1982 Stanley Cup playoffs


The 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League 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. '''
The first round of the 1982 playoffs saw three first-place teams 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 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. 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:

Prince of Wales Conference

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

  5. New York Islanders, Patrick Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 118 points
  6. New York Rangers – 92 points
  7. Philadelphia Flyers – 87 points
  8. Pittsburgh Penguins – 75 points

    Clarence Campbell Conference

Norris Division

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

    Smythe Division

  5. Edmonton Oilers, Smythe Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 111 points
  6. Vancouver Canucks – 77 points
  7. Calgary Flames – 75 points
  8. Los Angeles Kings – 63 points

    Playoff bracket

Division Semifinals

Prince of Wales Conference

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

Clarence Campbell Conference

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

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

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

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

Division Finals

Prince of Wales Conference

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

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

Clarence Campbell Conference

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

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

Conference Finals

Prince of Wales Conference Final

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

Clarence Campbell Conference Final

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

Stanley Cup Finals

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.

Player statistics

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.
PlayerTeam
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.
PlayerTeam
New York Islanders18153498472.51.9061 1125:15
Vancouver Canucks17116594492.71.9170 1086:28
St. Louis Blues1053251273.29.8920 492:58
Quebec Nordiques1147359383.37.8940 676:16
Boston Bruins1165290383.45.8690 661:46