The 1982 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's 1981–82 season, and the culmination of the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was played between the Vancouver Canucks in their first Finals appearance and the defending champion New York Islanders, in their third Finals appearance. The Islanders won the best-of-seven series, four games to none, to win their third consecutive and overall Stanley Cup championship. This is also the most recent time that a Stanley Cup Champion has won three in a row and the first, and so far only, time that a U.S.-based team has won three straight Stanley Cups. This 1982 Finals took place under a revised NHL divisional alignment and playoff structure, which de facto revived the "East vs. West" format for the Finals that had been abandoned when the Western Hockey League folded in. It was also the first time a team from Western Canada contested the Finals since the WHL stopped challenging for the Stanley Cup.
Paths to the Finals
Vancouver, despite having a losing record in the regular season, defeated the Calgary Flames 3–0, the Los Angeles Kings 4–1 and the Chicago Blackhawks 4–1 to advance to the finals. This was their first Finals appearance. New York defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2, the New York Rangers 4–2, and the Quebec Nordiques 4–0 to make it to the finals for the third year in a row. With New York having 118 points and Vancouver having 77, the 41-point difference between the two teams in a final round is the largest in Stanley Cup Finals history.
Game summaries
The Canucks had their best chance to win a game in the first one, as a Jim Nill short-handed marker gave them a 5–4 lead with only seven minutes to play in regulation time. However, the Islanders tied it when Mike Bossy banged home a loose puck after goaltender Richard Brodeur had collided with his own defenceman, Harold Snepsts, while trying to smother it. In the dying seconds of the first overtime period, Snepsts attempted to clear the puck up the middle, but it was intercepted by Bossy, who completed his hat trick with two seconds left on the clock to win the game for the Islanders. In game two, the Canucks led 4–3 after two periods, but the Isles came back to win again. The series then shifted to Vancouver, where the Canucks were boosted by a boisterous, towel-waving Vancouver crowd and had a great first period, but failed to score on Billy Smith, who was brilliant. The Islanders went on to win 3–0, and then completed the sweep with a 3–1 victory on May 16 to win their third straight Cup and first on the road. Mike Bossy scored seven goals in the four games, tying Jean Béliveau's record from, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy.
New York Islanders vs. Vancouver Canucks
Mike Bossy won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
