1986 Stanley Cup playoffs


The 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League began on April 9, after the conclusion of the 1985–86 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 24 with the champion Montreal Canadiens defeating the Calgary Flames 4–1 to win the series four games to one and win the Stanley Cup.
This was the last time to date that all active Canadian teams have qualified in the same season. It is also the second time that all seven active teams at the time qualified, the first occurring three years earlier. The playoffs of 1986 saw three first place teams eliminated in the opening round and the fourth, Edmonton, bowed out in the second. This would be the last time that all six Sutter brothers would participate in the playoffs in the same year.
The Montreal Canadiens decided to go with a rookie goaltender by the name of Patrick Roy. This decision proved to be a good one just like when the Canadiens rode rookie goalie Ken Dryden to a Stanley Cup championship in 1971. In the Final, the Canadiens beat the Calgary Flames, who were also riding a rookie netminder, Mike Vernon. Patrick Roy won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP and had a sparkling 1.92 goals against average along with 15 wins. St. Louis forwards Doug Gilmour and Bernie Federko led the playoffs in scoring with 21 points despite missing the finals; this feat was not repeated until 1999.
The 1986 playoffs marked the first time that all four former WHA teams made the playoffs in the same year. This would happen again the following year and in 1999, by which time 3 of those teams had moved, the Quebec Nordiques to Denver, the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix, and the Hartford Whalers to Raleigh, North Carolina.

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the playoffs:

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division

  1. Quebec Nordiques, Adams Division champions – 92 points
  2. Montreal Canadiens – 87 points
  3. Boston Bruins – 86 points
  4. Hartford Whalers – 84 points

    Patrick Division

  5. Philadelphia Flyers, Patrick Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 110 points
  6. Washington Capitals – 107 points
  7. New York Islanders – 90 points
  8. New York Rangers – 78 points

    Clarence Campbell Conference

Norris Division

  1. Chicago Black Hawks, Norris Division champions – 86 points
  2. Minnesota North Stars – 85 points
  3. St. Louis Blues – 83 points
  4. Toronto Maple Leafs – 57 points

    Smythe Division

  5. Edmonton Oilers, Smythe Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 119 points
  6. Calgary Flames – 89 points
  7. Winnipeg Jets – 59 points
  8. Vancouver Canucks – 59 points

    Playoff bracket

Division Semifinals

Prince of Wales Conference

(A1) Quebec Nordiques vs. (A4) Hartford Whalers

This was Hartford's lone playoff series victory in their NHL history prior to moving to Carolina.

(A2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A3) Boston Bruins

(P1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (P4) New York Rangers

(P2) Washington Capitals vs. (P3) New York Islanders

Clarence Campbell Conference

(N1) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (N4) Toronto Maple Leafs

(N2) Minnesota North Stars vs. (N3) St. Louis Blues

(S1) Edmonton Oilers vs. (S4) Vancouver Canucks

(S2) Calgary Flames vs. (S3) Winnipeg Jets

Division Finals

Prince of Wales Conference

(A2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A4) Hartford Whalers

The upstart Whalers pushed the eventual Stanley Cup Champions to the limit before falling. Claude Lemieux scored the series-winning overtime goal for Montreal.

(P2) Washington Capitals vs. (P4) New York Rangers

Clarence Campbell Conference

(N3) St. Louis Blues vs. (N4) Toronto Maple Leafs

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

The deciding goal of game seven between the Oilers and Flames was scored five minutes into the third period when Edmonton's Steve Smith attempted a cross-ice pass from the side of his own net and the puck struck goaltender Grant Fuhr's leg and went into the Edmonton goal. This goal is significant because it eliminated the Oilers from the playoffs and prevented them from possibly winning a third straight Stanley Cup. To date this is the Flames' only playoff series victory over the Oilers.

Conference Finals

Prince of Wales Conference Final

(A2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (P4) New York Rangers

This series is best remembered for the third game, in which the Rangers badly outshot the Habs, but were stymied by Patrick Roy. Another Montreal rookie, Claude Lemieux, scored in overtime—his second overtime goal of the playoffs.

Clarence Campbell Conference Final

(S2) Calgary Flames vs. (N3) St. Louis Blues

In Game 6, the Flames led 4–1 after two periods and 5–2 early in the third, but the Blues came back to tie it and then won on an overtime goal by Doug Wickenheiser. In Game 7, the Flames were up 2–0 before the Blues scored in the third to cut the lead in half. There wouldn't be another comeback, though, as Mike Vernon and the Flames withstood a late assault to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final.

Stanley Cup Finals

This was the first playoff series between these two teams. This was the Canadiens thirty-second appearance in the Finals, while the Flames were making their first appearance in the Finals. Montreal had most recently won the Stanley Cup in 1979. The Flames became the first team to represent Calgary in the Finals since the 1923–24 Calgary Tigers who were defeated by the same Montreal Canadiens.
In game two Montreal's Brian Skrudland set an NHL and Stanley Cup Finals record for the quickest overtime goal in history, scoring just nine seconds into overtime to win the game for Montreal.

Player statistics

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.
PlayerTeam
Doug GilmourSt. Louis Blues1991221+325
Bernie FederkoSt. Louis Blues1971421+217
Joe MullenCalgary Flames2112719-34
Wayne GretzkyEdmonton Oilers1081119-12
Mats NaslundMontreal Canadiens2081119-14
Al MacInnisCalgary Flames2141519+1030
Lanny McDonaldCalgary Flames2211718+530
Paul ReinhartCalgary Flames2151318-24
Greg PaslawskiSt. Louis Blues1710717+413
Pierre LaroucheNew York Rangers168917-50

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
Hartford Whalers852226141.91.9381 439:29
Montreal Canadiens20155504391.93.9231 1214:56
Washington Capitals954253242.66.9050 541:15
Calgary Flames21129581602.94.8970 1226:02
St. Louis Blues1063327292.98.9110 583:11