The 1968-69 NHL season continued on without too many changes from the previous seasons. While in previous years there were many teams added and schedule changes, the league settled in and allowed some time for the fans to get used to the way that things were. The league featured 12 teams that would play 76 games each. The top 4 teams from each division would qualify to play in the playoffs. The winner of the playoffs would win the Stanley Cup and NHL Championship. The Top team from the year before had been the Montreal Canadiens in the East Division. They would not disappoint their fans that were hoping for more success in 1968. The team pushed through the regular season with some impressive performances and ultimately managed to take home the East Division Championship in the regular season. Their record would finish at 46-19-11 on the season. The Boston Bruins would not be far behind the Canadiens in the regular season. They worked hard and had the best offense in all of the NHL. They were the only team in the league that managed to score more than 300 goals on the season. They would finish with a solid 42-18-16 record on the season. The 3rd place team in the division was the New York Rangers. They were not nearly as dominant as either of the top two teams, but they still managed to win 41 games on the season. While they were the 3rd best team in the East, they also had a record that was better than any team in the West Division. This season featured a true dominance from the Eastern side of the league. The Rangers would finish the season with a 41-26-9 record on the season. The last team to qualify for the playoffs in the East Division was the Toronto Maple Leafs. They had a solid offense and defense and managed to win 35 games on the season. Their final record for the season would be 35-26-15. The West Division was owned by the St. Louis Blues. They were dominant over all other teams in their division. They were actually the only team in the division to finish with a winning percentage that was over .500 on the season. The Oakland Seals would come in 2nd place, but only finished with 69 total points on the season. This was 19 points behind the Blues. The Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings managed to take the last two playoff spots in the West. They would finish with records of 20-35-21 and 24-42-10. As the playoffs started it was clear that the Canadiens and Blues were much better than the other teams in their division. Both teams swept their opponents in the first round and easily made it to the semi-finals. The Blues managed to again sweep their inferior competition in round two, making it to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Canadiens managed to easily take out the Bruins in six games to advance to play the Blues. This was a rematch of the Stanley Cup the previous season and it yielded the same results. The Canadiens dominated the Blues once again with a 4-0 sweep in the Stanley Finals, winning another NHL Championship.
Please Rate this Article 5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
