The Miracle on Manchester is the nickname given to a National Hockey League (NHL) playoff game between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers that took place on April 10, 1982 in the league's 65th season. The game, the third in a best-of-five postseason series, was played at The Forum, the Kings' home arena at the time, which is situated on Manchester Boulevard in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood. The Kings completed the largest comeback in NHL playoff history, going from being down 5–0 to win the game in overtime, 6–5. Combined with upset wins in Games 1 and 5, the Kings eliminated the heavily favored Oilers to reach the second round.
Background The contest was the third in a five-game first-round playoff series between the Kings and Oilers. Under the playoff structure that existed at the time, the top four teams from each division qualified for the playoffs, with the first seed facing the fourth seed and the second and third seeds pairing off in the first round. In 1981–82, Edmonton won the division with 111 points, while Los Angeles finished in fourth place, 48 points behind.
Edmonton Oilers The Oilers in their third season in the NHL, were dominant. Under the leadership of head coach and general manager Glen Sather, they finished first in the Clarence Campbell Conference and second best in the league after the New York Islanders. The Oilers, the only team in the Smythe Division to post a winning record, were the most potent offensive team in the NHL that year. They set an NHL record by scoring 417 goals, 32 more than any other team in 1981–82. The Oilers also had a capable defense for the time, allowing 295 goals, 26 fewer than the NHL average.
The Oilers’ offensive attack was led by Wayne Gretzky, Glenn Anderson, Mark Messier, and Jari Kurri. The defense was anchored by Kevin Lowe, Paul Coffey, and team captain Lee Fogolin. Edmonton featured the goalie tandem of Grant Fuhr and Andy Moog.
In 1981–82, Gretzky posted 92 goals, 120 assists, and 212 points, all league records, out-scoring his nearest rival for the scoring lead, Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders, by 65 points. Gretzky would win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player for the third consecutive season.
Los Angeles Kings After a 99-point season in 1980–81, they suffered through one of the worst one-year declines in NHL history, plummeting down to just 63 points in 1981–82. The team's fall precipitated a coaching change, as Don Perry replaced Parker MacDonald on January 11, 1982. Of the 16 playoff qualifiers in the NHL, Los Angeles had the poorest record. The Kings' total of 314 goals was lower than the league average of 321; they also allowed 369 goals, more than all but two teams in the NHL in 1981–82.
The Kings were led offensively by Marcel Dionne, who scored 117 points and was eighth in the NHL in scoring. Dave Taylor, Dionne's right winger on the Triple Crown Line was second on the team with 106 points. Dionne's usual left winger, Charlie Simmer, missed 30 games due to injury and tallied only 39 points during regular season play. Other offensive notables for the Kings included forward Jim Fox and rookie forward Steve Bozek, as well as defenseman Larry Murphy. This youthful presence in the Los Angeles lineup was further solidified by forwards Bernie Nicholls, Doug Smith, and Daryl Evans.
The high number of goals scored against the Kings was in part a reflection of an outmoded defensive mentality. The 1980s were a decade that witnessed an increasingly speedy game, one which seemed unstoppable to the Kings' old, rangy, "stay-at-home" blueliners of the 1970s. In addition, L.A.'s goaltending suffered a decline; starting goaltender Mario Lessard allowed 4.36 goals per game, one of the worst figures in the league. Backup goaltender Doug Keans fared little better, at 4.30 goals allowed per game.
During the 1981–82 regular season, the Kings and Oilers met eight times, with Edmonton going 5–1–2. The Oilers outscored the Kings 51 goals to 27.
Games 1 and 2 The series began in Edmonton's Northlands Coliseum, where the Oilers had a record of 31–5–4 during the regular season. Combining that mark with the Kings' season road record of 5–26–9 formed an expectation of the Oilers taking the first two games.
Before the series, Los Angeles coach Don Perry elected to utilize his team's youth and offensive speed to try to simply outscore the Oilers rather than shut them down. The Oilers led 4–1 at the start. Due to undisciplined play from Edmonton, the Kings answered back with four consecutive goals, three of which came on the power play, and would never trail the rest of the game en route to a 10–8 win. The 18 goals is still an NHL record for most goals scored in a Stanley Cup Playoff game.
In game two, both teams played more defensively, and thus was a low-scoring, more traditional style of playoff hockey, as the Kings and Oilers were tied 2–2 after regulation time had expired. In overtime, Gretzky took a shot from 40 feet out that went through a screen and past Lessard into the Kings' net. The 3–2 victory for Edmonton tied the series at one game apiece.
Game three, the "Miracle" Game The series shifted to the Forum, where the Kings were 19–15–6 during the regular season. Edmonton's season road record was 17–12–11.
First period The Kings' fans were enthusiastic at the start of the game, but as in game two, the Oilers struck first. The Kings had just finished killing a penalty to Dave Taylor when Kings forward Dan Bonar jumped on a loose puck in the Oiler zone and took a shot on goal. Fuhr made the save, and the Oilers counter-attacked. A pass found Messier on the left wing, and he took a slap shot from about 25 feet out that went off Lessard's glove and into the net to give Edmonton a 1–0 lead.
While on the power play near the end of the first period, the Kings made another offensive rush at Fuhr, with Dionne taking a centering pass and sending a wrist shot toward the Oiler net. Fuhr made the save, and the rebound went to Gretzky. Gretzky then proceeded to carry the puck from his own end to the Kings' end, skating down the middle of the ice and in alone on two Kings, Korab and Evans. Gretzky faked to the outside and then shifted quickly back inside, bypassing Korab. Gretzky then skated toward the left side, where rookie Evans was holding his position but conceding space to Gretzky. Gretzky saw enough room for an opportunity to shoot, but had his stick lifted from behind by Simmer, who was backchecking. Nevertheless, Gretzky was able to get his stick back down to ice level long enough to fire a sharp-angled shot that beat Lessard on the short side for a short-handed goal to put the Oilers up 2–0.
Second period As the second period started, the Kings were still on the power play, but the Oilers were able to mount another rush. Gretzky took the puck in the Oiler zone, skated through center ice and passed to Fogolin. Fogolin skated down the wing and sent a seemingly harmless snap shot toward Lessard. The Kings' goaltender misplayed the sharp angle of the shot, and it went by him on the short side. The Oilers had scored two short-handed goals on the same Kings' power play, and had taken control of the game with a 3–0 lead.
Later in the second period, both teams were playing with three skaters per side due to penalties. The Oilers' defenseman Risto Siltanen skated the puck through center ice and into the Kings' zone. The Oilers maintained control with sharp passing, but after an Oiler shot went wide of the net, the Kings' defender Mark Hardy appeared to have control of the puck. Gretzky swooped in behind the net and deftly stole the puck away. He then sent a quick pass over to Siltanen who one-timed a shot toward the net that seemed to zoom past Lessard into the net; it ricocheted against the end boards and around to the left side of the Kings' zone. The goal light was turned on by the goal judge, so play was stopped as the referees convened. It was determined that Siltanen's shot went through the net, and replays later confirmed it. The Oilers had increased their lead to 4–0.
The Oilers were on the power play, with four skaters against the Kings' three, when they went on the attack again. The Oilers obtained possession in the Kings' zone at the face-off, and as they had on their fourth goal, kept possession while moving the puck. The Oilers kept the puck on the outside until they saw an opening. Anderson took a pass to the right of the Kings' net and saw Gretzky sneak in behind Lessard and Kings' defenseman Rick Chartraw at the left side of the goal crease. Anderson sent a hard pass that went through Chartraw's legs and onto the stick of Gretzky, and all he had to do was deflect the puck into the net to give the Oilers a power play goal and a seemingly insurmountable 5–0 lead, and the score stayed that way as the second period came to a close.
Kings play by play announcer Bob Miller was quoted as saying "I was so upset because I thought, 'We do this every time, get everyone in L.A. excited about hockey and the Kings and then go right in the dumper.'" Kings owner Jerry Buss also left the game early, and was greeted with jeers from the Forum crowd. The home crowd had quieted considerably as the game turned into a rout. Kings captain Dave Lewis noted in a later interview that he and other Kings players were angered by the fact that several Oilers players were laughing at them as they went into their locker room at the end of the period.
Third period Early in the third period, with both teams at four skaters per side, the Kings gained possession of the puck in the neutral zone and tried an attack on the Oiler net. The Kings had a two-on-one with Dionne and Larry Murphy, but Dionne's setup pass was missed by Murphy, and the puck went toward the right wing boards. The Kings were able to regain control of the puck, and tried to set up another attack in the Oiler zone, when Dionne again obtained possession of the puck at the right point. Dionne sent a pass toward the left wing, where the puck ricocheted softly off of the boards and on to the stick of Jay Wells. Wells skated in from the left point, noticed Taylor was obstructing the sight line of Oiler goalie Fuhr, and took a shot from 30 feet out that went through the legs of Taylor and into the right side of the net past Fuhr at 2:36 to put the Kings on the scoreboard. The score now stood at 5–1.
Less than three minutes later, the Kings went on another power play as the Oilers got another penalty. The Kings won the face-off, and sent the puck back to Hardy, who threw a shot at the net from the left point. Fuhr made the save, but the rebound went directly in front of the net, toward Oiler defenseman Kevin Lowe. Lowe tried to gain possession of the puck quickly and clear it out of danger, but the puck was caught between his skates, and Lowe couldn't spot it. Kings' forward Doug Smith saw the puck, however; Smith quickly stepped toward Lowe, reached between the defender's skates, and took a shot that went directly under the crossbar and into the Oiler net. It was a power play goal, and the Kings had narrowed the gap to 5–2.