The 1985 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 10, after the conclusion of the 1984–85 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 30 with the champion Edmonton Oilers defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 8–3 to win the final series four games to one and win the Stanley Cup.

Playoff seeds

The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs, as follows:

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division

1. Montreal Canadiens, Adams Division champions – 94 points
2. Quebec Nordiques – 91 points
3. Buffalo Sabres – 90 points
4. Boston Bruins – 82 points

Patrick Division

1. Philadelphia Flyers, Patrick Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 113 points
2. Washington Capitals – 101 points
3. New York Islanders – 86 points
4. New York Rangers – 62 points

Clarence Campbell Conference

Norris Division

1. St. Louis Blues, Norris Division champions – 86 points
2. Chicago Black Hawks – 83 points
3. Detroit Red Wings – 66 points
4. Minnesota North Stars – 62 points

Smythe Division

1. Edmonton Oilers, Smythe Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 109 points
2. Winnipeg Jets – 96 points
3. Calgary Flames – 94 points
4. Los Angeles Kings – 82 points

Playoff bracket

In the division semifinals, the fourth seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. The two winning teams from each division's semifinals then met in the division finals. The two division winners of each conference then played in the conference finals. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals. In each series, home ice advantage was awarded to the team that had the better regular season record.

Each division semifinals series was competed in a best-of-five playoff following a 2–2–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each series), with the team with home ice advantage playing at home for games one and two (and game five, if necessary), and the other team playing at home for game three (and game four, if necessary). In the next two rounds, each series was competed in a best-of-seven playoff following a 2–2–1–1–1 format, with the team with home ice advantage playing at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team playing at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). For the second and final season, a 2-3-2 format was used in the Stanley Cup Finals, with the sites for games five and six switched.

Division semifinals

Prince of Wales Conference

(A1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A4) Boston Bruins

This was the 20th playoff series between these two teams. Montreal lead 17–2 in previous playoff series meetings. This was a rematch of last year's Adams Division Semifinals, in which Montreal won in a three-game sweep.

In the series finale, the Canadiens got the only goal when Mats Naslund scored with just 51 seconds remaining in regulation. Steve Penney stopped all 20 shots to register the shutout.

(A2) Quebec Nordiques vs. (A3) Buffalo Sabres

This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Adams Division Semifinals, in which Quebec won in a three-game sweep.

In the final game, Buffalo led 5–3 with just nine minutes remaining but allowed the Nordiques to score two goals in a span of 64 seconds to tie it at 12:06. The Nordiques' Brent Ashton then got the winner with only 69 seconds left.

(P1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (P4) New York Rangers

This was the sixth playoff series between these two teams. New York won three of the previous five meetings. Their last meeting was won by New York in a three-game sweep in the 1983 Patrick Division Semifinals.

(P2) Washington Capitals vs. (P3) New York Islanders

This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. New York won both previous series over the past two seasons, including last year's Patrick Division Finals in five games.

The series comeback by the Islanders is the only instance in NHL history where a team has overcome a 2–0 series deficit to win a best-of-five series.

Clarence Campbell Conference

(N1) St. Louis Blues vs. (N4) Minnesota North Stars

This was the sixth playoff series meeting between these two teams. St. Louis won three of the previous five series. This was a rematch of last year's Norris Division Finals in which Minnesota won in seven games.

(N2) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (N3) Detroit Red Wings

This was the tenth playoff series meeting between these two teams. Chicago had won five of the previous nine series. Their most recent meeting was in the 1970 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals, which the Black Hawks won in a four-game sweep.

(S1) Edmonton Oilers vs. (S4) Los Angeles Kings

This was the second playoff series between these two teams. Los Angeles won their only previous meeting in a stunning upset 3–2 in the 1982 Smythe Division Semifinals.

(S2) Winnipeg Jets vs. (S3) Calgary Flames

This was the first playoff series between these two teams.

Division finals

Prince of Wales Conference

(A1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A2) Quebec Nordiques

This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. The teams had split their prior two meetings. This was a rematch of last year's Adams Division Finals in which Montreal won in six games.

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 two years later. In the deciding seventh game 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. The franchise did not get to the conference finals again until 1996, their first year as the Colorado Avalanche, in which they won the Stanley Cup.

(P1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (P3) New York Islanders

This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. The teams had split their previous two meetings. The Islander won the most recent meeting in six games in the 1980 Stanley Cup 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 the first game 3-0, and the other in the clinching fifth game by a 1–0 score.

Clarence Campbell Conference

(N2) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (N4) Minnesota North Stars

This was the fourth playoff series meeting between these two teams. Chicago won two of the previous three meetings over the past three seasons. Minnesota won last season's Norris Division Semifinals 3–2.

The Chicago Black Hawks simply outscored the Minnesota North Stars in an offensive-minded six-game series that featured 62 total goals.

(S1) Edmonton Oilers vs. (S2) Winnipeg Jets

This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. Edmonton won the previous two meetings over the past two seasons, including last year's Smythe Division Semifinals in a three-game sweep.

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

Conference finals

Prince of Wales Conference final

(P1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (A2) Quebec Nordiques

This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. Philadelphia won the only previous meeting 3–2 in the 1981 Preliminary round.

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. Philadelphia and Quebec split the first four games of the series, then the Flyers edged the Nordiques, 2–1 in game five. Game six in Philadelphia was a tour-de-force for the Flyers, outshooting Quebec 36–15, and winning 3–0. Flyers captain Dave Poulin's five-on-three shorthanded goal early in the second period sealed the win and returned Philadelphia to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1980. The win came at a high cost for the Flyers as both 54-goal forward Tim Kerr and defenceman Brad McCrimmon were lost for the remainder of the playoffs with injuries.

Clarence Campbell Conference final

(S1) Edmonton Oilers vs. (N2) Chicago Black Hawks

This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. Edmonton won the only previous meeting in a four-game sweep in the 1983 Clarence Campbell Conference Final.

The Oilers defeated the Black Hawks in six games, with the home team winning the first five games. This was a six-game series that 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 the most goals in one series, and most goals in a six-game series, and both clubs set records with the most total goals in a semifinal series and the most total goals in one six-game series. Oilers' Jari Kurri scored three hat tricks in the series, setting a still-standing NHL record.

Stanley Cup Finals

This was the second playoff series between these two teams. Their only previous meeting was in the 1980 Preliminary round, which Philadelphia won in a three-game sweep. Philadelphia made their fifth Finals appearance. They last appeared in the Finals in 1980, which Philadelphia lost against the New York Islanders in six games. This was Edmonton's third consecutive and third overall Finals appearance. They won the previous year's Finals against the New York Islanders in five games. Philadelphia won all three games in this year's regular season series.

Player statistics

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.

Goaltenders

This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.

See also

• 1984–85 NHL season
• List of NHL seasons
• List of Stanley Cup champions

References

• Diamond, Dan, ed. (2000). Total Stanley Cup. Total Sports Canada. ISBN 1-892129-07-8.