1968 Stanley Cup Final

1968 ice hockey championship series August 2023 St. Louis Blues St. Louis Montreal Canadiens Montreal Toe Blake Scotty Bowman Jean Beliveau Al Arbour 1968 3* 2* 1 0 3* 4* 2 3 0 4 * – Denotes overtime period(s) May 5–11, 1968 St. Louis: St. Louis Arena (1, 2) Montreal: Montreal Forum (3, 4) 1 Glenn Hall (Blues) J. C. Tremblay (11:40, third) Canadiens:Jean Beliveau (1972)Yvan Cournoyer (1982)Dick Duff (2006)Jacques Laperriere (1987)Jacques Lemaire (1984)Henri Richard (1979)Serge Savard (1986)Rogie Vachon (2016; did not play)Gump Worsley (1980)Blues:Al Arbour (1996, builder)Glenn Hall (1975)Doug Harvey (1973)Dickie Moore (1974)Coaches:Toe Blake (1966, player)Scotty Bowman (1991) The 1968 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1967–68 season, and the culmination of the 1968 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Montreal Canadiens and the St. Louis Blues. The Canadiens swept the Blues to win their 15th Stanley Cup championship. This was the first Stanley Cup Final after the NHL expansion to twelve teams. Although the series was a sweep, it was a much more intense and close-fought series than anyone had expected, as all four games were decided by one goal, two went to overtime, and the other two saw the winning goal scored in the third period. The Blues were the only first-year franchise to play for the Stanley Cup in the post-expansion era, until the Vegas Golden Knights participated in the Stanley Cup Final a half-century later. Paths to the Finals 1968 Stanley Cup playoffs This was the first Stanley Cup championship after the 1967 NHL expansion. All of the new teams were placed in the West Division, all the Original Six teams were put in the East Division, and the playoffs were organized so that divisional champions would play off for the Stanley Cup. Montreal defeated the Boston Bruins and Chicago Black Hawks to advance to the finals as the East Division champion. St. Louis would defeat the Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars to advance to the finals as the West Division champion. Game summaries Game one Montreal Canadiens St. Louis Blues St. Louis Arena May 5 1 1 3–2 1 https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-stl/1968/05/05/1967030311#game=1967030311,game_state=final Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st STL Barclay Plager (2) Unassisted 09:19 1–0 STL MTL Henri Richard (3) Claude Larose (2) 09:42 1–1 2nd STL Dickie Moore (7) – pp Barclay Plager (5) and Red Berenson (2) 08:16 2–1 STL MTL Yvan Cournoyer (5) Ted Harris (4) and John Ferguson (3) 09:42 2–2 3rd None OT MTL Jacques Lemaire (7) Unassisted 01:41 3–2 MTL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st STL Noel Picard Interference 06:38 2:00 MTL Carol Vadnais High-sticking 12:07 2:00 STL Dickie Moore High-sticking 12:07 2:00 MTL Claude Provost Cross-checking 14:03 2:00 2nd MTL Ted Harris Holding 07:21 2:00 STL Dickie Moore Holding 19:59 2:00 3rd MTL John Ferguson High-sticking 02:23 2:00 STL Bob Plager High-sticking 02:23 2:00 STL Barclay Plager Interference 06:49 2:00 OT None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT Total Montreal 13 13 11 1 38 St. Louis 6 18 11 1 36 Game two Montreal Canadiens St. Louis Blues St. Louis Arena May 7 1 1–0 1 https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-stl/1968/05/07/1967030312/summary Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd None 3rd MTL Serge Savard (1) – sh Claude Provost (8) 02:17 1–0 MTL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st MTL John Ferguson Roughing 04:16 2:00 STL Barclay Plager Roughing 04:16 2:00 STL Gary Sabourin Slashing 06:07 2:00 MTL Terry Harper Cross-checking 12:22 2:00 MTL Bobby Rousseau Slashing 15:03 2:00 1st STL Bob Plager Hooking 01:04 2:00 MTL Ted Harris Roughing 11:27 2:00 STL Noel Picard Slashing 14:49 2:00 STL Bob Plager Tripping 16:58 2:00 3rd MTL Dick Duff Elbowing 01:55 2:00 MTL Jacques Lemaire Elbowing 04:43 2:00 STL Red Berenson Slashing 06:07 2:00 MTL Jacques Lemaire Cross-checking 13:21 2:00 MTL Bobby Rousseau Holding 18:05 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total Montreal 10 14 12 36 St. Louis 8 8 3 19 Game three St. Louis Blues Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum May 9 1 3–4 2 1 https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-mtl/1968/05/09/1967030313 Glenn Hall was sensational, especially in game three when the Canadiens outshot the Blues 46–15. Wrote Red Burnett, the dean of hockey writers then: "A number of Hall's saves were seemingly impossible. Experts walked out of the Forum convinced no other goaltender had performed so brilliantly in a losing cause." In the overtime of game three, Hall made a spectacular save on Dick Duff and then, standing on his head, made another save. "It was a heartbreaker to see," said Burnett. "After the saves on Duff, Bobby Rousseau came and batted home the second rebound." Hall's heroics even in defeat earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st STL Frank St. Marseille (5) – pp Noel Picard (3) and Doug Harvey (4) 10:22 1–0 STL MTL Yvan Cournoyer (6) – pp Henri Richard (4) and John Ferguson (4) 14:24 1–1 2nd MTL Serge Savard (2) – sh Unassisted 01:23 2–1 MTL STL Red Berenson (4) Jean-Guy Talbot (2) 03:37 2–2 3rd MTL Ralph Backstrom (4) Yvan Cournoyer (7) and John Ferguson (5) 11:43 3–2 MTL STL Red Berenson (5) – sh Unassisted 17:25 3–3 OT MTL Bobby Rousseau (2) Dick Duff (4) 01:13 4–3 MTL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st MTL Jacques Laperriere Charging 08:41 2:00 STL Jean-Guy Talbot Cross-checking 13:51 2:00 STL Barclay Plager Interference 17:03 2:00 2nd MTL Jacques Laperriere Hooking 01:06 2:00 STL Doug Harvey Holding 06:19 2:00 STL Noel Picard Tripping 15:44 2:00 3rd STL Bob Plager Boarding 16:41 2:00 STL Bob Plager Misconduct 16:41 10:00 OT None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT Total St. Louis 7 3 5 0 15 Montreal 11 18 13 4 46 Game four St. Louis Blues Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum May 11 1 2–3 2 https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/stl-vs-mtl/1968/05/11/1967030314 With their backs against the wall, the Blues put everything to the test, rallying from an early one-goal deficit to take the lead into the third period. However, Montreal was not to be denied and won the Stanley Cup in game four as J. C. Tremblay fired home the winning goal. When the game ended, the fans came on the ice to celebrate, and balloons, hats and programs were thrown from the stands. Jean Beliveau, in a cast and crutches from his broken ankle, with Ralph Backstrom accepted the Cup from NHL president Clarence Campbell and the players did a victory lap with the Cup. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st MTL Dick Duff (3) Jacques Lemaire (3) 16:47 1–0 MTL 2nd STL Craig Cameron (1) Tim Ecclestone (2) and Al Arbour (3) 06:53 1–1 STL Gary Sabourin (4) – pp Gary Veneruzzo (2) and Frank St. Marseille (8) 07:50 2–1 STL 3rd MTL Henri Richard (4) J. C. Tremblay (6) 07:24 2–2 MTL J. C. Tremblay (3) Yvan Cournoyer (8) and Ralph Backstrom (3) 11:40 3–2 MTL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st MTL Ted Harris High-sticking 06:23 2:00 STL Bob Plager Interference 12:03 2:00 2nd MTL Terry Harper Slashing 03:39 2:00 MTL Jacques Lemaire Slashing 06:57 2:00 STL Jim Roberts Tripping 08:16 2:00 MTL Bobby Rousseau Interference 13:16 2:00 STL Tim Ecclestone Tripping 16:45 2:00 STL Red Berenson Holding 18:30 2:00 MTL Yvan Cournoyer Slashing 19:18 2:00 STL Doug Harvey Holding 19:18 2:00 3rd MTL Jacques Laperriere High-sticking 05:41 2:00 STL Jean-Guy Talbot Interference 05:41 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total St. Louis 6 9 6 21 Montreal 12 7 12 31 Aftermath Less than twelve minutes after the Canadiens won the Cup, Canadiens coach Toe Blake announced his retirement. He gave the reason that it had been a hard season, but the real reason was that his wife was dying of cancer and he wanted to spend his time with her. The celebration became a mournful event with players paying tribute to Blake, many in tears. He won eight Cups as the Canadiens' coach and three others as a player with the Canadiens and Montreal Maroons, the former being a record that stood for thirty-four years. None other than Bowman, the runner-up team's head coach in this Finals, would be the one to break Blake's record: he won the Cup with the Canadiens in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979, with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992, and with the Detroit Red Wings in 1997, 1998, and 2002. The Blues would return to the Cup Finals the next year, but were once again swept by the Canadiens. They would also reach the Finals in 1970, but were swept by the Boston Bruins. The Blues would have to wait until 2019 to finally win the Cup. Stanley Cup engraving The 1968 Stanley Cup was presented to Canadiens captain Jean Beliveau by NHL President Clarence Campbell following the Canadiens 3–2 win over the Blues in Game 4. The following Canadiens players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup 1967–68 Montreal Canadiens *1 Lorne Gump Worsley 29 Ernie Wakely* 30 Rogatien Vachon *2 Jacques Laperriere 3 Jean-Claude J. C. Tremblay 10 Edward Ted Harris 17 Carol Vadnais 18 Serge Savard 19 Terry Harper *4 Jean Beliveau (C) 6 Ralph Backstrom 16 Henri Richard (A) 25 Jacques Lemaire *8 Dick Duff 12 Yvan Cournoyer 11 Claude Larose 14 Claude Provost (A) 15 Bobby Rousseau 21 Gilles Tremblay 22 John Ferguson 23 Danny Grant 24 Mickey Redmond * Did not play or dress in the Final.A [A] Hartland Molson (chairman/owner) J. David Molson (president), Sam Pollock (vice president/general manager) Toe Blake (head coach), Larry Albut (trainer), Eddy Palchak (asst. trainer) A A Ernie Wakely was engraved on the Stanley Cup for dressing for game 5 (of 5) of the Stanley Cup Semi-finals due to Gump Worsley missing the game injured. Wakely's name is on the Stanley Cup twice with Montreal in 1965, 1968, but he did not play any games for Montreal in either season. His first NHL game was in 1963, and his second in 1969. He would lead the NHL with the best goals-against average while playing with St. Louis in 1971. Danny Grant won the Stanley Cup in 1968 with Montreal and in 1969 won the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) with Minnesota. Grant was the 3rd player to accomplish that feat. Toe Blake is the only coach to win the Stanley Cup in his first (1956) and last NHL season (1968) as such. Notes References Diamond, Dan Total Stanley Cup 2000 NHL Podnieks, Andrew Hockey Hall of Fame 2004 Lord Stanley's Cup Triumph Books 978-1-55168-261-7 Toronto Maple Leafs1967 Montreal Canadiens 1969 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup champions 1968 Stanley Cup Category:Montreal Canadiens games Category:St. Louis Blues games Category:Stanley Cup Finals Category:Ice hockey competitions in Montreal Category:Ice hockey competitions in St. Louis Stanley Cup Category:1960s in St. Louis Category:1968 in Montreal Stanley Cup Category:May 1968 sports events in Canada