1982 Stanley Cup Championship

Lore & Background

The Islanders became the first (and still only) U.S.-based team to three-peat as Stanley Cup champions, and the third franchise overall to three-peat as Stanley Cup champions, joining the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. The 1981–82 Canucks are one of two Stanley Cup finalist teams without any Hall of Fame players on their roster, the other being the 1996 Florida Panthers. Additionally, this marks the first time since 1955, and in 17 Cup Final attempts, that a U.S.-based team defeated a Canada-based team in the championship round, having lost 16 straight Cup Final series against Canadian teams.

This 1982 Final took place under a geographically revised NHL divisional alignment and playoff structure, which de facto revived the 'East vs. West' format for the Final that had been abandoned when the Western Hockey League folded. It was also the first time a team from Western Canada contested the Final since the WHL stopped challenging for the Stanley Cup (the Victoria Cougars, who had also been the last team from British Columbia to win the Cup, played the 1926 Final too).

This would also be the first of nine consecutive Finals contested by a team from Western Canada, but it was the only one of them to feature the Vancouver Canucks; the other eight were contested by a team from Alberta (Edmonton Oilers appeared in six, Calgary Flames in two). Starting this season home-ice advantage would alternate between conferences as opposed to going to the team with the better record. The latter change would also be of no effect for these Finals since for even years the Wales champion received that advantage and in 1982 their representative, the Islanders, had the better record.

Reader's Guide

Paths to the Final: Vancouver Canucks — Vancouver, despite having a losing record in the regular season, reached their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history. In the first round they swept the Calgary Flames. In the next round they defeated the Los Angeles Kings in five games; after the Kings had upset the Edmonton Oilers and 92-goal scorer Wayne Gretzky in five games which was dubbed the Miracle on Manchester. In the conference finals, the Canucks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in five games.

New York Islanders — The Islanders' route to the Final was slightly harder than Vancouver's. In the first round, the Islanders edged out the Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2. In the second round, they defeated their cross-town rivals in the New York Rangers in six games. In the conference finals, the Islanders swept the Quebec Nordiques to make it to the Final 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 Final history.

Game summaries: Game one — 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.

Game two — In game two, the Canucks led 4–3 after two periods, but the Islanders came back to win again. Game three — 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, making 23 saves for his first shutout of the postseason. Game four — 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 Beliveau's record, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy.