The 1968 Stanley Cup playoffs, to decide the 1968 championship of the National Hockey League (NHL) was the first after the expansion from six to twelve teams.
The playoff system was thus expanded from a four-team to an eight-team tournament, and was designed so that four of the new expansion teams would qualify for the postseason.
The Black Hawks, led by Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita upset the Rangers in six to set up a Montreal-Chicago East Division showdown.
Montreal earned fourteen of a possible twenty points from the ten 1967-1968 regular season matchups between the two teams.
The Black Hawks could not provide another upset, and lost to the Canadiens in five games, giving Montreal their only defeat of the playoffs.
The Montreal Canadiens advanced to their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, having won the championship in 1965 and 1966.
The St. Louis Blues beat out the five other teams also playing in their inaugural season to reach the Final.
The Canadiens, led by Jean Beliveau and Henri Richard swept the series in four games.