1968–69 Los Angeles Kings season
1968–69 Los Angeles Kings | ||
---|---|---|
Division | 4th West | |
1968–69 record | 24–42–10 | |
Home record | 19–14–5 | |
Road record | 5–28–5 | |
Goals for | 185 | |
Goals against | 260 | |
Team information | ||
General Manager | Larry Regan | |
Coach | Red Kelly | |
Captain | Bob Wall | |
Team leaders | ||
Goals | Eddie Joyal (33) | |
Assists | Real Lemieux (29) | |
Points | Eddie Joyal (52) | |
Penalties in minutes | Dale Rolfe (85) | |
Wins | Gerry Desjardins (18) | |
Goals against average | Gerry Desjardins (3.26) | |
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The 1968–69 Los Angeles Kings season was the second ever for the Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League. After finishing a surprising second place during the 1967–68 season, the Kings stumbled in their second regular season, finishing with a 24–42–10 record, good for 58 points and fourth place in the six-team Western Division. The Kings made the playoffs, losing in the West Division Final to the St. Louis Blues.
Offseason
The Kings acquired goaltender Gerry Desjardins from the Montreal Canadiens in June, giving up two first-round picks. Goaltender Terry Sawchuk was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in October for Jimmy Peters, Jr.. On the same day the Kings picked up goaltender prospect Wayne Thomas of the University of Wisconsin from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Desjardins would play the majority of games with Wayne Rutledge his main backup.
Regular season
The Kings second season began with playoff expectations following a second-place finish in their inaugural season. The Kings played well enough at home to be competitive for a playoff spot, but they only won 5 road games all season.
Attendance for the season exceeded 300,000 for the first time over a 38-game home schedule.
Season standings
GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | DIFF | Pts | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | St. Louis Blues | 76 | 37 | 25 | 14 | 204 | 157 | +47 | 88 |
2 | Oakland Seals | 76 | 29 | 36 | 11 | 219 | 251 | −32 | 69 |
3 | Philadelphia Flyers | 76 | 20 | 35 | 21 | 174 | 225 | −51 | 61 |
4 | Los Angeles Kings | 76 | 24 | 42 | 10 | 185 | 260 | −75 | 58 |
5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 76 | 20 | 45 | 11 | 189 | 252 | −63 | 51 |
6 | Minnesota North Stars | 76 | 18 | 43 | 15 | 189 | 270 | −81 | 51 |
Playoffs
The Kings pulled off a first round upset, knocking off their in-state rivals the Oakland Seals in seven games in the NHL Quarter-finals. The Kings would then be swept by the St. Louis Blues in the West Division final. Bill Flett led all Kings playoff scorers with 7 points, while Eddie Joyal and Ted Irvine had 6 points each. Irvine had 5 goals to lead the club.
Schedule and results
1968–69 Game Log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October
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November
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December
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January
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February
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March
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Playoffs
- West Division Semi-final
Los Angeles Kings vs. Oakland Seals
Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
April 2 | Los Angeles | 5 | Oakland | 4 | (OT) |
April 3 | Los Angeles | 2 | Oakland | 4 | |
April 5 | Oakland | 5 | Los Angeles | 2 | |
April 6 | Oakland | 2 | Los Angeles | 4 | |
April 9 | Los Angeles | 1 | Oakland | 4 | |
April 10 | Oakland | 3 | Los Angeles | 4 | |
April 13 | Los Angeles | 5 | Oakland | 3 | |
Los Angeles wins best-of-seven series 4–3.
- West Division Final
Los Angeles Kings vs. St. Louis Blues
Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
April 4 | Los Angeles | 0 | St. Louis | 4 | |
April 6 | Los Angeles | 2 | St. Louis | 3 | |
April 9 | St. Louis | 5 | Los Angeles | 2 | |
April 11 | St. Louis | 4 | Los Angeles | 1 | |
St. Louis wins best-of-seven series 4–0.
Player statistics
Forwards
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eddie Joyal | 73 | 33 | 19 | 52 | 24 |
Bill Flett | 72 | 24 | 25 | 49 | 53 |
Real Lemieux | 75 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 68 |
Ted Irvine | 76 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 47 |
Howie Hughes | 73 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 10 |
Lowell MacDonald | 58 | 14 | 14 | 38 | 10 |
Gord Labossiere | 48 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 12 |
Howie Menard | 56 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 31 |
Jimmy Peters | 76 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 28 |
Phil "Skip" Krake | 30 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 11 |
Doug Robinson | 31 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 2 |
Ron Anderson | 56 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 26 |
Gary Croteau | 11 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
Bryan Campbell | 18 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Bill Inglis | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Gerry Foley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Marc Dufour | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Defencemen
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bill White | 75 | 5 | 28 | 33 | 38 |
Bob Wall | 71 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 16 |
Dale Rolfe | 75 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 85 |
Brent Hughes | 72 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 73 |
Larry Cahan | 72 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 76 |
Dave Amadio | 65 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 60 |
Jacques Lemieux | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltending
Note: GP = Games played; MIN = Minutes; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
Player | GP | MIN | W | L | T | SO | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gerry Desjardins | 60 | 3499 | 18 | 34 | 6 | 4 | 3.26 |
Wayne Rutledge | 17 | 921 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3.65 |
Jacques Caron | 3 | 140 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.86 |
Transactions
- May 20, 1968 – Acquired Skip Krake from Boston for a first-round choice in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft.
- June 11, 1968 – Acquired Myron Stankiewicz from St. Louis for Terry Gray.
- June 11, 1968 – Acquired Gerry Desjardins from Montreal for a first-round choice in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft (later transferred to Minnesota) and the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft.
- July 1, 1968 – Acquired Larry Cahan from Montreal for Yves Locas and Brian D. Smith.
- October 10, 1968 – Acquired Jimmy Peters from Detroit for Terry Sawchuk.
- October 15, 1968 – Acquired Gary Croteau, Brian Murphy and Wayne Thomas from Toronto for Lou Deveault and Grant Moore.
- November 12, 1968 – Acquired Ron Anderson from Detroit for Poul Popiel.
Draft picks
Round | Pick | Player | Nationality |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | Jim McInally | Canada |
- NOTE: Back before 1979, the amateur draft was held with varying rules and procedures. In 1968, teams only needed to select as many player as they wanted to, which is why there was only one Kings player drafted.
1968–69 Los Angeles Kings Roster | |
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Goaltenders: 1 – Rutledge • 30 – Desjardins • 1 – Caron Defensemen: 2 – Wall • 3 – Cahan • 4 – J.Lemieux • 4 – B.Hughes • 5 – Amadio • 6 – Rolfe • 21 – White Forwards: 0 – Peters • 7 – Krake • 9 – R.Lemieux • 10 – H.Hughes • 11 – MacDonald • 20 – Anderson • 12 – Campbell • 15 – Irvine • 16 – Joyal • 17 – Flett • 18 – Croteau • 19 – Dufour • 19 – Menard • 20 – Labossiere • 22 – Inglis • 23 – Robinson • 25 – Foley Owner: Jack Kent Cooke • General Manager: Larry Regan • Coach: Red Kelly |
References
- ↑ "1968–1969 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.