If a team based in Edmonton, Alberta dominating a North American sports league seems odd in the 2020s, imagine how it must have looked in the greed-is-good 1980s.
That was life for the Edmonton Oilers with center Wayne Gretzky and his contemporaries, during which the team was the class of the hockey world. From their humble World Hockey Association origins—their first game, as the Alberta Oilers, was played against the long-dead Ottawa Nationals—they rose to epitomize a flashy, high-scoring epoch of the sport.
As Edmonton seeks Stanley Cup number six this season, here’s a look back at how the Oilers won their first five.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Oilers 1, Islanders 0
Game 2
Islanders 6, Oilers 1
Game 3
Oilers 7, Islanders 2
Game 4
Oilers 7, Islanders 2
Game 5
Oilers 5, Islanders 2
A changing of the guard—the New York Islanders had won the last four Stanley Cups and beaten Edmonton the year prior. Gretzky’s first title, although Oilers forward Mark Messier won the Conn Smythe Trophy. The first time since the Victoria Cougars’ 1925 triumph that the Cup went west of the Central time zone.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Flyers 4, Oilers 1
Game 2
Oilers 3, Flyers 1
Game 3
Oilers 4, Flyers 3
Game 4
Oilers 5, Flyers 3
Game 5
Oilers 8, Flyers 3
This series belonged to Gretzky. His seven goals are tied for the fifth-most in any Stanley Cup Finals; all four of the greater totals were recorded in 1922 or earlier. His 47 playoff points are a still-standing record for one postseason, for which he won his first Smythe Trophy.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Oilers 4, Flyers 2
Game 2
Oilers 3, Flyers 2 (OT)
Game 3
Flyers 5, Oilers 3
Game 4
Oilers 4, Flyers 1
Game 5
Flyers 4, Oilers 3
Game 6
Flyers 3, Oilers 2
Game 7
Oilers 3, Flyers 1
A legendary series between two 100-point teams in the regular season. The Flyers won Game 3 after trailing 3-0, the first such comeback in Stanley Cup Finals history. Philadelphia led Game 7 1-0 after just 1:41, but goals by Messier, right wing Jari Kurri and right wing Glenn Anderson gave Edmonton the title.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Oilers 2, Bruins 1
Game 2
Oilers 4, Bruins 2
Game 3
Oilers 6, Bruins 3
Game 4
Oilers 6, Bruins 3
A notable series for precisely two reasons. First, Game 4 was suspended during the second period—and ultimately relocated to and replayed in Edmonton—after the power went out at Boston Garden. Second, after scoring a goal and recording two assists in the clincher, Gretzky never played another game for the Oilers.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Oilers 3, Bruins 2 (3OT)
Game 2
Oilers 7, Bruins 2
Game 3
Bruins 2, Oilers 1
Game 4
Oilers 5, Bruins 1
Game 5
Oilers 4, Bruins 1
Edmonton’s only Stanley Cup after trading Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings on Aug. 9, 1988; the Oilers swept the Kings on their way to the Finals. Game 1 is still the longest-ever Stanley Cup Finals game. Goalie Bill Ranford won the Smythe Trophy, the only major individual accolade of his career.
PATRICK ANDRES
