St. Louis Blues got to Stanley Cup final in first year

I would just like to set the record straight.

The Vegas Golden Knights is not the first expansion team to make it the Stanley Cup finals in its first season.

The St. Louis Blues did it in 1968, at the conclusion of the 1967-68 season, losing to the Montreal Canadiens in four straight games. The Blues lost the four games, each by one goal 3-2 (OT), 1-0, 4-3 (OT) and 3-2.

The Blues were led by their 36-year-old future Hall of Fame goaltender Glenn Hall, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy for the most outstanding player in the playoffs. He allowed just 11 goals for a 2.75 average. Lorne (Gump) Worsley, another Hall of Famer, allowed just seven goals for a 1.75 average in the series for Montreal.

It stands as one of the most outstanding playoff series of NHL history. The Blues downed the Philadelphia Flyers, then the Minnesota North Stars, each in seven games, in earlier series.

Of course, it was a different setup then. The Blues were one of six teams added as the NHL doubled in size that season from the Original Six. The new teams were placed in one division, which meant one of them would make it to the Stanley Cup final. But the Blues, third in their division and seventh overall, would not have made the playoffs if they had been in the other division. However, none of the six new teams would have. The top new team was the Philadelphia Flyers which was sixth overall.

So while it was a different era, the St. Louis Blues still did it first.

Mike Hamilton

St. Catharines