1982 Stanley Cup Final

Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver, despite having a losing record in the regular season, reached their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history. In the first round they swept the Calgary Flames. In the next round they defeated the Los Angeles Kings in five games; after the Kings had upset the Edmonton Oilers and 92-goal scorer Wayne Gretzky in five games which was dubbed the Miracle on Manchester. In the conference finals, the Canucks defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in five games.

New York Islanders

The Islanders' route to the Final was slightly harder than Vancouver's. In the first round, the Islanders edged out the Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2. In the second round, they defeated their cross-town rivals in the New York Rangers in six games. In the conference finals, the Islanders swept the Quebec Nordiques to make it to the Final for the third year in a row.

With New York having 118 points and Vancouver having 77, the 41-point difference between the two teams in a final round is the largest in Stanley Cup Final history.^[3][4]

Game one

The Canucks had their best chance to win a game in the first one, as a Jim Nill short-handed marker gave them a 5–4 lead with only seven minutes to play in regulation time. However, the Islanders tied it when Mike Bossy banged home a loose puck after goaltender Richard Brodeur had collided with his own defenceman, Harold Snepsts, while trying to smother it. In the dying seconds of the first overtime period, Snepsts attempted to clear the puck up the middle, but it was intercepted by Bossy, who completed his hat trick with two seconds left on the clock to win the game for the Islanders.

Game two

In game two, the Canucks led 4–3 after two periods, but the Islanders came back to win again.

Game three

The series then shifted to Vancouver, where the Canucks were boosted by a boisterous, towel-waving Vancouver crowd and had a great first period, but failed to score on Billy Smith, who was brilliant, making 23 saves for his first shutout of the postseason.

Game four

The Islanders went on to win 3–0, and then completed the sweep with a 3–1 victory on May 16 to win their third straight Cup and first on the road. Mike Bossy scored seven goals in the four games, tying Jean Beliveau's record from 1956, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Technical Difficulties

During the first period of the fourth game, WOR's broadcast experienced technical difficulties due to videotaping and editing issues causing an estimated 4 minutes and 30 seconds delay on their broadcast. The station placed a still of its station identification card with a text-insert reading "Please Stand By" on the center of the screen. After a minute of silence, music by Alan Hawkshaw began playing with a station announcer announcing "Please stand by, we're experiencing technical difficulties. As soon as they have been corrected, we shall return to our scheduled programs". This occurred before a commercial break.

New York Islanders

More information No., Nat ...

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
1		Roland Melanson	G	L	21	1979	Moncton, New Brunswick
2		Mike McEwen	D	L	25	1981	Hornepayne, Ontario
5		Denis Potvin (C)	D	L	28	1973	Vanier, Ontario
6		Ken Morrow	D	R	25	1976	Davison, Michigan
7		Stefan Persson	D	L	27	1974	Bjurholm, Sweden
9		Clark Gillies	LW	L	28	1974	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
11		Wayne Merrick	C	L	30	1977	Sarnia, Ontario
12		Duane Sutter	RW	R	22	1979	Viking, Alberta
14		Bob Bourne	LW	L	27	1974	Kindersley, Saskatchewan
17		Greg Gilbert	LW	L	20	1980	Mississauga, Ontario
19		Bryan Trottier	C	L	25	1974	Val Marie, Saskatchewan
21		Brent Sutter	C	R	19	1980	Viking, Alberta
22		Mike Bossy	RW	R	25	1977	Montreal, Quebec
23		Bob Nystrom	RW	R	29	1972	Stockholm, Sweden
24		Gord Lane	D	L	29	1979	Brandon, Manitoba
25		Billy Carroll	C	L	23	1979	Toronto, Ontario
26		Dave Langevin	D	L	27	1974	Saint Paul, Minnesota
27		John Tonelli	LW	L	25	1977	Hamilton, Ontario
28		Anders Kallur	RW	L	29	1979	Ludvika, Sweden
29		Hector Marini	RW	R	25	1977	Timmins, Ontario
31		Billy Smith	G	L	31	1972	Perth, Ontario
91		Butch Goring	C	L	32	1980	St. Boniface, Manitoba

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Vancouver Canucks

More information No., Nat ...

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
2		Doug Halward	D	L	26	1981	Toronto, Ontario
3		Garth Butcher	D	R	19	1981	Regina, Saskatchewan
5		Colin Campbell	D	L	29	1980	London, Ontario
6		Andy Schliebener	D	L	19	1980	Ottawa, Ontario
7		Gary Lupul	C	L	23	1979	Powell River, British Columbia
8		Jim Nill	RW	R	24	1982	Hanna, Alberta
9		Ivan Boldirev	C	L	32	1980	Zrenjanin, Yugoslavia
10		Anders Eldebrink	D	R	21	1981	Morjärv, Sweden
12		Stan Smyl	RW	R	24	1978	Glendon, Alberta
13		Lars Lindgren	D	L	29	1978	Piteå, Sweden
14		Blair MacDonald	RW	R	28	1981	Cornwall, Ontario
15		Neil Belland	D	L	21	1981	Parry Sound, Ontario
16		Per-Olov Brasar	LW	L	31	1979	Falun, Sweden
17		Tony Currie	RW	R	24	1982	Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia
18		Darcy Rota	LW	L	29	1980	Vancouver, British Columbia
19		Ron Delorme	RW	R	26	1981	North Battleford, Saskatchewan
20		Gerry Minor	C	L	23	1978	Regina, Saskatchewan
21		Ivan Hlinka	C	L	32	1981	Most, Czechoslovakia
22		Tiger Williams	LW	L	28	1980	Weyburn, Saskatchewan
23		Thomas Gradin	C	L	26	1980	Sollefteå, Sweden
24		Curt Fraser	LW	L	24	1978	Cincinnati, Ohio
25		Kevin McCarthy (C)	D	R	24	1979	Winnipeg, Manitoba
26		Lars Molin	LW	L	26	1981	Örnsköldsvik, Sweden
27		Harold Snepsts	D	L	27	1974	Edmonton, Alberta
28		Marc Crawford	LW	L	21	1980	Belleville, Ontario
31		Rick Heinz	G	L	26	1982	Essex, Ontario
35		Richard Brodeur	G	L	29	1980	Longueuil, Quebec

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Note: Stan Smyl served as the Canucks acting team captain during the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs. Kevin McCarthy was injured late in the season and did not play in the playoffs and is listed as the official team captain.

Stanley Cup engraving

• ^{^[A]} Two players who did not play in the Final did not officially qualify, but still had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.
  • #17 Greg Gilbert (LW) – played 1 regular season and 4 playoff games
  • #29 Hector Marini (RW) – played 30 regular season games and 0 playoff games
• Harry Boyd, Mario Saraceno (Scouts) were included on the Stanley Cup in 1980, 1981. They were still part of the 1982, 1983 New York Islanders, but names were not put on the cup those years.