1985-86 NHL season

The 1985-86 NHL season was the 69th season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-one teams each played 80 games. This season saw the league's Board of Governors introduce the Presidents' Trophy, which would go to the team with the best overall record in the NHL regular season. The Edmonton Oilers would be the first winners of this award.

The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Calgary Flames four games to one in the final series to win the Stanley Cup.

Regular season

The Edmonton Oilers once again regained control of top spot in the NHL and last year's best team, the Philadelphia Flyers slipped to second. Edmonton's Wayne Gretzky continued his dominance of the NHL by winning his seventh straight Hart Trophy and his sixth straight Art Ross Trophy. This season saw Gretzky score "only" 52 goals, but he set impossible records of 163 assists and 215 points. This was the fourth time in five years that Gretzky reached the 200 point plateau. Gretzky would never again reach the 200 point mark, but neither would any other player. Mario Lemieux, however, came close with 199 points in 1988-89. Edmonton's defenceman Paul Coffey broke legendary Bobby Orr's record for most goals in a season by a defenceman by scoring 48 times.

Final standings

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalty Minutes

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Quebec Nordiques	80	43	31	6	92	330	289	1847
Montreal Canadiens	80	40	33	7	87	330	280	1372
Boston Bruins	80	37	31	12	86	311	288	1919
Hartford Whalers	80	40	36	4	84	332	302	1759
Buffalo Sabres	80	37	37	6	80	296	291	1608

Patrick Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Philadelphia Flyers	80	53	23	4	110	335	241	2025
Washington Capitals	80	50	23	7	107	315	272	1418
New York Islanders	80	39	29	12	90	327	284	1343
New York Rangers	80	36	38	6	78	280	276	1496
Pittsburgh Penguins	80	34	38	8	76	313	305	1538
New Jersey Devils	80	28	49	3	59	300	374	1424

Clarence Campbell Conference

Norris Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Chicago Black Hawks	80	39	33	8	86	351	349	1537
Minnesota North Stars	80	38	33	9	85	327	305	1672
St. Louis Blues	80	37	34	9	83	302	291	1478
Toronto Maple Leafs	80	25	48	7	57	311	386	1716
Detroit Red Wings	80	17	57	6	40	266	415	2393

Smythe Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Edmonton Oilers	80	56	17	7	119	426	310	1928
Calgary Flames	80	40	31	9	89	354	315	2297
Winnipeg Jets	80	26	47	7	59	295	372	1774
Vancouver Canucks	80	23	44	13	59	282	333	1813
Los Angeles Kings	80	23	49	8	54	284	389	2004

Leading Scorers

Player	Team	GP	G	A	PTS
Wayne Gretzky	Edmonton Oilers	80	52	163	215
Mario Lemieux	Pittsburgh Penguins	79	48	93	141
Paul Coffey	Edmonton Oilers	79	48	90	138
Jari Kurri	Edmonton Oilers	78	68	63	131
Mike Bossy	New York Islanders	80	61	62	123
Peter Stastny	Quebec Nordiques	76	41	81	122
Denis Savard	Chicago Black Hawks	80	47	69	116
Mats Naslund	Montreal Canadiens	80	43	67	110
Dale Hawerchuk	Winnipeg Jets	80	46	59	105
Neal Broten	Minnesota North Stars	80	29	76	105

Leading Goaltenders

Player	Team	GP	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
Bob Froese	Philadelphia Flyers	51	2728	116	5	2.55
Al Jensen	Washington Capitals	44	2437	129	2	3.18
Clint Malarchuk	Quebec Nordiques	46	2657	142	4	3.21
Kelly Hrudey	New York Islanders	45	2563	137	1	3.21
John Vanbiesbrouck	New York Rangers	61	3326	184	3	3.32
Patrick Roy	Montreal Canadiens	47	2651	148	1	3.35
Pat Riggin	Washington/Boston	46	2641	150	1	3.41
Rick Wamsley	St. Louis Blues	42	2517	144	1	3.43
Pete Peeters	Boston/Washington	42	2506	144	1	3.45
Don Beaupre	Minnesota North Stars	52	3073	182	1	3.55

Stanley Cup playoffs

Note: all dates in 1986 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. Patrick Roy won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP and had a sparkling 1.92 goals against average along with 15 wins.

Adams Division Semi-Finals

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 Whalers	3	Quebec Nordiques	2	(OT)
April 10	Hartford Whalers	4	Quebec Nordiques	1
April 12	Quebec Nordiques	4	Hartford Whalers	9

Hartford wins best-of-five series 3-0

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score
April 9	Boston Bruins	1	Montreal Canadiens	3
April 10	Boston Bruins	2	Montreal Canadiens	3
April 12	Montreal Canadiens	4	Boston Bruins	3

Montreal wins best-of-five series 3-0

Patrick Division Semi-Finals

New York Rangers vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score
April 9	New York Rangers	6	Philadelphia Flyers	2
April 10	New York Rangers	1	Philadelphia Flyers	2
April 12	Philadelphia Flyers	2	New York Rangers	5
April 13	Philadelphia Flyers	7	New York Rangers	1
April 15	New York Rangers	5	Philadelphia Flyers	2

New York Rangers wins best-of-five series 3-2

New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score
April 9	New York Islanders	1	Washington Capitals	3
April 10	New York Islanders	2	Washington Capitals	5
April 12	Washington Capitals	3	New York Islanders	1

Washington wins best-of-five series 3-0

Norris Division Semi-Finals

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Chicago Black Hawks

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score
April 9	Toronto Maple Leafs	5	Chicago Black Hawks	3
April 10	Toronto Maple Leafs	6	Chicago Black Hawks	4
April 12	Chicago Black Hawks	2	Toronto Maple Leafs	7

Toronto wins best-of-five series 3-0

St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota North Stars

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score
April 9	St. Louis Blues	2	Minnesota North Stars	1
April 10	St. Louis Blues	2	Minnesota North Stars	6
April 12	Minnesota North Stars	3	St. Louis Blues	4
April 13	Minnesota North Stars	7	St. Louis Blues	4
April 15	St. Louis Blues	6	Minnesota North Stars	3

St. Louis wins best-of-five series 3-2

Smythe Division Semi-Finals

Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton Oilers

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score
April 9	Vancouver Canucks	3	Edmonton Oilers	7
April 10	Vancouver Canucks	1	Edmonton Oilers	5
April 12	Edmonton Oilers	5	Vancouver Canucks	1

Edmonton wins best-of-five series 3-0

Winnipeg Jets vs. Calgary Flames

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
April 9	Winnipeg Jets	1	Calgary Flames	5
April 10	Winnipeg Jets	4	Calgary Flames	6
April 12	Calgary Flames	4	Winnipeg Jets	3	(OT)

Calgary wins best-of-five series 3-0

Divisional Finals

Hartford Whalers vs. Montreal Canadiens

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
April 17	Hartford Whalers	4	Montreal Canadiens	1
April 19	Hartford Whalers	1	Montreal Canadiens	3
April 21	Montreal Canadiens	4	Hartford Whalers	1
April 23	Montreal Canadiens	1	Hartford Whalers	2	(OT)
April 25	Hartford Whalers	3	Montreal Canadiens	5
April 27	Montreal Canadiens	0	Hartford Whalers	1
April 29	Hartford Whalers	1	Montreal Canadiens	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 Rangers	4	Washington Capitals	3	(OT)
April 19	New York Rangers	1	Washington Capitals	8
April 21	Washington Capitals	6	New York Rangers	3
April 23	Washington Capitals	5	New York Rangers	6	(OT)
April 25	New York Rangers	4	Washington Capitals	2
April 27	Washington Capitals	1	New York Rangers	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 Maple Leafs	1	St. Louis Blues	6
April 20	Toronto Maple Leafs	3	St. Louis Blues	0
April 22	St. Louis Blues	2	Toronto Maple Leafs	5
April 24	St. Louis Blues	7	Toronto Maple leafs	4
April 26	Toronto Maple Leafs	3	St. Louis Blues	4	(OT)
April 28	St. Louis Blues	3	Toronto Maple Leafs	5'
April 30	Toronto Maple Leafs	1	St. Louis Blues	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 Flames	4	Edmonton Oilers	1
April 20	Calgary Flames	5	Edmonton Oilers	6	(OT)
April 22	Edmonton Oilers	2	Calgary Flames	3
April 24	Edmonton Oilers	7	Calgary Flames	4
April 26	Calgary Flames	4	Edmonton Oilers	1
April 28	Edmonton Oilers	5	Calgary Flames	2
April 30	Calgary Flames	3	Edmonton Oilers	2

Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4-3

Conference Finals

New York Rangers vs. Montreal Canadiens

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
May 1	New York Rangers	1	Montreal Canadiens	2
May 3	New York Rangers	2	Montreal Canadiens	6
May 5	Montreal Canadiens	4	New York Rangers	3	(OT)
May 7	Montreal Canadiens	0	New York Rangers	2
May 9	New York Rangers	1	Montreal Canadiens	3

Montreal wins best-of-seven series 4-1

St. Louis Blues vs. Calgary Flames

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
May 2	St. Louis Blues	3	Calgary Flames	2
May 4	St. Louis Blues	2	Calgary Flames	8
May 6	Calgary Flames	5	St. Louis Blues	3
May 8	Calgary Flames	2	St. Louis Blues	5
May 10	St. Louis Blues	2	Calgary Flames	4
May 12	Calgary Flames	5	St. Louis Blues	6	(OT)
May 14	St. Louis Blues	1	Calgary Flames	2

Calgary wins best-of-seven series 4-3

Stanley Cup finals

Montreal Canadiens vs. Calgary Flames

This Stanley Cup final was the first to feature two Canadian teams since 1967 when the Toronto Maple leafs defeated the Canadiens four games to two. Brian Skrudland's game-winning goal in game two ended the shortest overtime in NHL playoff history, at a mere nine seconds. Montreal rookie goaltender Patrick Roy was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.

Date	Away	Score	Home	Score	Notes
May 16	Montreal Canadiens	2	Calgary Flames	5
May 18	Montreal Canadiens	3	Calgary Flames	2	(OT)
May 20	Calgary Flames	3	Montreal Canadiens	5
May 22	Calgary Flames	0	Montreal Canadiens	1
May 24	Montreal Canadiens	4	Calgary Flames	3