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The 1984-85 NHL season was the 68th season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-one teams each played 80 games. The Edmonton Oilers won their second straight Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to one in the final series.

This was the first year since they began broadcasting that CBC was not the lone network broadcaster in Canada. While Molson continued to present Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights, rival brewery Carling O'Keefe began airing Friday night games on CTV. The two networks split the playoffs and finals.

Regular Season[]

The Philadelphia Flyers had the best record in the NHL, a mere four points ahead of second place Edmonton Oilers. Oilers' star Wayne Gretzky once again won the Art Ross Trophy by reaching the 200 plateau for the third time in four years. He also set a new record for assists in a season with 135 and won his sixth straight Hart Trophy. Mario Lemieux made his NHL debut by scoring 100 points and winning the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year.

This season marked the true end for the 1960s in the NHL, as the last 2 players from that era, Butch Goring and Brad Park, retired after the playoffs. Goring was the last active, playing his last playoff game 3 days after Park's last game.

Final Standings[]

Prince of Wales Conference[]

Adams Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Montreal Canadiens 80 41 27 12 309 262 94
Quebec Nordiques 80 41 30 9 323 275 91
Buffalo Sabres 80 38 28 14 290 237 90
Boston Bruins 80 36 34 10 303 287 82
Hartford Whalers 80 30 41 9 268 318 69

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Patrick Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Philadelphia Flyers 80 53 20 7 348 241 113
Washington Capitals 80 46 25 9 322 240 101
New York Islanders 80 40 34 6 345 312 86
New York Rangers 80 26 44 10 295 345 62
New Jersey Devils 80 22 48 10 264 346 54
Pittsburgh Penguins 80 24 51 5 276 385 53

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.


Clarence Campbell Conference[]

Norris Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
St. Louis Blues 80 37 31 12 299 288 86
Chicago Black Hawks 80 38 35 7 309 299 83
Detroit Red Wings 80 27 41 12 313 357 66
Minnesota North Stars 80 25 43 12 268 321 62
Toronto Maple Leafs 80 20 52 8 253 358 48

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Smythe Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Edmonton Oilers 80 49 20 11 401 298 109
Winnipeg Jets 80 43 27 10 358 332 96
Calgary Flames 80 41 27 12 363 302 94
Los Angeles Kings 80 34 32 14 339 326 82
Vancouver Canucks 80 25 46 9 284 401 59

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.


Scoring Leaders[]

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

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Wayne Gretzky Edmonton Oilers 80 73 135 208 52
Jari Kurri Edmonton Oilers 73 71 64 135 30
Dale Hawerchuk Winnipeg Jets 80 53 77 130 74
Marcel Dionne Los Angeles Kings 80 46 80 126 46
Paul Coffey Edmonton Oilers 80 37 84 121 97
Mike Bossy New York Islanders 76 58 59 117 38
John Ogrodnick Detroit Red Wings 79 55 50 105 30
Denis Savard Chicago Black Hawks 79 38 67 105 56
Bernie Federko St. Louis Blues 76 30 73 103 27
Mike Gartner Washington Capitals 80 50 52 102 71

Leading Goaltenders[]

Note: GP = Games played; W = Won; L = Lost; T = Tied; GA = Goals allowed; GAA = Goals against average; SO = Shutouts

Player Team GP W L T GA GAA SO
Barrasso, TomTom Barrasso Buffalo Sabres 54 25 18 10 144 2.66 5
Riggin, PatPat Riggin Washington Capitals 57 28 20 7 168 2.98 2
Lindbergh, PellePelle Lindbergh Philadelphia Flyers 65 40 17 7 194 3.02 2
Penney, SteveSteve Penney Montreal Canadiens 54 26 18 8 167 3.08 1
Wamsley, RickRick Wamsley St. Louis Blues 40 23 12 5 126 3.26 0
Gosselin, MarioMario Gosselin Quebec Nordiques 36 19 11 3 111 3.30 1
Lemelin, RejeanRejean Lemelin Calgary Flames 56 30 12 10 183 3.46 1
Peeters, PetePete Peeters Boston Bruins 51 19 26 4 172 3.47 1
Bouchard, DanDan Bouchard Quebec Nordiques 29 12 13 4 101 3.49 0
Hrudey, KellyKelly Hrudey New York Islanders 41 19 17 3 141 3.62 2

Stanley Cup Playoffs[]

  • Patrick Division Finals

The Philadelphia Flyers ended the New York Islanders' string of five straight seasons in the Stanley Cup Finals by dispatching the club four games to one. Flyers goaltender Pelle Lindbergh registered a pair of shutouts, one in Game 1, and the other in the clinching Game 5, by a 1-0 score.

  • Adams Division Finals

The Quebec Nordiques and Montreal Canadiens battled in a seven-game series. Bitter rivals from the province of Quebec, the Nords shocked the Habs in 1982, only to see a fourth-place Montreal club upset Quebec the year before. In the deciding Game 7 at the Montreal Forum, Peter Stastny scored the game and series winning goal, giving Quebec an improbable 3-2 overtime win and berth in the Wales Conference Finals.

  • Norris Division Finals

The Chicago Blackhawks simply outscored the Minnesota North Stars in an offensive-minded six-game series that featured 61 total goals.

  • Smythe Division Finals

Defending Cup champion Edmonton was too much for the Winnipeg Jets, sweeping them in four straight games and doubling their goal total.

  • Wales Conference Finals

Although the Flyers held the best record in the NHL with 53 wins and 113 points, the Adams Division held a better record against the Patrick Division, so the Wales finals began in Quebec City. Philly and Quebec split the first four games, then the Flyers edged the Nordiques, 2-1, in Game 5. Game 6 in Philadelphia was a tour-de-force for the Flyers, outshooting Quebec 36-15, and winning 3-0. Flyers captain Dave Poulin's two-man disadvantage shorthanded goal early in the second period was the deciding factor in the contest. The team returned to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1980. Unfortunately, the win came at a high cost, as both 54-goal forward Tim Kerr and defenseman Brad McCrimmon would be lost for the remainder of the playoffs with injuries.

  • Campbell Conference Finals

The Oilers steamrolled the Blackhawks in a six-game series which broke all sorts of records for total offense. Edmonton won the first two games at home by 11-2 and 7-3 scores, only to see Chicago strike back at home with 5-2 and 8-6 victories. However, Edmonton rebounded to blast the Hawks in the final two games, 10-5 and 8-2 to earn their third trip to the Cup Finals in as many years. Edmonton set all-time playoff marks with most goals in one series, most goals in a six-game series, and both clubs set records with most total goals in a semifinal series and most total goals in one six-game series.

  • Finals

Edmonton would lose the first game to the Flyers but would then take the next four to win their second straight Stanley Cup.

Playoff Bracket[]

  Division Semifinals Division Finals Conference Finals Finals
                                     
A1  Montreal Canadiens 3  
A4  Boston Bruins 2  
  A1  Montreal Canadiens 3  
  A2  Quebec Nordiques 4  
A2  Quebec Nordiques 3
A3  Buffalo Sabres 2  
  A2  Quebec Nordiques 2  
  P1  Philadelphia Flyers 4  
P1  Philadelphia Flyers 3  
P4  New York Rangers 0  
  P1  Philadelphia Flyers 4
  P3  New York Islanders 1  
P2  Washington Capitals 2
P3  New York Islanders 3  
  P1  Philadelphia Flyers 1
  S1  Edmonton Oilers 4
N1  St. Louis Blues 0  
N4  Minnesota North Stars 3  
  N4  Minnesota North Stars 2
  N2  Chicago Blackhawks 4  
N2  Chicago Blackhawks 3
N3  Detroit Red Wings 0  
  N2  Chicago Blackhawks 2
  S1  Edmonton Oilers 4  
S1  Edmonton Oilers 3  
S4  Los Angeles Kings 0  
  S1  Edmonton Oilers 4
  S2  Winnipeg Jets 0  
S2  Winnipeg Jets 3
S3  Calgary Flames 1  

Finals[]

Edmonton Oilers vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Date Visitors Score Home Score
May 10 Edmonton 1 Philadelphia 4
May 12 Edmonton 3 Philadelphia 1
May 15 Philadelphia 3 Edmonton 4
May 17 Philadelphia 3 Edmonton 5
May 19 Philadelphia 3 Edmonton 8

Edmonton Oilers win series 4-1.

NHL Awards[]

84-85NHLAwards
Prince of Wales Trophy: Philadelphia Flyers
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl: Edmonton Oilers
Art Ross Memorial Trophy: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Anders Hedberg, New York Rangers
Calder Memorial Trophy: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Conn Smythe Trophy: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Frank J. Selke Trophy: Craig Ramsay, Buffalo Sabres
Hart Memorial Trophy: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Jack Adams Award: Mike Keenan, Philadelphia Flyers
James Norris Memorial Trophy: Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers
Lester B. Pearson Award: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
NHL Plus/Minus Award: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
William M. Jennings Trophy: Tom Barrasso/Bob Sauve, Buffalo Sabres
Vezina Trophy: Pelle Lindbergh, Philadelphia Flyers
Lester Patrick Trophy: Jack Butterfield, Arthur M. Wirtz

All-Star Teams[]

First Team   Position   Second Team
Pelle Lindbergh, Philadelphia Flyers G Tom Barrasso, Buffalo Sabres
Paul Coffey, Edmonton Oilers D Rod Langway, Washington Capitals
Ray Bourque, Boston Bruins D Doug Wilson, Chicago Black Hawks
Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers C Dale Hawerchuk, Winnipeg Jets
Jari Kurri, Edmonton Oilers RW Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
John Ogrodnick, Detroit Red Wings LW John Tonelli, New York Islanders

Debuts[]

The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1984-85 (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 1984-85 (listed with their last team):

See Also[]

References[]

NHL Seasons

1980-81 | 1981-82 | 1982-83 | 1983-84 | 1984-85 | 1985-86 | 1986-87 | 1987-88 | 1988-89

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