1968–69 NHL season

The 1968 NHL amateur draft was held on June 13 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Michel Plasse was selected first overall by the Montreal Canadiens.

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 goalsJoe Malone holds the record, with 7 goals in one game 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.Hockey's Book of Firsts, p. 27, James Duplacey, JG Press, {{ISBN|978-1-57215-037-9}}

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.

{{1968–69 NHL East Division standings}}

{{1968–69 NHL West Division standings}}

The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. In the quarterfinals, the third seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and fourth place teams from the divisions. The two winning teams from each division's first round series then met in the Stanley Cup Semifinals. The two winners of the Semifinals then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.

In each round, teams competed in a best-of-seven series (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series).

{{8TeamBracket

| RD1-group1=East Division

| RD1-group2=West Division

| RD1=Quarterfinals

| RD2=Semifinals

| RD3=Stanley Cup Finals

| RD1-seed1=1

| RD1-team1=Montreal

| RD1-score1=4

| RD1-seed2=3

| RD1-team2=New York

| RD1-score2=0

| RD1-seed3=2

| RD1-team3=Boston

| RD1-score3=4

| RD1-seed4=4

| RD1-team4=Toronto

| RD1-score4=0

| RD1-seed5=1

| RD1-team5=St. Louis

| RD1-score5=4

| RD1-seed6=3

| RD1-team6=Philadelphia

| RD1-score6=0

| RD1-seed7=2

| RD1-team7=Oakland

| RD1-score7=3

| RD1-seed8=4

| RD1-team8={{nowrap|Los Angeles}}

| RD1-score8=4

| RD2-seed1=1

| RD2-team1=Montreal

| RD2-score1=4

| RD2-seed2=2

| RD2-team2=Boston

| RD2-score2=2

| RD2-seed3=1

| RD2-team3=St. Louis

| RD2-score3=4

| RD2-seed4=4

| RD2-team4={{nowrap|Los Angeles}}

| RD2-score4=0

| RD3-seed1=E1

| RD3-team1=Montreal

| RD3-score1=4

| RD3-seed2=W1

| RD3-team2=St. Louis

| RD3-score2=0

}}

The Montreal Canadiens finished as the best regular season team with 103 points. The New York Rangers earned 91 points to finish third in the East

Division. This was the ninth playoff series between these two teams, and they split their eight previous series. Their most recent series had come in the 1967 semifinals, which Montreal won in a four-game sweep. New York earned nine of sixteen points in this year's regular season series.

The Canadiens defeated the Rangers in a four-game sweep to advance to the semifinals.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=New York Rangers

|team2=Montreal Canadiens

|stadium2=Madison Square Garden

|stadium1=Montreal Forum

|date1 =April 2

|score1 =1–3

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-mtl/1969/04/02/1968030111#game=1968030111,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =15:35 – Jacques Lemaire (1)

|1-2-1 =Jean Ratelle (1) – pp – 19:13

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =13:18 – pp – John Ferguson (1)
19:20 – en – Henri Richard (1)

|goalie1-1 =Eddie Giacomin 24 saves / 26 shots

|goalie1-2 =Gump Worsley 26 saves / 27 shots

|date2 =April 3

|score2 =2–5

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/nyr-vs-mtl/1969/04/03/1968030112#game=1968030112,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =Rod Seiling (1) – 01:51
Vic Hadfield (1) – 14:43

|2-1-2 =11:55 – pp – Christian Bordeleau (1)

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =04:28 – Bobby Rousseau (1)
06:45 – pp – Yvan Cournoyer (1)
12:59 – Jean Beliveau (1)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =19:32 – pp – en – Ralph Backstrom (1)

|goalie2-1 =Ed Giacomin 20 saves / 24 shots

|goalie2-2 =Gump Worsley 26 saves / 28 shots

|date3 =April 5

|score3 =4–1

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-nyr/1969/04/05/1968030113#game=1968030113,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =Mickey Redmond (1) – 00:30
Bobby Rousseau (2) – 03:37
Dick Duff (1) – 12:41

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =09:12 – Vic Hadfield (2)

|3-3-2 =Jean Beliveau (2) – pp – 08:33

|goalie3-1 =Ed Giacomin 14 saves / 18 shots

|goalie3-2 =Gump Worsley 31 saves / 32 shots

|date4 =April 6

|score4 =4–3

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-nyr/1969/04/06/1968030114#game=1968030114,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =Dick Duff (2) – 01:32
Jacques Lemaire (2) – 10:03
Henri Richard (2) – 10:42

|4-2-1 =12:10 – Dave Balon (1)
15:08 – Rod Gilbert (1)

|4-2-2 =Yvan Cournoyer (2) – 00:38

|4-3-1 =07:23 – Don Marshall (1)

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Gilles Villemure 30 saves / 34 shots

|goalie4-2 = Gump Worsley 2 saves / 2 shots
Rogie Vachon 22 saves / 25 shots

|series = Montreal won series 4–0

}}

The Boston Bruins finished second in the East Division with 100 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs earned 85 points to finish fourth in the East Division. This was the eleventh playoff series between these two teams, with Toronto winning eight of their ten previous series. Their most recent series had come in the 1959 semifinals, where Toronto won in seven games. Boston earned ten of sixteen points in this year's regular season series.

Boston defeated Toronto in a four-game sweep to advance to the semifinals.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Toronto Maple Leafs

|team2=Boston Bruins

|stadium2=Maple Leaf Gardens

|stadium1=Boston Garden

|date1 =April 2

|score1 =0–10

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-bos/1969/04/02/1968030121#game=1968030121,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =01:19 – pp – Phil Esposito (1)
03:20 – pp – Johnny Bucyk (1)
14:01 – Phil Esposito (2)

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =07:22 – Johnny Bucyk (2)
10:40 – Derek Sanderson (1)
14:10 – pp – Phil Esposito (3)
19:51 – pp – Phil Esposito (4)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =01:23 – pp – Fred Stanfield (1)
04:34 – Derek Sanderson (2)
12:47 – pp – Ken Hodge (1)

|goalie1-1 =Bruce Gamble 26 saves / 33 shots
Johnny Bower 15 saves / 18 shots

|goalie1-2 =Gerry Cheevers 40 saves / 40 shots

|date2 =April 3

|score2 =0–7

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/tor-vs-bos/1969/04/03/1968030122#game=1968030122,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =15:12 – pp – Johnny Bucyk (3)
17:33 – Johnny Bucyk (4)
18:55 – Ted Green (1)

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =05:56 – John McKenzie (1)
18:44 – Ken Hodge (2)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =08:39 – Ron Murphy (1)
10:07 – Phil Esposito (5)

|goalie2-1 =Bruce Gamble 16 saves / 20 shtos
Johnny Bower 17 saves / 20 shtos

|goalie2-2 =Gerry Cheevers 22 saves / 22 shots

|date3 =April 5

|score3 =4–3

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-tor/1969/04/05/1968030123#game=1968030123,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =08:23 – Ron Ellis (1)

|3-1-2 =Ed Westfall (1) – sh – 04:18
Ted Green (2) – 14:38

|3-2-1 =15:32 – Murray Oliver (1)
19:47 – Norm Ullman (1)

|3-2-2 =Fred Stanfield (2) – 04:04

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =Derek Sanderson (3) – 02:52

|goalie3-1 =Bruce Gamble 11 saves / 13 shots
Johnny Bower 28 saves / 30 shots

|goalie3-2 =Gerry Cheevers 38 saves / 41 shots

|date4 =April 6

|score4 =3–2

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-tor/1969/04/06/1968030124#game=1968030124,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =07:52 – pp – Ron Ellis (2)

|4-1-2 =Derek Sanderson (4) – sh – 01:21
Phil Esposito (6) – pp – 03:14

|4-2-1 =17:52 – sh – Dave Keon (1)

|4-2-2 =Derek Sanderson (5) – 16:07

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Johnny Bower 27 saves / 30 shots

|goalie4-2 =Gerry Cheevers 26 saves / 28 shots

|series = Boston won series 4–0

}}

The St. Louis Blues finished as West Division champions with 88 points. The Philadelphia Flyers earned 61 points to finish third in the West Division. This was the second playoff series between these two teams, in the second year of existence for both franchises. In the previous year's Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, St. Louis defeated Philadelphia in seven games. St. Louis earned thirteen of sixteen points in this year's regular season series.

St. Louis defeated Philadelphia to advance to the semifinals with the franchise's first four-game sweep.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Philadelphia Flyers

|team2=St. Louis Blues

|stadium2=Spectrum

|stadium1=St. Louis Arena

|date1 =April 2

|score1 =2–5

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-stl/1969/04/02/1968030131#game=1968030131,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Bill Sutherland (1) – pp – 12:13

|1-1-2 =00:50 – Ab McDonald (1)
05:43 – Tim Ecclestone (1)
15:10 – Larry Keenan (1)

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =Dick Cherry (1) – 18:26

|1-3-2 =03:22 – Camille Henry (1)
17:39 – Terry Gray (1)

|goalie1-1 =Bernie Parent 25 saves / 30 shots

|goalie1-2 =Glenn Hall 8 saves / 8 shots
Jacques Plante 27 saves / 29 shots

|date2 =April 3

|score2 =0–5

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/phi-vs-stl/1969/04/03/1968030132#game=1968030132,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =00:41 – pp – Bill McCreary Sr. (1)
15:58 – Gary Sabourin (1)

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =00:45 – Larry Keenan (2)
12:03 – pp – Red Berenson (1)
16:49 – pp – Terry Gray (2)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Doug Favell 31 saves / 36 shots

|goalie2-2 =Jacques Plante 21 saves / 21 shots

|date3 =April 5

|score3 =3–0

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-phi/1969/04/05/1968030133#game=1968030133,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =Gary Sabourin (2) – 07:13

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =Ron Schock (1) – 13:24

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =Red Berenson (2) – 12:12

|goalie3-1 =Bernie Parent 23 saves / 26 shots

|goalie3-2 =Jacques Plante 27 saves / 27 shots

|date4 =April 6

|score4 =4–1

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-phi/1969/04/06/1968030134#game=1968030134,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =Frank St. Marseille (1) – 00:52
Terry Crisp (1) – 04:08
Jimmy Roberts (1) – 04:22

|4-2-1 =04:54 – sh – Garry Peters (1)

|4-2-2 =Tim Ecclestone (2) – 01:17

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie4-1 =Bernie Parent 34 saves / 38 shots

|goalie4-2 =Jacques Plante 30 saves / 31 shots

|series = St. Louis won series 4–0

}}

The Oakland Seals finished second in the West Division with 69 points to advance to the playoffs for the first time. The Los Angeles Kings earned 58 points to finish fourth in the West Division. This was the first playoff series of the Battle of California and the first playoff meeting between two California-based NHL teams. Los Angeles earned ten of sixteen points in this year's regular season series.

The Kings defeated the Seals in the only game seven of the year. Oakland never won another playoff game in franchise history.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Los Angeles Kings

|team2=Oakland Seals

|stadium2=LA Forum

|stadium1=Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena

|date1 =April 2

|score1 =5–4

|ot1 =1

|won1 =1

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-oak/1969/04/02/1968030141#game=1968030141,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Gary Croteau (1) – pp – 12:53

|1-1-2 =11:59 – sh – Earl Ingarfield (1)
16:21 – Joe Szura (1)

|1-2-1 =Gary Croteau (2) – 03:07

|1-2-2 =19:16 – Francois Lacombe (1)

|1-3-1 =Eddie Joyal (1) – 12:15
Eddie Joyal (2) – 15:56

|1-3-2 =17:22 – Gene Ubriaco (1)

|1-4-1 =Ted Irvine (1) – 00:19

|1-4-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Gerry Desjardins 6 saves / 8 shots
Wayne Rutledge 20 saves / 22 shots

|goalie1-2 =Gary Smith 26 saves / 31 shots

|date2 =April 3

|score2 =2–4

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-oak/1969/04/03/1968030142#game=1968030142,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =01:26 – pp – Ted Hampson (1)

|2-2-1 =Ted Irvine (1) – 00:20
Howie Menard (1) – pp – 07:07

|2-2-2 =18:23 – Ted Hampson (2)

|2-3-1 =No scoring

|2-3-2 =02:44 – Gary Jarrett (1)
19:47 – en – Bob Dillabough (1)

|goalie2-1 =Wayne Rutledge 30 saves / 33 shots

|goalie2-2 =Gary Smith 26 saves / 28 shots

|date3 =April 5

|score3 =5–2

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/oak-vs-lak/1969/04/05/1968030143#game=1968030143,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =10:21 – pp – Real Lemieux (1)

|3-2-2 =Joe Szura (2) – pp – 11:30
Gary Jarrett (2) – 14:48

|3-3-1 =14:46 – Billy Inglis (1)

|3-3-2 =Earl Ingarfield (2) – 00:13
Mike Laughton (1) – pp – 09:09
16:05 – Gerry Ehman (1)

|goalie3-1 =Wayne Rutledge 22 saves / 26 shots
Gerry Desjardins 5 saves / 6 shots

|goalie3-2 =Gary Smith 31 saves / 33 shots

|date4 =April 6

|score4 =2–4

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/oak-vs-lak/1969/04/06/1968030144#game=1968030144,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =10:33 – Bill White (1)
17:31 – Howie Menard (2)

|4-1-2 =Earl Ingarfield (3) – 01:27

|4-2-1 =00:24 – Larry Cahan (1)
14:06 – Brent Hughes (1)

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =Ted Hampson (3) – pp – 06:59

|goalie4-1 =Gerry Desjardins 27 saves / 29 shots

|goalie4-2 =Gary Smith 29 saves / 33 shots

|date5 =April 9

|score5 =1–4

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-oak/1969/04/09/1968030145#game=1968030145,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =Gary Croteau (3) – 15:51

|5-1-2 =01:06 – Mike Laughton (2)

|5-2-1 =No scoring

|5-2-2 =05:42 – Bob Dillabough (2)

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =03:44 – Bob Dillabough (3)
16:43 – Norm Ferguson (1)

|goalie5-1 =Gerry Desjardins 33 saves / 37 shots

|goalie5-2 =Gary Smith 36 saves / 37 shots

|date6 =April 10

|score6 =3–4

|won6 =1

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/oak-vs-lak/1969/04/10/1968030146#game=1968030146,game_state=final

|6-1-1 =03:53 – Ted Irvine (3)
06:19 – Bryan Campbell (1)
16:05 – sh – Lowell MacDonald (1)

|6-1-2 =Mike Laughton (3) – 04:53
Brian Perry (1) – 16:42
Gene Ubriaco (2) – 17:51

|6-2-1 =15:12 – Bill Flett (1)

|6-2-2 =No scoring

|6-3-1 =No scoring

|6-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie6-1 =Gerry Desjardins 22 saves / 25 shots

|goalie6-2 =Gary Smith 32 saves / 36 shots

|date7 =April 13

|score7 =5–3

|won7 =1

|recap7 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-oak/1969/04/13/1968030147#game=1968030147,game_state=final

|7-1-1 =Ted Irvine (4) – pp – 02:13
Ted Irvine (5) – 12:14

|7-1-2 =04:09 – pp – Carol Vadnais (1)

|7-2-1 =Bill Flett (2) – 14:54

|7-2-2 =09:51 – Earl Ingarfield (4)

|7-3-1 =Lowell MacDonald (2) – 07:53
Howie Menard (3) – 18:26

|7-3-2 =10:36 – Gerry Ehman (2)

|goalie7-1 =Gerry Desjardins 24 saves / 27 shots

|goalie7-2 =Gary Smith 25 saves / 30 shots

|series = Los Angeles won series 4–3

}}

This was the fourteenth playoff series between these two rivals, with Montreal winning eleven of their thirteen previous series. Their most recent series had come in the previous year's quarterfinals, where Montreal won in a four-game sweep. Boston earned ten of sixteen points in this year's regular season series.

The Canadiens defeated the Bruins in six games to advance to their fifth consecutive Stanley Cup Finals.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Boston Bruins

|team2=Montreal Canadiens

|stadium2=Boston Garden

|stadium1=Montreal Forum

|date1 =April 10

|score1 =2–3

|ot1 =1

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-mtl/1969/04/10/1968030211#game=1968030211,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Derek Sanderson (6) – 13:28

|1-1-2 =No scoring

|1-2-1 =Derek Sanderson (7) – sh – 15:53

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =13:28 – pp – John Ferguson (2)
19:04 – Jean Beliveau (3)

|1-4-1 =No scoring

|1-4-2 =00:42 – Ralph Backstrom (2)

|goalie1-1 =Gerry Cheevers 32 saves / 35 shots

|goalie1-2 =Gump Worsley 21 saves / 23 shots

|date2 =April 13

|score2 =3–4

|ot2 =1

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-mtl/1969/04/13/1968030212#game=1968030212,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =No scoring

|2-2-1 =John McKenzie (2) – pp – 08:39
Ron Murphy (2) – 18:01

|2-2-2 =00:55 – pp – Yvan Cournoyer (3)
17:09 – Jean Beliveau (4)

|2-3-1 =Johnny Bucyk (5) – 14:12

|2-3-2 =18:51 – Serge Savard (1)

|2-4-1 =No scoring

|2-4-2 =04:55 – pp – Mickey Redmond (2)

|goalie2-1 =Eddie Johnston 30 saves / 34 shots

|goalie2-2 =Gump Worsley 27 saves / 30 shots

|date3 =April 17

|score3 =0–5

|won3 =1

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-bos/1969/04/17/1968030213#game=1968030213,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =03:37 – Phil Esposito (7)

|3-1-2 =No scoring

|3-2-1 =16:35 – Ed Westfall (2)

|3-2-2 =No scoring

|3-3-1 =03:37 – pp – Phil Esposito (8)
10:07 – Ron Murphy (3)
10:23 – Ken Hodge (3)

|3-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie3-1 =Gerry Cheevers 34 saves / 34 shots

|goalie3-2 =Gump Worsley 26 saves / 31 shots

|date4 =April 20

|score4 =2–3

|won4 =1

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-bos/1969/04/20/1968030214#game=1968030214,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =02:55 – sh – Ed Westfall (3)
15:49 – sh – Derek Sanderson (8)

|4-1-2 =Jacques Lemaire (3) – pp – 08:51

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =18:13 – Bobby Orr (1)

|4-3-2 =Serge Savard (2) – 19:06

|goalie4-1 =Gerry Cheevers 28 saves / 30 shots

|goalie4-2 =Rogie Vachon 29 saves / 32 shots

|date5 =April 22

|score5 =2–4

|won5 =2

|recap5 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/bos-vs-mtl/1969/04/22/1968030215#game=1968030215,game_state=final

|5-1-1 =No scoring

|5-1-2 =18:25 – pp – Jacques Laperriere (1)

|5-2-1 =Ken Hodge (4) – 10:15
Ken Hodge (5) – pp – 13:21

|5-2-2 =01:08 – Claude Provost (1)
02:01 – J.C. Tremblay (1)

|5-3-1 =No scoring

|5-3-2 =07:06 – Claude Provost (2)

|goalie5-1 =Gerry Cheevers 21 saves / 25 shots

|goalie5-2 =Rogie Vachon 40 saves / 42 shots

|date6 =April 24

|score6 =2–1

|ot6 =2

|won6 =2

|recap6 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-bos/1969/04/24/1968030216#game=1968030216,game_state=final

|6-1-1 =02:29 – Ron Murphy (4)

|6-1-2 =No scoring

|6-2-1 =No scoring

|6-2-2 =No scoring

|6-3-1 =No scoring

|6-3-2 =Serge Savard (3) – pp – 01:10

|6-4-1 =No scoring

|6-4-2 =Jean Beliveau (5) – 11:28

|goalie6-1 =Gerry Cheevers 45 saves / 47 shots

|goalie6-2 =Rogie Vachon 50 saves / 51 shots

|series = Montreal won series 4–2

}}

This was the first playoff series between these two teams. St. Louis earned thirteen of sixteen points in this year's regular season series.

The Blues defeated the Kings in a four-game sweep to continue their undefeated streak in the playoffs, and their streak of never missing a Stanley Cup Finals.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=Los Angeles Kings

|team2=St. Louis Blues

|stadium2=LA Forum

|stadium1=St. Louis Arena

|date1 =April 15

|score1 =0–4

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-stl/1969/04/15/1968030221#game=1968030221,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =No scoring

|1-1-2 =11:00 – Larry Keenan (3)

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =01:56 – Red Berenson (3)
04:49 – pp – Red Berenson (4)
10:24 – Red Berenson (5)

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie1-1 =Gerry Desjardins 12 saves / 16 shots
Wayne Rutledge 6 saves / 6 shots

|goalie1-2 =Jacques Plante 30 saves / 30 shots

|date2 =April 17

|score2 =2–3

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/lak-vs-stl/1969/04/17/1968030222#game=1968030222,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =03:48 – Red Berenson (6)

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =11:22 – Gary Sabourin (3)

|2-3-1 =Dave Amadio (1) – 02:12
Bryan Campbell (2) – sh – 08:28

|2-3-2 =14:31 – Gary Sabourin (4)

|goalie2-1 =Wayne Rutledge 23 saves / 26 shots

|goalie2-2 =Jacques Plante 26 saves / 28 shots

|date3 =April 19

|score3 =5–2

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-lak/1969/04/19/1968030223#game=1968030223,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =02:18 – pp – Bill Flett (3)

|3-1-2 =Frank St. Marseille (2) – 10:13

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =Ab McDonald (2) – 04:07

|3-3-1 =02:34 – Skip Krake (1)

|3-3-2 =Terry Crisp (2) – 04:18
Gary Sabourin (5) – 06:40
Noel Picard (1) – 13:03

|goalie3-1 =Gerry Desjardins 26 saves / 31 shots

|goalie3-2 =Jacques Plante 26 saves / 28 shots

|date4 =April 20

|score4 =4–1

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-lak/1969/04/20/1968030224#game=1968030224,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =01:48 – pp – Eddie Joyal (3)

|4-1-2 =Terry Crisp (3) – 11:38

|4-2-1 =No scoring

|4-2-2 =Red Berenson (7) – 11:52
Gary Sabourin (6) – pp – 12:44

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =Camille Henry (2) – pp – 10:56

|goalie4-1 =Gerry Desjardins 19 saves / 23 shots

|goalie4-2 =Jacques Plante 21 saves / 22 shots

|series = St. Louis won series 4–0

}}

{{main|1969 Stanley Cup Finals}}

The Montreal Canadiens advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the fifth consecutive season, having won three Stanley Cups in the previous four seasons. Overall, it was their twenty-fifth Stanley Cup Finals, having won fifteen championships. This was the St. Louis Blues' second appearance in the Final in their second season. The Canadiens had never lost to the Blues going into this series; they went 3-0-1 against St. Louis in the 1967–68 NHL season, 4–0 in the previous year's Stanley Cup Finals, and 5-0-1 in this year's regular season series.

The Montreal Canadiens swept the St. Louis Blues, an outcome identical to the 1968 final.

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1=St. Louis Blues

|team2=Montreal Canadiens

|stadium2=St. Louis Arena

|stadium1=Montreal Forum

|date1 =April 27

|score1 =1–3

|won1 =2

|recap1 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-mtl/1969/04/27/1968030311#game=1968030311,game_state=final

|1-1-1 =Frank St. Marseille (3) – 18:24

|1-1-2 =03:39 – pp – Dick Duff (3)
04:17 – sh – Bobby Rousseau (3)

|1-2-1 =No scoring

|1-2-2 =No scoring

|1-3-1 =No scoring

|1-3-2 =19:46 – en – John Ferguson (3)

|goalie1-1 =Jacques Plante 26 saves / 28 shots

|goalie1-2 =Rogie Vachon 19 saves / 20 shots

|date2 =April 29

|score2 =1–3

|won2 =2

|recap2 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-mtl/1969/04/29/1968030312#game=1968030312,game_state=final

|2-1-1 =No scoring

|2-1-2 =17:26 – Ralph Backstrom (3)

|2-2-1 =No scoring

|2-2-2 =09:07 – pp – Dick Duff (4)
14:11 – Yvan Cournoyer (4)

|2-3-1 =Larry Keenan (4) – pp – 09:20

|2-3-2 =No scoring

|goalie2-1 =Glenn Hall 30 saves / 33 shots

|goalie2-2 =Rogie Vachon 24 saves / 25 shots

|date3 =May 1

|score3 =4–0

|won3 =2

|recap3 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-stl/1969/05/01/1968030313#game=1968030313,game_state=final

|3-1-1 =No scoring

|3-1-2 =Serge Savard (4) – 12:34

|3-2-1 =No scoring

|3-2-2 =Jacques Lemaire (4) – 09:16
Dick Duff (5) – 13:38

|3-3-1 =No scoring

|3-3-2 =Dick Duff (6) – pp – 18:35

|goalie3-1 =Jacques Plante 31 saves / 35 shots

|goalie3-2 =Rogie Vachon 29 saves / 29 shots

|date4 =May 4

|score4 =2–1

|won4 =2

|recap4 =www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-stl/1969/05/04/1968030314#game=1968030314,game_state=final

|4-1-1 =No scoring

|4-1-2 =No scoring

|4-2-1 =10:50 – Terry Gray (3)

|4-2-2 =No scoring

|4-3-1 =No scoring

|4-3-2 =Ted Harris (1) – 00:42
John Ferguson (4) – 03:02

|goalie4-1 =Glenn Hall 29 saves / 31 shots

|goalie4-2 =Rogie Vachon 32 saves / 33 shots

|series = Montreal won series 4–0

}}

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

Source: NHL.{{sfn |Dinger |2011 |p=150}}

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts

• Plus-Minus leader: Bobby Orr, Boston Bruins

The 1968 Miss NHL Pageant was the first of three in NHL history and was held in Toronto on June 27, 1968. There were twelve contestants in the pageant, one from each of the twelve NHL teams. The winner would be named Miss NHL 1968 and would be the NHL ambassador for the 1968–69 season.

• Miss Minnesota North Stars Lynn Marie Stewart was named Miss NHL 1968, with Miss New York Rangers Donna Hardy the first runner-up, and Miss Los Angeles Kings Julia Martin the second runner-up. A second-year education student at the University of Minnesota, she received a new 1969 convertible, a trip for two to Mexico, a mink stole, a movie camera and a diamond watch set. Also, she would be the NHL ambassador for the 1968–69 season, making appearances at the NHL All-Star Game, the NHL awards, and the Stanley Cup Finals where she helped NHL President Clarence Campbell present the Stanley Cup. Each contestant received $1,500 in prizes including season tickets to the team that they represented in the pageant. Stewart's prizes were worth $15,000, with those for the first-runner up worth $2,700 and the second runner-up worth $2,200.
• Miss Pittsburgh Penguins Karen Antkiewicz was chosen Miss Personality Plus by the other contestants.
• Selection of Miss NHL was done on the basis of personality and poise (30 points), carriage and figure (15 points), make-up and grooming (10 points), speech and projection (10 points), talent (10 points) and overall impression (10 points).

• Boston Bruins: Harry Sinden
• Chicago Black Hawks: Billy Reay
• Detroit Red Wings: Bill Gadsby
• Montreal Canadiens: Claude Ruel
• New York Rangers: Bernie Geoffrion and Emile Francis
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Punch Imlach

• Los Angeles Kings: Red Kelly
• Minnesota North Stars: John Muckler and Wren Blair
• Oakland Seals: Fred Glover
• Philadelphia Flyers: Keith Allen
• Pittsburgh Penguins: George "Red" Sullivan
• St. Louis Blues: Scotty Bowman

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

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

Hockey Night in Canada on CBC Television televised Saturday night regular season games and Stanley Cup playoff games. HNIC also produced Wednesday night regular season game telecasts for CTV. This was the first season that games were shown in their entirety instead of typically being joined in progress.

This was the third season under the U.S. rights agreement with CBS, airing weekend afternoon regular season games and Sunday afternoon playoff games.

• 1968–69 NHL transactions
• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1968 NHL amateur draft
• 22nd National Hockey League All-Star Game
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• Lester Patrick Trophy
• 1968 in sports
• 1969 in sports

• {{cite book|title=Total Hockey |editor=Diamond, Dan |publisher=Total Sports |year=2000 |location=Kingston, New York |isbn=1-892129-85-X }}
• {{cite book |editor-last=Dinger |editor-first=Ralph |year=2011 |title=The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012 |publisher=Dan Diamond & Associates |isbn=978-1-894801-22-5 |location=Toronto, ON |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/nationalhockeyle0000unse_u6g5 }}
• {{cite book |editor-last=Dryden |editor-first=Steve |title=Century of hockey |publisher=McClelland & Stewart Ltd. |location=Toronto, ON |year=2000 |isbn=0-7710-4179-9 }}
• {{cite book |last1=Fischler |first1=Stan |last2=Fischler |first2=Shirley

|last3=Hughes |first3=Morgan |last4=Romain |first4=Joseph |last5=Duplacey |first5=James

|year=2003 |title=The Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League |publisher=Publications International Inc. |isbn=0-7853-9624-1 |location=Lincolnwood, Illinois |ref={{harvid|Fischler|2003}}}}

• {{cite book |last=McFarlane |first=Brian |title=The Story of the National Hockey League |publisher=Pagurian Press |location=New York |year=1973 |isbn=0-684-13424-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/storyofnationalh0000mcfa }}

;Notes

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/nhl1927.html Hockey Database]
• [http://nhl.com/ NHL.com]
• [https://archive.today/20130111004528/http://www.hickoksports.com/history/nhl196869.shtml hickoksports.com]

{{1968–69 NHL season by team}}

{{NHL seasons|1968}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:NHL, 1968-69}}

Category:1968–69 in American ice hockey by league

Category:1968–69 in Canadian ice hockey by league