1981 Stanley Cup Final
1981 ice hockey championship series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1981 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1980–81 season, and the culmination of the 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Minnesota North Stars, making their first Finals appearance, and the defending champion New York Islanders, in their second Finals appearance. The Islanders would defeat the North Stars in five games to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. The Islanders became the sixth franchise to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.[1] This would be the last all-American Finals until 1991, when the North Stars faced the Pittsburgh Penguins. Butch Goring won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player in the playoffs.
Bloomington: Met Center (3, 4)
Minnesota: Glen Sonmor
Minnesota: Paul Shmyr
| 1981 Stanley Cup Final | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location(s) | Uniondale: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (1, 2, 5) Bloomington: Met Center (3, 4) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaches | New York: Al Arbour Minnesota: Glen Sonmor | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Captains | New York: Denis Potvin Minnesota: Paul Shmyr | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Referees | Bryan Lewis, Dave Newell, Andy Van Hellemond | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Dates | May 12–21, 1981 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Butch Goring (Islanders) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Series-winning goal | Wayne Merrick (5:37, first) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Hall of Famers | Islanders: Mike Bossy (1991) Clark Gillies (2002) Denis Potvin (1991) Billy Smith (1993) Bryan Trottier (1997) North Stars: Dino Ciccarelli (2010) Coaches: Al Arbour (1996) Officials: John D'Amico (1993) Ray Scapinello (2008) Andy Van Hellemond (1999) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Networks | Canada: (English): CBC (French): SRC United States: (National): USA Network (New York City area): SportsChannel New York (1–2, 5), WOR (3–4) (Minnesota area): KMSP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | (CBC) Bob Cole, Mickey Redmond, and Gary Dornhoefer (SRC) Rene Lecavalier and Gilles Tremblay (USA) Simulcast of CBC feed (SCNY) Jiggs McDonald and Ed Westfall (WOR) Jiggs McDonald (game 3), Tim Ryan (game 4), and Ed Westfall (KMSP) Bob Kurtz and Tom Reid | |||||||||||||||||||||
Paths to the Finals
Minnesota defeated the Boston Bruins 3–0, the Buffalo Sabres 4–1 and the Calgary Flames 4–2 to advance to the Final.
New York defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3–0, the Edmonton Oilers 4–2, and the New York Rangers 4–0 to reach the Final.
Game summaries
Dino Ciccarelli of the North Stars set a rookie record (since tied by Ville Leino in 2010), scoring twenty-one points (14 goals and seven assists) during the year's playoffs. The Islanders' much deeper lineup, however, won the day.
Game one
| May 12 | Minnesota North Stars | 3–6 | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap |
Anders Kallur and Wayne Merrick each scored twice for New York in game one, giving them a 6–3 victory and a 1–0 lead in the series.
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | NYI | Anders Kallur (3) | Dave Langevin (2) and Butch Goring (9) | 02:54 | 1–0 NYI |
| NYI | Bryan Trottier (10) – sh | Billy Carroll (7) | 14:38 | 2–0 NYI | |
| NYI | Anders Kallur (4) – sh | Bryan Trottier (14) | 15:25 | 3–0 NYI | |
| 2nd | NYI | Billy Carroll (3) | Duane Sutter (1) and Bob Nystrom (5) | 09:58 | 4–0 NYI |
| MNS | Kent-Erik Andersson (2) | Dino Ciccarelli (6) | 13:04 | 4–1 NYI | |
| 3rd | NYI | Wayne Merrick (4) | Unassisted | 00:58 | 5–1 NYI |
| MNS | Steve Payne (13) – pp | Craig Hartsburg (7) and Bobby Smith (15) | 03:08 | 5–2 NYI | |
| NYI | Wayne Merrick (5) | Dave Langevin (3) and John Tonelli (4) | 13:15 | 6–2 NYI | |
| MNS | Dino Ciccarelli (12) | Tom McCarthy (3) | 15:14 | 6–3 NYI | |
| Penalty summary | |||||
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
| 1st | MNS | Brad Maxwell | High-sticking | 06:44 | 2:00 |
| NYI | Bob Bourne | Spearing – major | 11:12 | 5:00 | |
| MNS | Tom McCarthy | Slashing | 19:45 | 2:00 | |
| 2nd | MNS | Greg Smith | Interference | 06:06 | 2:00 |
| NYI | John Tonelli | High-sticking | 14:13 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Bryan Trottier | Tripping | 17:29 | 2:00 | |
| 3rd | NYI | Gord Lane | Cross-checking | 02:39 | 2:00 |
| NYI | Bryan Trottier | Roughing | 18:09 | 2:00 | |
| Shots by period | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| Minnesota | 8 | 8 | 10 | 26 | |
| New York | 10 | 10 | 3 | 23 | |
Game two
| May 14 | Minnesota North Stars | 3–6 | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap |
In a virtual repeat of game one, Denis Potvin and Mike Bossy both scored two goals and the Islanders won 6–3 over the North Stars again.
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | MNS | Dino Ciccarelli (13) – pp | Craig Hartsburg (10) and Steve Christoff (7) | 03:38 | 1–0 MNS |
| NYI | Mike Bossy (14) – pp | Mike McEwen (8) and Denis Potvin (14) | 04:33 | 1–1 | |
| NYI | Bobby Nystrom (5) | Wayne Merrick (8) and John Tonelli (5) | 14:39 | 2–1 NYI | |
| NYI | Denis Potvin (7) | Wayne Merrick (9) | 17:48 | 3–1 NYI | |
| 2nd | MNS | Brad Palmer (8) | Neal Broten (7) and Greg Smith (5) | 09:15 | 3–2 NYI |
| 3rd | MNS | Steve Payne (14) | Tim Young (12) and Gordie Roberts (5) | 00:30 | 3–3 |
| NYI | Denis Potvin (8) – pp | Butch Goring (10) | 08:00 | 4–3 NYI | |
| NYI | Ken Morrow (3) | Denis Potvin (15) and Wayne Merrick (10) | 11:57 | 5–3 NYI | |
| NYI | Mike Bossy (15) | Bryan Trottier (15) and Bob Bourne (5) | 16:22 | 6–3 NYI | |
| Penalty summary | |||||
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
| 1st | NYI | Anders Kallur | Holding | 01:31 | 2:00 |
| NYI | Bryan Trottier | Hooking | 02:15 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Fred Barrett | Holding | 04:08 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Dave Langevin | Holding | 04:53 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Al MacAdam | High-sticking | 05:04 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Ken Morrow | High-sticking | 05:04 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Dave Langevin | Elbowing | 11:01 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Fred Barrett | Roughing | 19:15 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Bob Bourne | Roughing | 19:15 | 2:00 | |
| 2nd | NYI | John Tonelli | Roughing | 10:26 | 2:00 |
| 3rd | NYI | Denis Potvin | Tripping | 03:39 | 2:00 |
| MNS | Neal Broten | Hooking | 06:22 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Fred Barrett | High-sticking | 07:01 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Bryan Trottier | High-sticking | 07:01 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Bryan Trottier | Tripping | 12:58 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Denis Potvin | Closing hand on puck | 13:31 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Dino Ciccarelli | Roughing | 16:44 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Dino Ciccarelli | Misconduct | 16:44 | 10:00 | |
| MNS | Brad Maxwell | Fighting – major | 16:44 | 5:00 | |
| NYI | Bob Bourne | Fighting – major | 16:44 | 5:00 | |
| NYI | Gord Lane | Roughing | 16:44 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Gord Lane | Misconduct | 16:44 | 10:00 | |
| Shots by period | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| Minnesota | 9 | 11 | 8 | 28 | |
| New York | 11 | 11 | 16 | 38 | |
Game three
| May 17 | New York Islanders | 7–5 | Minnesota North Stars | Met Center | Recap |
In a back and forth game three, Butch Goring recorded a hat trick and Mike Bossy recorded 4 points after the North Stars had taken a 3–1 after the first period. The Islanders went on to win the game 7–5, giving them a commanding 3–0 lead in the series.
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | MNS | Steve Christoff (7) – pp | Craig Hartsburg (11) and Dino Ciccarelli (7) | 03:25 | 1–0 MNS |
| MNS | Steve Payne (15) | Tim Young (13) and Al MacAdam (8) | 14:09 | 2–0 MNS | |
| NYI | Mike Bossy (16) | Clark Gillies (7) | 14:47 | 2–1 MNS | |
| MNS | Bobby Smith (7) – pp | Craig Hartsburg (12) and Steve Payne (11) | 16:30 | 3–1 MNS | |
| 2nd | NYI | Bob Nystrom (6) | John Tonelli (6) and Wayne Merrick (11) | 04:10 | 3–2 MNS |
| NYI | Butch Goring (6) – pp | Denis Potvin (16) and Mike Bossy (15) | 07:16 | 3–3 | |
| NYI | Butch Goring (7) | Clark Gillies (8) | 11:51 | 4–3 NYI | |
| 3rd | MNS | Steve Payne (16) | Tim Young (14) and Steve Christoff (8) | 01:11 | 4–4 |
| NYI | Mike Bossy (17) | Bryan Trottier (16) | 02:05 | 5–4 NYI | |
| NYI | Butch Goring (8) | Billy Carroll (8) and Denis Potvin (17) | 06:34 | 6–4 NYI | |
| MNS | Dino Ciccarelli (14) | Bobby Smith (16) | 13:35 | 6–5 NYI | |
| NYI | Bryan Trottier (11) – en | Mike Bossy (16) and Wayne Merrick (12) | 19:16 | 7–5 NYI | |
| Penalty summary | |||||
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
| 1st | NYI | Bob Nystrom | Interference | 02:10 | 2:00 |
| MNS | Tom Younghans | Interference | 03:55 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Steve Payne | Holding | 06:37 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Tom Younghans | Roughing | 07:05 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Bob Nystrom | Roughing | 07:05 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Bryan Trottier | Hooking | 07:19 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Dave Langevin | Boarding | 11:26 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Bob Nystrom | Interference | 15:20 | 2:00 | |
| 2nd | MNS | Bobby Smith | Tripping | 05:39 | 2:00 |
| MNS | Greg Smith | Interference | 05:56 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Clark Gillies | High-sticking | 05:56 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Clark Gillies | Interference | 09:40 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Bryan Trottier | Tripping | 16:00 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Mike McEwen | Hooking | 18:25 | 2:00 | |
| 3rd | NYI | John Tonelli | Tripping | 04:15 | 2:00 |
| Shots by period | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| New York | 11 | 8 | 10 | 29 | |
| Minnesota | 8 | 7 | 13 | 28 | |
Game four
| May 19 | New York Islanders | 2–4 | Minnesota North Stars | Met Center | Recap |
Steve Payne scored the game-winning goal in the third period of game four, Brad Maxwell recorded 4 assists, and Don Beaupre made 33 saves to give Minnesota a 4–2 victory to thrive off elimination.
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | NYI | Gord Lane (1) | Mike Bossy (17) and Bryan Trottier (17) | 03:47 | 1–0 NYI |
| MNS | Craig Hartsburg (3) – pp | Bobby Smith (17) and Brad Maxwell (8) | 11:34 | 1–1 | |
| 2nd | MNS | Al MacAdam (9) | Steve Payne (12) and Brad Maxwell (9) | 05:15 | 2–1 MNS |
| NYI | Mike McEwen (5) – pp | John Tonelli (7) and Anders Kallur (2) | 07:37 | 2–2 | |
| 3rd | MNS | Steve Payne (17) | Brad Maxwell (12) and Al MacAdam (9) | 12:26 | 3–2 MNS |
| MNS | Bobby Smith (8) – pp | Al MacAdam (10) and Brad Maxwell (11) | 18:12 | 4–2 MNS | |
| Penalty summary | |||||
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
| 1st | NYI | Clark Gillies | Slashing | 01:00 | 2:00 |
| MNS | Craig Hartsburg | Slashing | 04:00 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Dave Langevin | Cross-checking | 10:03 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Gordie Roberts | Hooking | 12:23 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Clark Gillies | Roughing | 13:44 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Curt Giles | Tripping | 16:21 | 2:00 | |
| 2nd | NYI | Bob Nystrom | Charging | 03:12 | 2:00 |
| MNS | Brad Palmer | Cross-checking | 05:47 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Denis Potvin | Elbowing | 09:13 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Dino Ciccarelli | Cross-checking | 11:30 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Dino Ciccarelli | Fighting – major | 11:30 | 5:00 | |
| NYI | Bob Lorimer | Fighting – major | 11:30 | 5:00 | |
| NYI | Dave Langevin | Tripping | 14:54 | 2:00 | |
| 3rd | NYI | Anders Kallur | Tripping | 06:17 | 2:00 |
| NYI | Denis Potvin | Holding | 16:39 | 2:00 | |
| Shots by period | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| New York | 12 | 12 | 11 | 35 | |
| Minnesota | 13 | 10 | 11 | 34 | |
Game five
| May 21 | Minnesota North Stars | 1–5 | New York Islanders | Nassau Coliseum | Recap |
In game five, Billy Smith made 24 saves in a 5–1 victory for New York to win the series and help them win their second consecutive Stanley Cup. Butch Goring, who recorded two goals during the game, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP.
| Scoring summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Team | Goal | Assist(s) | Time | Score |
| 1st | NYI | Butch Goring (9) – pp | Bob Bourne (6) | 05:12 | 1–0 NYI |
| NYI | Wayne Merrick (6) | John Tonelli (8) and Bob Nystrom (6) | 05:37 | 2–0 NYI | |
| NYI | Butch Goring (10) | Clark Gillies (9) and Mike Bossy (18) | 10:03 | 3–0 NYI | |
| MNS | Steve Christoff (8) | Unassisted | 16:06 | 3–1 NYI | |
| 2nd | NYI | Bob Bourne (4) | Billy Carroll (9) and Anders Kallur (3) | 19:12 | 4–1 NYI |
| 3rd | NYI | Mike McEwen (6) | Bryan Trottier (18) | 17:06 | 5–1 NYI |
| Penalty summary | |||||
| Period | Team | Player | Penalty | Time | PIM |
| 1st | NYI | Bob Nystrom | Slashing | 00:56 | 2:00 |
| MNS | Brad Palmer | Holding | 03:52 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Bob Lorimer | Slashing | 19:00 | 2:00 | |
| 2nd | MNS | Paul Shmyr | Elbowing | 07:33 | 2:00 |
| MNS | Greg Smith | Cross-checking | 14:43 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Kevin Maxwell | Roughing | 19:55 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Gord Lane | Roughing | 19:55 | 2:00 | |
| 3rd | NYI | Bob Lorimer | Holding | 03:47 | 2:00 |
| MNS | Brad Maxwell | Slashing | 07:57 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | John Tonelli | Slashing | 07:57 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Gord Lane | High-sticking | 11:48 | 2:00 | |
| MNS | Kevin Maxwell | Slashing | 16:42 | 2:00 | |
| NYI | Billy Smith | Slashing | 16:42 | 2:00 | |
| Shots by period | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| Minnesota | 15 | 4 | 6 | 25 | |
| New York | 10 | 16 | 7 | 33 | |
Broadcasting
The series aired on CBC in Canada. In the United States, this was the first of five seasons that the Cup Finals aired on the USA Network. For the 1981 Finals only, USA simulcast the CBC feed instead of producing their own coverage. However, USA's national coverage was blacked out in the New York metro and Minnesota area due to the local rights to their respective teams in that markets. In the New York area, SportsChannel New York aired three games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and WOR televised two games in Bloomington, Minnesota while KMSP aired every game of the series in the Minnesota area.
Team rosters
Minnesota North Stars
New York Islanders
Stanley Cup engraving
The 1981 Stanley Cup was presented to Islanders captain Denis Potvin by NHL President John Ziegler following the Islanders 5–1 win over the North Stars in game five.
The following Islanders players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup
1980–81 New York Islanders
Players
- 8 Garry Howatt
- 9 Clark Gillies
- 12 Duane Sutter
- 22 Mike Bossy
- 23 Bob Nystrom
- 27 John Tonelli
- 28 Anders Kallur
- 29 Hector Marini
- 5 Denis Potvin (Captain)
- 3 Jean Potvin †
- 4 Bob Lorimer
- 6 Ken Morrow
- 7 Stefan Persson
- 16 Mike McEwen
- 24 Gord Lane
- 26 Dave Langevin
- * Played both centre and wing.
- † Did not play in Finals. Name engraved on Stanley Cup despite not officially qualifying.[A]
Coaching and administrative staff
- John Pickett (Chairman/Owner)
- Bill Torrey (President/General Manager)
- Al Arbour (Head Coach), 10 Lorne Henning (playing-Ass't Coach)
- Jim Devellano (Chief Scout), Gerry Ehman (Western Scout)
- Harry Boyd (Scout), Mario Saraceno (Scout)
- Ron Waske (Trainer), Jim Pickard (Asst. Trainer)
Stanley Cup engraving
- ^[A] #3 Jean Potvin (D) – 18 games regular season games and did not dress in the playoffs. He spent the rest of year as a broadcaster. Potvin's name was put on the cup in 1981, even though he did not officially qualify.
- #10 Lorne Henning (C) – played nine regular season and one playoff game. He was the last playing-coach to win the Stanley Cup.
- A new ring was created in 1993 for the winners from 1979 to 1991. New York Islanders was misspelled. NEW YORK ILANDERS missing the first "S". Name was spelled correctly on the Replica Cup also created in 1993.
Aftermath
The Islanders successfully returned to the Finals the following year. This time, they played the Vancouver Canucks and swept them to capture their third consecutive Stanley Cup championship.
The North Stars, however, lost in the first round to the Chicago Blackhawks, 3–1. The North Stars would not return to the Stanley Cup Final again until 1991, when they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins, in six games.