# 1967–68 Minnesota North Stars season

The 1967–68 Minnesota North Stars season was the team's inaugural season in the National Hockey League (NHL). They finished fourth in the West Division with a record of 27 wins, 32 losses, and 15 ties for 69 points. In the playoffs, they defeated the Los Angeles Kings in seven games in the Quarter-finals before losing to the St. Louis Blues in the Semi-finals, also in seven games.

## Offseason

On March 11, 1965, NHL President Clarence Campbell announced that the league would expand to twelve teams from six through the creation of a new six-team division for the 1967–68 season. In response to Campbell's announcement, a partnership of nine men, led by Walter Bush and John Driscoll, was formed to seek a franchise for the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Their efforts were successful as the NHL awarded one of six expansion franchises to Minnesota on February 9, 1966. In addition to Minnesota, the five other franchises were California (Oakland), Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. The "North Stars" name was announced on May 25, 1966, following a public contest. The name is derived from the state's motto "L'Étoile du Nord", which is a French phrase meaning "The Star of the North". Months after the naming of the team, ground was broken on October 3, 1966, for a new hockey arena in Bloomington, Minnesota. The home of the North Stars, the Metropolitan Sports Center (or Met Center for short), was built in 12 months at a cost of US$7 million. The arena was ready for play for the start of the 1967–68 NHL season, but portions of the arena's construction had not been completed. Spectator seats were in the process of being installed as fans arrived at the arena for the opening home game on October 21, 1967.

## Regular season
### Bill Masterton

On January 13, 1968, four minutes into a game against the Seals at the Met Center, North Stars center Bill Masterton was checked by Oakland's Larry Cahan and Ron Harris and fell backwards onto the ice head-first. The force of the back of his head hitting the ice damaged the pons and caused severe hemorrhaging, as blood gushed from his mouth and nose. Masterton was taken to hospital where he died two days later, becoming the only player ever to die as a result of an on-ice injury.

### Final standings

West Division vte :
| | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts |
| 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 74 | 31 | 32 | 11 | 173 | 179 | −6 | 73 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Kings | 74 | 31 | 33 | 10 | 200 | 224 | −24 | 72 |
| 3 | St. Louis Blues | 74 | 27 | 31 | 16 | 177 | 191 | −14 | 70 |
| 4 | Minnesota North Stars | 74 | 27 | 32 | 15 | 191 | 226 | −35 | 69 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 74 | 27 | 34 | 13 | 195 | 216 | −21 | 67 |
| 6 | Oakland Seals | 74 | 15 | 42 | 17 | 153 | 219 | −66 | 47 |

### Record vs. opponents
## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | T | October 11, 1967 | 2–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) | 0–0–1 |
| 2 | L | October 14, 1967 | 0–6 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 0–1–1 |
| 3 | L | October 15, 1967 | 3–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 0–2–1 |
| 4 | T | October 18, 1967 | 3–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 0–2–2 |
| 5 | W | October 21, 1967 | 3–1 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 1–2–2 |
| 6 | W | October 25, 1967 | 3–2 | St. Louis Blues (1967–68) | 2–2–2 |
| 7 | L | October 28, 1967 | 2–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) | 2–3–2 |
| 8 | L | November 1, 1967 | 1–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 2–4–2 |
| 9 | W | November 2, 1967 | 3–1 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 3–4–2 |
| 10 | T | November 4, 1967 | 2–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 3–4–3 |
| 11 | W | November 8, 1967 | 5–1 | St. Louis Blues (1967–68) | 4–4–3 |
| 12 | W | November 11, 1967 | 2–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) | 5–4–3 |
| 13 | L | November 15, 1967 | 1–5 | Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) | 5–5–3 |
| 14 | T | November 18, 1967 | 2–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 5–5–4 |
| 15 | L | November 19, 1967 | 2–5 | @ New York Rangers (1967–68) | 5–6–4 |
| 16 | L | November 22, 1967 | 0–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) | 5–7–4 |
| 17 | L | November 25, 1967 | 1–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) | 5–8–4 |
| 18 | L | November 26, 1967 | 1–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) | 5–9–4 |
| 19 | L | November 29, 1967 | 1–5 | @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) | 5–10–4 |
| 20 | T | November 30, 1967 | 1–1 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) | 5–10–5 |
| 21 | W | December 2, 1967 | 5–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) | 6–10–5 |
| 22 | W | December 3, 1967 | 4–3 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) | 7–10–5 |
| 23 | T | December 6, 1967 | 1–1 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) | 7–10–6 |
| 24 | L | December 9, 1967 | 2–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 7–11–6 |
| 25 | W | December 10, 1967 | 7–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 8–11–6 |
| 26 | W | December 13, 1967 | 4–0 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 9–11–6 |
| 27 | W | December 15, 1967 | 3–0 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 10–11–6 |
| 28 | W | December 16, 1967 | 1–0 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 11–11–6 |
| 29 | L | December 21, 1967 | 0–6 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 11–12–6 |
| 30 | L | December 23, 1967 | 0–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 11–13–6 |
| 31 | L | December 25, 1967 | 0–1 | St. Louis Blues (1967–68) | 11–14–6 |
| 32 | T | December 27, 1967 | 3–3 | @ New York Rangers (1967–68) | 11–14–7 |
| 33 | L | December 28, 1967 | 2–6 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) | 11–15–7 |
| 34 | W | December 30, 1967 | 5–4 | Boston Bruins (1967–68) | 12–15–7 |
| 35 | W | January 3, 1968 | 6–0 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 13–15–7 |
| 36 | T | January 6, 1968 | 5–5 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 13–15–8 |
| 37 | W | January 10, 1968 | 6–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 14–15–8 |
| 38 | T | January 13, 1968 | 2–2 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 14–15–9 |
| 39 | L | January 14, 1968 | 2–9 | @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) | 14–16–9 |
| 40 | L | January 17, 1968 | 0–5 | @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) | 14–17–9 |
| 41 | L | January 18, 1968 | 2–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 14–18–9 |
| 42 | L | January 20, 1968 | 1–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) | 14–19–9 |
| 43 | W | January 21, 1968 | 4–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 15–19–9 |
| 44 | L | January 24, 1968 | 2–5 | @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) | 15–20–9 |
| 45 | W | January 25, 1968 | 3–0 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 16–20–9 |
| 46 | W | January 27, 1968 | 3–1 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 17–20–9 |
| 47 | W | January 28, 1968 | 2–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) | 18–20–9 |
| 48 | W | January 31, 1968 | 6–1 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 19–20–9 |
| 49 | L | February 3, 1968 | 1–8 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) | 19–21–9 |
| 50 | W | February 4, 1968 | 4–3 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 20–21–9 |
| 51 | W | February 7, 1968 | 4–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 21–21–9 |
| 52 | W | February 10, 1968 | 5–2 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 22–21–9 |
| 53 | L | February 11, 1968 | 2–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 22–22–9 |
| 54 | L | February 14, 1968 | 3–6 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 22–23–9 |
| 55 | L | February 15, 1968 | 2–6 | New York Rangers (1967–68) | 22–24–9 |
| 56 | T | February 17, 1968 | 2–2 | St. Louis Blues (1967–68) | 22–24–10 |
| 57 | W | February 21, 1968 | 5–3 | Boston Bruins (1967–68) | 23–24–10 |
| 58 | L | February 22, 1968 | 3–7 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 23–25–10 |
| 59 | L | February 24, 1968 | 1–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) | 23–26–10 |
| 60 | T | February 25, 1968 | 3–3 | Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 23–26–11 |
| 61 | L | February 28, 1968 | 3–6 | @ Oakland Seals (1967–68) | 23–27–11 |
| 62 | W | March 2, 1968 | 3–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) | 24–27–11 |
| 63 | T | March 7, 1968 | 2–2 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 24–27–12 |
| 64 | T | March 9, 1968 | 1–1 | New York Rangers (1967–68) | 24–27–13 |
| 65 | L | March 10, 1968 | 0–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 24–28–13 |
| 66 | L | March 13, 1968 | 2–4 | Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) | 24–29–13 |
| 67 | L | March 16, 1968 | 1–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 24–30–13 |
| 68 | W | March 17, 1968 | 5–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) | 25–30–13 |
| 69 | T | March 20, 1968 | 3–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 25–30–14 |
| 70 | W | March 23, 1968 | 3–0 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 26–30–14 |
| 71 | T | March 24, 1968 | 4–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) | 26–30–15 |
| 72 | W | March 27, 1968 | 5–3 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) | 27–30–15 |
| 73 | L | March 30, 1968 | 2–3 | @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) | 27–31–15 |
| 74 | L | March 31, 1968 | 3–5 | St. Louis Blues (1967–68) | 27–32–15 |

## Playoffs

The North Stars, having squeaked into the playoffs by two points (having the same number of wins as Pittsburgh but with two more ties) would play the #2 seed in the newly created Western Division side of the postseason bracket, since the expansion from six to twelve teams put all the new teams in the Western that would ensure one of them to play in the Stanley Cup. At any rate, Minnesota would play in five overtime games in their fourteen postseason matches, winning just two of them. The North Stars, facing the chance to go to the Stanley Cup, took the lead in Game 7 on Walt McKechnie's goal with 3:11 to play. However, the Blues followed it up 31 seconds later with a goal from Dickie Moore that would mean overtime. Cesare Maniago and Glenn Hall combined for 80 saves, but Ron Schock's "Midnight Goal" in double-overtime (it would be known as the "Midnight Goal" by numerous fans) to send the Blues to the Final.
Stanley Cup Quarterfinals
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record |
| 1 | April 4 | Los Angeles | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| 2 | April 6 | Los Angeles | 0–2 | 2–0 |
| 3 | April 9 | Minnesota | 7–5 | 2–1 |
| 4 | April 11 | Minnesota | 3–2 | 2–2 |
| 5 | April 13 | Los Angeles | 2–3 | 2–3 |
| 6 | April 16 | Minnesota | 4–3 (OT) | 3–3 |
| 7 | April 18 | Los Angeles | 9–4 | 4–3 |
North Stars win series 4–3
Stanley Cup Semifinals
| Game | Date | Location | Score | Record |
| 1 | April 21 | St. Louis | 3–5 | 1–0 |
| 2 | April 22 | Minnesota | 3–2 (OT) | 1–1 |
| 3 | April 25 | St. Louis | 5–1 | 2–1 |
| 4 | April 27 | St. Louis | 3–4 (OT) | 2–2 |
| 5 | April 29 | St. Louis | 2–3 (OT) | 2–3 |
| 6 | May 1 | Minnesota | 5–1 | 3–3 |
| 7 | May 3 | St. Louis | 1–2 (2OT) | 3–4 |
North Stars lose series 4–3
In the first round of the Western Division playoffs, the North Stars defeated the Los Angeles Kings in seven games. The second round of the playoff series would be played against the St. Louis Blues and that series would go to seven games as well. The Blues would win the seventh game and advance to face the Montreal Canadiens in the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals.

## Player statistics
### Forwards

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Wayne Connelly | 74 | 35 | 21 | 56 | 40 |
| Ray Cullen | 67 | 28 | 25 | 53 | 18 |
| Andre Boudrias | 74 | 18 | 35 | 53 | 42 |
| Dave Balon | 73 | 15 | 32 | 47 | 84 |
| Parker MacDonald | 69 | 19 | 23 | 42 | 22 |
| Bill Goldsworthy | 68 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 68 |
| J. P. Parise | 43 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 27 |
| Bill Collins | 71 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 41 |
| Milan Marcetta | 36 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 6 |
| Bill Masterton | 38 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 4 |
| Sandy Fitzpatrick | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 |
| Ted Taylor | 31 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 34 |
| Bronco Horvath | 14 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 |
| Duke Harris | 22 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Murray Hall | 17 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| Ted McCaskill | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |

### Defencemen

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Mike McMahon | 74 | 14 | 33 | 47 | 71 |
| Bob Woytowich | 66 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 63 |
| Bob McCord | 70 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 39 |
| Elmer Vasko | 70 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 45 |
| Pete Goegan | 46 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 30 |
| Bill Plager | 32 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 30 |
| Lou Nanne | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jean-Guy Talbot | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Marshall Johnston | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Johns | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |

### Goaltending

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | GP | MIN | W | L | T | SO | GAA |
| Gary Bauman | 26 | 1294 | 4 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 3.48 |
| Cesare Maniago | 52 | 2877 | 22 | 16 | 9 | 6 | 2.77 |
| Carl Wetzel | 5 | 269 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4.02 |

## Draft picks
### Expansion draft

| # | Player | Drafted from |
| 1. | Cesare Maniago (G) | New York Rangers |
| 2. | Garry Bauman (G) | Montreal Canadiens |
| 3. | Dave Balon (LW) | Montreal Canadiens |
| 4. | Ray Cullen (C) | Detroit Red Wings |
| 5. | Bob Woytowich (D) | Boston Bruins |
| 6. | Jean-Guy Talbot (D) | Montreal Canadiens |
| 7. | Wayne Connelly (RW) | Boston Bruins |
| 8. | Ted Taylor (LW) | Detroit Red Wings |
| 9. | Pete Goegan (D) | Detroit Red Wings |
| 10. | Len Lunde (C) | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 11. | Bill Goldsworthy (RW) | Boston Bruins |
| 12. | Andre Pronovost (LW) | Detroit Red Wings |
| 13. | Elmer Vasko (D) | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 14. | Murray Hall (W) | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 15. | Bryan Watson (D/W) | Detroit Red Wings |
| 16. | Bill Collins (C) | New York Rangers |
| 17. | Sandy Fitzpatrick (C) | New York Rangers |
| 18. | Parker MacDonald (C) | Detroit Red Wings |
| 19. | Billy Taylor (C) | Chicago Black Hawks |
| 20. | Dave Richardson (LW) | Chicago Black Hawks |

### Amateur draft

Minnesota's draft picks at the 1967 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 4 | Wayne Cheesman | Canada | Whitby Dunlops (MetJHL) |
| 2 | 13 | Larry Mick | Canada | Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJAHL) |