DOG COMMENTARY:
In order to get into the 1985 Stanley Cup Finals…..the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3–0….the Winnipeg Jets 4–0….and the Chicago Black Hawks 4–2 to advance to the finals….whereas, the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the New York Rangers 3–0….the New York Islanders 4–1….and the Quebec Nordiques 4–2 to make it to the finals.
This was the second and last Stanley Cup Finals to use the 2–3–2 format….which has been long favored by Major League Baseball for its World Series….and used from 1985 through 2013 for the NBA Finals….. which allowed the Oilers to once again clinch game five on home ice….as The Great One Wayne Gretzky scored seven goals in the five games….tying the record set by Jean Béliveau of the Canadiens in 1956 and Mike Bossy of the Islanders in 1982….while Grant Fuhr stopped two penalty shots….and Jari Kurri scored 19 goals through the entire playoffs….which tied the single-year record set by Reggie Leach of the Flyers in 1976.
This was the last Stanley Cup Finals in which either goalie wore the old-style fiberglass mask….as both Oilers Grant Fuhr and the Flyers’ Pelle Lindbergh wore the face-hugging mask….which was introduced in 1959 by Jacques Plante. The next year, the Calgary Flames’ Mike Vernon sported a helmet-and-cage combo, similar to the one Billy Smith wore in leading the New York Islanders to four consecutive Cups from 1980–83….and Montreal Canadians rookie Patrick Roy wore a modern full fiberglass cage….which was the first goalie to sport that style in a Finals series….as even Oilers Grant Fuhr switched to a full fiberglass cage in time for the 1987 finals.
Against backup goaltender Bob Froese….who was substituting for starter Pelle Lindbergh….the Oilers blitzed the Flyers with a four-goal first period and sailed to a convincing 8–3 win….as Gretzky and Kurri posted a goal and three assists each….while Paul Coffey and Mark Messier scored two goals apiece…. when Edmonton won its second consecutive Stanley Cup….while the Flyers, at the time the youngest team in professional sports, took the lessons from their loss into the clubs’ next Stanley Cup Finals…. when they once again lost again to the Oilers in 1987, albeit in seven games. Wayne Gretzky won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP by scoring a record 47 points this playoff year.
