1967–68 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1967–68 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 59th season of play. The Canadiens finished 1st in the East Division and defeated the St. Louis Blues in the 1968 Stanley Cup Finals 4 games to 0 to win their 15th Stanley Cup.
==Pre-season==
The Canadiens held their training camp in Montreal.
==Regular Season==
On March 3, 1968, Jean Beliveau joined Gordie Howe as the only players to have 1000 career points.National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 214.
===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 	W 	October 11, 1967 	2–1 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	1–0–0
2 	W 	October 14, 1967 	6–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	2–0–0
3 	L 	October 15, 1967 	2–6 	@ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	2–1–0
4 	T 	October 18, 1967 	2–2 	@ New York Rangers (1967–68) 	2–1–1
5 	W 	October 19, 1967 	1–0 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	3–1–1
6 	W 	October 21, 1967 	4–2 	Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	4–1–1
7 	T 	October 26, 1967 	1–1 	New York Rangers (1967–68) 	4–1–2
8 	W 	October 28, 1967 	4–1 	St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 	5–1–2
9 	L 	November 1, 1967 	0–5 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	5–2–2
10 	L 	November 4, 1967 	1–4 	Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	5–3–2
11 	T 	November 5, 1967 	1–1 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	5–3–3
12 	L 	November 8, 1967 	2–3 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	5–4–3
13 	T 	November 11, 1967 	3–3 	Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	5–4–4
14 	L 	November 12, 1967 	1–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	5–5–4
15 	W 	November 15, 1967 	5–1 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68)	6–5–4
16 	L 	November 18, 1967 	1–2 	@ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	6–6–4
17 	L 	November 19, 1967 	2–4 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	6–7–4
18 	W 	November 22, 1967 	3–1 	@ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 	7–7–4
19 	W 	November 23, 1967 	7–0 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	8–7–4
20 	L 	November 25, 1967 	1–3 	Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	8–8–4
21 	L 	November 29, 1967 	1–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	8–9–4
22 	T 	November 30, 1967 	1–1 	Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 	8–9–5
23 	L 	December 2, 1967 	2–3 	Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	8–10–5
24 	L 	December 3, 1967 	3–5 	@ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	8–11–5
25 	T 	December 7, 1967 	2–2 	Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	8–11–6
26 	T 	December 9, 1967 	2–2 	Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	8–11–7
27 	L 	December 10, 1967 	2–3 	@ New York Rangers (1967–68) 	8–12–7
28 	W 	December 13, 1967 	6–2 	@ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	9–12–7
29 	W 	December 16, 1967 	4–3 	Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	10–12–7
30 	L 	December 17, 1967 	6–8 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	10–13–7
31 	W 	December 20, 1967 	5–0 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	11–13–7
32 	W 	December 23, 1967 	4–2 	Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	12–13–7
33 	L 	December 25, 1967 	1–3 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	12–14–7
34 	T 	December 27, 1967 	2–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	12–14–8
35 	W 	December 28, 1967 	6–2 	Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 	13–14–8
36 	W 	December 30, 1967 	2–0 	Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	14–14–8
37 	T 	January 3, 1968 	1–1 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	14–14–9
38 	W 	January 6, 1968 	5–2 	New York Rangers (1967–68) 	15–14–9
39 	W 	January 7, 1968 	4–3 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	16–14–9
40 	W 	January 10, 1968 	4–3 	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	17–14–9
41 	W 	January 11, 1968 	4–2 	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	18–14–9
42 	W 	January 13, 1968 	5–1 	Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	19–14–9
43 	W 	January 17, 1968 	6–1 	Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	20–14–9
44 	W 	January 20, 1968 	3–1 	Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	21–14–9
45 	W 	January 25, 1968 	2–0 	@ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	22–14–9
46 	W 	January 27, 1968 	5–2 	Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	23–14–9
47 	W 	January 30, 1968 	3–0 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	24–14–9
48 	W 	February 1, 1968 	5–2 	New York Rangers (1967–68) 	25–14–9
49 	W 	February 3, 1968 	5–1 	Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	26–14–9
50 	L 	February 4, 1968 	0–3 	@ New York Rangers (1967–68) 	26–15–9
51 	W 	February 7, 1968 	4–1 	Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 	27–15–9
52 	W 	February 10, 1968 	6–4 	Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	28–15–9
53 	W 	February 11, 1968 	6–0 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	29–15–9
54 	W 	February 14, 1968 	4–2 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	30–15–9
55 	W 	February 15, 1968 	2–0 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	31–15–9
56 	W 	February 17, 1968 	4–3 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	32–15–9
57 	W 	February 21, 1968 	7–2 	@ New York Rangers (1967–68) 	33–15–9
58 	W 	February 22, 1968 	2–1 	St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 	34–15–9
59 	L 	February 24, 1968 	1–6 	New York Rangers (1967–68) 	34–16–9
60 	T 	February 28, 1968 	3–3 	@ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 	34–16–10
61 	L 	March 2, 1968 	2–3 	@ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68)	34–17–10
62 	L 	March 3, 1968 	2–5 	@ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	34–18–10
63 	W 	March 5, 1968 	6–2 	@ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 	35–18–10
64 	W 	March 6, 1968 	2–0 	@ Oakland Seals (1967–68) 	36–18–10
65 	W 	March 9, 1968 	5–0 	Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	37–18–10
66 	W 	March 14, 1968 	3–1 	New York Rangers (1967–68) 	38–18–10
67 	W 	March 16, 1968 	6–4 	Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 	39–18–10
68 	L 	March 17, 1968 	1–3 	@ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	39–19–10
69 	W 	March 20, 1968 	3–2 	Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	40–19–10
70 	W 	March 23, 1968 	7–4 	Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 	41–19–10
71 	W 	March 24, 1968 	7–2 	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 	42–19–10
72 	L 	March 27, 1968 	0–6 	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 	42–20–10
73 	L 	March 30, 1968 	1–2 	Boston Bruins (1967–68) 	42–21–10
74 	L 	March 31, 1968 	2–4 	@ New York Rangers (1967–68) 	42–22–10
==Playoffs==
===Montreal Canadiens 4, Boston Bruins 0===
The teams last met a decade before in the 1958 Stanley Cup Finals where Montreal prevailed 4 games to 2. The 1968 series was characterized by Montreal taking advantage of chances and then playing excellent defensive hockey to hold leads. Canadiens veteran Gump Worsley outplayed Gerry Cheevers, particularly in Game 3. Bobby Orr was still recovering from the first surgery on his left knee, made few rushes and notched only two assists in the series.
Game 1 at the Montreal Forum was a very rough game where the teams tried to establish a physical edge. The teams' tough men, Boston's Ted Green and Montreal's John Ferguson fought in the first period while rookies Derek Sanderson and Danny Grant fought in the second period. Ken Hodge opening the scoring with his first career playoff goal, equalized by Henri Richard in the first period. Montreal pressed and outshot Boston 35-22 and Claude Provost netted the winner at 14:40 of the third period for a 2-1 Canadiens win.
Game 2 at Montreal was a tamer affair but the Canadiens once again outshot and out chanced the Bruins. In the first period, Jacques Lemaire opened the scoring with his first career playoff goal but Ken Hodge responded. In the second period, Jacques Laperriere scored and then Lemaire's second of the game staked Montreal to a 3-1 lead. With Jean Béliveau and Claude Provost both in the penalty box, Ted Green potted his first career playoff goal on the 5 on 3 Power play to cut the lead to 3-2. In the third period, Dick Duff and John McKenzie traded goals 23 seconds apart. The Bruins fought to tie up the game but Beliveau sealed the Canadiens 5-3 win.
Game 3 at the Boston Garden saw the Bruins out chance the Canadiens, particularly in the first ten minutes of the game. Ed Westfall opened the scoring and Gump Worsley made several excellent saves, particularly on Tom Williams. Jean Beliveau tipped in a Jacques Laperriere shot on the power play to tie the game 1-1. Derek Sanderson took undisciplined penalties at the end of the first period and at 6:50 of the second period which took the pressure off Montreal. On the power play, Claude Provost beat Cheevers with a long, unscreened shot that demoralized the Bruins. After that, the defensemen overcompensated and tried to block all Montreal's shots instead of checking. Dallas Smith failed to block a Ralph Backstrom shot which slide past Cheevers and later in the period, the Bruins were out-manned in front of their net and John Ferguson tapped in a goal mouth pass to make it 4-1. A Tom Williams spinning shot beat Worsley with five seconds left in the second period to make it 4-2. The Bruins pressed in the third period but Worsley was excellent, stopping Williams on a breakaway. Ted Green hit the post on a slap shot from the point and then Dick Duff scored to make it 5-2. The Bruins had few chances after Duff's goal and Montreal took a 3-0 series lead.
Game 4 at Boston was the only game of the series that the Bruins outshot the Canadiens. After a scoreless first period, Ed Westfall opened the scoring 49 seconds into the second period. Claude Larose then took over the game, evening the score at 12:58 of the second period and staking Montreal to a 2-1 lead at 7:20 of the third. He then set up Ralph Backstrom with less than four minutes to play in the game. Ken Hodge made it 3-2 with 1:26 left to play but Montreal hung on to sweep the Bruins in four games.
#	Date 	Visitor 	Score	Home 	Record
1	April 4 	Boston Bruins 	1-2 	Montreal Canadiens	0-1
2	April 6 	Boston Bruins 	3-5 	Montreal Canadiens	0-2
3	April 9 	Montreal Canadiens	5-2 	Boston Bruins 	3-0
4	April 11	Montreal Canadiens	3-2 	Boston Bruins 	4-0
===Montreal Canadiens 4, Chicago Black Hawks 0===
===Montreal Canadiens 4, St. Louis Blues 0===
This was the first Stanley Cup after the 1967 expansion. Montreal defeated Boston and Chicago to advance to the finals as the East Division champion. St. Louis would defeat Philadelphia and Minnesota to advance to the finals as the West Division champion.
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==
===Regular Season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	C 	59	31	37	68 	28 	9 	0 	3
 	RW 	74	19	46	65 	47 	7 	1 	5
 	RW 	64	28	32	60 	23 	7 	1 	4
 	LW 	71	23	28	51 	8 	7 	1 	2
 	LW 	66	25	21	46 	21 	6 	0 	8
 	C 	70	20	25	45 	14 	3 	0 	5
 	RW 	73	14	30	44 	26 	2 	3 	3
 	C 	69	22	20	42 	16 	3 	1 	3
 	LW 	61	15	18	33 	117	0 	0 	3
 	D 	73	4 	26	30 	18 	1 	0 	1
 	C 	54	9 	19	28 	16 	2 	0 	3
 	D 	72	4 	21	25 	84 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	67	5 	16	21 	78 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	67	2 	13	15 	34 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	41	6 	5 	11 	4 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	57	3 	8 	11 	66 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	42	2 	9 	11 	28 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	22	3 	4 	7 	10 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	31	1 	1 	2 	31 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	12	0 	1 	1 	9 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	11	0 	0 	0 	8 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	39	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	40	0 	0 	0 	10 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO
 	2227	39	23	13	2 	92 	2.48	4
 	2213	40	19	9 	8 	73 	1.98	6
Team: 	4440	74	42	22	10	165	2.23	10
===Playoffs===
;Scoring
Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	RW 	13	6	8	14 	4 	3 	0 	1
 	C 	13	7	6	13 	6 	2 	0 	2
 	C 	10	7	4	11 	6 	3 	0 	1
 	RW 	13	2	8	10 	10 	1 	0 	1
 	D 	13	3	6	9 	2 	0 	1 	1
 	C 	13	4	4	8 	4 	1 	0 	0
 	LW 	13	3	5	8 	25 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	13	4	3	7 	4 	0 	0 	2
 	LW 	13	3	4	7 	4 	0 	0 	1
 	RW 	13	2	4	6 	8 	0 	0 	1
 	LW 	9 	1	5	6 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	12	3	2	5 	8 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	13	1	3	4 	20 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	13	0	4	4 	22 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	10	0	3	3 	5 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	6 	2	0	2 	0 	0 	2 	1
 	D 	13	0	1	1 	8 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	2 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	2 	0	0	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	12	0	0	0 	10 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W 	L	GA	GAA 	SO
 	672	12	11	0	21	1.88	1
 	113	2 	1 	1	4 	2.12	0
Team: 	785	13	12	1	25	1.91	1
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = Plus/Minus; PIM = Penalty Minutes; PPG=Power-play goals; SHG=Short-handed goals; GWG=Game-winning goals 
MIN=Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals Against; GAA = Goals Against Average; SO = Shutouts 
==Awards and Records==
*Prince of Wales Trophy: Montreal Canadiens
*Vezina Trophy: Rogatien Vachon & Gump Worsley
*Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Claude Provost
*Hart Memorial Trophy: Jean Beliveau, Runner-up National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 220.
*Norris Trophy: J. C. Tremblay, Runner-up National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 222.
*Gump Worsley, Goalie, NHL First Team All-Star
*J. C. Tremblay, Defence, NHL Second Team All-Star
==Transactions==
==Montreal Canadiens 1968 Stanley Cup Champions==
Gump Worsley, Rogatien Vachon, Jacques Laperriere, J. C. Tremblay, Ted Harris, Serge Savard, Terry Harper, Carol Vadnais, Jean Beliveau (captain), Gilles Tremblay, Ralph Backstrom, Dick Duff, Claude Larose, Yvan Cournoyer, Claude Provost, Bobby Rousseau, Henri Richard, John Ferguson, Danny Grant, Jacques Lemaire, Mickey Redmond, Toe Blake (coach), Sam Pollock (general manager), Larry Aubut, Eddy Palchak (trainers).
==Draft Picks==
==Trivia==
*Canadiens who recorded a Hat trick this season include:
**Ralph Backstrom during the 7-0 win over the Chicago Black Hawks on November 23, 1967.
**Jean Beliveau during the 8-6 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on December 17, 1967.
**Dick Duff during the 5-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 20, 1967.
**Gilles Tremblay during the 6-2 win over the Minnesota North Stars on December 28, 1967.
**Jean Beliveau during the 6-1 win over Detroit on January 17, 1968.
**Jean Beliveau during the 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 16, 1968.
**Bobby Rousseau during the 7-4 win over Detroit on March 23, 1968.
==Gallery==
25Jan1968-Laperriere_Stanfield_Vachon.jpg|Jacques Laperriere, Fred Stanfield, Rogatien Vachon, January 25, 1968.
67-68NHLMontrealExhGameAd.jpg|Pre-season
67-68NHLMonCanExhQuebecGameAd.jpg|Pre-season @ Quebec City
67-68NHLMontrealGameAd.jpg|Regular Season
67-68NHLSFMontrealGameAd.jpg|Semi Final
67-68SCupFMontrealGameAd.jpg|Final
==Video==
Nearly an hour of footage from the Bruins-Canadiens Game 3 of the 1968 Semi-finals on April 9, 1968.
1968 NHL SC QF G3 Boston Bruins Montreal Canadiens 4 9 1968
==See Also==
*1967–68 NHL season
*List of Stanley Cup champions
==References==
*National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN 0-920445-98-5.
==External Links==
*Canadiens on Hockey Database
*Canadiens on NHL Reference
Category:Montreal Canadiens seasons
Category:Stanley Cup championship seasons
Category:1967 in hockey
Category:1968 in hockey