The 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs, the championship 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 4–3 to win the series four games to one and win the Stanley Cup.
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The playoffs of 1986 saw three first place teams eliminated in the opening round and the fourth, Edmonton, bowed out in the second.
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.
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.
| Division Semi-finals | Division Finals | Conference Finals | Stanley Cup Final | |||||||||||||||
| A1 | Quebec Nordiques | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Hartford Whalers | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Hartford Whalers | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| A3 | Boston Bruins | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| P4 | New York Rangers | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| P1 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| P4 | New York Rangers | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| P4 | New York Rangers | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| P2 | Washington Capitals | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| P2 | Washington Capitals | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| P3 | New York Islanders | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Calgary Flames | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Chicago Black Hawks | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| N3 | St. Louis Blues | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Minnesota North Stars | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| N3 | St. Louis Blues | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| N3 | St. Louis Blues | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Calgary Flames | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton Oilers | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Vancouver Canucks | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Edmonton Oilers | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Calgary Flames | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Calgary Flames | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Winnipeg Jets | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Hartford Whalers vs. Quebec Nordiques
This was Hartford's lone playoff series victory in their NHL history prior to moving to Carolina.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 9 | Hartford | 3 | Quebec | 2 | (OT) |
| April 10 | Hartford | 4 | Quebec | 1 | |
| April 12 | Quebec | 4 | Hartford | 9 |
Hartford wins best-of-five series 3–0.
Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 9 | Boston | 1 | Montreal | 3 | |
| April 10 | Boston | 2 | Montreal | 3 | |
| April 12 | Montreal | 4 | Boston | 3 |
Montreal wins best-of-five series 3–0.
New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 9 | New York | 6 | Philadelphia | 2 | |
| April 10 | New York | 1 | Philadelphia | 2 | |
| April 12 | Philadelphia | 2 | New York | 5 | |
| April 13 | Philadelphia | 7 | New York | 1 | |
| April 15 | New York | 5 | Philadelphia | 2 |
New York Rangers wins best-of-five series 3–2.
New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 9 | New York | 1 | Washington | 3 | |
| April 10 | New York | 2 | Washington | 5 | |
| April 12 | Washington | 3 | New York | 1 |
Washington wins best-of-five series 3–0.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Chicago Black Hawks
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 9 | Toronto | 5 | Chicago | 3 | |
| April 10 | Toronto | 6 | Chicago | 4 | |
| April 12 | Chicago | 2 | Toronto | 7 |
Toronto wins best-of-five series 3–0.
St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota North Stars
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 9 | St. Louis | 2 | Minnesota | 1 | |
| April 10 | St. Louis | 2 | Minnesota | 6 | |
| April 12 | Minnesota | 3 | St. Louis | 4 | |
| April 13 | Minnesota | 7 | St. Louis | 4 | |
| April 15 | St. Louis | 6 | Minnesota | 3 |
St. Louis wins best-of-five series 3–2.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 9 | Vancouver | 3 | Edmonton | 7 | |
| April 10 | Vancouver | 1 | Edmonton | 5 | |
| April 12 | Edmonton | 5 | Vancouver | 1 |
Edmonton wins best-of-five series 3–0.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 9 | Winnipeg | 1 | Calgary | 5 | |
| April 10 | Winnipeg | 4 | Calgary | 6 | |
| April 12 | Calgary | 4 | Winnipeg | 3 | (OT) |
Calgary wins best-of-five series 3–0.
Hartford Whalers vs. Montreal Canadiens
The upstart Whalers pushed the eventual Stanley Cup Champions to the limit before falling. Claude Lemieux scored the series-winning overtime goal for Montreal.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 17 | Hartford | 4 | Montreal | 1 | |
| April 19 | Hartford | 1 | Montreal | 3 | |
| April 21 | Montreal | 4 | Hartford | 1 | |
| April 23 | Montreal | 1 | Hartford | 2 | (OT) |
| April 25 | Hartford | 3 | Montreal | 5 | |
| April 27 | Montreal | 0 | Hartford | 1 | |
| April 29 | Hartford | 1 | Montreal | 2 | (OT) |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4–3.
New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 17 | New York | 4 | Washington | 3 | (OT) |
| April 19 | New York | 1 | Washington | 8 | |
| April 21 | Washington | 6 | New York | 3 | |
| April 23 | Washington | 5 | New York | 6 | (OT) |
| April 25 | New York | 4 | Washington | 2 | |
| April 27 | Washington | 1 | New York | 2 |
New York Rangers wins best-of-seven series 4–2.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. St. Louis Blues
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 18 | Toronto | 1 | St. Louis | 6 | |
| April 20 | Toronto | 3 | St. Louis | 0 | |
| April 22 | St. Louis | 2 | Toronto | 5 | |
| April 24 | St. Louis | 7 | Toronto | 4 | |
| April 26 | Toronto | 3 | St. Louis | 4 | (OT) |
| April 28 | St. Louis | 3 | Toronto | 5 | |
| April 30 | Toronto | 1 | St. Louis | 2 |
St. Louis wins best-of-seven series 4–3.
Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers
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 in the Edmonton goal. This is significant because it eliminated the Oilers from the playoffs and prevented them from possibly winning a third straight Stanley Cup. The series was the Flames' only playoff victory over the Oilers in the Battle of Alberta (Edmonton beat Calgary in 4 other playoff series), but significantly fueled the rivalry between the teams.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 18 | Calgary | 4 | Edmonton | 1 | |
| April 20 | Calgary | 5 | Edmonton | 6 | (OT) |
| April 22 | Edmonton | 2 | Calgary | 3 | |
| April 24 | Edmonton | 7 | Calgary | 4 | |
| April 26 | Calgary | 4 | Edmonton | 1 | |
| April 28 | Edmonton | 5 | Calgary | 2 | |
| April 30 | Calgary | 3 | Edmonton | 2 |
Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4–3
New York Rangers vs. Montreal Canadiens
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.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1 | New York | 1 | Montreal | 2 | |
| May 3 | New York | 2 | Montreal | 6 | |
| May 5 | Montreal | 4 | New York | 3 | (OT) |
| May 7 | Montreal | 0 | New York | 2 | |
| May 9 | New York | 1 | Montreal | 3 |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4–1
St. Louis Blues vs. Calgary Flames
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.
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2 | St. Louis | 3 | Calgary | 2 | |
| May 4 | St. Louis | 2 | Calgary | 8 | |
| May 6 | Calgary | 5 | St. Louis | 3 | |
| May 8 | Calgary | 2 | St. Louis | 5 | |
| May 10 | St. Louis | 2 | Calgary | 4 | |
| May 12 | Calgary | 5 | St. Louis | 6 | (OT) |
| May 14 | St. Louis | 1 | Calgary | 2 |
Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4–3
Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary Flames
| Date | Away | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16 | Montreal | 2 | Calgary | 5 | |
| May 18 | Montreal | 3 | Calgary | 2 | (OT) |
| May 20 | Calgary | 3 | Montreal | 5 | |
| May 22 | Calgary | 0 | Montreal | 1 | |
| May 24 | Montreal | 4 | Calgary | 3 |
Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4–1
| Preceded by 1985 Stanley Cup playoffs |
Stanley Cup playoffs | Succeeded by 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs |
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