1968–69 Pittsburgh Penguins season

The 1968–69 Pittsburgh Penguins season was the franchise's second season in the National Hockey League.

1968–69 Pittsburgh Penguins
Division	5th West
1968–69 record	20–45–11
Goals for	189
Goals against	248
Team information
General manager	Jack Riley
Coach	George "Red" Sullivan
Captain	Vacant
Alternate captains	Lou Angotti Noel Price Ken Schinkel Bob Woytowich
Arena	Pittsburgh Civic Arena
Average attendance	6,008
Team leaders
Goals	Keith McCreary (25)
Assists	Charlie Burns (38)
Points	Ken Schinkel (52)
Penalty minutes	Dunc McCallum (81)
Wins	Les Binkley, Joe Daley (10)
Goals against average	Marv Edwards (3.00)

Regular season

Final standings

West Division[1]

		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

Record vs. opponents

1968-69 NHL Records
Team	BOS	CHI	DET	LAK	MIN	MON	NYR	OAK	PHI	PIT	STL	TOR
Boston	—	5–2–1	3–2–3	5–1	4–0–2	4–2–2	3–3–2	3–1–2	4–2	5–1	2–2–2	4–2–2
Chicago	2–5–1	—	3–4–1	5–1	5–0–1	1–7	4–3–1	1–5	3–0–3	4–2	3–2–1	3–4–1
Detroit	2–3–3	4–3–1	—	4–2	4–2	2–5–1	4–3–1	3–2–1	3–1–2	4–2	0–4–2	3–4–1
Los Angeles	1–5	1–5	2–4	—	1–4–3	0–4–2	3–3	4–2–2	3–4–1	5–2–1	1–6–1	3–3
Minnesota	0–4–2	0–5–1	2–4	4–1–3	—	0–5–1	1–5	3–4–1	2–3–3	3–5	2–4–2	1–3–2
Montreal	2–4–2	7–1	5–2–1	4–0–2	5–0–1	—	3–4–1	2–3–1	5–1	4–1–1	5–0–1	4–3–1
New York	3–3–2	3–4–1	3–4–1	3–3	5–1	4–3–1	—	5–1	3–1–2	5–1	3–1–2	4–4
Oakland	1–3–2	5–1	2–3–1	2–4–2	4–3–1	3–2–1	1–5	—	4–2–2	4–2–2	1–7	2–4
Philadelphia	2–4	0–3–3	1–3–2	4–3–1	3–2–3	1–5	1–3–2	2–4–2	—	4–1–3	1–6–1	1–1–4
Pittsburgh	1–5	2–4	2–4	2–5–1	5–3	1–4–1	1–5	2–4–2	1–4–3	—	3–4–1	0–3–3
St. Louis	2–2–2	2–3–1	4–0–2	6–1–1	4–2–2	0–5–1	1–3–2	7–1	6–1–1	4–3–1	—	1–4–1
Toronto	2–4–2	4–3–1	4–3–1	3–3	3–1–2	3–4–1	4–4	4–2	1–1–4	3–0–3	4–1–1	—

Schedule and results

1968–69 Schedule
October: 1–4–2 (Home: 1–2–1 ; Road: 0–2–1), 4 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 1 Oct 12 Montreal Canadiens 1–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Montreal Forum (10,701) 0–0–1 1 2 Oct 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–2 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens (16,321) 0–0–2 2 3 Oct 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–3 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum (9,862) 0–1–2 2 4 Oct 19 Boston Bruins 5–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Boston Garden (8,071) 0–2–2 2 5 Oct 23 Chicago Black Hawks 8–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Chicago Stadium (5,889) 0–3–2 2 6 Oct 26 St. Louis Blues 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins St. Louis Arena (7,026) 1–3–2 4 7 Oct 30 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–7 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) (13,111) 1–4–2 4
November: 4–8–2 (Home: 1–4–2 ; Road: 3–4–0), 10 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 8 Nov 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 Los Angeles Kings The Forum (6,602) 1–5–2 4 9 Nov 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–1 Oakland Seals Oakland Coliseum Arena (2,166) 2–5–2 6 10 Nov 6 St. Louis Blues 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins St. Louis Arena (8,526) 2–6–2 6 11 Nov 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–5 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum (16,704) 2–7–2 6 12 Nov 9 Philadelphia Flyers 3–0 Pittsburgh Penguins The Spectrum (7,284) 2–8–2 6 13 Nov 13 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–6 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium (16,666) 2–9–2 6 14 Nov 14 Chicago Black Hawks 6–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Chicago Stadium (5,386) 2–10–2 6 15 Nov 16 New York Rangers 2–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Madison Square Garden (IV) (7,062) 2–11–2 6 16 Nov 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–5 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens (16,356) 2–12–2 6 17 Nov 21 Oakland Seals 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Oakland Coliseum Arena (3,506) 3–12–2 8 18 Nov 23 Los Angeles Kings 2–2 Pittsburgh Penguins The Forum (6,242) 3–12–3 9 19 Nov 27 Toronto Maple Leafs 3–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Maple Leaf Gardens (7,107) 3–12–4 10 20 Nov 28 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium (16,666) 4–12–4 12 21 Nov 30 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 Los Angeles Kings The Forum (7,243) 5–12–4 14
December: 2–10–2 (Home: 1–6–0 ; Road: 1–4–2), 6 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 22 Dec 1 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–4 Oakland Seals Oakland Coliseum Arena (2,676) 5–12–5 15 23 Dec 4 Detroit Red Wings 7–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Olympia Stadium (4,451) 5–13–5 15 24 Dec 7 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–1 St. Louis Blues St. Louis Arena (15,057) 5–13–6 16 25 Dec 8 Toronto Maple Leafs 4–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Maple Leaf Gardens (5,167) 5–14–6 16 26 Dec 11 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–2 Minnesota North Stars Met Center (10,068) 6–14–6 18 27 Dec 14 Los Angeles Kings 2–1 Pittsburgh Penguins The Forum (6,346) 6–15–6 18 28 Dec 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–5 Boston Bruins Boston Garden (14,436) 6–16–6 18 29 Dec 17 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–8 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum (6,986) 6–17–6 18 30 Dec 21 Minnesota North Stars 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Met Center (5,307) 6–18–6 18 31 Dec 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Stadium (16,666) 6–19–6 18 32 Dec 25 Detroit Red Wings 3–6 Pittsburgh Penguins Olympia Stadium (2,420) 7–19–6 20 33 Dec 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 St. Louis Blues St. Louis Arena (15,056) 7–20–6 20 34 Dec 28 Oakland Seals 4–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Oakland Coliseum Arena (8,196) 7–21–6 20 35 Dec 31 Montreal Canadiens 4–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Montreal Forum (3,979) 7–22–6 20
January: 3–10–1 (Home: 1–4–1 ; Road: 2–6–0), 7 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 36 Jan 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–2 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum (16,104) 8–22–6 22 37 Jan 4 Philadelphia Flyers 1–1 Pittsburgh Penguins The Spectrum (6,329) 8–22–7 23 38 Jan 5 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–2 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium (10,973) 8–23–7 23 39 Jan 9 Minnesota North Stars 2–7 Pittsburgh Penguins Met Center (4,017) 9–23–7 25 40 Jan 11 Oakland Seals 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Oakland Coliseum Arena (7,101) 9–24–7 25 41 Jan 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 4–8 Boston Bruins Boston Garden (14,659) 9–25–7 25 42 Jan 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–1 Minnesota North Stars Met Center (10,355) 10–25–7 27 43 Jan 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–3 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium (10,623) 10–26–7 27 44 Jan 18 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–4 Los Angeles Kings The Forum (9,172) 10–27–7 27 45 Jan 19 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–6 Oakland Seals Oakland Coliseum Arena (3,436) 10–28–7 27 46 Jan 23 Minnesota North Stars 3–1 Pittsburgh Penguins Met Center (3,806) 10–29–7 27 47 Jan 25 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Maple Leaf Gardens (10,109) 10–30–7 27 48 Jan 26 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–5 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum (10,987) 10–31–7 27 49 Jan 29 St. Louis Blues 2–1 Pittsburgh Penguins St. Louis Arena (3,185) 10–32–7 27
February: 4–6–2 (Home: 4–2–2 ; Road: 0–4–0), 10 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 50 Feb 1 Philadelphia Flyers 2–2 Pittsburgh Penguins The Spectrum (5,866) 10–32–8 28 51 Feb 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–7 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) (17,250) 10–33–8 28 52 Feb 5 New York Rangers 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Madison Square Garden (IV) (4,024) 11–33–8 30 53 Feb 8 Los Angeles Kings 4–2 Pittsburgh Penguins The Forum (5,933) 11–34–8 30 54 Feb 9 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 Minnesota North Stars Met Center (12,342) 11–35–8 30 55 Feb 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–2 St. Louis Blues St. Louis Arena (13,235) 11–36–8 30 56 Feb 15 Oakland Seals 4–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Oakland Coliseum Arena (5,277) 11–36–9 31 57 Feb 16 Montreal Canadiens 4–0 Pittsburgh Penguins Montreal Forum (5,882) 11–37–9 31 58 Feb 19 Boston Bruins 0–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Boston Garden (3,189) 12–37–9 33 59 Feb 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–3 Detroit Red Wings Olympia Stadium (12,331) 12–38–9 33 60 Feb 22 Detroit Red Wings 2–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Olympia Stadium (8,785) 13–38–9 35 61 Feb 27 Chicago Black Hawks 3–4 Pittsburgh Penguins Chicago Stadium (6,271) 14–38–9 37
March: 6–7–2 (Home: 4–2–0 ; Road: 2–5–2), 14 Points # Date Visitor Score Home Location (Attendance) Record Points 62 Mar 1 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leaf Gardens (16,485) 14–38–10 38 63 Mar 2 Pittsburgh Penguins 0–4 Boston Bruins Boston Garden (14,659) 14–39–10 38 64 Mar 5 St. Louis Blues 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins St. Louis Arena (4,310) 15–39–10 40 65 Mar 8 New York Rangers 5–3 Pittsburgh Penguins Madison Square Garden (IV) (10,016) 15–40–10 40 66 Mar 12 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–4 New York Rangers Madison Square Garden (IV) (17,250) 15–41–10 40 67 Mar 15 Pittsburgh Penguins 1–3 Los Angeles Kings The Forum (8,218) 15–42–10 40 68 Mar 16 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–7 Oakland Seals Oakland Coliseum Arena (3,608) 15–43–10 40 69 Mar 19 Boston Bruins 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins Boston Garden (3,942) 15–44–10 40 70 Mar 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–5 Montreal Canadiens Montreal Forum (16,827) 15–45–10 40 71 Mar 22 Pittsburgh Penguins 2–1 St. Louis Blues St. Louis Arena (15,157) 16–45–10 42 72 Mar 23 Minnesota North Stars 0–5 Pittsburgh Penguins Met Center (3,739) 17–45–10 44 73 Mar 25 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–1 Minnesota North Stars Met Center (11,572) 18–45–10 46 74 Mar 26 Los Angeles Kings 4–8 Pittsburgh Penguins The Forum (8,156) 19–45–10 48 75 Mar 29 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–3 Philadelphia Flyers The Spectrum (11,039) 19–45–11 49 76 Mar 30 Philadelphia Flyers 1–2 Pittsburgh Penguins The Spectrum (5,783) 20–45–11 51
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie

Playoffs

The Penguins were unable to make the playoffs for the second straight year.

Player statistics

Skaters

Regular Season[2] Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM Ken Schinkel 76 18 34 52 –39 18 Charlie Burns 76 13 38 51 –9 22 Keith McCreary 70 25 23 48 –23 42 Jean Pronovost 76 16 25 41 –4 41 Lou Angotti 71 17 20 37 –21 36 Bob Woytowich 71 9 20 29 –26 62 Val Fonteyne 74 12 17 29 –25 2 Wally Boyer 62 10 19 29 –21 17 Gene Ubriaco^‡ 49 15 11 26 0 14 Earl Ingarfield^‡ 40 8 15 23 –17 4 Noel Price 73 2 18 20 –30 61 Billy Harris^† 54 7 13 20 –18 8 Billy Dea 66 10 8 18 –32 4 Leo Boivin^‡ 41 5 13 18 –6 26 Dunc McCallum 62 5 13 18 –35 81 Paul Andrea 25 7 6 13 –10 2 Duane Rupp^† 30 3 10 13 –13 24 George Swarbrick^† 19 1 6 7 –4 28 Tracy Pratt 18 0 5 5 6 34 Bill Speer 34 1 4 5 –16 27 Bryan Watson^† 18 0 4 4 –11 35 Ron Snell 4 3 1 4 4 6 Garry Swain 9 1 1 2 –1 0 Dick Mattiussi^‡ 12 0 2 2 –2 14 John Arbour 17 0 2 2 –14 35 Doug Barrie 8 1 1 2 –2 8 Jean-Guy Lagace 17 0 1 1 –8 14 Bill Lecaine 4 0 0 0 0 0 Bob Dillabough^‡ 14 0 0 0 –6 2 Total 189 330 519 — 667

Goaltenders

Regular Season[3]

Player	GP	W	L	T	GA	SO
Les Binkley	50	10	31	8	158	0
Thomas Daley	29	10	13	3	87	2
Marv Edwards	1	0	1	0	3	0
Total		20	45	11	248	2

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Penguins. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Penguins only.

Awards and records

• Leo Boivin became the first to play 100 games for the Penguins during a 1–2 loss to Los Angeles on December 14. He played 100 of Pittsburgh's first 101 games.
• Ken Schinkel established a new franchise record for lowest plus-minus with –39. He topped the previous record of –23 held by Val Fonteyne.
• Jean Pronovost established a rookie record for the Penguins in terms of assists (25) and points (41).

Transactions

The Penguins were involved in the following transactions during the 1968–69 season:

Trades

July 4, 1968	To Oakland Seals George Konik	To Pittsburgh Penguins cash
September 1, 1968	To Philadelphia Flyers loan of Bob Rivard	To Pittsburgh Penguins cash
October 1, 1968	To Minnesota North Stars 1972 1st round pick	To Pittsburgh Penguins Bob Woytowich
October 1, 1968	To Detroit Red Wings cash	To Pittsburgh Penguins Doug Barrie
November 22, 1968	To Montreal Canadiens Larry Hillman	To Pittsburgh Penguins Jean-Guy Lagace cash
November 29, 1968	To Oakland Seals Bob Dillabough	To Pittsburgh Penguins Billy Harris
January 24, 1969	To Minnesota North Stars Leo Boivin	To Pittsburgh Penguins Duane Rupp
January 30, 1969	To Oakland Seals Earl Ingarfield Sr. Dick Mattiussi Gene Ubriaco	To Pittsburgh Penguins Tracy Pratt George Swarbrick Bryan Watson
May 30, 1969	To Toronto Maple Leafs cash	To Pittsburgh Penguins Forbes Kennedy
June 6, 1969	To St. Louis Blues Lou Angotti 1971 1st round pick	To Pittsburgh Penguins Craig Cameron Ron Schock 1972 2nd round pick

Additions and subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via Charlie Burns Oakland Seals Intra-League Draft (1968–06–12) Larry Hillman Minnesota North Stars waivers (1968–11–22)

Subtractions Player New team Via

Roster

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	NHL Draft	Birthplace
22		Paul Andrea	RW	L	27	Undrafted	North Sydney, Nova Scotia
7		Lou Angotti (A)	C	R	31	Undrafted	Toronto, Ontario
3		John Arbour	D	L	23	Undrafted	Niagara Falls, Ontario
23		Doug Barrie	D	R	22	Undrafted	Edmonton, Alberta
30		Les Binkley	G	R	34	Undrafted	Owen Sound, Ontario
18		Wally Boyer	C	L	31	Undrafted	Cowan, Manitoba
9		Charlie Burns	C	L	33	Undrafted	Detroit, Michigan
1		Thomas Daley	G	L	26	Undrafted	Winnipeg, Manitoba
14		Billy Dea	LW	L	36	Undrafted	Edmonton, Alberta
30		Marv Edwards	G	L	33	Undrafted	St. Catharines, Ontario
8		Val Fonteyne	LW	L	35	Undrafted	Wetaskiwin, Alberta
15		Billy Harris	C	L	33	Undrafted	Toronto, Ontario
23		Jean-Guy Lagace	D	R	24	Undrafted	L'Abord-a-Plouffe, Quebec
17		Bill Lecaine	LW	R	29	Undrafted	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
6		Dunc McCallum	D	R	29	Undrafted	Flin Flon, Manitoba
21		Keith McCreary	RW	L	28	Undrafted	Sundridge, Ontario
11		Tracy Pratt	D	L	26	Undrafted	New York City, New York
4		Noel Price (A)	D	L	33	Undrafted	Brockville, Ontario
19		Jean Pronovost	RW	0	23	Undrafted	Shawinigan Falls, Quebec
2		Duane Rupp	D	L	31	Undrafted	MacNutt, Saskatchewan
12		Ken Schinkel (A)	RW	R	36	Undrafted	Jansen, Saskatchewan
16		Ron Snell	RW	R	20	1968	Regina, Saskatchewan
17		Bill Speer	D	L	27	Undrafted	Lindsay, Ontario
24		Garry Swain	C	L	21	1968	Welland, Ontario
10		George Swarbrick	RW	R	27	Undrafted	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
5		Bryan Watson	D	R	26	Undrafted	Bancroft, Ontario
20		Bob Woytowich (A)	D	R	27	Undrafted	Winnipeg, Manitoba

Draft picks

Round	#	Player	Pos	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
1	4	Garry Swain	Center	Canada	Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA)
2	14	Ron Snell	Right Wing	Canada	Regina Pats (WCHL)
3	21	Dave Simpson	Defense	Canada	Port Arthur Marrs (TBJHL)

References

1. "1968–1969 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
2. "1968–1969 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – All Skaters – Summary – Points – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.
3. "1968–1969 – Regular Season – Pittsburgh Penguins – Goalie – Summary – Wins – NHL.com – Stats". NHL.

External links

• Player statistics on Hockey Database
• Game log on NHL Database