The 1982 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1981–82 season, and the culmination of the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was played between the Campbell Conference champion Vancouver Canucks in their first Final appearance and the Wales Conference and defending Cup champion New York Islanders, in their third Final appearance. The Islanders swept the Canucks to win their third consecutive and overall Stanley Cup championship. The Islanders became the first (and still only) U.S.-based team to three-peat as Stanley Cup champions, and the third franchise overall to three-peat as Stanley Cup champions, joining the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. The 1981–82 Canucks are one of two Stanley Cup finalist teams without any Hall of Fame players on their roster, the other being the 1996 Florida Panthers. Additionally, this marks the first time since 1955, and in 17 Cup Final attempts, that a U.S.-based team defeated a Canada-based team in the championship round, having lost 16 straight Cup Final series against Canadian teams.
This 1982 Final took place under a geographically revised NHL divisional alignment and playoff structure, which de facto revived the "East vs. West" format for the Final that had been abandoned when the Western Hockey League folded in . It was also the first time a team from Western Canada contested the Final since the WHL stopped challenging for the Stanley Cup (the Victoria Cougars, who had also been the last team from British Columbia to win the Cup in , played the 1926 Final too). This would also be the first of nine consecutive Final contested by a team from Western Canada, but it was the only one of them to feature the Vancouver Canucks; the other eight were contested by a team from Alberta (Edmonton Oilers appeared in six, Calgary Flames in two).
Starting this season home-ice advantage would alternate between conferences as opposed to going to the team with the better record. The latter change would also be of no effect for these Final since for even years the Wales champion received that advantage and in 1982 their representative, the Islanders, had the better record.
Paths to the Final
Vancouver Canucks Vancouver, despite having a losing record in the regular season, reached their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history. In the first round they swept the Calgary Flames. In the next round they defeated the Los Angeles Kings in five games; after the Kings had upset the Edmonton Oilers and 92-goal scorer Wayne Gretzky in five games which was dubbed the Miracle on Manchester. In the conference finals, the Canucks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in five games.
New York Islanders The Islanders' route to the Final was slightly harder than Vancouver's. In the first round, the Islanders edged out the Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2. In the second round, they defeated their cross-town rivals in the New York Rangers in six games. In the conference finals, the Islanders swept the Quebec Nordiques to make it to the Final for the third year in a row.
With New York having 118 points and Vancouver having 77, the 41-point difference between the two teams in a final round is the largest in Stanley Cup Final history.
Game summaries
The series then shifted to Vancouver, where the Canucks were boosted by a boisterous, towel-waving Vancouver crowd and had a great first period, but failed to score on Billy Smith, who was brilliant. The Islanders went on to win 3–0, and then completed the sweep with a 3–1 victory on May 16 to win their third straight Cup and first on the road.
Mike Bossy scored seven goals in the four games, tying Jean Béliveau's record from , and won the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Game one
The Canucks had their best chance to win a game in the first one, as a Jim Nill short-handed marker gave them a 5–4 lead with only seven minutes to play in regulation time. However, the Islanders tied it when Mike Bossy banged home a loose puck after goaltender Richard Brodeur had collided with his own defenceman, Harold Snepsts, while trying to smother it. In the dying seconds of the first overtime period, Snepsts attempted to clear the puck up the middle, but it was intercepted by Bossy, who completed his hat trick with two seconds left on the clock to win the game for the Islanders. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st VAN Thomas Gradin (7) Lars Molin (6) 01:29 1–0 VAN NYI Clark Gillies (7) – pp Denis Potvin (10) and Bryan Trottier (18) 11:35 1–1 NYI Mike Bossy (11) Clark Gillies (6) and Billy Carroll (2) 15:52 2–1 NYI VAN Thomas Gradin (8) – pp Curt Fraser (5) and Lars Molin (7) 17:40 2–2 NYI Denis Potvin (4) – pp Butch Goring (4) 19:51 3–2 NYI 2nd NYI Denis Potvin (5) – pp Bryan Trottier (19) and Stefan Persson (10) 03:15 4–2 NYI VAN Stan Smyl (8) – pp Thomas Gradin (9) and Curt Fraser (6) 05:06 4–3 NYI VAN Ivan Boldirev (7) Tiger Williams (5) 09:27 4–4 3rd VAN Jim Nill (4) Gerry Minor (2) and Tiger Williams (6) 13:06 5–4 VAN NYI Mike Bossy (12) John Tonelli (9) and Bryan Trottier (20) 15:14 5–5 OT NYI Mike Bossy (13) Unassited 19:58 6–5 NYI Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st VAN Harold Snepsts Holding 10:51 2:00 NYI Clark Gillies Slashing 13:36 2:00 NYI Dave Langevin Roughing 16:37 2:00 VAN Tiger Williams Roughing 16:37 2:00 NYI Gord Lane High-sticking 17:25 2:00 VAN Neil Belland Interference 18:00 2:00 2nd VAN Anders Eldebrink Holding 02:52 2:00 NYI Gord Lane Tripping 04:07 2:00 NYI Bob Bourne Fighting – major 10:19 5:00 NYI Bob Bourne Misconduct 10:19 10:00 NYI Duane Sutter Fighting – double major 10:19 10:00 NYI Duane Sutter Misconduct 10:19 10:00 VAN Colin Campbell Fighting – double major 10:19 10:00 VAN Colin Campbell Misconduct 10:19 10:00 VAN Darcy Rota Fighting – major 10:19 5:00 VAN Darcy Rota Misconduct 10:19 10:00 NYI Bob Nystrom Fighting – major 17:20 5:00 NYI Bob Nystrom Misconduct 17:20 10:00 VAN Curt Fraser Misconduct 17:20 10:00 VAN Stan Smyl Fighting – major 17:20 5:00 VAN Stan Smyl Misconduct 17:20 10:00 3rd None OT NYI Bob Nystrom Roughing 16:11 2:00 VAN Doug Halward Roughing 16:11 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT Total 12 9 8 6 35 12 6 12 6 36
Game two
In game two, the Canucks led 4–3 after two periods, but the Islanders came back to win again. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st NYI Billy Carroll (2) – sh Bob Bourne (7) 15:55 1–0 NYI 2nd VAN Thomas Gradin (9) – pp Lars Molin (8) and Curt Fraser (7) 08:28 1–1 VAN Ivan Boldirev (8) – pp Lars Molin (9) and Doug Halward (4) 13:12 2–1 VAN NYI Mike Bossy (14) – pp Stefan Persson (11) and Denis Potvin (11) 17:06 2–2 VAN Lars Lindgren (2) Thomas Gradin (10) 19:42 3–2 VAN 3rd NYI Bob Bourne (9) – pp Stefan Persson (12) and Mike Bossy (10) 00:32 3–3 NYI Duane Sutter (5) Brent Sutter (5) and Denis Potvin (12) 01:19 4–3 NYI VAN Gerry Minor (1) Tiger Williams (7) 02:27 4–4 NYI Bryan Trottier (6) – pp Tomas Jonsson (2) and Denis Potvin (13) 07:18 5–4 NYI NYI Bob Nystrom (4) John Tonelli (10) and Wayne Merrick (6) 07:18 6–4 NYI Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NYI Bryan Trottier Roughing 04:09 2:00 VAN Tiger Williams Roughing 04:09 2:00 NYI Gord Lane Cross-checking 05:16 2:00 NYI Denis Potvin Tripping 08:46 2:00 VAN Ron Delorme Cross-checking 11:27 2:00 VAN Lars Lindgren Hooking 12:45 2:00 NYI Denis Potvin Tripping 14:38 2:00 VAN Ivan Boldirev Cross-checking 16:35 2:00 NYI Stefan Persson Interference 18:48 2:00 VAN Curt Fraser Hooking 19:05 2:00 2nd NYI Gord Lane Slashing 06:02 2:00 VAN Ron Delorme Slashing 06:02 2:00 NYI Bryan Trottier Hooking 07:20 2:00 NYI John Tonelli High-sticking 10:03 2:00 NYI John Tonelli Interference 10:03 2:00 VAN Colin Campbell Slashing 10:03 2:00 VAN Curt Fraser Charging 16:03 2:00 NYI Tomas Jonsson Hooking 18:13 2:00 NYI Bryan Trottier Roughing 18:49 2:00 NYI Gord Lane Misconduct 18:49 10:00 VAN Gord Lane Roughing 18:49 2:00 VAN Curt Fraser Misconduct 18:49 10:00 VAN Stan Smyl Roughing 19:05 2:00 3rd NYI Bob Nystrom Cross-checking 03:43 2:00 NYI Billy Smith Slashing 04:37 2:00 VAN Tiger Williams Roughing 04:37 2:00 VAN Tiger Williams Slashing 04:37 2:00 NYI Duane Sutter Misconduct 08:15 10:00 VAN Harold Snepsts Misconduct 08:15 10:00 NYI Clark Gillies Roughing 11:17 2:00 NYI Billy Smith Slashing 11:35 2:00 VAN Tiger Williams Interference 11:35 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 6 14 10 30 15 9 12 36
Game three
The series then shifted to Vancouver, where the Canucks were boosted by a boisterous, towel-waving Vancouver crowd and had a great first period, but failed to score on Billy Smith, who was brilliant, making 23 saves for his first shutout of the postseason. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd NYI Clark Gillies (8) Brent Sutter (6) 02:56 1–0 NYI NYI Mike Bossy (15) Stefan Persson (13) and Bryan Trottier (21) 12:30 2–0 NYI 3rd NYI Bob Nystrom (5) – en Butch Goring (5) and Denis Potvin (14) 18:40 3–0 NYI Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st NYI Clark Gillies High-sticking 01:06 2:00 VAN Tiger Williams High-sticking 01:06 2:00 NYI Butch Goring Unsportsmanlike conduct 08:41 2:00 VAN Thomas Gradin Holding 09:00 2:00 NYI Gord Lane Hooking 13:03 2:00 NYI Billy Carroll Holding 14:03 2:00 VAN Colin Campbell Holding 17:37 2:00 2nd NYI Bryan Trottier Slashing 06:48 2:00 VAN Tiger Williams Slashing 06:48 2:00 VAN Doug Halward Holding 10:29 2:00 NYI Ken Morrow Interference 12:41 2:00 3rd NYI Bob Bourne Roughing 00:12 2:00 VAN Jim Nill High-sticking 00:12 2:00 VAN Jim Nill Roughing 00:12 2:00 NYI Duane Sutter Roughing 04:06 2:00 VAN Harold Snepsts Roughing 04:06 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 9 18 5 32 8 8 7 23
Game four
The Islanders went on to win 3–0, and then completed the sweep with a 3–1 victory on May 16 to win their third straight Cup and first on the road. Mike Bossy scored seven goals in the four games, tying Jean Beliveau's record from , and won the Conn Smythe Trophy. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st NYI Butch Goring (6) Denis Potvin (15) 11:38 1–0 NYI VAN Stan Smyl (9) Gerry Minor (3) and Colin Campbell (2) 18:09 1–1 2nd NYI Mike Bossy (16) – pp Denis Potvin (16) and Bryan Trottier (22) 05:00 2–1 NYI NYI Mike Bossy (17) – pp Bryan Trottier (23) and Stefan Persson (14) 08:00 3–1 NYI 3rd None Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st VAN Colin Campbell Hooking 02:29 2:00 NYI Clark Gillies Hooking 05:53 2:00 NYI Bryan Trottier Holding 08:25 2:00 VAN Curt Fraser Hooking 09:31 2:00 NYI Gord Lane Slashing 13:03 2:00 VAN Jim Nill Slashing 13:03 2:00 VAN Darcy Rota Roughing 15:40 2:00 NYI Bob Nystrom Boarding 16:53 2:00 VAN Harold Snepsts Elbowing 16:53 2:00 2nd NYI Stefan Persson Holding 02:29 2:00 VAN Darcy Rota Cross-checking 03:02 2:00 VAN Stan Smyl High-sticking 06:08 2:00 VAN Neil Belland Tripping 14:53 2:00 3rd None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 9 12 7 28 10 5 9 24
Broadcasting The series aired on CBC in Canada and on the USA Network in the United States. However, USA's national coverage was blacked out in the New York area due to the local rights to Islanders games in that TV market, with SportsChannel New York airing games one and two, and WOR televising games three and four.
Technical Difficulties During the first period of the fourth game, WOR's broadcast experienced technical difficulties due to videotaping and editing issues causing an estimated 4 minutes and 30 seconds delay on their broadcast. The station placed a still of its station identification card with a text-insert reading "Please Stand By" on the center of the screen. After a minute of silence, music by Alan Hawkshaw began playing with a station announcer announcing "Please stand by, we're experiencing technical difficulties. As soon as they have been corrected, we shall return to our scheduled programs". This occurred before a commercial break.
Team rosters
New York Islanders
Vancouver Canucks