Highlights All twelve of the League's member teams played games on the same day for the first time on October 18, 1967, competing in six scheduled games — the most the League had ever scheduled on one day. On October 11, 1967,
Jean Beliveau of Montreal scored his 400th career goal on goaltender
Hank Bassen of the
Pittsburgh Penguins. This also happened to be the first game in Penguins franchise history. The Canadiens stumbled out of the gate. In their first west coast road trip, the Seals beat them 2–1 and the Kings beat them 4–2. The Habs lost quite a few more and were in last place by December. But by January, Jean Beliveau began to score and others were inspired also. The Habs got very hot, winning 12 consecutive games and then put together 10 more wins to take the East Division lead. Paced by
Gump Worsley, who had 6 shutouts and a 1.98 goals against average and backstopped the team to the fewest goals allowed in the league, they managed to keep first place thereafter. Worsley, for the first time, made the first all-star team. On February 24, 1968,
Rogie Vachon of Montreal was the victim of four goals by
Rod Gilbert, who set an NHL record with 16 shots on goal.
Eddie Giacomin again led the league with 8 shutouts, and led the Rangers to second place, bolstered by
Jean Ratelle's emergence into stardom. Boston obtained
Phil Esposito,
Ken Hodge and
Fred Stanfield in a blockbuster trade with Chicago. This trade, as shown over time, heavily favored the Bruins. This, coinciding with the rise of
Bobby Orr, led to an improvement in Boston's play, and the Bruins led the league in scoring behind Esposito's 84 points and made the playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade. Though he missed action with a knee injury, Orr still won the
Norris Trophy as the league's top defenceman. By contrast, the
Chicago Black Hawks fell into a tailspin, and despite the scoring heroics of
Bobby Hull and
Stan Mikita, were hard pressed to make the playoffs. Mediocre team defence and goaltending was the culprit. However, they were able to beat the Rangers in the quarter-final round, but lost in the semi-final round to eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens.
Roger Crozier felt the strain of goaltending and walked out on Detroit. He came back, but the Red Wings finished last anyway, despite a potent offense led by
Gordie Howe,
Alex Delvecchio and
Norm Ullman. Even a late season trade of Ullman and
Paul Henderson for Toronto star
Frank Mahovlich and future Blues star
Garry Unger was too little, too late. However, on March 24, 1968, Mahovlich became only the 11th player to score 300 goals as he scored both his 300th and 301st goals in a 5–3 win over the Boston Bruins. Meanwhile, the defending Cup champion
Toronto Maple Leafs, still steady on defence in front of elder statesman
Johnny Bower and backup
Bruce Gamble, had numerous problems. Mahovlich spent time in hospital with a nervous breakdown, and the season was marred by contract disputes and tension with the high-strung coach,
Punch Imlach. A late season charge failed to win a playoff berth. In the West Division, the
Philadelphia Flyers became the first regular season champion of the expansion clubs. While their offense was poor (career minor-league
Leon Rochefort led the team with just 21 goals), ex-Bruins' goaltenders
Bernie Parent and
Doug Favell showed surprising form. Behind such hardnosed players as
Gary Dornhoefer,
Ed Van Impe,
Larry Zeidel and
Forbes Kennedy, the team showed the first glimmers of the "Broad Street Bullies" of future years. The
Los Angeles Kings were a team that writers predicted to finish last in the new West Division. Owner
Jack Kent Cooke had purchased the
American Hockey League's
Springfield Indians for $1 million to bolster the Kings roster. Surprisingly, the Kings finished second, just one point out of first.
Bill Flett scored 26 goals, while
Eddie Joyal scored 23 goals, adding 34 assists for 57 points and was the second leading scorer in the West Division. Among the expansion teams, the Kings had the best record against the established teams, going 10–12–2 vs. the Eastern Division. Oakland, predicted to finish first, fell far short of the mark, amidst poor attendance. Defenceman
Kent Douglas, a former
Calder Memorial Trophy winner, played far below expected form and was traded to Detroit for
Ted Hampson and defenceman
Bert Marshall. The Seals finished last in the West Division.
Glenn Hall may have been deemed too old by the Black Hawks, which left him unprotected in the expansion draft, but not for the
St. Louis Blues, who rode his five shutouts to a third-place finish. A surprising benefit was their leading scorer, previously unheralded
Red Berenson (with only 45 points in 185 previous NHL games) who exploded into stardom, more than doubling his career total in only 55 games. By contrast, the
Pittsburgh Penguins finished fifth, led by former Ranger star
Andy Bathgate. Behind an elderly roster—nine of their top ten scorers and both of their goaltenders were over thirty—they could neither muster much offense nor defence. The
Minnesota North Stars had their bright moments despite finishing fourth in the West Division. On December 30, 1967,
Bill Masterton and
Wayne Connelly each scored goals in a 5–4 upset win over the Boston Bruins. On January 10, Connelly—who would finish the season with 35 goals to lead his team and the West Division—had a hat trick in a 6–4 win over the West Division power, the
Philadelphia Flyers and Masterton was the architect on all three goals. Tragedy struck the league on January 13, 1968. In a game at the
Metropolitan Sports Center in
Bloomington, Minnesota, the Oakland Seals were in town to play the North Stars and Bill Masterton led a rush into the Oakland zone. Two defencemen,
Larry Cahan and
Ron Harris braced for the old fashioned sandwich check and as Masterton fired the puck into the Seals zone, the two hit Masterton hard but cleanly. Masterton flipped backwards and hit his head on the ice. He was removed to a
Minneapolis hospital where doctors were prevented from doing surgery by the seriousness of the head injury. Early on the morning of January 15, 1968, Bill Masterton died. He was the first—and as of 2023, the only—player to die as the direct result of injuries suffered in an NHL game, the only such incident in a senior game
since 1907.
Final standings Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold ==Playoffs==