1986 Stanley Cup playoffs

1986 Stanley Cup playoffs

Tournament details
Dates	April 9–May 24, 1986
Teams	16
Defending champions	Edmonton Oilers
Final positions
Champions	Montreal Canadiens
Runner-up	Calgary Flames
Conference runners-up	New York Rangers St. Louis Blues

The Stanley Cup

The 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) 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.

In the first round, six of the eight series ended in a three game sweep. The only two first-round series that didn't were the Rangers over the Flyers, and the Blues over the North Stars, both going the full five games.

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

1. Philadelphia Flyers, Patrick Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 110 points
2. Washington Capitals – 107 points
3. New York Islanders – 90 points
4. 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

1. Edmonton Oilers, Smythe Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 119 points
2. Calgary Flames – 89 points
3. Winnipeg Jets – 59 points (26 wins)
4. Vancouver Canucks – 59 points (23 wins)

Division Semifinals

Prince of Wales Conference

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

This was the first playoff series between these two teams.

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

April 9	Hartford Whalers		3–2	OT	Quebec Nordiques	Quebec Coliseum	Recap
Dean Evason (1) – 19:11		First period			02:44 – pp – Anton Stastny (1)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
John Anderson (1) – pp – 09:29		Third period			12:47 – Brent Ashton (1)
Sylvain Turgeon (1) – 02:36		First overtime period			No scoring
Mike Liut 37 saves / 39 shots		Goalie stats			Clint Malarchuk 34 saves / 37 shots

April 10	Hartford Whalers		4–1		Quebec Nordiques	Quebec Coliseum	Recap
Stew Gavin (1) – 03:53 Paul MacDermid (1) – 08:51		First period			No scoring
Paul MacDermid (2) – 08:22		Second period			No scoring
Torrie Robertson (1) – 16:32		Third period			01:39 – Alain Cote (1)
Mike Liut 26 saves / 27 shots		Goalie stats			Clint Malarchuk 27 saves / 31 shots

April 12	Quebec Nordiques		4–9		Hartford Whalers	Hartford Civic Center	Recap
Alain Lemieux (1) – pp – 08:40 Brent Ashton – sh – 15:52		First period			02:29 – pp – Kevin Dineen (1) 05:22 – sh – Dave Tippett (1) 15:08 – Ron Francis (1) 19:20 – pp – Ray Ferraro (1)
Michel Goulet (1) – pp – 11:06		Second period			02:07 – Ulf Samuelsson (1) 13:08 – pp – Ray Ferraro (2) 13:34 – pp – John Anderson (2)
Mark Kumpel (1) – 11:19		Third period			07:00 – John Anderson (3) 18:23 – Kevin Dineen (2)
Mario Gosselin 17 saves / 22 shots Clint Malarchuk 9 saves / 13 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Liut 29 saves / 33 shots

Hartford won series 3–0

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

This was the 21st playoff series between these two teams. Montreal lead 18–2 in previous playoff meetings. Montreal won last year's Adams Division Semifinals 3–2.

April 9	Boston Bruins		1–3		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			06:53 -pp – Bobby Smith (1) 11:28 – Bobby Smith (2) 16:30 – Mike McPhee (1)
Gord Kluzak (1) – pp – 14:46		Third period			No scoring
Pat Riggin 20 saves / 23 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 25 saves / 26 shots

April 10	Boston Bruins		2–3		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			11:38 – Stephane Richer (1) 16:56 – pp – Claude Lemieux (1)
Barry Pederson (1) – 12:15 Keith Crowder (1) – 12:56		Third period			17:33 – pp – Claude Lemieux (2)
Bill Ranford 21 saves / 24 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 19 saves / 21 shots

April 12	Montreal Canadiens		4–3		Boston Bruins	Boston Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			17:56 – sh – Steve Kasper (1)
Claude Lemieux (3) – 02:13 Mats Naslund (1) – 10:09		Second period			15:02 – pp – Reed Larson (1) 15:16 – Keith Crowder (2)
Bob Gainey (1) – 00:50 Bob Gainey (2) – sh – 08:58		Third period			No scoring
Patrick Roy 28 saves / 31 shots		Goalie stats			Bill Ranford 16 saves / 20 shots

Montreal won series 3–0

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

This was the seventh playoff series meeting between these two teams. Both teams have split their previous six meetings. Philadelphia won last year's Patrick Division Semifinals in a three-game sweep.

April 9	New York Rangers		6–2		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
Mike Ridley (1) – pp – 05:03 Bob Brooke (1) – sh – 14:11		First period			09:48 – Rich Sutter (1) 14:44 – pp – Dave Poulin (1)
Mike Ridley (2) – pp – 08:45 Ron Greschner (1) – 10:39		Second period			No scoring
Bob Brooke (2) – 00:57 Kelly Miller (1) – sh – 06:02		Third period			No scoring
John Vanbiesbrouck 31 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Bob Froese 16 saves / 22 shots

April 10	New York Rangers		1–2		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
No scoring		First period			10:54 – Rich Sutter (2) 11:10 – Brad McCrimmon (1)
Pierre Larouche (1) – pp – 00:49		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
John Vanbiesbrouck 42 saves / 44 shots		Goalie stats			Bob Froese 11 saves / 12 shots

April 12	Philadelphia Flyers		2–5		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
Tim Kerr (1) – 12:34		First period			09:38 – Ron Greschner (2)
Ilkka Sinisalo (1) – 04:54		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			08:13 – Mike Ridley (3) 12:29 – pp – Jim Wiemer (1) 12:43 – Bob Brooke (3) 13:07 – Ron Greschner (3)
Bob Froese 28 saves / 32 shots Glenn Resch 0 saves / 1 shots		Goalie stats			John Vanbiesbrouck 30 saves / 32 shots

April 13	Philadelphia Flyers		7–1		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
Peter Zezel (1) – 15:44 Peter Zezel (2) – pp – 18:36		First period			04:15 – pp – Pierre Larouche (2)
Dave Poulin (2) – 00:16 Tim Kerr (2) – 01:01 Peter Zezel (3) – 05:17 Rick Tocchet (1) – 06:24 Tim Kerr (3) – pp – 17:20		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Bob Froese 31 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			Glen Hanlon 11 saves / 13 shots John Vanbiesbrouck 13 saves / 18 shots

April 15	New York Rangers		5–2		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
Pierre Larouche (3) – 11:36		First period			No scoring
Willie Huber (1) – 09:45 Mark Osborne (1) – 10:56		Second period			06:26 – Ilkka Sinisalo (2)
Kelly Miller (2) – 19:20 Don Maloney (1) – 19:43		Third period			11:36 – Brad McCrimmon (2)
John Vanbiesbrouck 34 saves / 36 shots		Goalie stats			Bob Froese 22 saves / 25 shots

New York won series 3–2

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

This was the fourth playoff series between these two teams. New York won all three previous meetings over the past three seasons. New York won last year's Patrick Division Semifinals 3–2.

April 9	New York Islanders		1–3		Washington Capitals	Capital Centre	Recap
Clark Gillies (1) – 16:25		First period			10:12 – Gaetan Duchesne (1)
No scoring		Second period			11:46 – Bobby Carpenter (1)
No scoring		Third period			12:16 – Dave Christian (1)
Kelly Hrudey 33 saves / 36 shots		Goalie stats			Pete Peeters 32 saves / 33 shots

April 10	New York Islanders		2–5		Washington Capitals	Capital Centre	Recap
Pat LaFontaine (1) – pp – 19:48		First period			06:22 – Gaetan Duchesne (2)
Bryan Trottier (1) – 18:26		Second period			04:22 – Greg Smith (1) 18:35 – Scott Stevens (1)
No scoring		Third period			00:58 – Bobby Gould (1) 19:45 – Bobby Gould (2)
Billy Smith 29 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Pete Peeters 27 saves / 29 shots

April 12	Washington Capitals		3–1		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
Rod Langway (1) – pp – 13:20		First period			No scoring
Scott Stevens (2) – pp – 07:18 Larry Murphy (1) – pp – 15:08		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			05:12 – Mike Bossy (1)
Pete Peeters 27 saves / 28 shots		Goalie stats			Kelly Hrudey 20 saves / 23 shots

Washington won series 3–0

Clarence Campbell Conference

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

This was the seventh playoff series meeting between these two teams. Toronto won four of the previous six meetings. Their last meeting was in the 1967 Stanley Cup Semifinals, in which Toronto won in six games.

April 9	Toronto Maple Leafs		5–3		Chicago Black Hawks	Chicago Stadium	Recap
Steve Thomas (1) – pp – 03:46 Wendel Clark (1) – 17:22		First period			11:49 – Doug Wilson (1)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Gary Leeman (1) – 06:09 Walt Poddubny (1) – 09:28 Steve Thomas (2) – pp – 17:47		Third period			04:48 – pp – Darryl Sutter (1) 18:29 – Tom Lysiak (1)
Ken Wregget 35 saves / 38 shots		Goalie stats			Bob Sauve 32 saves / 37 shots

April 10	Toronto Maple Leafs		6–4		Chicago Black Hawks	Chicago Stadium	Recap
Dan Daoust (1) – 04:01 Steve Thomas (3) – pp – 15:46		First period			09:58 – pp – Denis Savard (1) 19:28 – pp – Denis Savard (2)
Wendel Clark (2) – 16:09		Second period			01:04 – Denis Savard (3) 14:57 – Denis Savard (4)
Peter Ihnacak (1) – 14:10 Walt Poddubny (2) – 19:04 Steve Thomas (4) – 19:39		Third period			No scoring
Ken Wregget 42 saves / 46 shots		Goalie stats			Bob Sauve 20 saves / 23 shots Murray Bannerman 6 saves / 8 shots

April 12	Chicago Black Hawks		2–7		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
No scoring		First period			02:15 – Russ Courtnall (1) 19:53 – pp – Rick Vaive (1)
Ken Yaremchuk (1) – 17:41 Tom Lysiak (2) – 17:59		Second period			09:41 – Tom Fergus (1) 11:27 – Miroslav Frycer (1) 16:46 – Wendel Clark (3)
No scoring		Third period			09:03 – Walt Poddubny (3) 12:56 – pp – Russ Courtnall (2)
Murray Bannerman 25 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			Ken Wregget 22 saves / 24 shots

Toronto won series 3–0

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

This was the seventh playoff series meeting between these two teams. Both teams split their previous six series. Minnesota won last year's Norris Division Semifinals in a three-game sweep.

April 9	St. Louis Blues		2–1		Minnesota North Stars	Met Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Lee Norwood (1) – 04:53		Second period			13:58 – Dirk Graham (1)
Doug Gilmour (1) – sh – 07:06		Third period			No scoring
Rick Wamsley 27 saves / 28 shots		Goalie stats			Don Beaupre 28 saves / 30 shots

April 10	St. Louis Blues		2–6		Minnesota North Stars	Met Center	Recap
Doug Gilmour (2) – 06:35		First period			05:32 – Tony McKegney (1) 12:03 – Brian Bellows (1) 12:42 – Dirk Graham (2)
Bernie Federko (1) – 19:01		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			04:05 – Dennis Maruk (1) 09:54 – Brian Bellows (2) 18:42 – Dennis Maruk (2)
Rick Wamsley 28 saves / 34 shots		Goalie stats			Don Beaupre 29 saves / 31 shots

April 12	Minnesota North Stars		3–4		St. Louis Blues	St. Louis Arena	Recap
Neal Broten (1) – pp – 14:52 Dennis Maruk (3) – pp – 16:38		First period			07:09 – Greg Paslawski (1)
Kent Nilsson (1) – 03:27		Second period			17:16 – Greg Paslawski (2)
No scoring		Third period			00:27 – Bernie Federko (2) 07:57 – Bernie Federko (3)
Don Beaupre 27 saves / 31 shots		Goalie stats			Greg Millen 30 saves / 33 shots

April 13	Minnesota North Stars		7–4		St. Louis Blues	St. Louis Arena	Recap
Neal Broten (2) – 08:07 Neal Broten (3) – 08:30 Brian Bellows (3) – pp – 18:33		First period			02:20 – pp – Mark Hunter (1) 11:21 – Gino Cavallini (1) 15:28 – Kevin LaVallee (1)
Brian Bellows (4) – pp – 02:54 Dirk Graham (3) – sh – 06:50 Tony McKegney (2) – 15:35		Second period			No scoring
Dennis Maruk (4) – 18:57		Third period			13:26 – Mark Hunter (2)
Don Beaupre 34 saves / 38 shots		Goalie stats			Rick Wamsley 29 saves / 35 shots

April 15	St. Louis Blues		6–3		Minnesota North Stars	Met Center	Recap
Lee Norwood (2) – 10:18 Greg Paslawski (3) – pp – 13:33		First period			02:53 – Ron Wilson (1) 04:40 – pp – Brian Bellows (5)
Greg Paslawski (4) – 00:38		Second period			No scoring
Eddy Beers (1) – 03:50 Greg Paslawski (5) – 16:38 Bernie Federko (4) – 19:50		Third period			15:13 – pp – Ron Wilson (2)
Greg Millen 35 saves / 38 shots		Goalie stats			Don Beaupre 22 saves / 27 shots

St. Louis won series 3–2

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

This was the first playoff series between these two teams.

April 9	Vancouver Canucks		3–7		Edmonton Oilers	Northlands Coliseum	Recap
Brent Peterson (1) – pp – 07:41		First period			00:38 – Glenn Anderson (1) 02:06 – pp – Paul Coffey (1) 12:20 – Wayne Gretzky (1)
Thomas Gradin (1) – 06:21		Second period			No scoring
Patrik Sundstrom (1) – pp – 07:47		Third period			04:27 – pp – Mike Krushelnyski (1) 05:09 – Kevin Lowe (1) 10:49 – Mike Krushelnyski (2) 17:23 – Kevin McClelland (1)
Richard Brodeur 31 saves / 38 shots		Goalie stats			Grant Fuhr 28 saves / 31 shots

April 10	Vancouver Canucks		1–5		Edmonton Oilers	Northlands Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period			00:33 – Mark Messier (1) 01:39 – pp – Wayne Gretzky (2) 11:01 – Glenn Anderson (2)
Brent Peterson (2) – 06:33		Second period			12:53 – Raimo Summanen (1)
No scoring		Third period			06:29 – Jari Kurri (1)
Wendell Young 27 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			Andy Moog 26 saves / 27 shots

April 12	Edmonton Oilers		5–1		Vancouver Canucks	Pacific Coliseum	Recap
Mark Messier (2) – sh – 07:44 Mike Krushelnyski (3) – 12:58		First period			No scoring
Dave Hunter (1) – 10:37		Second period			No scoring
Wayne Gretzky (3) – pp – 04:38 Esa Tikkanen (1) – 11:28		Third period			01:09 – Thomas Gradin (2)
Grant Fuhr 21 saves / 22 shots		Goalie stats			Richard Brodeur 36 saves / 41 shots

Edmonton won series 3–0

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

This was the second playoff series between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Smythe Division Semifinals, in which Winnipeg won 3–1.

April 9	Winnipeg Jets		1–5		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
Mario Marois (1) – pp – 15:29		First period			12:02 – Lanny McDonald (1) 16:14 – Joe Mullen (1)
No scoring		Second period			01:42 – John Tonelli (1) 05:22 – pp – Paul Reinhart (1) 13:05 – Jim Peplinski (1)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Dan Bouchard 17 saves / 22 shots Brian Hayward 6 saves / 6 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 22 saves / 23 shots

April 10	Winnipeg Jets		4–6		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
No scoring		First period			03:25 – Al MacInnis (1) 07:15 – Doug Risebrough (1)
Ray Neufeld (1) – 06:16 Bill Derlago (1) – 11:40		Second period			07:40 – Joe Mullen (2) 11:09 – Paul Reinhart (2) 17:15 – John Tonelli (2)
Doug Smail (1) – 03:50 Thomas Steen (1) – sh – 12:35		Third period			07:44 – Lanny McDonald (2)
Brian Hayward 19 saves / 25 shots Marc Behrend 7 saves / 7 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 33 saves / 37 shots

April 12	Calgary Flames		4–3	OT	Winnipeg Jets	Winnipeg Arena	Recap
Doug Risebrough (2) – 05:09 Joe Mullen (3) – 08:52		First period			16:49 – pp – Ray Neufeld (2)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Al MacInnis (2) – pp – 18:17		Third period			05:43 – Paul MacLean (1) 13:05 – pp – Brian Mullen (1)
Lanny McDonald (3) – 08:25		First overtime period			No scoring
Mike Vernon 29 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			Daniel Berthiaume 39 saves / 43 shots

Calgary won series 3–0

Division Finals

Prince of Wales Conference

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

This was the second playoff series between these two teams. Montreal won the only previous meeting in a three-game sweep in the 1980 Preliminary Round.

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

April 17	Hartford Whalers		4–1		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Stew Gavin (2) – 04:24 Sylvain Turgeon (2) – 06:44 John Anderson (4) – pp – 17:21		Second period			No scoring
Stew Gavin (3) – 19:02		Third period			10:42 – pp – Chris Nilan (1)
Mike Liut 26 saves / 27 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 19 saves / 22 shots

April 19	Hartford Whalers		1–3		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			12:33 – pp – Stephane Richer (2) 17:04 – Guy Carbonneau (1)
Ray Ferraro (3) – pp – 07:17		Second period			06:12 – Guy Carbonneau (2)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Mike Liut 27 saves / 30 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 24 saves / 25 shots

April 21	Montreal Canadiens		4–1		Hartford Whalers	Hartford Civic Center	Recap
Kjell Dahlin (1) – 04:48 Stephane Richer (3) – pp – 18:43		First period			No scoring
Claude Lemieux (4) – 04:09		Second period			04:41 – Dave Tippett (2)
Guy Carbonneau (3) – 18:38		Third period			No scoring
Patrick Roy 20 saves / 21 shots		Goalie stats			Steve Weeks 13 saves / 15 shots Mike Liut 5 saves / 6 shots

April 23	Montreal Canadiens		1–2	OT	Hartford Whalers	Hartford Civic Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			13:53 – Stew Gavin (4)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Mats Naslund (2) – pp – 12:22		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			01:07 – Kevin Dineen (3)
Patrick Roy 22 saves / 24 shots		Goalie stats			Steve Weeks 18 saves / 19 shots

April 25	Hartford Whalers		3–5		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Kevin Dineen (4) – 15:46		First period			02:05 – pp – Claude Lemieux (5) 08:26 – sh – Guy Carbonneau (4) 12:44 – pp – Mats Naslund (3)
Kevin Dineen (5) – 14:14		Second period			16:03 – Mike Lalor (1)
John Anderson (5) – 09:58		Third period			18:41 – Guy Carbonneau (5)
Steve Weeks 25 saves / 30 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 20 saves / 23 shots

April 27	Montreal Canadiens		0–1		Hartford Whalers	Hartford Civic Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			07:30 – Kevin Dineen (6)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Patrick Roy 16 saves / 17 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Liut 32 saves / 32 shots

April 29	Hartford Whalers		1–2	OT	Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			18:47 – sh – Mike McPhee (2)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Dave Babych (1) – 17:12		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			05:55 – Claude Lemieux (6)
Mike Liut 30 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 24 saves / 25 shots

Montreal won series 4–3

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

This was the first playoff series between these two teams.

April 17	New York Rangers		4–3	OT	Washington Capitals	Capital Centre	Recap
Brian MacLellan (1) – 11:48		First period			08:46 – Dave Christian (2) 12:39 – Bobby Gould (3)
Mark Osborne (2) – sh – 17:33		Second period			06:39 – Alan Haworth (1)
Mike Ridley (4) – 09:37		Third period			No scoring
Brian MacLellan (2) – 01:16		First overtime period			No scoring
John Vanbiesbrouck 24 saves / 27 shots		Goalie stats			Pete Peeters 19 saves / 23 shots

April 19	New York Rangers		1–8		Washington Capitals	Capital Centre	Recap
No scoring		First period			09:27 – Mike Gartner (1) 11:38 – Craig Laughlin (1) 19:03 – Alan Haworth (2)
Larry Melnyk (1) – 05:12		Second period			06:46 – Gaetan Duchesne (3) 14:08 – sh – Gaetan Duchesne (4)
No scoring		Third period			03:00 – pp – Jorgen Pettersson (1) 11:19 – pp – Alan Haworth (3) 13:22 – Greg Adams (1)
John Vanbiesbrouck 21 saves / 26 shots Glen Hanlon 10 saves / 13 shots		Goalie stats			Pete Peeters 19 saves / 20 shots

April 21	Washington Capitals		6–3		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
Bobby Carpenter (2) – 03:06 Mike Gartner (2) – 06:45		First period			No scoring
Bobby Carpenter (3) – 02:42 John Barrett (1) – 04:09		Second period			No scoring
John Barrett (2) – 04:37 Alan Haworth (4) – 09:44		Third period			04:08 – pp – Pierre Larouche (4) 07:50 – pp – Wilf Paiement (1) 17:56 – Pierre Larouche (5)
Pete Peeters 39 saves / 42 shots		Goalie stats			John Vanbiesbrouck 22 saves / 28 shots

April 23	Washington Capitals		5–6	OT	New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
Dave Christian (3) – 07:15 Kevin Hatcher (1) – 10:49 Bobby Carpenter (4) – pp – 13:19		First period			06:47 – pp – Wilf Paiement (2)
Bobby Gould (4) – 18:59		Second period			04:42 – Mike Ridley (5) 08:29 – Tomas Sandstrom (1)
Greg Smith (2) – sh – 07:45		Third period			08:09 – pp – Willie Huber (2) 17:25 – Bob Brooke (3)
No scoring		First overtime period			02:40 – Bob Brooke (4)
Pete Peeters 24 saves / 30 shots		Goalie stats			John Vanbiesbrouck 24 saves / 29 shots

April 25	New York Rangers		4–2		Washington Capitals	Capital Centre	Recap
Pierre Larouche (6) – 04:05 Wilf Paiement (3) – pp – 13:40		First period			02:51 – pp – Dave Christian (4) 03:34 – pp – Scott Stevens (3)
Tomas Sandstrom (2) – 13:49		Second period			No scoring
Don Maloney (2) – 02:12		Third period			No scoring
John Vanbiesbrouck 30 saves / 32 shots		Goalie stats			Pete Peeters 23 saves / 27 shots

April 27	Washington Capitals		1–2		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			12:36 – Pierre Larouche (7)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Bobby Carpenter (5) – pp – 05:38		Third period			00:34 – pp – Pierre Larouche (8)
Pete Peeters 19 saves / 21 shots		Goalie stats			John Vanbiesbrouck 27 saves / 28 shots

New York won series 4–2

Clarence Campbell Conference

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

This was the first playoff series between these two teams.

April 18	Toronto Maple Leafs		1–6		St. Louis Blues	St. Louis Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			16:19 – pp – Dave Barr (1)
Wendel Clark (4) – pp – 08:04		Second period			02:40 – Gino Cavallini (2) 02:47 – Ron Flockhart (1)
No scoring		Third period			05:28 – Charlie Bourgeois (1) 11:49 – pp – Greg Paslawski (6) 14:04 – pp – Charlie Bourgeois (2)
Ken Wregget 30 saves / 36 shots		Goalie stats			Greg Millen 23 saves / 24 shots

April 20	Toronto Maple Leafs		3–0		St. Louis Blues	St. Louis Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Peter Ihnacak (2) – 09:14		Second period			No scoring
Tom Fergus (2) – pp – 04:56 Borje Salming (1) – 18:47		Third period			No scoring
Ken Wregget 35 saves / 35 shots		Goalie stats			Greg Millen 36 saves / 38 shots

April 22	St. Louis Blues		2–5		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
Doug Gilmour (3) – 05:26		First period			19:05 – Rick Vaive (2)
Greg Paslawski (7) – 11:25		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			00:40 – pp – Tom Fergus (3) 13:49 – Wendel Clark (5) 15:15 – Rick Vaive (3) 15:31 – Russ Courtnall (3)
Rick Wamsley 20 saves / 25 shots		Goalie stats			Ken Wregget 25 saves / 27 shots

April 24	St. Louis Blues		7–4		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
Herb Raglan (1) – 03:41 Mark Hunter (3) – pp – 12:33		First period			06:38 – pp – Rick Vaive (4) 18:20 – Chris Kotsopoulos (1)
Doug Gilmour (4) – sh – 04:55 Mark Reeds (1) – 08:41		Second period			15:09 – pp – Tom Fergus (4)
Doug Gilmour (5) – 00:47 Rick Meagher (1) – 04:28 Rick Meagher (2) – 19:36		Third period			09:03 – pp – Brad Smith (1)
Greg Millen 36 saves / 40 shots		Goalie stats			Ken Wregget 27 saves / 33 shots

April 26	Toronto Maple Leafs		3–4	OT	St. Louis Blues	St. Louis Arena	Recap
Rick Vaive (5) – pp – 09:53 Gary Leeman (2) – 17:54		First period			No scoring
Rick Vaive (6) – 00:53		Second period			07:09 – Greg Paslawski (8) 13:42 – Ric Nattress (1)
No scoring		Third period			10:25 – Bernie Federko (5)
No scoring		First overtime period			07:11 – Mark Reeds (2)
Ken Wregget 31 saves / 35 shots		Goalie stats			Greg Millen 38 saves / 41 shots

April 28	St. Louis Blues		3–5		Toronto Maple Leafs	Maple Leaf Gardens	Recap
Doug Gilmour (6) – pp – 00:51 Doug Gilmour (7) – 19:10		First period			13:51 – Tom Fergus (5)
Mark Hunter (4) – 17:32		Second period			09:18 – Steve Thomas (5)
No scoring		Third period			01:16 – Steve Thomas (6) 12:25 – Walt Poddubny (4) 19:16 – Dan Daoust (2)
Greg Millen 25 saves / 29 shots		Goalie stats			Ken Wregget 21 saves / 24 shots

April 30	Toronto Maple Leafs		1–2		St. Louis Blues	St. Louis Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			08:27 – pp – Eddy Beers (2)
Brad Smith (2) – 02:18		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			07:34 – Kevin LaVallee (2)
Ken Wregget 22 saves / 24 shots		Goalie stats			Greg Millen 32 saves / 33 shots

St. Louis won series 4–3

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

This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. Edmonton won both previous meetings, including their most recent meeting in seven games in the 1984 Smythe Division Finals.

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.

April 18	Calgary Flames		4–1		Edmonton Oilers	Northlands Coliseum	Recap
Lanny McDonald (4) – 01:27 Gary Suter (1) – 07:38		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			19:48 – pp – Glenn Anderson (3)
Joe Mullen (4) – 00:40 Hakan Loob (1) – 09:09		Third period			No scoring
Mike Vernon 30 saves / 31 shots		Goalie stats			Grant Fuhr 29 saves / 33 shots

April 20	Calgary Flames		5–6	OT	Edmonton Oilers	Northlands Coliseum	Recap
Hakan Loob (2) – sh – 11:23		First period			19:36 – Glenn Anderson (4)
Gary Suter (2) – 08:20 Dan Quinn (1) – pp – 11:10 Joe Mullen (5) – 15:40		Second period			08:51 – Randy Gregg (1)
Joe Mullen (6) – 18:40		Third period			00:44 – Craig MacTavish (1) 11:22 – Mark Napier (1) 16:46 – Dave Hunter (2)
No scoring		First overtime period			01:04 – Glenn Anderson (5)
Rejean Lemelin 23 saves / 29 shots		Goalie stats			Grant Fuhr 26 saves / 31 shots

April 22	Edmonton Oilers		2–3		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
Wayne Gretzky (4) – pp – 19:31		First period			08:36 – pp – Paul Reinhart (3)
No scoring		Second period			09:59 – Colin Patterson (1)
Glenn Anderson (6) – 01:16		Third period			07:32 – Joel Otto (1)
Grant Fuhr 35 saves / 38 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 17 saves / 19 shots

April 24	Edmonton Oilers		7–4		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
Craig MacTavish (2) – pp – 16:47 Wayne Gretzky (5) – pp – 17:07		First period			No scoring
Jari Kurri (2) – sh – 05:07 Craig MacTavish (3) – 08:31		Second period			00:16 – Jim Peplinski (2) 07:21 – pp – Joel Otto (2) 18:35 – pp – Paul Reinhart (4)
Wayne Gretzky (6) – 01:51 Esa Tikkanen (2) – 07:09 Wayne Gretzky (7) – sh – 12:01		Third period			11:17 – pp – Joel Otto (3)
Grant Fuhr 36 saves / 40 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 14 saves / 21 shots Rejean Lemelin 6 saves / 6 shots

April 26	Calgary Flames		4–1		Edmonton Oilers	Northlands Coliseum	Recap
Dan Quinn (2) – 19:29		First period			No scoring
Lanny McDonald (5) – 12:35 Joel Otto (4) – 14:59		Second period			05:35 – Wayne Gretzky (8)
Jamie Macoun (1) – 19:44		Third period			No scoring
Mike Vernon 30 saves / 31 shots		Goalie stats			Grant Fuhr 29 saves / 32 shots

April 28	Edmonton Oilers		5–2		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Esa Tikkanen (3) – 08:21 Mark Messier (3) – sh – 16:20		Second period			04:42 – pp – Joe Mullen (7) 06:04 – John Tonelli (3)
Glenn Anderson (7) – 07:24 Mike Krushelnyski (4) – 19:38 Craig MacTavish (4) – 19:49		Third period			No scoring
Grant Fuhr 22 saves / 24 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 34 saves / 38 shots

April 30	Calgary Flames		3–2		Edmonton Oilers	Northlands Coliseum	Recap
Hakan Loob (3) – sh – 15:27		First period			No scoring
Jim Peplinski (3) – 02:08		Second period			10:47 – Glenn Anderson (8) 19:09 – Mark Messier (4)
Perry Berezan (1) – 05:14		Third period			No scoring
Mike Vernon 22 saves / 24 shots		Goalie stats			Grant Fuhr 18 saves / 21 shots

Calgary won series 4–3

Conference Finals

See also: NHL 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.

May 1	New York Rangers		1–2		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Willie Huber (3) – pp – 08:48		Second period			03:08 – Mats Naslund (4) 13:02 – Bob Gainey (3)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
John Vanbiesbrouck 28 saves / 30 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 26 saves / 27 shots

May 3	New York Rangers		2–6		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Wilf Paiement (4) – 03:15		First period			09:25 – Bobby Smith (3)
No scoring		Second period			01:41 – Guy Carbonneau (6) 09:22 – Mike McPhee (3) 13:22 – Claude Lemieux (7) 19:43 – sh – Guy Carbonneau (7)
Wilf Paiement (5) – pp – 08:38		Third period			13:24 – pp – Chris Chelios (1)
John Vanbiesbrouck 21 saves / 26 shots Glen Hanlon 5 saves / 6 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 19 saves / 21 shots

May 5	Montreal Canadiens		4–3	OT	New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
Stephane Richer (4) – pp – 06:00		First period			03:15 – Kelly Miller (3)
No scoring		Second period			14:57 – Mike Ridley (6)
Mats Naslund (5) – 05:06 Bobby Smith (4) – pp – 17:56		Third period			12:54 – Bob Brooke (5)
Claude Lemieux (8) – 09:41		First overtime period			No scoring
Patrick Roy 44 saves / 47 shots		Goalie stats			John Vanbiesbrouck 25 saves / 29 shots

May 7	Montreal Canadiens		0–2		New York Rangers	Madison Square Garden	Recap
No scoring		First period			16:56 – sh – Bob Brooke (6)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			13:28 – Tomas Sandstrom (3)
Patrick Roy 27 saves / 29 shots		Goalie stats			John Vanbiesbrouck 30 saves / 30 shots

May 9	New York Rangers		1–3		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Tomas Sandstrom (4) – 03:50		First period			18:21 – pp – Claude Lemieux (9)
No scoring		Second period			04:41 – pp – Bobby Smith (5)
No scoring		Third period			09:51 – Bob Gainey (4)
John Vanbiesbrouck 26 saves / 29 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 19 saves / 20 shots

Montreal won series 4–1

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.

May 2	St. Louis Blues		3–2		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
Mark Reeds (3) – 09:57		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			08:59 – Colin Patterson (2) 16:36 – pp – Hakan Loob (4)
Mark Reeds (4) – 14:42 Mark Hunter (5) – 15:48		Third period			No scoring
Rick Wamsley 33 saves / 35 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 33 saves / 36 shots

May 4	St. Louis Blues		2–8		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
No scoring		First period			08:51 – Doug Risebrough (3) 18:17 – Doug Risebrough (4) 19:57 – pp – Joe Mullen (8)
Rob Ramage (1) – 18:15		Second period			01:25 – Lanny McDonald (6)
Doug Gilmour (8) – 05:38		Third period			01:35 – Doug Risebrough (5) 04:25 – pp – Colin Patterson (3) 10:58 – pp – Dan Quinn (3) 18:15 – pp – Al MacInnis (3)
Greg Millen 13 saves / 17 shots Rick Wamsley 18 saves / 22 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 20 saves / 22 shots

May 6	Calgary Flames		5–3		St. Louis Blues	St. Louis Arena	Recap
Joe Mullen (9) – pp – 00:20 Lanny McDonald (7) – pp – 15:22		First period			09:35 – pp – Bernie Federko (6)
John Tonelli (4) – 03:37 Doug Risebrough (6) – sh – 14:40		Second period			12:14 – Gino Cavallini (3)
Colin Patterson (4) – 19:01		Third period			12:29 – pp – Brian Benning (1)
Mike Vernon 23 saves / 26 shots		Goalie stats			Greg Millen 30 saves / 34 shots

May 8	Calgary Flames		2–5		St. Louis Blues	St. Louis Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			07:33 – Mark Hunter (6) 11:37 – Rick Meagher (3)
Lanny McDonald (8) – pp – 19:06		Second period			16:03 – Gino Cavallini (4)
Lanny McDonald (9) – pp – 00:50		Third period			00:24 – sh – Rick Meagher (4) 19:54 – Bernie Federko (7)
Mike Vernon 29 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Rick Wamsley 30 saves / 32 shots

May 10	St. Louis Blues		2–4		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
No scoring		First period			03:11 – sh – Colin Patterson (5)
Doug Gilmour (9) – 04:08		Second period			09:28 – pp – Dan Quinn (4) 11:23 – Dan Quinn (5)
Mark Hunter (7) – 09:27		Third period			13:19 – Mike Eaves (1)
Rick Wamsley 25 saves / 29 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 19 saves / 21 shots

May 12	Calgary Flames		5–6	OT	St. Louis Blues	St. Louis Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
Dan Quinn (6) – pp – 00:20 Dan Quinn (7) – pp – 01:57 Jim Peplinski (4) – 09:19 John Tonelli (5) – pp – 14:44		Second period			05:58 – pp – Cliff Ronning
Joe Mullen (10) – 07:04		Third period			06:00 – pp – Doug Wickenheiser (1) 08:08 – Brian Sutter (1) 15:49 – Greg Paslawski (9) 18:52 – Greg Paslawski (10)
No scoring		First overtime period			07:30 – Doug Wickenheiser (2)
Mike Vernon 31 saves / 37 shots		Goalie stats			Rick Wamsley 37 saves / 42 shots

May 14	St. Louis Blues		1–2		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
No scoring		First period			05:42 – Al MacInnis (4)
No scoring		Second period			01:42 – Colin Patterson (6)
Eddy Beers (3) – pp – 18:02		Third period			No scoring
Rick Wamsley 23 saves / 25 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 17 saves / 18 shots

Calgary won series 4–3

Stanley Cup Finals

Main article: 1986 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.

May 16	Montreal Canadiens		2–5		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
Mats Naslund (6) – pp – 06:04		First period			12:08 – John Tonelli (6) 19:11 – Jim Peplinski (5)
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
Chris Chelios (2) – 17:56		Third period			02:14 – sh – Dan Quinn (8) 03:33 – Lanny McDonald (10) 19:35 – Doug Risebrough (7)
Patrick Roy 25 saves / 29 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 22 saves / 24 shots

May 18	Montreal Canadiens		3–2	OT	Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
No scoring		First period			09:06 – John Tonelli (7)
Gaston Gingras (1) – 03:45		Second period			00:15 – Paul Reinhart (5) – pp
David Maley (1) – 03:30		Third period			No scoring
Brian Skrudland (1) – 00:09		First overtime period			No scoring
Patrick Roy 20 saves / 22 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 32 saves / 35 shots

May 20	Calgary Flames		3–5		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
Joe Mullen (11) – pp – 05:45 Joel Otto (5) – pp – 17:59		First period			06:50 – Mats Naslund (7) 18:25 – Bobby Smith (6) 19:17 – pp – Mats Naslund (8) 19:33 – Bob Gainey (5)
Lanny McDonald (11) – pp – 07:13		Second period			19:22 – Kjell Dahlin (2)
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Rejean Lemelin 12 saves / 13 shots Mike Vernon 12 saves / 16 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 23 saves / 26 shots

May 22	Calgary Flames		0–1		Montreal Canadiens	Montreal Forum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			11:10 – Claude Lemieux (10)
Mike Vernon 23 saves / 24 shots		Goalie stats			Patrick Roy 15 saves / 15 shots

May 24	Montreal Canadiens		4–3		Calgary Flames	Olympic Saddledome	Recap
Gaston Gingras (2) – pp – 06:53		First period			No scoring
Brian Skrudland (2) – 10:49		Second period			07:17 – Steve Bozek (1)
Rick Green (1) – 10:11 Bobby Smith (7) – 10:30		Third period			16:46 – Steve Bozek (2) 19:14 – Joe Mullen (12)
Patrick Roy 30 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Mike Vernon 29 saves / 33 shots

Montreal won series 4–1

Player statistics

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
Doug Gilmour	St. Louis Blues	19	9	12	21	+3	25
Bernie Federko	St. Louis Blues	19	7	14	21	+2	17
Joe Mullen	Calgary Flames	21	12	7	19	-3	4
Wayne Gretzky	Edmonton Oilers	10	8	11	19	-1	2
Mats Naslund	Montreal Canadiens	20	8	11	19	-1	4
Al MacInnis	Calgary Flames	21	4	15	19	+10	30
Lanny McDonald	Calgary Flames	22	11	7	18	+5	30
Paul Reinhart	Calgary Flames	21	5	13	18	-2	4
Greg Paslawski	St. Louis Blues	17	10	7	17	+4	13
Pierre Larouche	New York Rangers	16	8	9	17	-5	0

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.

Player	Team	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
Mike Liut	Hartford Whalers	8	5	2	226	14	1.91	.938	1	439:29
Patrick Roy	Montreal Canadiens	20	15	5	504	39	1.93	.923	1	1214:56
Pete Peeters	Washington Capitals	9	5	4	253	24	2.66	.905	0	541:15
Mike Vernon	Calgary Flames	21	12	9	581	60	2.94	.897	0	1226:02
Greg Millen	St. Louis Blues	10	6	3	327	29	2.98	.911	0	583:11

See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions