1969 Stanley Cup Final
1969 ice hockey championship series
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The 1969 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1968–69 season, and the culmination of the 1969 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the defending champion Montreal Canadiens and the St. Louis Blues, a rematch of the previous year's finals. As they did in the previous matchup, the Canadiens won the series in four games.
St. Louis: St. Louis Arena (3, 4)
Montreal: Claude Ruel
Montreal: Jean Beliveau
| 1969 Stanley Cup Final | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Location(s) | Montreal: Montreal Forum (1, 2) St. Louis: St. Louis Arena (3, 4) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coaches | St. Louis: Scotty Bowman Montreal: Claude Ruel | ||||||||||||||||||
| Captains | St. Louis: Al Arbour Montreal: Jean Beliveau | ||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | April 27 – May 4, 1969 | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Serge Savard (Canadiens) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Series-winning goal | John Ferguson (3:02, third) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Canadiens: Jean Beliveau (1972) Yvan Cournoyer (1982) Dick Duff (2006) Tony Esposito (1988) Jacques Laperriere (1987) Jacques Lemaire (1984) Henri Richard (1979) Serge Savard (1986) Rogie Vachon (2016) Gump Worsley (1980; did not play) Blues: Al Arbour (1996, builder) Glenn Hall (1975) Doug Harvey (1973; did not play) Jacques Plante (1978) Coaches: Scotty Bowman (1991) | ||||||||||||||||||
Paths to the Finals
Montreal defeated the New York Rangers 4–0 and the Boston Bruins 4–2 to advance to the finals.
St. Louis defeated the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings in four games each.
Game summaries
This was the second playoff series between these two teams. Their only previous meeting came in the previous year's Stanley Cup Final. In this year's six-game regular season series, there were five wins for Montreal and one tie. Claude Ruel became the eleventh rookie coach to win the Stanley Cup. Montreal goaltender Rogie Vachon limited St. Louis to three goals in four games.
Game one
| April 27 | St. Louis Blues | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap |
In game one, Montreal defeated St. Louis in a 3–1 victory on home ice, with Dick Duff, Bobby Rousseau, and John Ferguson all scoring for the Canadiens, giving them a 1–0 series lead over the Blues.
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | MTL | Dick Duff (3) – pp | Yvan Cournoyer (5) and Jean Beliveau (4) | 03:39 | 1–0 MTL |
| MTL | Bobby Rousseau (3) – sh | Claude Provost (2) | 04:17 | 2–0 MTL | |
| STL | Frank St. Marseille (3) | Bill McCreary (5) and Noel Picard (4) | 18:24 | 2–1 MTL | |
| 2nd | None | ||||
| 3rd | MTL | John Ferguson (3) – en | Henri Richard (4) | 19:46 | 3–1 MTL |
| Penalty summary | |||||
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
| 1st | MTL | Jacques Laperriere | Roughing | 01:18 | 2:00 |
| STL | Red Berenson | Slashing | 02:58 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Jacques Laperriere | Interference | 04:06 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Jacques Laperriere | Misconduct | 04:06 | 10:00 | |
| STL | Gary Sabourin | Slashing | 04:44 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Bill McCreary | Slashing | 06:31 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Henri Richard | Interference | 10:44 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | J. C. Tremblay | Slashing | 16:51 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Tim Ecclestone | Holding | 16:51 | 2:00 | |
| 2nd | MTL | Jean Beliveau | Tripping | 00:44 | 2:00 |
| MTL | Ted Harris | High-sticking | 03:21 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Jim Roberts | High-sticking | 03:21 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Bench (Served by Tim Ecclestone) | Too many men on the ice | 07:00 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Jacques Laperriere | Holding | 07:48 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Bob Plager | Charging | 12:21 | 2:00 | |
| 3rd | MTL | Terry Harper | Interference | 07:53 | 2:00 |
| Shots by period | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| St. Louis | 5 | 10 | 5 | 20 | |
| Montreal | 14 | 5 | 9 | 28 | |
Game two
| April 29 | St. Louis Blues | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens | Montreal Forum | Recap |
Game two ended with the same result as game one, with Montreal defeating St. Louis by a score of 3–1 on their home ice, taking a 2–0 as the series continued into St. Louis.
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | MTL | Ralph Backstrom (3) | J. C. Tremblay (3) | 17:26 | 1–0 MTL |
| 2nd | MTL | Dick Duff (4) – pp | Jean Beliveau (7) and Serge Savard (6) | 09:07 | 2–0 MTL |
| MTL | Yvan Cournoyer (4) | Jean Beliveau (8) | 14:11 | 3–0 MTL | |
| 3rd | STL | Larry Keenan (4) | Jim Roberts (4) and Bob Plager (4) | 09:20 | 3–1 MTL |
| Penalty summary | |||||
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
| 1st | MTL | Dick Duff | Elbowing | 02:17 | 2:00 |
| STL | Noel Picard | Elbowing | 02:17 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Tim Ecclestone | Tripping | 03:30 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Jean Beliveau | High-sticking | 04:54 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Al Arbour | High-sticking | 04:54 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Ted Harris | Tripping | 06:36 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Noel Picard | Tripping | 07:34 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Terry Harper | Holding | 14:17 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | John Ferguson | Cross-checking | 19:50 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | John Ferguson | Spearing | 19:50 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | John Ferguson | Misconduct | 19:50 | 10:00 | |
| 2nd | STL | Bill McCreary | Tripping | 08:45 | 2:00 |
| 3rd | STL | Bill Plager | Holding | 02:34 | 2:00 |
| MTL | Ted Harris | Elbowing | 05:21 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Terry Crisp | High-sticking | 05:21 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Bobby Rousseau | Tripping | 08:40 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Serge Savard | Holding | 09:09 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Noel Picard | Playing with a broken stick | 17:58 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Jacques Laperriere | Cross-checking | 19:23 | 2:00 | |
| Shots by period | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| St. Louis | 5 | 10 | 10 | 25 | |
| Montreal | 9 | 15 | 9 | 33 | |
Game three
| May 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 4–0 | St. Louis Blues | St. Louis Arena | Recap |
Rogie Vachon made 29 saves in game four to record his first career playoff shutout in game four, while Dick Duff recorded three points for Montreal, giving them a 4–0 victory over St. Louis to take a commanding 3–0 series lead.
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | MTL | Serge Savard (4) | Dick Duff (7) | 12:34 | 1–0 MTL |
| 2nd | MTL | Jacques Lemaire (4) | Mickey Redmond (3) | 08:16 | 2–0 MTL |
| MTL | Dick Duff (5) | Yvan Cournoyer (6) and Jean Beliveau (9) | 13:38 | 3–0 MTL | |
| 3rd | MTL | Dick Duff (6) – pp | Jean Beliveau (10) and Yvan Cournoyer (7) | 18:35 | 4–0 MTL |
| Penalty summary | |||||
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
| 1st | STL | Noel Picard | Holding | 05:13 | 2:00 |
| STL | Tim Ecclestone | Hooking | 07:40 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | John Ferguson | Charging | 15:19 | 2:00 | |
| 2nd | STL | Ron Schock | Tripping | 04:55 | 2:00 |
| MTL | Jacques Laperriere | Holding | 10:46 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Ralph Backstrom | Hooking | 15:41 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | J. C. Tremblay | Tripping | 17:27 | 2:00 | |
| 3rd | MTL | Ralph Backstrom | Hooking | 08:31 | 2:00 |
| STL | Tim Ecclestone | Hooking | 17:34 | 2:00 | |
| Shots by period | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| Montreal | 14 | 13 | 8 | 35 | |
| St. Louis | 10 | 10 | 9 | 29 | |
Game four
| May 4 | Montreal Canadiens | 2–1 | St. Louis Blues | St. Louis Arena | Recap |
Vachon would perform well in goal again for Montreal in game four, making 32 saves. John Ferguson scored the game winning goal early in the third period to help the Canadiens win the game by a score of 2–1, completing the four-game sweep of St. Louis and winning the Stanley Cup. Serge Savard was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy, becoming the first defenseman in NHL history to win the award.
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | None | ||||
| 2nd | STL | Terry Gray (3) | Frank St. Marseille (3) and Terry Crisp (4) | 10:50 | 1–0 STL |
| 3rd | MTL | Ted Harris (1) | Dick Duff (3) and J. C. Tremblay (4) | 00:42 | 1–1 |
| MTL | John Ferguson (4) | Ralph Backstrom (4) | 03:02 | 2–1 MTL | |
| Penalty summary | |||||
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
| 1st | MTL | Serge Savard | Cross-checking | 00:25 | 2:00 |
| STL | Jean-Guy Talbot | Elbowing | 04:40 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | John Ferguson | Charging | 06:42 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | John Ferguson | Charging | 09:07 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Jacques Lemaire | Spearing | 14:03 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Gary Sabourin | Spearing | 14:03 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Bench (Served by Frank St. Marseille) | Too many men on the ice | 16:17 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Serge Savard | Elbowing | 19:34 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Ab McDonald | High-sticking | 19:34 | 2:00 | |
| 2nd | STL | Jim Roberts | Holding | 03:36 | 2:00 |
| MTL | J. C. Tremblay | Tripping | 14:32 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Red Berenson | Elbowing | 14:32 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Jacques Lemaire | Roughing | 14:45 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Bill Plager | Roughing | 14:45 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Serge Savard | High-sticking | 16:06 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Tim Ecclestone | High-sticking | 16:06 | 2:00 | |
| MTL | Jacques Laperriere | High-sticking | 19:59 | 2:00 | |
| STL | Ab McDonald | High-sticking | 19:59 | 2:00 | |
| 3rd | STL | Al Arbour | Hooking | 05:25 | 2:00 |
| Shots by period | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| Montreal | 8 | 14 | 9 | 31 | |
| St. Louis | 13 | 12 | 8 | 33 | |
Stanley Cup engraving
The 1969 Stanley Cup was presented to Canadiens captain Jean Beliveau by NHL President Clarence Campbell following the Canadiens 2–1 win over the Blues in game four.
The following Canadiens players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup
1968–69 Montreal Canadiens
Players
- 4 Jean Beliveau (Captain)
- 6 Ralph Backstrom
- 16 Henri Richard (A)
- 23 Christian Bordeleau
- 25 Jacques Lemaire
- 5 Gilles Tremblay[B]
- 8 Dick Duff
- 12 Yvan Cournoyer
- 14 Claude Provost (A)
- 15 Bobby Rousseau
- 22 John Ferguson Sr.
- 24 Mickey Redmond
- 2 Jacques Laperriere
- 3 Jean-Claude J. C. Tremblay
- 10 Edward Ted Harris
- 17 Larry Hillman
- 18 Serge Savard
- 19 Terry Harper
- 1 Lorne Gump Worsley
- 29 Anthony Tony Esposito[A]
- 30 Rogatien Vachon
Coaching and administrative staff
- J. David Molson (President/Owner), William Molson (Vice President/Owner)
- Peter Molson (Vice President/Owner), Sam Pollock (Vice President/General Manager)
- Claude Ruel (Head Coach)
- Larry Albut (Trainer), Eddy Palchak (Asst. Trainer)
- Floyd Curry (Asst. General Manager)
Stanley Cup engraving
- ^A Anthony "Tony" Esposito's name was misspelled on the Replica Stanley Cup created in 1992–93 as P. FSPOSITO instead of A. ESPOSITO. Tony Esposito only played 13 regular season games, but qualified to be engraved on the Stanley Cup. Tony dressed for every game in the finals due to Gump Worsley being injured. Tony then won the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) with Chicago in 1970. He was fourth player to accomplish the feat of winning the Stanley Cup before winning the Calder Trophy.
- ^B #5 Gilles Tremblay (LW) missed the playoffs with a career-ending injury. His name was still included in the Stanley Cup.
- Claude Ruel was the 10th NHL rookie coach to win the Stanley Cup.
- #20–21 Lucien Grenier (RW) played 2 semi-final games, but his name was left off the Stanley Cup even though he qualified to be engraved on it. He was left off for playing the whole regular season in the minors.
Won 4 Stanley Cups in 5 Years with Montreal 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969
- Ralph Backstrom, Jean Beliveau, Yvan Cournoyer, Dick Duff, John Ferguson, Terry Harper, Ted Harris, Jacques Laperriere, Claude Provost, Henri Richard, Bobby Rousseau, Gilles Tremblay, Jean-Claude Tremblay, Gump Worsley (14 players), David Molson, Sam Pollock, Larry Aubut (3 non-players).
See also
Notes
References
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Stanley Cup. NHL.
- Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7.