1968–69 Los Angeles Kings season

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.

1968–69 Los Angeles Kings
Division4th West
1968–69 record24–42–10
Home record19–14–5
Road record5–28–5
Goals for185
Goals against260
Team information
General managerLarry Regan
CoachRed Kelly
CaptainBob Wall
Team leaders
GoalsEddie Joyal (33)
AssistsReal Lemieux (29)
PointsEddie Joyal (52)
Penalty minutesDale Rolfe (85)
WinsGerry Desjardins (18)
Goals against averageGerry Desjardins (3.26)

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
West Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1St. Louis Blues76372514204157+4788
2Oakland Seals76293611219251−3269
3Philadelphia Flyers76203521174225−5161
4Los Angeles Kings76244210185260−7558
5Pittsburgh Penguins76204511189252−6351
6Minnesota North Stars76184315189270−8151

Record vs. opponents
1968-69 NHL Records
Team BOS CHI DET LAK MIN MON NYR OAK PHI PIT STL TOR
Boston —5–2–13–2–35–14–0–24–2–23–3–23–1–24–25–12–2–24–2–2
Chicago 2–5–1—3–4–15–15–0–11–74–3–11–53–0–34–23–2–13–4–1
Detroit 2–3–34–3–1—4–24–22–5–14–3–13–2–13–1–24–20–4–23–4–1
Los Angeles 1–51–52–4—1–4–30–4–23–34–2–23–4–15–2–11–6–13–3
Minnesota 0–4–20–5–12–44–1–3—0–5–11–53–4–12–3–33–52–4–21–3–2
Montreal 2–4–27–15–2–14–0–25–0–1—3–4–12–3–15–14–1–15–0–14–3–1
New York 3–3–23–4–13–4–13–35–14–3–1—5–13–1–25–13–1–24–4
Oakland 1–3–25–12–3–12–4–24–3–13–2–11–5—4–2–24–2–21–72–4
Philadelphia 2–40–3–31–3–24–3–13–2–31–51–3–22–4–2—4–1–31–6–11–1–4
Pittsburgh 1–52–42–42–5–15–31–4–11–52–4–21–4–3—3–4–10–3–3
St. Louis 2–2–22–3–14–0–26–1–14–2–20–5–11–3–27–16–1–14–3–1—1–4–1
Toronto 2–4–24–3–14–3–13–33–1–23–4–14–44–21–1–43–0–34–1–1—

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
October
Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
112St. Louis Blues0–6St. Louis0–1–0
213Oakland Seals4–4Oakland0-1–1
317Boston Bruins2–1Los Angeles1–1-1
419Minnesota North Stars1–4Minnesota1–2–1
520New York Rangers0–7New York1–3–1
623Montreal Canadiens2–5Los Angeles1–4–1
726Philadelphia Flyers6–2Los Angeles2–4-1
830Chicago Black Hawks2–4Los Angeles2–5–1
November
Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
92Pittsburgh Penguins3–2Los Angeles3–5-1
106New York Rangers2–0Los Angeles4–5-1
119Toronto Maple Leafs3–1Los Angeles5–5-1
1212Oakland Seals3–1Los Angeles6–5-1
1314Detroit Red Wings2–5Los Angeles6–6–1
1416Minnesota North Stars2–3Minnesota6–7–1
1517Philadelphia Flyers1–3Philadelphia6–8–1
1620New York Rangers2–4New York6–9–1
1721Boston Bruins1–4Boston6–10–1
1823Pittsburgh Penguins2–2Pittsburgh6-10–2
1924Philadelphia Flyers3–1Philadelphia7–10-2
2027Montreal Canadiens2–4Los Angeles7–11–2
2130Pittsburgh Penguins2–4Los Angeles7–12–2
December
Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
224Philadelphia Flyers3–1Los Angeles8–12-2
237Minnesota North Stars3–2Los Angeles9–12-2
2411Detroit Red Wings6–3Los Angeles10–12-2
2514Pittsburgh Penguins2–1Pittsburgh11–12-2
2615St. Louis Blues1–3St. Louis11–13–2
2718Montreal Canadiens2–2Montreal11-13–3
2819Boston Bruins4–6Boston11–14–3
2921Philadelphia Flyers1–2Los Angeles11–15–3
3026Minnesota North Stars4–4Los Angeles11-15–4
3128Toronto Maple Leafs4–1Toronto12–15-4
3229Chicago Black Hawks1–4Chicago12–16–4
January
Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
331St. Louis Blues0–0Los Angeles12-16–5
345Oakland Seals0–0Oakland12-16–6
357St. Louis Blues0–5St. Louis12–17–6
369Detroit Red Wings2–6Detroit12–18–6
3711Toronto Maple Leafs2–4Toronto12–19–6
3812Chicago Black Hawks2–4Chicago12–20–6
3914New York Rangers3–1Los Angeles13–20-6
4016Chicago Black Hawks3–2Los Angeles14–20-6
4118Pittsburgh Penguins4–0Los Angeles15–20-6
4223New York Rangers1–3New York15–21–6
4325Minnesota North Stars2–3Minnesota15–22–6
4426Chicago Black Hawks3–9Chicago15–23–6
4529Toronto Maple Leafs3–1Los Angeles16–23-6
4630Boston Bruins5–7Los Angeles16–24–6
February
Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
471Oakland Seals8–5Los Angeles17–24-6
484St. Louis Blues4–2Los Angeles18–24-6
496Montreal Canadiens2–4Los Angeles18–25–6
508Pittsburgh Penguins4–2Pittsburgh19–25-6
519Detroit Red Wings0–5Detroit19–26–6
5211Montreal Canadiens3–7Montreal19–27–6
5313New York Rangers4–1Los Angeles20–27-6
5415St. Louis Blues1–4St. Louis20–28–6
5516Detroit Red Wings3–6Detroit20–29–6
5619Minnesota North Stars4–7Minnesota20–30–6
5720Chicago Black Hawks2–6Los Angeles20–31–6
5822St. Louis Blues1–3Los Angeles20–32–6
5923Oakland Seals4–3Oakland21–32-6
6024Minnesota North Stars1–1Los Angeles21-32–7
6126Boston Bruins2–4Los Angeles21–33–7
March
Game Date Opponent Score Location/attendance Record
621Philadelphia Flyers2–2Los Angeles21-33–8
635Toronto Maple Leafs4–6Toronto21–34–8
646Philadelphia Flyers1–5Philadelphia21–35–8
658Montreal Canadiens3–3Montreal21-35–9
669Boston Bruins2–7Boston21–36–9
6712Toronto Maple Leafs0–4Los Angeles21–37–9
6815Pittsburgh Penguins3–1Los Angeles22–37-9
6918Oakland Seals3–2Los Angeles23–37-9
7020Detroit Red Wings4–2Los Angeles24–37-9
7122Oakland Seals0–4Los Angeles24–38–9
7223Oakland Seals4–5Oakland24–39–9
7326Pittsburgh Penguins4–8Pittsburgh24–40–9
7427Philadelphia Flyers2–4Philadelphia24–41–9
7529St. Louis Blues1–3Los Angeles24–42–9
7630Minnesota North Stars3–3Los Angeles24-42–10

Playoffs
West Division Semi-final

Los Angeles Kings vs. Oakland Seals

DateAwayScoreHomeScoreNotes
April 2Los Angeles5Oakland4(OT)
April 3Los Angeles2Oakland4
April 5Oakland5Los Angeles2
April 6Oakland2Los Angeles4
April 9Los Angeles1Oakland4
April 10Oakland3Los Angeles4
April 13Los Angeles5Oakland3

Los Angeles wins best-of-seven series 4–3.

West Division Final

Los Angeles Kings vs. St. Louis Blues

DateAwayScoreHomeScoreNotes
April 4Los Angeles0St. Louis4
April 6Los Angeles2St. Louis3
April 9St. Louis5Los Angeles2
April 11St. Louis4Los Angeles1

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 Joyal7333195224
Bill Flett7224254953
Real Lemieux7511294068
Ted Irvine7615243947
Howie Hughes7316143010
Lowell MacDonald5814143810
Gord Labossiere4810182812
Howie Menard5610172731
Jimmy Peters7610152528
Phil "Skip" Krake30391211
Doug Robinson31210122
Ron Anderson5635826
Gary Croteau115166
Bryan Campbell182134
Bill Inglis100110
Gerry Foley10000
Marc Dufour20000

Defencemen

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player GP G A Pts PIM
Bill White755283338
Bob Wall7113132616
Dale Rolfe753192285
Brent Hughes722192173
Larry Cahan723111476
Dave Amadio6515660
Jacques Lemieux00000

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 Desjardins6034991834643.26
Wayne Rutledge1792167403.65
Jacques Caron314001003.86

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks
See also: 1968 NHL Entry Draft
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

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
  1. "1968–1969 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
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