1982 Stanley Cup playoffs

The 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 7, after the conclusion of the 1981–82 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 16 with the champion New York Islanders defeating the Vancouver Canucks 3–1 to win the Final series four games to none and win the Stanley Cup.

1982 Stanley Cup playoffs
Tournament details
DatesApril 7–May 16, 1982
Teams16
Defending championsNew York Islanders
Final positions
ChampionsNew York Islanders
Runner-upVancouver Canucks
Semifinalists
Tournament statistics
Scoring leader(s)Bryan Trottier (Islanders)
(29 points)
MVPMike Bossy (Islanders)
1981
1983

The first round of the 1982 playoffs saw three first-place teams (Edmonton, Minnesota, and Montreal) upset by fourth-place teams, a round which featured what is still the greatest comeback in NHL history: The Kings' 6–5 win over Edmonton in game three. After trailing 5–0 after two periods, the Kings scored five third period goals—three in the last 5:22, the final goal coming with only five seconds left in regulation. Los Angeles then scored on a face-off early in overtime, thus completing the "Miracle on Manchester".

The eventual champion New York Islanders nearly capitulated in the first round as well, losing games three and four of their first-round playoff series with Pittsburgh after crushing the Penguins in the first two games. In game five, the Islanders scored twice in the last five minutes to force overtime and then won the series on John Tonelli's goal 6:19 into the extra session. This served as a wake-up call for New York, who lost only two more games the rest of the way on their march to a third straight Stanley Cup. Their Finals opponents, the Vancouver Canucks, finished the regular season with only 77 points, defeating three teams beneath them in the standings (Calgary 75, Los Angeles 63, and Chicago 72) in the much weaker Campbell Conference.

Playoff seeds

The 1982 playoffs introduced a new format, in which the four teams with the best regular-season records from each of the four divisions would secure playoff berths. The best-of-five division semi-finals would see the first-place club against the fourth-place team, while the second- and third-place teams faced off. The winning clubs would then meet in a best-of-seven division final. Home-ice advantage for these first two rounds of the playoffs would be granted to the team with the better regular-season record. Division winners would then face one another in the conference finals.

Home-ice advantage for the conference finals was determined by coin flips.[1] Occurring prior to the start of the regular season, this event determined that home-ice advantage would be granted to champions of the Patrick and Norris divisions. The Adams and Smythe division champions would receive that advantage for the following season. Similarly, a puck flip determined that home-ice advantage for the Stanley Cup finals would be granted to the Wales Conference champion this year, with the Campbell Conference champion receiving the advantage next season.

The following teams qualified for the playoffs:

Adams Division

  1. Montreal Canadiens, Adams Division champions – 109 points
  2. Boston Bruins – 96 points
  3. Buffalo Sabres – 93 points
  4. Quebec Nordiques – 82 points

Patrick Division

  1. New York Islanders, Patrick Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 118 points
  2. New York Rangers – 92 points
  3. Philadelphia Flyers – 87 points
  4. Pittsburgh Penguins – 75 points

Norris Division

  1. Minnesota North Stars, Norris Division champions – 94 points
  2. Winnipeg Jets – 80 points
  3. St. Louis Blues – 72 points (32 wins)
  4. Chicago Black Hawks – 72 points (30 wins)

Smythe Division

  1. Edmonton Oilers, Smythe Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 111 points
  2. Vancouver Canucks – 77 points
  3. Calgary Flames – 75 points
  4. Los Angeles Kings – 63 points

Playoff bracket

  Division Semifinals Division Finals Conference Finals Stanley Cup Finals
                                     
A1 Montreal 2  
A4 Quebec 3  
  A4 Quebec 4  
Adams Division
  A2 Boston 3  
A2 Boston 3
A3 Buffalo 1  
  A4 Quebec 0  
Prince of Wales Conference
  P1 NY Islanders 4  
P1 NY Islanders 3  
P4 Pittsburgh 2  
  P1 NY Islanders 4
Patrick Division
  P2 NY Rangers 2  
P2 NY Rangers 3
P3 Philadelphia 1  
  P1 NY Islanders 4
  S2 Vancouver 0
N1 Minnesota 1  
N4 Chicago 3  
  N4 Chicago 4
Norris Division
  N3 St. Louis 2  
N2 Winnipeg 1
N3 St. Louis 3  
  N4 Chicago 1
Clarence Campbell Conference
  S2 Vancouver 4  
S1 Edmonton 2  
S4 Los Angeles 3  
  S4 Los Angeles 1
Smythe Division
  S2 Vancouver 4  
S2 Vancouver 3
S3 Calgary 0  

Division Semifinals

(A1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A4) Quebec Nordiques

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

Dale Hunter scored the game-winning overtime goal in the decisive Game 5 twenty-two seconds into the first OT to help the Nordiques eliminate the Canadiens.

Quebec won series 3–2

(A2) Boston Bruins vs. (A3) Buffalo Sabres

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

Boston won series 3–1

(P1) New York Islanders vs. (P4) Pittsburgh Penguins

This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. New York won the only previous meeting in seven games in the 1975 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals after falling behind 3–0 in the series.

John Tonelli scored the game-tying goal late in the third period and game-winning overtime goal in the decisive Game 5 to lift the Islanders over the Penguins.

New York won series 3–2

(P2) New York Rangers vs. (P3) Philadelphia Flyers

This was the fourth playoff series meeting between the two teams. Philadelphia won two of the previous three meetings, including their most recent meeting in the 1980 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals in five games.

New York won series 3–1

(N1) Minnesota North Stars vs. (N4) Chicago Black Hawks

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

Chicago won series 3–1

(N2) Winnipeg Jets vs. (N3) St. Louis Blues

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

St. Louis won series 3–1

(S1) Edmonton Oilers vs. (S4) Los Angeles Kings

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

Los Angeles won series 3–2

(S2) Vancouver Canucks vs. (S3) Calgary Flames

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

Vancouver won series 3–0

Division Finals

(A2) Boston Bruins vs. (A4) Quebec Nordiques

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

Quebec won series 4–3

(P1) New York Islanders vs. (P2) New York Rangers

This was fourth playoff series meeting between these two teams. The Islanders won two of the previous three meetings. This was a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Semifinals, in which the Islanders won in a four-game sweep.

New York Islanders won series 4–2

(N3) St. Louis Blues vs. (N4) Chicago Black Hawks

This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. Chicago won both previous meetings, including their most recent meeting in a three-game sweep in the 1980 Preliminary Round.

Chicago won series 4–2

(S2) Vancouver Canucks vs. (S4) Los Angeles Kings

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

Vancouver won series 4–1

Conference Finals

(P1) New York Islanders vs. (A4) Quebec Nordiques

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

New York won series 4–0

(N4) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (S2) Vancouver Canucks

This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.

Vancouver won series 4–1

Stanley Cup Finals

This was the second playoff series (and first Finals) meeting between these two teams. New York won the only previous meeting in a two-game sweep in the 1976 Preliminary Round.

In the Stanley Cup Final, the Cinderella run of the Vancouver Canucks came to an end with a four-game sweep by the Islanders, winning their third consecutive Stanley Cup.

New York won series 4–0

Player statistics

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.[2]

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
Bryan TrottierNew York Islanders1962329+940
Mike BossyNew York Islanders19171027+70
Denis PotvinNew York Islanders1951621+930
Thomas GradinVancouver Canucks1791019+810
Denis SavardChicago Black Hawks1511718-252
Stan SmylVancouver Canucks179918+425
Peter StastnyQuebec Nordiques1271118+110
Barry PedersonBoston Bruins1171118+522
Joe MullenSt. Louis Blues1071118+74
Bernie FederkoSt. Louis Blues1031518+810

Goaltenders

This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.[3]

Player Team GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
Billy SmithNew York Islanders18153498472.51.9061 1125:15
Richard BrodeurVancouver Canucks17116594492.71.9170 1086:28
Mike LiutSt. Louis Blues1053251273.29.8920 492:58
Dan BouchardQuebec Nordiques1147359383.37.8940 676:16
Mike MoffatBoston Bruins1165290383.45.8690 661:46

See also

References

  1. "Wales at Home". The Leader-Post. Regina, Saskatchewan. Canadian Press. 17 September 1981. p. B4. Retrieved 20 April 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  2. NHL.com - Skater Stats
  3. NHL.com - Goalie Stats
  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Stanley Cup. Total Sports Canada. ISBN 1-892129-07-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Preceded by
1981 Stanley Cup playoffs
Stanley Cup playoffs Succeeded by
1983 Stanley Cup playoffs
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