The1986 Stanley Cup Final was thechampionship series of theNational Hockey League's (NHL)1985–86 season, and the culmination of the1986 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between theCampbell Conference championCalgary Flames and theWales Conference championMontreal Canadiens. The Canadiens won the best-of-seven series in five games to win their 23rdStanley Cup, and their 17th in their last 18 Finals appearances dating back to1956.
It was the first all-Canadian Finals since Montreal lost to theToronto Maple Leafs in1967, the last year of theOriginal Six era. This was the fifth of nine consecutive Finals contested by a team fromWestern Canada, the fourth of eight contested by a team fromAlberta (theEdmonton Oilers appeared in six, the Flames in two, theVancouver Canucks inone), and the third of five consecutive finals to end with the Cup presentation on Alberta ice (the Oilers won four, the Canadiens one). This was the only time between1980 and1988 that neither the Oilers (four wins) nor theNew York Islanders (four wins) won the Stanley Cup.
Although this was the first ever postseason meeting between the two teams, it was not the first Montreal–Calgary Finals. The first Finals between teams from Montreal and Calgary took place in1924 when the Canadiens defeated theWestern Canada Hockey League championCalgary Tigers. The Canadiens and Flames met again in a rematch in1989, with Calgary winning in six games.
The Finals reverted to the 2-2-1-1-1 format after implementing the 2-3-2 format in1984.[1]
Calgary defeated theWinnipeg Jets 3–0, the defending champion andin-province rivalEdmonton Oilers 4–3, and theSt. Louis Blues 4–3 to advance to the final.
Montreal defeatedrivalBoston Bruins 3–0, theHartford Whalers 4–3, and theNew York Rangers 4–1 to make it to the final.
Brian Skrudland's game-winning goal in game two ended the shortest overtime in NHL playoff history, at a mere nine seconds. Montreal rookie goaltenderPatrick Roy was awarded theConn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
| 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 –en –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 | ||||||
| Mike Vernon 12 saves / 16 shots. Rejean Lemelin 12 saves / 13 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 | |
Years indicated inboldface under the "Finals appearance" column signify that the player won the Stanley Cup in the given year.
| # | Nat | Player | Position | Hand | Acquired | Place of birth | Finals appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Robin Bartel | D | L | 1985–86 | Drake, Saskatchewan | first | |
| 4 | Paul Baxter | D | R | 1983–84 | Winnipeg, Manitoba | first | |
| 21 | Perry Berezan | C | R | 1983 | Edmonton, Alberta | first | |
| 26 | Steve Bozek | LW | L | 1983–84 | Kelowna, British Columbia | first | |
| 14 | Brian Bradley | C | R | 1983 | Kitchener, Ontario | first | |
| 25 | Yves Courteau | RW | R | 1982–83 | Montreal | first | |
| 17 | Mike Eaves | C | R | 1983–84 | Denver, Colorado | first | |
| 22 | Nick Fotiu | LW | L | 1985–86 | Staten Island, New York | second(1979) | |
| 16 | Brett Hull | RW | R | 1984 | Belleville, Ontario | first | |
| 19 | Tim Hunter | RW | R | 1979 | Calgary, Alberta | first | |
| 6 | Terry Johnson | D | L | 1985–86 | Calgary, Alberta | first | |
| 31 | Rejean Lemelin | G | L | 1978–79 | Quebec City, Quebec | first | |
| 12 | Hakan Loob | RW | R | 1980 | Visby, Sweden | first | |
| 2 | Al MacInnis | D | R | 1981 | Inverness, Nova Scotia | first | |
| 34 | Jamie Macoun | D | L | 1982–83 | Newmarket, Ontario | first | |
| 9 | Lanny McDonald –C | RW | R | 1981–82 | Hanna, Alberta | first | |
| 7 | Joe Mullen | RW | R | 1985–86 | New York | first | |
| 29 | Joel Otto | C | R | 1984–85 | Elk River, Minnesota | first | |
| 11 | Colin Patterson | LW | R | 1983–84 | Rexdale, Ontario | first | |
| 24 | Jim Peplinski –C | RW | R | 1979 | Renfrew, Ontario | first | |
| 10 | Dan Quinn | C | L | 1983 | Ottawa, Ontario | first | |
| 23 | Paul Reinhart | D | L | 1979 | Kitchener, Ontario | first | |
| 8 | Doug Risebrough –C | C | L | 1982–83 | Guelph, Ontario | fifth(1976,1977,1978,1979) | |
| 10 | Gary Roberts | LW | L | 1984 | North York, Ontario | first | |
| 5 | Neil Sheehy | D | R | 1983–84 | Fort Frances, Ontario | first | |
| 20 | Gary Suter | D | L | 1984 | Madison, Wisconsin | first | |
| 27 | John Tonelli | LW | L | 1985–86 | Hamilton, Ontario | sixth(1980,1981,1982,1983,1984) | |
| 30 | Mike Vernon | G | L | 1981 | Calgary, Alberta | first | |
| 33 | Carey Wilson | C | R | 1983–84 | Winnipeg, Manitoba | first |
| # | Nat | Player | Position | Hand | Acquired | Place of birth | Finals appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Serge Boisvert | RW | R | 1984–85 | Drummondville, Quebec | first | |
| 21 | Guy Carbonneau | C | R | 1979 | Sept-Îles, Quebec | first | |
| 24 | Chris Chelios | D | R | 1981 | Chicago | first | |
| 20 | Kjell Dahlin | RW | L | 1981 | Timrå, Sweden | first | |
| 27 | Lucien DeBlois | RW | R | 1984–85 | Joliette, Quebec | second(1979) | |
| 23 | Bob Gainey –C | LW | L | 1973 | Peterborough, Ontario | fifth(1976,1977,1978,1979) | |
| 29 | Gaston Gingras | D | L | 1979 | Témiscaming, Quebec | first | |
| 5 | Rick Green | D | L | 1982–83 | Belleville, Ontario | first | |
| 31 | John Kordic | RW | R | 1983 | Edmonton, Alberta | first | |
| 18 | Tom Kurvers | D | L | 1981 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | first | |
| 38 | Mike Lalor | D | L | 1985–86 | Buffalo, New York | first | |
| 32 | Claude Lemieux | RW | R | 1983 | Buckingham, Quebec | first | |
| 17 | Craig Ludwig | D | L | 1980 | Rhinelander, Wisconsin | first | |
| 8 | David Maley | LW | L | 1982 | Beaver Dam, Wisconsin | first | |
| 35 | Mike McPhee | LW | L | 1980 | Sydney, Nova Scotia | first | |
| 26 | Mats Naslund –A | LW | L | 1979 | Timrå, Sweden | first | |
| 30 | Chris Nilan | RW | R | 1978 | Boston, Massachusetts | first | |
| 44 | Stephane Richer | RW | R | 1984 | Ripon, Quebec | first | |
| 19 | Larry Robinson –A | D | L | 1971 | Winchester, Ontario | sixth(1973,1976,1977,1978,1979) | |
| 28 | Steve Rooney | LW | L | 1981 | Canton, Massachusetts | first | |
| 33 | Patrick Roy | G | L | 1984 | Quebec City, Quebec | first | |
| 39 | Brian Skrudland | C | L | 1985–86 | Peace River, Alberta | first | |
| 15 | Bobby Smith | C | L | 1983–84 | North Sydney, Nova Scotia | second(1981) | |
| 1 | Doug Soetaert | G | L | 1984–85 | Edmonton, Alberta | first | |
| 25 | Petr Svoboda | D | L | 1984 | Most, Czechoslovakia | first | |
| 14 | Mario Tremblay –A | RW | R | 1974 | Alma, Quebec | fifth (1976,1977,1978,1979) | |
| 11 | Ryan Walter | LW | L | 1982–83 | New Westminster, British Columbia | first |
The 1986 Stanley Cup was presented to Canadiens captain Bob Gainey byNHL PresidentJohn Ziegler following the Canadiens 4–3 win over the Flames in game five.
The following Canadiens players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup
1985–86 Montreal Canadiens
Some 5,000 jubilant Montreal fans celebrating the Canadiens' Stanley Cup win over the Calgary Flames rampaged through the city's downtown, causing overCA$1 million worth of damage.[2]
In Canada, this was the second and final year that the English-language rights of the Cup Finals were shared betweenCBC andCTV. For games one and two, CBC only had the rights to air them locally in Montreal and Calgary, while CTV broadcast them to the rest of the country. CBC then had the exclusive rights to televise games three, four, and five nationally. Had the series gone to a seventh game, then both CBC and CTV would have simultaneously televised it while using their separate production facilities and crews. After the season, CTV pulled the plug on their two-year-long venture with the NHL, and their rights package was eventually given to theGlobal-Canwest consortium.
This was the first of three consecutive seasons thatESPN televised the Stanley Cup Final in the United States.
| Preceded by | Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup champions 1986 | Succeeded by |