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1985–86 Vancouver Canucks season

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1985–86 Vancouver Canucks
Division4th Smythe
Conference8th Campbell
1985–86 record23–44–13
Goals for282
Goals against333
Team information
General managerJack Gordon
CoachTom Watt
CaptainStan Smyl
Alternate captainsDoug Halward
Rick Lanz
Doug Lidster
ArenaPacific Coliseum
Average attendance10,446
Team leaders
GoalsTony Tanti (39)
AssistsPatrik Sundstrom (48)
PointsPetri Skriko (78)
Penalty minutesGarth Butcher (188)
WinsRichard Brodeur (19)
Goals against averageWendell Young (3.58)

Off-season

Changes were the order of the day after a disastrous 1984-85 campaign. Gone were Vice-President, General Manager, and Head Coach Harry Neale and Associate Coach Ron Smith. Assistant GM Jack Gordon was promoted to GM and Director of Hockey Operations and 1982 Jack Adams Trophy winner Tom Watt was brought in to coach. The team would undergo a cosmetic change as well, altering their jerseys so that the big "V" on the front was replaced by the team logo, while smaller "V"s appeared on the shoulders.

In the Entry Draft, the Canucks took 6'3" right-winger Jim Sandlak with the fourth overall pick. He would play 23 games for the team in the season, collecting four points.

Regular season

Stan Smyl became the first Canuck to reach the 200-goal plateau on November 22 in a 6-5 loss to New Jersey. Richard Brodeur would earn team MVP honours, appearing in a career-high 64 games and keeping the Canucks in many games they had no business being in. On February 28, he registered his 100th win as a Canuck in a 3-1 decision over Philadelphia. Sophomore Petri Skriko earned career high marks in goals (38) and points (78). His point total led the team but he trailed Tony Tanti by one in the goal department.

Otherwise, the only thing to keep fan interest was the three-way turtle derby between the Canucks, Jets, and Kings for the final two playoff spots in the Smythe Division, since the Oilers and Flames were well ahead of them and had already locked up the top two spots in the division. After a dreadful 20-game stretch in which they went 1-13-6 to drop to 20th overall in the NHL (ahead of only a woeful Detroit squad), the Canucks went 5-4-1 in their last ten to finish tied with Winnipeg for third place in the Smythe with 59 points, while Los Angeles was out with 54. On the basis of winning more games (26-23), the Jets claimed third place, while the Canucks drew fourth and a first-round date with the Oilers.

Final standings

Smythe Division[1]
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Edmonton Oilers 80 56 17 7 426 310 119
Calgary Flames 80 40 31 9 354 315 89
Winnipeg Jets 80 26 47 7 295 372 59
Vancouver Canucks 80 23 44 13 282 333 59
Los Angeles Kings 80 23 49 8 284 389 54

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 10, 1985 6–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 1–0–0
2 L October 12, 1985 3–4 St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 1–1–0
3 W October 14, 1985 4–2 New York Islanders (1985–86) 2–1–0
4 T October 16, 1985 3–3 OT Boston Bruins (1985–86) 2–1–1
5 W October 18, 1985 5–4 Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 3–1–1
6 L October 20, 1985 3–4 @ New York Rangers (1985–86) 3–2–1
7 T October 22, 1985 2–2 OT @ New York Islanders (1985–86) 3–2–2
8 W October 23, 1985 5–0 @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 4–2–2
9 L October 25, 1985 4–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) 4–3–2
10 L October 27, 1985 4–7 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) 4–4–2
11 W October 30, 1985 5–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) 5–4–2
12 W November 2, 1985 6–2 Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) 6–4–2
13 L November 5, 1985 4–6 Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 6–5–2
14 L November 8, 1985 0–13 @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 6–6–2
15 W November 9, 1985 7–2 @ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 7–6–2
16 W November 11, 1985 5–0 Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 8–6–2
17 L November 13, 1985 3–6 Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) 8–7–2
18 L November 15, 1985 3–5 @ Washington Capitals (1985–86) 8–8–2
19 L November 16, 1985 5–6 OT @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 8–9–2
20 W November 19, 1985 7–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) 9–9–2
21 L November 20, 1985 0–2 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) 9–10–2
22 L November 22, 1985 5–6 New Jersey Devils (1985–86) 9–11–2
23 L November 26, 1985 3–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) 9–12–2
24 T November 27, 1985 5–5 OT @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 9–12–3
25 L November 29, 1985 4–5 Hartford Whalers (1985–86) 9–13–3
26 L December 2, 1985 0–7 @ Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) 9–14–3
27 L December 4, 1985 4–5 @ Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) 9–15–3
28 L December 6, 1985 1–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1985–86) 9–16–3
29 L December 7, 1985 1–2 @ Washington Capitals (1985–86) 9–17–3
30 L December 11, 1985 3–6 Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 9–18–3
31 W December 14, 1985 4–3 Calgary Flames (1985–86) 10–18–3
32 L December 15, 1985 3–5 @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 10–19–3
33 T December 17, 1985 4–4 OT Washington Capitals (1985–86) 10–19–4
34 W December 20, 1985 5–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) 11–19–4
35 W December 21, 1985 6–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 12–19–4
36 W December 23, 1985 5–3 Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 13–19–4
37 L December 27, 1985 1–6 Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) 13–20–4
38 L December 29, 1985 3–5 Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 13–21–4
39 L January 2, 1986 2–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 13–22–4
40 L January 5, 1986 0–4 @ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 13–23–4
41 T January 7, 1986 2–2 OT @ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 13–23–5
42 L January 9, 1986 4–5 OT @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) 13–24–5
43 L January 10, 1986 3–4 Hartford Whalers (1985–86) 13–25–5
44 L January 14, 1986 1–2 New York Rangers (1985–86) 13–26–5
45 L January 17, 1986 7–9 Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 13–27–5
46 T January 18, 1986 4–4 OT @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 13–27–6
47 W January 21, 1986 5–3 New Jersey Devils (1985–86) 14–27–6
48 W January 24, 1986 4–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) 15–27–6
49 T January 29, 1986 4–4 OT Calgary Flames (1985–86) 15–27–7
50 W January 31, 1986 10–5 Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 16–27–7
51 W February 7, 1986 5–2 Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 17–27–7
52 T February 9, 1986 3–3 OT Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 17–27–8
53 L February 11, 1986 0–1 @ New York Islanders (1985–86) 17–28–8
54 L February 12, 1986 2–5 @ New York Rangers (1985–86) 17–29–8
55 L February 15, 1986 4–9 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) 17–30–8
56 T February 16, 1986 4–4 OT @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) 17–30–9
57 L February 18, 1986 4–5 @ Hartford Whalers (1985–86) 17–31–9
58 L February 21, 1986 0–4 Calgary Flames (1985–86) 17–32–9
59 L February 23, 1986 1–6 Boston Bruins (1985–86) 17–33–9
60 L February 26, 1986 2–4 Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) 17–34–9
61 W February 28, 1986 3–1 Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) 18–34–9
62 L March 1, 1986 2–3 @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) 18–35–9
63 L March 4, 1986 2–6 Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 18–36–9
64 T March 6, 1986 5–5 OT Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 18–36–10
65 L March 8, 1986 3–7 @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) 18–37–10
66 T March 11, 1986 1–1 OT @ Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) 18–37–11
67 L March 12, 1986 2–3 @ Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) 18–38–11
68 T March 15, 1986 1–1 OT @ Boston Bruins (1985–86) 18–38–12
69 L March 16, 1986 4–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) 18–39–12
70 L March 19, 1986 3–4 Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) 18–40–12
71 T March 21, 1986 5–5 OT @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) 18–40–13
72 W March 22, 1986 6–2 Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) 19–40–13
73 L March 24, 1986 4–8 @ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86) 19–41–13
74 W March 26, 1986 7–6 Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) 20–41–13
75 W March 28, 1986 2–1 OT Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 21–41–13
76 W March 30, 1986 4–2 Calgary Flames (1985–86) 22–41–13
77 L April 1, 1986 5–6 @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) 22–42–13
78 L April 2, 1986 4–8 @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 22–43–13
79 W April 5, 1986 5–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) 23–43–13
80 L April 6, 1986 2–3 Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) 23–44–13

Playoffs

The first-round series between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks was quick and painless. Though Thomas Gradin scored a fluky goal to give the Canucks a 2-1 lead early in the second period of Game One, the Oilers then scored six in a row and won by a 7-3 score. They completed the much-expected sweep with a pair of easy 5-1 victories. In his autobiography, Wayne Gretzky would attribute the Oilers’ second-round loss to Calgary to the fact that the victory over Vancouver was so easy that it did not seem like they were in the playoffs yet. The Vancouver fans did not help enhance the playoff atmosphere any, as 7,854 (many of whom were clad in blue and orange) showed up for Game Three. It was a worthy reflection of the condition to which the franchise had sunken.

Player statistics

Awards and records

Transactions

Roster

Draft picks

Farm teams

See also

References

  1. ^ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
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