	W	February 6, 1969	3–1	Boston Bruins (1968–69)	27–15–11
54	L	February 8, 1969	0–2	@ New York Rangers (1968–69)	27–16–11
55	T	February 9, 1969	4–4	Montreal Canadiens (1968–69)	27–16–12
56	W	February 12, 1969	2–0	Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	28–16–12
57	W	February 13, 1969	2–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	29–16–12
58	W	February 15, 1969	4–1	Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	30–16–12
59	W	February 16, 1969	6–0	Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	31–16–12
60	W	February 19, 1969	3–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	32–16–12
61	L	February 21, 1969	2–3	@ Oakland Seals (1968–69)	32–17–12
62	W	February 22, 1969	3–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	33–17–12
63	L	February 26, 1969	2–3	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69)	33–18–12
64	L	March 1, 1969	0–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69)	33–19–12
65	L	March 2, 1969	1–2	@ New York Rangers (1968–69)	33–20–12
66	L	March 5, 1969	2–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	33–21–12
67	W	March 8, 1969	5–2	Oakland Seals (1968–69)	34–21–12
68	T	March 9, 1969	2–2	@ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	34–21–13
69	L	March 11, 1969	0–3	Montreal Canadiens (1968–69)	34–22–13
70	W	March 15, 1969	3–2	Detroit Red Wings (1968–69)	35–22–13
71	L	March 16, 1969	2–3	Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	35–23–13
72	T	March 19, 1969	1–1	Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69)	35–23–14
73	L	March 22, 1969	1–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	35–24–14
74	L	March 23, 1969	3–4	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	35–25–14
75	W	March 26, 1969	5–3	@ Oakland Seals (1968–69)	36–25–14
76	W	March 29, 1969	3–1	@ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	37–25–14

Green background indicates win.
Red background indicates regulation loss.
White background indicates tie.

Playoffs

Stanley Cup Finals

Main article: 1969 Stanley Cup Finals

Claude Ruel became the eleventh rookie coach to win the Stanley Cup. Montreal goaltender Rogie Vachon limited St. Louis to three goals in four games and his first career playoff shutout.

Montreal Canadiens vs. St. Louis Blues

Date	Visitors	Score	Home	Score
April 27	St. Louis	1	Montreal	3
April 29	St. Louis	1	Montreal	3
May 1	Montreal	4	St. Louis	0
May 4	Montreal	2	St. Louis	1

Montreal wins the series 4–0.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
Berenson, RedRed Berenson	C	76	35	47	82	43	7	1	6
Sabourin, GaryGary Sabourin	RW	75	25	23	48	58	3	0	3
McDonald, AbAb McDonald	LW	68	21	21	42	12	2	0	4
Henry, CamilleCamille Henry	C	64	17	22	39	8	7	0	1
Schock, RonRon Schock	C	67	12	27	39	14	4	0	3
St. Marseille, FrankFrank St. Marseille	RW	72	12	26	38	22	3	0	3
Ecclestone, TimTim Ecclestone	LW	68	11	23	34	31	1	0	4
Roberts, JimJim Roberts	D/RW	72	14	19	33	81	2	1	1
McCreary, BillBill McCreary	LW	71	13	17	30	50	3	1	4
Plager, BarclayBarclay Plager	D	61	4	26	30	120	0	0	1
Picard, NoelNoel Picard	D	67	5	19	24	131	0	0	1
Harvey, DougDoug Harvey	D	70	2	20	22	30	1	0	0
Cameron, CraigCraig Cameron	RW	72	11	5	16	40	2	0	1
Crisp, TerryTerry Crisp	C	57	6	9	15	14	1	1	0
Keenan, LarryLarry Keenan	LW	46	5	9	14	6	0	0	2
Talbot, Jean-GuyJean-Guy Talbot	D	69	5	4	9	24	0	0	1
Arbour, AlAl Arbour	D	67	1	6	7	50	0	0	1
Plager, BobBob Plager	D	32	0	7	7	43	0	0	0
Gray, TerryTerry Gray	RW	8	4	0	4	4	2	0	1
Hall, GlennGlenn Hall	G	41	0	2	2	20	0	0	0
Stankiewicz, MyronMyron Stankiewicz	LW	16	0	2	2	11	0	0	0
Fortin, RayRay Fortin	D	11	1	0	1	6	0	0	0
Dennis, NormNorm Dennis	C	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Edwards, GaryGary Edwards	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Irons, RobbieRobbie Irons	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ouimet, TedTed Ouimet	G	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Plager, BillBill Plager	D	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante	G	37	0	0	0	2	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO
Hall, GlennGlenn Hall	2354	41	19	12	8	85	2.17	8
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante	2139	37	18	12	6	70	1.96	5
Edwards, GaryGary Edwards	4	1	0	0	0	0	0.00	0
Irons, RobbieRobbie Irons	3	1	0	0	0	0	0.00	0
Ouimet, TedTed Ouimet	60	1	0	1	0	2	2.00	0
Team:	4560	76	37	25	14	157	2.07	13

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	GWG
Sabourin, GaryGary Sabourin	RW	12	6	5	11	12	1	2
Berenson, RedRed Berenson	C	12	7	3	10	20	2	1
Keenan, LarryLarry Keenan	LW	12	4	5	9	8	1	2
Crisp, TerryTerry Crisp	C	12	3	4	7	20	0	2
Henry, CamilleCamille Henry	C	11	2	5	7	0	1	0
St. Marseille, FrankFrank St. Marseille	RW	12	3	3	6	2	0	0
McCreary, BillBill McCreary	LW	12	1	5	6	14	1	1
Gray, TerryTerry Gray	RW	11	3	2	5	8	1	0
Picard, NoelNoel Picard	D	12	1	4	5	30	0	0
Roberts, JimJim Roberts	D/RW	12	1	4	5	10	0	0
Ecclestone, TimTim Ecclestone	LW	12	2	2	4	20	0	0
Plager, BarclayBarclay Plager	D	12	0	4	4	31	0	0
Plager, BobBob Plager	D	9	0	4	4	47	0	0
McDonald, AbAb McDonald	LW	12	2	1	3	10	0	0
Schock, RonRon Schock	C	12	1	2	3	6	0	0
Talbot, Jean-GuyJean-Guy Talbot	D	12	0	2	2	6	0	0
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante	G	10	0	1	1	0	0	0
Arbour, AlAl Arbour	D	12	0	0	0	10	0	0
Cameron, CraigCraig Cameron	RW	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hall, GlennGlenn Hall	G	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Plager, BillBill Plager	D	4	0	0	0	4	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO
Plante, JacquesJacques Plante	589	10	8	2	14	1.43	3
Hall, GlennGlenn Hall	131	3	0	2	5	2.29	0
Team:	720	12	8	4	19	1.58	3

^[3]

Note:

Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals

Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

Red Berenson, most goals in one road game (6), achieved on November 7, 1968, vs. Philadelphia^[4]

Roster

1968–1969 St. Louis Blues Roster

Goaltenders

1 – Glenn Hall
1 – Robbie Irons
30 – Gary Edwards
30 – Ted Ouimet
30 – Jacques Plante

Defensemen

2 – Doug Harvey
3 – Al Arbour –C
4 – Noel Picard
5 – Bob Plager
8 – Barclay Plager
17 – Jean-Guy Talbot
19 – Ray Fortin
23 – Bill Plager

Wingers

Centers

7 – Red Berenson
10 – Ron Schock
12 – Terry Crisp
21 – Camille Henry
22 – Norm Dennis

GM/Coach:
Scotty Bowman

Draft picks

St. Louis's picks at the 1968 NHL Entry Draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College

References

↑ Hockey's Book of Firsts, p. 27, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9.
↑ "1968–1969 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
↑ "1968-69 St. Louis Blues Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
↑ National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 179, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.

External links

Blues on Hockey Database
"1968–69 St. Louis Blues Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-06.

St. Louis Blues

Founded in 1967 Based in St. Louis, Missouri

Franchise	Team General managers Coaches Players Captains Draft picks Seasons Current season

History	1967 expansion Expansion Draft Records Award winners

Personnel	Owner(s) SLB Acquisition Holdings LLC (Tom Stillman, chairman) General manager Doug Armstrong Head coach Ken Hitchcock Team captain David Backes Current roster

Arenas	St. Louis Arena Scottrade Center

Rivalries	Chicago Blackhawks

Affiliates	AHL Chicago Wolves

General managers	Patrick Bowman Abel Catto Ehman Ball Francis Caron Keenan Caron Pleau Armstrong

Head coaches	Patrick Bowman Arbour Bowman Abel McCreary, Sr. Arbour Talbot Angotti Patrick Young Patrick Boivin Francis Boivin Plager Berenson Francis Plager Demers Martin Sutter Plager Berry Keenan Roberts Quenneville Kitchen Murray Payne Hitchcock

Media	TV FS Midwest Radio KMOX Newsradio (1120 AM)

Culture and lore	The Monday Night Miracle Louie the Bear Saint Louis Blues (song) "When the Blues Go Marching In" Dan Kelly

St. Louis Blues seasons

1960s	1967–68 1968–69 1969–70

1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80

1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90

1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00

2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10

2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15

1968–69 NHL season

East	Boston Chicago Detroit Montreal New York Toronto

West	Los Angeles Minnesota Oakland Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis

See also	Draft All-Star Game Stanley Cup Finals

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