1985 Stanley Cup Finals
| 1985 Stanley Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Location(s) | Edmonton (Northlands Coliseum) (3,4,5) Philadelphia (Spectrum) (1,2) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaches | Edmonton: Glen Sather Philadelphia: Mike Keenan | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Captains | Edmonton: Wayne Gretzky Philadelphia: Dave Poulin | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Referees | Andy Van Hellemond, Kerry Fraser, Bryan Lewis | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | May 21 – May 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Wayne Gretzky (Edmonton Oilers) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Series-winning goal | Paul Coffey (17:57, first,G5) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Networks | CBC (Canada-English), CTV (Canada-English, Games 3, 4, 5), SRC (Canada-French), USA (United States), PRISM (Philadelphia area, Games 1, 2), WTAF (Philadelphia area, Games 3, 4, 5) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1985 Stanley Cup Finals was played between the defending champion Edmonton Oilers in their third-straight Finals appearance and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Oilers would win the best-of-seven series four games to one, to win their second Stanley Cup. It was also the sixth straight Finals of post 1967 expansion teams. As of 2013[update], this is also the last time that a team, defending champion or finalist, would appear in the finals for the third straight season. This would be the third of eight consecutive Finals contested by a team from Alberta (Oilers x 6, Calgary Flames x 2), and the second of five consecutive Finals to end with the Cup presentation on Alberta ice (Oilers x 4, Montreal Canadiens x 1).
Paths to the Final
Edmonton defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3–0, the Winnipeg Jets 4–0 and the Chicago Black Hawks 4–2 to advance to the finals.
Philadelphia defeated the New York Rangers 3–0, the New York Islanders 4–1, and the Quebec Nordiques 4–2 to make it to the finals.
The series
The 1985 final series continued to use the format of alternating locations after game two and game five, instead of the previous format of alternating after game two, game four and every game thereafter. The NHL would revert to the previous format for the 1986 final. Wayne Gretzky scored seven goals in the five games. Grant Fuhr stopped two penalty shots. Jari Kurri tied the all-time playoff record with 19 goals.
Game one
| Tuesday, May 21 | Edmonton Oilers | 1 – 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | Spectrum | ||||
The Flyers posted a 4–1 victory to open the series.
Game two
| Thursday, May 23 | Edmonton Oilers | 3 – 1 | Philadelphia Flyers | Spectrum | ||||
Wayne Gretzky's first period goal late in the second period snapped a 1–1 tie, and Dave Hunter added an insurance empty-netter and the Oilers drew even in the series with a 3–1 win.
Game three
| Saturday, May 25 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3 – 4 | Edmonton Oilers | Northland Coliseum | ||||
Gretzky single-handedly won the game for his club. He scored twice within the first 90 seconds of the game, and finished off a hat trick by the end of the first period. Although the Oilers put six shots on net over the final 40 minutes, it was enough to escape with a 4–3 win and 2–1 series lead.
Game four
| Tuesday, May 28 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3 – 5 | Edmonton Oilers | Northland Coliseum | ||||
Unbowed, the Flyers roared out to a 3–1 lead midway through the first period thanks to goals at even strength, on the power play and shorthanded. However, the Oilers roared back with four consecutive goals including a pair from Gretzky, to win 5–3 and take a commanding series lead.
Game five
| Thursday, May 30 | Philadelphia Flyers | 3 – 8 | Edmonton Oilers | Northland Coliseum | ||||
Against backup goaltender Bob Froese, the Oilers blitzed the Flyers with a four-goal first period and sailed to a convincing 8–3 win. Gretzky and Kurri posted a goal and three assists each, Paul Coffey scored twice as did Mark Messier. Edmonton won its second consecutive Stanley Cup while the Flyers, at the time the youngest team in professional sports, took the lessons from their loss into the clubs' next Stanley Cup Finals, losing again to the Oilers in 1987. Wayne Gretzky won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Edmonton Oilers 1985 Stanley Cup champions
Players
- 8 Dave Lumley
- 9 Glenn Anderson
- 10 Jaroslav Pouzar
- 12 Dave Hunter
- 14 Esa Tikkanen
- 16 Pat Hughes
- 17 Jari Kurri
- 18 Mark Napier
- 19 Willy Lindstrom
- 27 Dave Semenko
- 20 Billy Carroll
(played Centre during the regular season)
- 2 Lee Fogolin Jr.
- 4 Kevin Lowe
- 7 Paul Coffey
- 21 Randy Gregg
- 22 Charlie Huddy
- 29 Don Jackson
- 28 Larry Melnyk
- 31 Grant Fuhr
- 35 Andy Moog
Coaching and administrative staff
- Peter Pocklington (Owner),
- Glen Sather (President/General Manager/Head Coach)
- Bruce MacGregor (Asst. General Manager)
- John Muckler (Asst. Coach), Ted Green (Asst. Coach)
- Barry Fraser (Director of Player Personnel/Chief Scout)
- Garnet "Ace" Bailey (Scout), Ed Chadwick (Scout), Lorne Davis (Scout), Matti Valsanen (Scout)
- Peter Millar (Athletic Therapist), Dr. Gordon Cameron (Team Physician)
- Barrie Stafford (Trainer), Lyle Kulchisky (Asst. Trainer)
Stanley Cup engraving
Garnet "Ace" Bailey, Ed Chadwick, Lorne Davis, Matti Valsanen (Scouts), Gordon Cameron (Team Physician) received rings with Edmonton in 1984. Their names however, were left off the Stanley Cup in 1984, but included in 1985.
See also
References
- Diamond, Dan (2000). Total Stanley Cup. Toronto: Total Sports Canada. ISBN 978-1-892129-07-9.
- Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Bolton, Ont.: Fenn Pub. pp 12, 50. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7
