1981–82 NHL season

1981–82 NHL season
League National Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Duration October 6, 1981 – May 16, 1982
Number of games 80
Number of teams 21
Regular season
Season champions New York Islanders
Season MVP Wayne Gretzky, (Edmonton)
Top scorer Wayne Gretzky, (Edmonton)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP Mike Bossy, (NY Islanders)
Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup champions New York Islanders
  Runners-up Vancouver Canucks
NHL seasons
← 1980–81

1982–83 →

The 1981–82 NHL season was the 65th season of the National Hockey League. The William M. Jennings Trophy made its debut this year as the trophy for the goaltenders from the team with the fewest goals against. The New York Islanders won their third straight Stanley Cup by sweeping the Vancouver Canucks in four games.

Contents

League business

Prior to the start of the season, the divisions of the league were re-aligned to better reflect the geographical locations of the teams. The Patrick Division, which had heretofore been in the Clarence Campbell Conference, switched to the Prince of Wales Conference, while the Norris Division went the other way, going from the Wales Conference to the Campbell Conference. This divisional alignment existed until the 1993–94 season, at which point both the divisions and the conferences of the league were renamed to reflect geography.

The schedule and playoff format were also altered. Previously, each team played every other team four times, and the 16-team playoff format had the four divisional champions joined by 12 wild-cards; for all intents and purposes, the divisions were meaningless. Also, under the old format, teams were paired in the first round based on record (i.e., 1st vs. 16th, 2nd vs. 15th, etc.), and then re-paired in each succeeding round based on record (i.e., highest seeded first round winner vs. lowest seeded first round winner, second highest first round winner vs. second lowest first round winner, etc.).

The new format called for each team in the three five-team divisions to play their four divisional opponents eight times each (32 games) and the remaining 16 league teams three times each (48 games). In addition, each team in the six-team division was to play their five divisional opponents seven times each (35 games) and the remaining 15 league teams three times each (45 games). As to the playoffs, the top four teams in each division qualified --- no more wild-cards --- with 1st Place playing 4th Place, and 2nd Place playing 3rd Place, in the divisional semifinals; the two winners meeting in the divisional finals; followed by the conference finals and the Stanley Cup finals. This schedule and playoff arrangement continued for over a decade.

Regular season

The New York Islanders lead the league with 118 points, seven more than second place Edmonton Oilers. The Islanders also set a league record by winning 15 consecutive games from January 21 to February 20 [later eclipsed by the Pittsburgh Penguins 17 game winning streak[1] from March 9 to April 10, 1993].

The Edmonton Oilers' young superstar Wayne Gretzky broke several prestigious records, including the record of 50 goals in 50 games, set by Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy, by scoring 50 goals in only 39 games. Gretzky also broke Phil Esposito's record of 76 goals in a season with 92, his own assists record of 109 which was set the prior season with 120, and his own point total of 164 which was also set the prior season with 212. He was the first, and thus far only, player to ever score 200 points in a season. The Oilers set a record for most goals in a season with 417, in which Gretzky scored or assisted on over half.

The New York Islanders' Mike Bossy set a regular season scoring record for right-wingers with 147 points in an 80 game season, and finished as runner-up to Gretzky for the Art Ross Trophy.

This was the final season of the Colorado Rockies before moving to New Jersey to become the Devils. NHL play would return to Colorado in 1995, when the Avalanche won their first Stanley Cup after moving from Quebec.

Final standings

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

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division
  GP W L T GF GA PIM PTS
Montreal Canadiens 80 46 17 17 360 223 1463 109
Boston Bruins 80 43 27 10 323 285 1266 96
Buffalo Sabres 80 39 26 15 307 273 1425 93
Quebec Nordiques 80 33 31 16 356 345 1757 82
Hartford Whalers 80 21 41 18 264 351 1493 60

[2]

Patrick Division
  GP W L T GF GA PTS
New York Islanders 80 54 16 10 385 250 118
New York Rangers 80 39 27 14 316 306 92
Philadelphia Flyers 80 38 31 11 325 313 87
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 31 36 13 310 337 75
Washington Capitals 80 26 41 13 319 338 65

[2]

Clarence Campbell Conference

Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA Pts
Minnesota North Stars 80 37 23 20 346 288 94
Winnipeg Jets 80 33 33 14 319 332 80
St. Louis Blues 80 32 40 8 315 349 72
Chicago Black Hawks 80 30 38 12 332 363 72
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 20 44 16 298 380 56
Detroit Red Wings 80 21 47 12 270 351 54

[2]

Smythe Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Edmonton Oilers 80 48 17 15 417 295 111
Vancouver Canucks 80 30 33 17 290 288 77
Calgary Flames 80 29 34 17 334 345 75
Los Angeles Kings 80 24 41 15 314 369 63
Colorado Rockies 80 18 49 13 241 362 49

[2]

Playoffs

The 1982 playoffs used a new format. Four teams from each division would qualify for the playoffs, and played a best-of-five semifinal round followed by a best-of-seven series to determine the division playoff champions. The Adams and Patrick winners would meet in the Wales Conference Final and the Norris and Smythe winners played in the Campbell Conference Final. The two Conference Champions played for the Stanley Cup. With the exception of extending the first round to a best-of-seven in 1987, this format remained in place through the 1993 playoffs.

The first round of the 1982 playoffs saw three first-place teams (Edmonton, Minnesota, and Montreal) upset by fourth-place teams, a round which featured what is still the greatest comeback in NHL history: The Kings' 6–5 win over Edmonton in Game 3. After trailing 5–0 after two periods, the Kings scored five third period goals—three in the last 5:22, the final goal coming with only five seconds left in regulation. Los Angeles then scored on a face-off early in overtime, thus completing the "Miracle on Manchester".

The eventual champion New York Islanders nearly capitulated in the first round as well, losing Games 3 and 4 of their first round playoff series with Pittsburgh after crushing the Penguins in the first 2 games. In Game 5 the Islanders scored twice in the last 5 minutes to force OT and then won the series on John Tonelli's goal 6:19 into the extra session. This served as a wake-up call for New York, who lost only two more games the rest of the way on their march to third straight Stanley Cup. Their Finals opponents, the Vancouver Canucks, finished the regular season with only 77 points, defeating three teams beneath them in the standings (Calgary 75, Los Angeles 64, and Chicago 72) in the much weaker Campbell Conference.

Finals

Main article: 1982 Stanley Cup Finals

New York Islanders vs. Vancouver Canucks

Date Visitors Score Home Score Notes
May 8 Vancouver 5 New York 6 OT
May 11 Vancouver 4 New York 6
May 13 New York 3 Vancouver 0
May 16 New York 3 Vancouver 1

New York wins the series 4–0.

Playoff bracket

  Division Semi-finals Division Finals Conference Finals Stanley Cup Final
                                     
A1  Montreal Canadiens 2  
A4  Quebec Nordiques 3  
  A4  Quebec Nordiques 4  
 
  A2  Boston Bruins 3  
A2  Boston Bruins 3
A3  Buffalo Sabres 1  
  A4  Quebec Nordiques 0  
  P1  New York Islanders 4  
P1  New York Islanders 3  
P4  Pittsburgh Penguins 2  
  P1  New York Islanders 4
 
  P2  New York Rangers 2  
P2  New York Rangers 3
P3  Philadelphia Flyers 1  
  P1  New York Islanders 4
  S2  Vancouver Canucks 0
N1  Minnesota North Stars 1  
N4  Chicago Black Hawks 3  
  N4  Chicago Black Hawks 4
 
  N3  St. Louis Blues 2  
N2  Winnipeg Jets 1
N3  St. Louis Blues 3  
  N4  Chicago Black Hawks 1
  S2  Vancouver Canucks 4  
S1  Edmonton Oilers 2  
S4  Los Angeles Kings 3  
  S4  Los Angeles Kings 1
 
  S2  Vancouver Canucks 4  
S2  Vancouver Canucks 3
S3  Calgary Flames 0  

NHL awards

Prince of Wales Trophy: New York Islanders
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: Vancouver Canucks
Art Ross Trophy: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Glenn Resch, Colorado Rockies
Calder Memorial Trophy: Dale Hawerchuk, Winnipeg Jets
Conn Smythe Trophy: Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
Frank J. Selke Trophy: Steve Kasper, Boston Bruins
Hart Memorial Trophy: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Jack Adams Award: Tom Watt, Winnipeg Jets
James Norris Memorial Trophy: Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Rick Middleton, Boston Bruins
Lester B. Pearson Award: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
NHL Plus/Minus Award: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
William M. Jennings Trophy: Rick Wamsley, Denis Herron, Montreal Canadiens
Vezina Trophy: Billy Smith, New York Islanders
Lester Patrick Trophy: Emile Francis

All-Star teams

First Team   Position   Second Team
Billy Smith, New York Islanders G Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers
Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks D Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins D Brian Engblom, Montreal Canadiens
Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers C Bryan Trottier, New York Islanders
Mike Bossy, New York Islanders RW Rick Middleton, Boston Bruins
Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers LW John Tonelli, New York Islanders

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers 80 92 120 212
Mike Bossy New York Islanders 80 64 83 147
Peter Stastny Quebec Nordiques 80 46 93 139
Dennis Maruk Washington Capitals 80 60 76 136
Bryan Trottier New York Islanders 80 50 79 129
Denis Savard Chicago Black Hawks 80 32 87 119
Marcel Dionne Los Angeles Kings 78 50 67 117
Bobby Smith Minnesota North Stars 80 43 71 114
Dino Ciccarelli Minnesota North Stars 76 55 51 106
Dave Taylor Los Angeles Kings 78 39 67 106

Leading goaltenders

Player Team GP MIN GA SO GAA
Denis Herron Montreal 27 1547 68 3 2.64
Rick Wamsley Montreal 38 2206 101 2 2.75
Billy Smith New York Islanders 46 2685 133 0 2.97
Roland Melanson New York Islanders 44 2460 109 1 3.23
Grant Fuhr Edmonton 48 2847 157 0 3.31
Richard Brodeur Vancouver 52 3010 168 2 3.35
Marco Baron Boston 44 2515 144 1 3.44
Gilles Meloche Minnesota 51 3026 175 1 3.47
Don Edwards Buffalo 62 3500 205 0 3.51
Eddie Mio New York Rangers 25 1500 89 0 3.56

[3]

Milestones

Debuts

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1981–82 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs):

Last games

The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1981–82 (listed with their last team):

1982 Trading Deadline

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ "NHL records". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NHL_records_%28team%29. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NHL_records_%28team%29. 
  2. ^ a b c d Dinger, Ralph, ed (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 152. ISBN 9781894801225. 
  3. ^ http://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_1982_leaders.html
  4. ^ NHL trade deadline: Deals since 1980 | Habs Inside/Out

External links

1981–82 NHL season by team
Patrick
Adams
Norris
Smythe
See also
 
Category · Portal  · 2011–12 season