1984 Stanley Cup playoffs


The 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League began on April 4, after the conclusion of the 1983–84 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 19 with the Edmonton Oilers defeating the four time defending champion New York Islanders 5–2 to win the Stanley Cup Finals four games to one, the franchise's first Stanley Cup.

Playoff seeds

The 1984 playoffs largely maintained the format used for the previous two seasons. The four teams with the best regular-season records from each of the four divisions would secure playoff berths. The 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 the 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.
Leaving behind the coin flip system introduced for the 1982 playoffs, the NHL changed the method by which home-ice advantage would be determined for the conference and Stanley Cup finals. The higher total of points accumulated by teams within a division from contests against teams of the other division in the conference, secured home-ice advantage for the corresponding division champion. Similarly, the higher total of points accumulated by teams within a conference from contests against teams of the other conference, secured home-ice advantage for the corresponding conference champion.
This formula resulted in home-ice advantage for the Adams and Smythe division champions in the conference finals and resulted in home-ice advantage for the Wales Conference champions in the Stanley Cup finals.
The sequence of Stanley Cup final games was changed for this season. The series opened with two games in the city with home-ice advantage and then shifted to the rival team's rink for the next three games, including the fifth. The series then returned to the initial city for the final two games.
The following teams qualified for the playoffs:

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division

  1. Boston Bruins, Adams Division champions – 104 points
  2. Buffalo Sabres – 103 points
  3. Quebec Nordiques – 94 points
  4. Montreal Canadiens – 75 points

    Patrick Division

  5. New York Islanders, Patrick Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 104 points
  6. Washington Capitals – 101 points
  7. Philadelphia Flyers – 98 points
  8. New York Rangers – 93 points

    Clarence Campbell Conference

Norris Division

  1. Minnesota North Stars, Norris Division champions – 88 points
  2. St. Louis Blues – 71 points
  3. Detroit Red Wings – 69 points
  4. Chicago Black Hawks – 68 points

    Smythe Division

  5. Edmonton Oilers, Smythe Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 119 points
  6. Calgary Flames – 82 points
  7. Vancouver Canucks – 73 points
  8. Winnipeg Jets – 73 points

    Playoff bracket

Division Semifinals

Prince of Wales Conference

(A1) Boston Bruins vs. (A4) Montreal Canadiens

(A2) Buffalo Sabres vs. (A3) Quebec Nordiques

(P1) New York Islanders vs. (P4) New York Rangers

(P2) Washington Capitals vs. (P3) Philadelphia Flyers

Clarence Campbell Conference

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

(N2) St. Louis Blues vs. (N3) Detroit Red Wings

(S1) Edmonton Oilers vs. (S4) Winnipeg Jets

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

Division Finals

Prince of Wales Conference

(A3) Quebec Nordiques vs. (A4) Montreal Canadiens

Game six of this series is referred to as the Good Friday Massacre.

(P1) New York Islanders vs. (P2) Washington Capitals

Clarence Campbell Conference

(N1) Minnesota North Stars vs. (N2) St. Louis Blues

(S1) Edmonton Oilers vs. (S2) Calgary Flames

scored the overtime winner for Calgary in Game 6.

Conference Finals

Prince of Wales Conference Final

(P1) New York Islanders vs. (A4) Montreal Canadiens

Clarence Campbell Conference Final

(S1) Edmonton Oilers vs (N1) Minnesota North Stars

Stanley Cup Finals

It was a rematch of the 1983 final as the Islanders attempted to match the 1950s Montreal Canadiens and win the Stanley Cup five consecutive times, against the Edmonton Oilers attempting to win the franchise's first championship. The Islanders lost the first game at home 1-0, but bounced back to defeat the Oilers 6-1 in the second game. Edmonton took over the series from that point, winning the next three games, all played in Edmonton.

Player statistics

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.
PlayerTeam
Wayne GretzkyEdmonton Oilers19132235+1812
Jari KurriEdmonton Oilers19141428+913
Mark MessierEdmonton Oilers1981826+919
Paul CoffeyEdmonton Oilers1981422+1821
Clark GilliesNew York Islanders2112719+219
Mike BossyNew York Islanders2181018+54
Glenn AndersonEdmonton Oilers1961117+633
Paul ReinhartCalgary Flames1161117+92
Patrick FlatleyNew York Islanders219615+714
Ken LinsemanEdmonton Oilers1910414+765

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
Montreal Canadiens1596355322.21.9103 870:31
St. Louis Blues1165361292.44.9201 712:32
New York Islanders21128567542.73.9050 1188:11
Quebec Nordiques954224252.77.8880 542:27
Edmonton Oilers16114495442.99.9111 883:44