1990 Stanley Cup Championship

Lore & Background

For the Oilers, it was their fifth Cup win in seven years, and the team's only championship after trading Gretzky. This was the last of eight consecutive Finals contested by a team from Alberta and nine by a team from Western Canada (the Oilers appeared in six, the Calgary Flames in two, the Vancouver Canucks in one). This was the last appearance in the Finals for the Bruins until 2011, where they would go on to end their 39-year Stanley Cup drought.

In Their Own Story

The ice inside Northlands Coliseum hummed with tension during Game Six. The air smelled of popcorn and anticipation. As the final seconds ticked away, Mark Messier skated toward the bench, the Stanley Cup already gleaming under the arena lights in his mind's eye. When the whistle blew, the roar was deafening, a collective release of years of pressure. Champagne sprayed across the pristine white ice, turning the rink into a mosaic of orange and navy confetti.

Reader's Guide

Edmonton defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4–3, the Los Angeles Kings 4–0 and the Chicago Blackhawks 4–2 to advance to the Final. In Game 5 at the Boston Garden on May 24, the Oilers won 4–1, the first time they had ever clinched the Cup on the road. Edmonton won all three Finals games played at Boston Garden. Craig Simpson scored the game-winning goal. Oilers goaltender Bill Ranford, originally the backup who took over from Grant Fuhr for the remainder of the regular season and the entire playoffs, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Game 5 was the last Stanley Cup Final game ever played at the Boston Garden. Mark Messier won his first Stanley Cup as a team captain, and his fifth overall. He won his sixth Stanley Cup as the captain with the New York Rangers four years later, and scored the Cup-winning goal, making him the only player to captain two different Cup-winning teams.

Did You Know?

• Petr Klima scored at 15:13 of the third overtime period in Game 1 to give the Oilers a 3–2 win; this game remains the longest in Stanley Cup Final history.
• Grant Fuhr played only 21 games during the regular season due to injury, falling short of the 41-game requirement for automatic engraving. However, the Oilers petitioned the NHL, and his name was included on the Cup by s
• The 1990 Stanley Cup was presented to Oilers captain Mark Messier by NHL President John Ziegler following the Oilers 4–1 win over the Bruins in game five.