| 1990 Stanley Cup Final | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| * – overtime periods | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location(s) | Boston:Boston Garden (1, 2, 5) Edmonton:Northlands Coliseum (3, 4) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaches | Edmonton:John Muckler Boston:Mike Milbury | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Captains | Edmonton:Mark Messier Boston:Ray Bourque | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Referees | Don Koharski (1, 4) Andy Van Hellemond (3, 5) Kerry Fraser (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | May 15–24, 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Bill Ranford (Oilers) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Series-winning goal | Craig Simpson(9:31, second, G5) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Oilers: Glenn Anderson (2008) Grant Fuhr (2003; did not play) Jari Kurri (2001) Kevin Lowe (2020) Mark Messier (2007) Bruins: Ray Bourque (2004) Cam Neely (2005) Officials: Andy Van Hellemond (1999) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Networks | Canada: (English):CBC (French):SRC United States: (National):SportsChannel America (Boston area):NESN (1–2, 5),WSBK (3–4) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | (CBC)Bob Cole andHarry Neale (SRC)Richard Garneau andGilles Tremblay (SportsChannel America)Jiggs McDonald andBill Clement (NESN)Fred Cusick,Derek Sanderson, andDave Shea (WSBK)Fred Cusick andDerek Sanderson | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
The1990 Stanley Cup Final was thechampionship series of theNational Hockey League's (NHL)1989–90 season, and the culmination of the1990 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by theEdmonton Oilers and theBoston Bruins. This was a rematch of the1988 Finals, albeit with the notable absence ofWayne Gretzky who was traded from Edmonton to theLos Angeles Kings during the 1988 off-season. The Oilers once again defeated the Bruins, this time in five games, to win the Stanley Cup.
For the Oilers, it was their fifth Cup win in seven years, and the team's only championship after trading Gretzky. This was the last of eight consecutive Finals contested by a team fromAlberta and nine by a team fromWestern Canada (the Oilers appeared in six, theCalgary Flames in two, theVancouver Canucks inone).
This was the last appearance in the Finals for the Bruins until2011, where they would go on to end their 39-year Stanley Cup drought.
Boston defeated theHartford Whalers 4–3, theMontreal Canadiens 4–1 and theWashington Capitals 4–0 to advance to the Final.
Edmonton defeated theWinnipeg Jets 4–3, theLos Angeles Kings 4–0 and theChicago Blackhawks 4–2.
In Game 1,Petr Klima scored at 15:13 of the third overtime period to give the Oilers a 3–2 win; this game remains the longest in Stanley Cup Final history (seeLongest NHL overtime games), edging bothBrett Hull's Cup-winner in1999 andIgor Larionov's game-winner in2002 by less than 30 seconds.
Though the Oilers ultimately won the series in five games, it was the Bruins who dominated play during the early part of the series. The Bruins had more chances to win the opener, and at one point had a 15-4 shot advantage in game two before the Oilers came back.[1]
In Game 5 at theBoston Garden on May 24, the Oilers won 4–1, the first time they had ever clinched the Cup on the road. Edmonton won all three Finals games played at Boston Garden - in each their previous Finals wins, the Oilers only won one game away from Northlands Coliseum.Craig Simpson scored the game-winning goal. Oilers goaltenderBill Ranford, originally the backup who took over fromGrant Fuhr for the remainder of the regular season and the entire playoffs, was awarded theConn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Game 5 was the last Stanley Cup Final game ever played at the Boston Garden.
Mark Messier won his first Stanley Cup as a team captain, and his fifth overall.[2] He won his sixth Stanley Cup as the captain with theNew York Rangersfour years later, and scored the Cup-winning goal, making him the only player to captain two different Cup-winning teams.[3][4]
Ray Bourque did not reach the Stanley Cup Final again until theColorado Avalanche won in2001. As for the Bruins, they would not return to the Stanley Cup Final until their championship season of2011.[5] The Oilers did not reach the Finals again until2006, losing in seven games.
| May 15 | Edmonton Oilers | 3–2 | 3OT | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | ||
| Adam Graves (4) - 09:46 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Glenn Anderson (7) - 13:00 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 03:43 -Ray Bourque (3) 18:31 - Ray Bourque (4) | ||||||
| Petr Klima (5) - 15:13 | Third overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bill Ranford 50 saves / 52 shots | Goalie stats | Andy Moog 28 saves / 31 shots | ||||||
| May 18 | Edmonton Oilers | 7–2 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| Adam Graves (5) - 08:38 Jari Kurri (8) -pp - 10:53 | First period | 19:07 -Ray Bourque (5) | ||||||
| Jari Kurri (9) - 04:21 Craig Simpson (13) - 15:28 Esa Tikkanen (11) - 17:10 Joe Murphy (5) - 19:12 | Second period | 02:56 -pp -Greg Hawgood (1) | ||||||
| Jari Kurri (10) -pp - 07:27 | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Bill Ranford 25 saves / 27 shots | Goalie stats | Andy Moog 1 save / 4 shots Rejean Lemelin 14 saves / 18 shots | ||||||
| May 20 | Boston Bruins | 2–1 | Edmonton Oilers | Northlands Coliseum | Recap | |||
| John Byce (2) - 00:10 Greg Johnston (1) - 15:04 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 05:54 -pp -Esa Tikkanen (12) | ||||||
| Andy Moog 28 saves / 29 shots | Goalie stats | Bill Ranford 20 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| May 22 | Boston Bruins | 1–5 | Edmonton Oilers | Northlands Coliseum | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | 02:13 -pp -Glenn Anderson (8) 16:27 - Glenn Anderson (9) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 01:00 -Craig Simpson (14) 19:15 -Esa Tikkanen (13) | ||||||
| John Carter (6) - 15:02 | Third period | 18:36 - Craig Simpson (15) | ||||||
| Andy Moog 28 saves / 33 shots | Goalie stats | Bill Ranford 24 saves / 25 shots | ||||||
| May 24 | Edmonton Oilers | 4–1 | Boston Bruins | Boston Garden | Recap | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Glenn Anderson (10) - 01:17 Craig Simpson (16) - 09:31 | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Steve Smith (5) - 06:09 Joe Murphy (6) - 14:53 | Third period | 16:30 -Lyndon Byers (1) | ||||||
| Bill Ranford 29 saves / 30 shots | Goalie stats | Andy Moog 18 saves / 22 shots | ||||||
| Edmonton won series 4–1 | |
Years indicated inboldface under the "Finals appearance" column signify that the player won the Stanley Cup in the given year.
The 1990 Stanley Cup was presented to Oilers captain Mark Messier byNHL PresidentJohn Ziegler following the Oilers 4–1 win over the Bruins in game five.
The following Oilers players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup
1989–90 Edmonton Oilers
Neither player qualified for engravement on the Cup, but both players received Stanley Cup rings. Ruzicka was also included on the team winning picture.
In Canada, the series was televised on theCBC.
In the United States, the series aired nationally onSportsChannel America. However, SportsChannel America's national coverage was blacked out in the Boston area due to the local rights to Bruins games in that TV market.NESN televised games one, two, and five in the Boston area whileWSBK had games three and four.
| Preceded by | Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup champions 1990 | Succeeded by |