1967–68 St. Louis Blues season

The 1967–68 St. Louis Blues season was the team's inaugural season in the National Hockey League (NHL). They finished 3rd in the West Division and lost in the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals to the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 0.
==Off-season==
The Blues were one of the six new teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion. The other franchises were the Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and California Seals. The league doubled in size from its Original Six.
St. Louis was the last of the expansion teams to officially get into the league. The Blues were chosen over Baltimore at the insistence of the Chicago Black Hawks. The Black Hawks were owned at that time by the Wirtz family, who also owned the St. Louis Arena. The team's first owners were insurance tycoon Sid Salomon Jr., his son, Sid Salomon III, and Robert L. Wolfson. Sid Salomon III convinced his initially wary father to make a bid for the team. Salomon then spent several million dollars on renovations for the 38-year-old Arena, which increased the number of seats from 12,000 to 15,000 and provided its first significant maintenance since the 1940s.
The Blues inaugural jersey colours were blue, white and yellow with a primarily blue home jersey and a primarily white away jersey. The jerseys had three stripes on the arms and body of the blue jersey and five on the white. There were no names on the back, the jersey numbers were outlined and the white jersey had an outlined shoulder yolk. The logo was a blue, white and yellow winged music note. These jerseys would remain in use for this season only.
===Expansion Draft===
St. Louis Blues selections
# 	Player 	Drafted From
1. 	Glenn Hall (G) 	Chicago Black Hawks
2. 	Don Caley (G) 	Detroit Red Wings
3. 	Jim Roberts (D/W) 	Montreal Canadiens
4. 	Noel Picard (D) 	Montreal Canadiens
5. 	Al Arbour (D) 	Toronto Maple Leafs
6. 	Rod Seiling (D) 	New York Rangers
7. 	Ron Schock (C) 	Boston Bruins
8. 	Terry Crisp (C) 	Boston Bruins
9. 	Don McKenney (C) 	Detroit Red Wings
10.	Wayne Rivers (RW) 	Boston Bruins
11.	Billy Hay (C) 	Chicago Black Hawks
12.	Darryl Edestrand (D)	Toronto Maple Leafs
13.	Norm Beaudin (RW) 	Detroit Red Wings
14.	Larry Keenan (LW) 	Toronto Maple Leafs
15.	Ron Stewart (C) 	Boston Bruins
16.	Fred Hucul (D) 	Toronto Maple Leafs
17.	John Brenneman (LW) 	Toronto Maple Leafs
18.	Gerry Melnyk (C) 	Chicago Black Hawks
19.	Gary Veneruzzo (LW) 	Toronto Maple Leafs
20.	Max Mestinsek (RW) 	New York Rangers
==Pre-season==
The Blues held their training camp in St. Louis.
==Regular Season==
On October 11, 1967 the Blues played their first game. The Blues and Minnesota North Stars played to a 2–2 tie at the St. Louis Arena with Larry Keenan scoring the first goal in franchise history while Wayne Rivers scored a late goal to tie the game.
Claude Cardin played his only NHL game on November 25, 1967 against the Philadelphia Flyers and was held scoreless. 
The Blues were originally coached by Lynn Patrick who resigned in late November and was replaced by Scotty Bowman. Soon after, on November 29, St. Louis made a trade with the New York Rangers that would shape the franchise for the next decade. 
Red Berenson and Barclay Plager were acquired for Ron Stewart and Ron Attwell. Both immediately became regulars, both would become captain of the team and Plager would play his entire career for the Blues. Berenson led the Blues in scoring in 1967-68, more than doubling his career point total in only 55 games.
Goalie Don Caley played his only NHL game on December 30, 1967 as the Blues were thrashed 8-1 by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Caley came into the game in relief of Seth Martin with the score 5-0.
Although the league's rules effectively kept star players with the Original Six teams, the Blues were one of the stronger teams in the Western Division. The playoff format required an expansion team to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals which the Blues made.
===Final Standings===
===Game Log===
Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results	Regular Season Results 	Regular Season Results
No. 	R 	Date 	Score 	Opponent 	Record
1 	T 	October 11, 1967 	2–2 	Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 	0–0–1
2 	L 	October 13, 1967 	1–3 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	0–1–1
3 	W 	October 14, 1967 	4–2 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	1–1–1
4 	L 	October 18, 1967 	1–2 	Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	1–2–1
5 	T 	October 21, 1967 	3–3 	Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	1–2–2
6 	L 	October 22, 1967 	0–1 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	1–3–2
7 	L 	October 25, 1967 	2–3 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68)	1–4–2
8 	L 	October 28, 1967 	1–4 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	1–5–2
9 	W 	November 1, 1967 	5–1 	Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	2–5–2
10 	W 	November 4, 1967 	3–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	3–5–2
11 	L 	November 8, 1967 	1–5 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68)	3–6–2
12 	W 	November 11, 1967 	5–1 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	4–6–2
13 	L 	November 12, 1967 	2–5 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	4–7–2
14 	L 	November 15, 1967 	1–4 	Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	4–8–2
15 	L 	November 18, 1967 	3–5 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	4–9–2
16 	L 	November 19, 1967 	2–3 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	4–10–2
17 	L 	November 22, 1967 	1–3 	Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	4–11–2
18 	L 	November 25, 1967 	1–2 	Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	4–12–2
19 	L 	November 26, 1967 	0–1 	@ New York Rangers (1967–68) 	4–13–2
20 	W 	November 29, 1967 	3–2 	Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	5–13–2
21 	L 	December 2, 1967 	1–5 	Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 	5–14–2
22 	L 	December 3, 1967 	2–4 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	5–15–2
23 	L 	December 6, 1967 	2–3 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	5–16–2
24 	W 	December 9, 1967 	1–0 	@ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	6–16–2
25 	W 	December 10, 1967 	2–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	7–16–2
26 	W 	December 13, 1967 	3–1 	Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	8–16–2
27 	T 	December 14, 1967 	2–2 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	8–16–3
28 	L 	December 16, 1967 	0–1 	Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	8–17–3
29 	L 	December 17, 1967 	3–5 	@ New York Rangers (1967–68) 	8–18–3
30 	W 	December 20, 1967 	2–1 	@ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	9–18–3
31 	L 	December 23, 1967 	0–4 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	9–19–3
32 	W 	December 25, 1967 	1–0 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68)	10–19–3
33 	W 	December 27, 1967 	4–2 	Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	11–19–3
34 	W 	December 29, 1967 	2–1 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	12–19–3
35 	L 	December 30, 1967 	1–8 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	12–20–3
36 	W 	January 3, 1968 	4–0 	Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	13–20–3
37 	W 	January 6, 1968 	2–1 	Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	14–20–3
38 	T 	January 10, 1968 	2–2 	@ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	14–20–4
39 	T 	January 11, 1968 	2–2 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	14–20–5
40 	L 	January 13, 1968 	1–3 	New York Rangers (1967–68) 	14–21–5
41 	T 	January 14, 1968 	2–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	14–21–6
42 	W 	January 17, 1968 	5–0 	Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 	15–21–6
43 	T 	January 21, 1968 	2–2 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	15–21–7
44 	W 	January 24, 1968 	5–2 	Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 	16–21–7
45 	T 	January 25, 1968 	4–4 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	16–21–8
46 	W 	January 27, 1968 	4–3 	New York Rangers (1967–68) 	17–21–8
47 	W 	January 31, 1968 	9–4 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	18–21–8
48 	L 	February 1, 1968 	0–2 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	18–22–8
49 	W 	February 3, 1968 	4–1 	Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	19–22–8
50 	L 	February 7, 1968 	4–6 	Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	19–23–8
51 	L 	February 10, 1968 	1–2 	Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	19–24–8
52 	T 	February 11, 1968 	3–3 	@ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	19–24–9
53 	T 	February 14, 1968 	2–2 	Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	19–24–10
54 	W 	February 16, 1968 	3–1 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	20–24–10
55 	T 	February 17, 1968 	2–2 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68)	20–24–11
56 	W 	February 21, 1968 	5–1 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	21–24–11
57 	L 	February 22, 1968 	1–2 	@ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	21–25–11
58 	L 	February 25, 1968 	2–4 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	21–26–11
59 	T 	February 28, 1968 	3–3 	Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 	21–26–12
60 	T 	March 2, 1968 	3–3 	Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	21–26–13
61 	L 	March 3, 1968 	3–9 	@ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	21–27–13
62 	W 	March 6, 1968 	4–2 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	22–27–13
63 	W 	March 9, 1968 	3–1 	Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	23–27–13
64 	W 	March 10, 1968 	1–0 	@ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	24–27–13
65 	T 	March 13, 1968 	3–3 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	24–27–14
66 	T 	March 15, 1968 	1–1 	Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	24–27–15
67 	L 	March 16, 1968 	3–6 	Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	24–28–15
68 	L 	March 20, 1968 	2–4 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	24–29–15
69 	L 	March 22, 1968 	1–6 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	24–30–15
70 	T 	March 23, 1968 	3–3 	@ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	24–30–16
71 	W 	March 27, 1968 	3–0 	Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	25–30–16
72 	L 	March 28, 1968 	0–2 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	25–31–16
73 	W 	March 30, 1968 	3–2 	Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 	26–31–16
74 	W 	March 31, 1968 	5–3 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68)	27–31–16
==Playoffs==
===St. Louis Blues 4, Philadelphia Flyers 3===
1968 Stanley Cup Playoffs	1968 Stanley Cup Playoffs	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Western Division Quarter-finals vs. Philadelphia
{|class="wikitable" width="100%"	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	OT	Decision	Attendance	Series
1 	April 4 	St. Louis 	1 – 0	Philadelphia	 	Hall 	10,649 	Blues lead 1–0
2 	April 6 	St. Louis 	3 – 4	Philadelphia	 	Hall 	11,111 	Series tied 1–1
3 	April 10 	Philadelphia	2 – 3	St. Louis 	OT	Hall 	10,867 	Blues lead 2–1
4 	April 11 	Philadelphia	2 – 5	St. Louis 	 	Hall 	11,070 	Blues lead 3–1
5 	April 13 	St. Louis 	1 – 6	Philadelphia	 	Hall 	10,587 	Blues lead 3–2
6 	April 16 	Philadelphia	2 – 1	St. Louis 	OT	Hall 	13,738 	Series tied 3–3
7 	April 18 	St. Louis 	3 – 1	Philadelphia	 	Hall 	14,646 	
===St. Louis Blues 4, Minnesota North Stars 3===
The West Division Final between St. Louis and the Minnesota North Stars was one of the closest seven game series in NHL history. Games 2 (won by Minnesota on Parker MacDonald's goal), 4 (won by St. Louis' Gary Sabourin's goal) and 5 (won by St. Louis' Bill McCreary, Sr.'s goal) all went to overtime. Game 7 went to double overtime and was won by the Blues Ron Schock's breakaway goal.
===Montreal Canadiens 4, St. Louis Blues 0===
The St. Louis Blues made a series of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals although they lost in four straight games. Glenn Hall was sensational, especially in game three when the Blues were outshot 46 to 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 won him the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs.
However, the Montreal Canadiens 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.
Less than 30 minutes after the Canadiens won the Cup, Canadiens coach Toe Blake announced his retirement. He gave reason that it had been a hard season, but the real reason was that his wife was dying of cancer and he wanted to spent his time with her. The celebration turned to a mournful event with players paying tribute to Blake, many in tears.
Date 	Visitors 	Score	Home 	Score	Notes
May 5 	Montreal 	3 	St. Louis	2 	OT
May 7 	Montreal 	1 	St. Louis	0 	
May 9 	St. Louis	3 	Montreal 	4 	OT
May 11	St. Louis	2 	Montreal 	3 	
==Player Stats==
===Forwards===
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
# 	Player 	GP	G 	AST	PTS	PIM
7 	Red Berenson 	55	22	29 	51 	22
16 	Gerry Melnyk 	73	15	35 	50 	14
9 	Frank St. Marseille	57	16	16 	32 	12
17 	Don McKenney 	39	9 	20 	29 	4
19 	Terry Crisp 	73	9 	20 	29 	10
15 	Bill McCreary 	70	13	13 	26 	22
11 	Gary Sabourin 	50	13	10 	23 	50
18, 21 	Larry Keenan 	40	12	8 	20 	4
10 	Ron Schock 	55	9 	9 	18 	17
14 	Tim Ecclestone 	50	6 	8 	14 	16
12 	Ron Stewart 	19	7 	5 	12 	11
21 	Craig Cameron 	32	7 	2 	9 	8
12 	Dickie Moore 	27	5 	3 	8 	9
11 	Wayne Rivers 	22	4 	4 	8 	8
8 	Ron Attwell 	18	1 	7 	8 	6
9 	Roger Picard 	15	2 	2 	4 	21
12, 17, 20	Gary Veneruzzo 	5 	1 	1 	2 	0
21 	Norm Beaudin 	13	1 	1 	2 	4
21 	Claude Cardin 	1 	0 	0 	0 	0
===Defencemen===
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
# 	Player 	GP	G 	AST	PTS	PIM
6 	Jim Roberts 	74	14	23 	37 	66
8 	Barclay Plager 	49	5 	15 	20 	153
2 	Fred Hucul 	43	2 	13 	15 	30
4 	Noel Picard 	66	1 	10 	11 	142
3 	Al Arbour 	74	1 	10 	11 	50
5 	Bob Plager 	53	2 	5 	7 	86
22 	Jean-Guy Talbot 	23	0 	4 	4 	2
2, 20 	Ray Fortin 	24	0 	2 	2 	8
22 	Gordon Kannegiesser	19	0 	1 	1 	13
8, 20, 23	Darryl Edestrand 	12	0 	0 	0 	2
===Goaltending===
Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against
# 	Player 	GP	MIN 	W 	L 	T	SO	GAA
1 	Glenn Hall 	49	2858	19	21	9	5 	2.48
30	Seth Martin	30	1552	8 	10	7	1 	2.59
1 	Don Caley 	1 	30 	0 	0 	0	0 	6.00
==Playoff Stats==
===Forwards===
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
# 	Player 	GP	G	AST	PTS	PIM
12	Dickie Moore 	18	7	7 	14 	15
9 	Frank St. Marseille	18	5	8 	13 	0
18	Larry Keenan 	18	4	5 	9 	4
16	Gerry Melnyk 	17	2	6 	8 	2
7 	Red Berenson 	18	5	2 	7 	9
11	Gary Sabourin 	18	4	2 	6 	30
19	Terry Crisp 	18	1	5 	6 	6
15	Bill McCreary 	15	3	2 	5 	0
10	Ron Schock 	12	1	2 	3 	0
14	Tim Ecclestone 	12	1	2 	3 	2
17	Don McKenney 	6 	1	1 	2 	2
17	Gary Veneruzzo 	9 	0	2 	2 	2
21	Craig Cameron 	14	1	0 	1 	11
===Defencemen===
Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points
# 	Player 	GP	G	AST	PTS	PIM
8 	Barclay Plager 	18	2	5 	7 	73
6 	Jim Roberts 	18	4	1 	5 	20
2 	Doug Harvey 	8 	0	4 	4 	12
5 	Bob Plager 	18	1	2 	3 	69
4 	Noel Picard 	13	0	3 	3 	46
3 	Al Arbour 	14	0	3 	3 	10
22 	Jean-Guy Talbot	17	0	2 	2 	8
2, 20	Ray Fortin 	3 	0	0 	0 	2
===Goaltending===
Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against
# 	Player 	GP	MIN 	W	L 	T	SO	GAA
1 	Glenn Hall 	18	1108	8	10	0	1 	2.44
30	Seth Martin	2 	73 	0	0 	0	0 	4.12
==Awards and Records==
*Conn Smythe Trophy: Glenn Hall
==Trivia==
*No Blues recorded a hat trick this season.
==Gallery==
67-68NHLExhLAKingsBarrieGameAd.jpg|Pre-season @ Barrie
==Video==
Blues-Leafs game from December 30, 1967.
1967 NHL Regular Season St Louis at Toronto 12 30 1967
==References==
* Blues on Hockey Database
* 
Category:St. Louis Blues seasons
Category:1967 in hockey
Category:1968 in hockey