Franchise History Lookbacks: Edmonton Oilers conquer a dynasty to start their own

The first Oilers-Islanders playoff matchup wasn’t in 1983

Everyone in the hockey world knows about the 1983 and 1984 Stanley Cup Final when mentioning Edmonton and New York in the playoffs. Indeed, those will be the focal point of this look back, but for now, let’s set those aside. Because what many don’t remember, is that these two rivals had a head-to-head playoff series before 1983.

In 1981, after the famed upset sweep of the Canadiens in the first round, the Oilers had to then go up against none other than the Islanders. Already the defending Stanley Cup Champs to that point, New York sought to go back-to-back with their success, like the Habs and Flyers before them. Similarly to Edmonton, the Islanders had swept their first-round series against an Original Six franchise. Their series against the Toronto Maple Leafs was even more of a rout, however, with the Islanders running Toronto out of the building in all three games, to the combined tune of 20–4.

Round 2, 1981

The 1981 second-round series between Edmonton and New York was actually more competitive than what one might expect, further cementing the Oilers’ upstart status that year. They pushed the Islanders to six games, further than any other opponent the Islanders drew in 1981. Additionally, their 4–3 victory in Game 5 to extend the series stands as the only time the Islanders lost a home game in that postseason.

Ultimately, the Islanders just had too much firepower offensively for the Oilers to handle that year, even for a hot Andy Moog to thwart. Each of the Islanders’ four wins that series had them scoring at least five goals each time. Conversely, the Oilers only reached five goals once, in their Game 3 win at the Northlands Coliseum. Edmonton put in a strong showing in just their second NHL season and second Stanley Cup Playoff run. But they still had some work to do to overtake the Islanders dynasty.

Was 1983 a total mismatch? Not quite, but it was still convincing

Fast-forward a couple of seasons. The Oilers finally reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 1983, after their ignominious defeat the previous year at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings. Having learned much-needed lessons from that series, they didn’t just win three rounds. They dominated against the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, and Chicago Blackhawks. Only the Flames were permitted a single win over Edmonton, who started their postseason run with a 12–1 record.

Keeping in mind 1981, the whole key for the Oilers was to be better defensively against the Islanders. For the most part, they were able to keep up a strong offensive attack without giving up too much the other way in Game 1. However, the notorious “Battlin’ ” Billy Smith, slashes and all, stymied the Oilers. The Islanders, instead of relying on being on offence all the time, took advantage of counter-attacks. New York could only score on Grant Fuhr once in Game 1, but that was all they needed.

Games 2 and 3 are a little more lopsided before Game 4, again, becomes a close affair. Down 3–0 thanks to three Islander goals in 97 seconds in Period 1, the Oilers did make a furious push to try and come back. They would whittle it down to 3–2, but could not come any further. Once again, the Islanders bent, but didn’t break. Defenceman Ken Morrow iced both Games 1 and 4 with empty-netters, and for the second straight year, the Islanders won the Stanley Cup Final with a sweep of the opponent. Throughout the series, the Oilers scored a total of six goals. Young superstar and almost-not-a-WHA-Oiler Wayne Gretzky himself managed just four assists across all four games.

What more could be learned by the Oilers?

Getting to the Stanley Cup Final is not an easy process that, save for the Vegas Golden Knights and St. Louis Blues, requires multiple seasons of learning, from the franchise’s inaugural year. No different, in this case, is the process for Edmonton, as it took three seasons of lesson-learning. But now that they’d gotten there, there’s a realization that they still don’t have quite what it takes to match up with the Islanders dynasty.

The turning point for the Oilers franchise is often pointed to as being right after the deciding Game four of that 1983 Stanley Cup Final. While walking past the home team’s dressing room, it was noticed by the players how there was no huge celebration going on. Not simply because it was the fourth Cup in a row for the Islanders. But also because the players were mostly too banged up and covered with ice packs to celebrate.

The Oilers players themselves, Gretzky included, suggested this is what made them realize truly what it takes to win the Stanley Cup. They may have worked hard to try and score consistently in the Final, but the physical price hadn’t nearly been paid yet. They would have to be willing to be more rugged and determined to get to that ultimate goal of being Stanley Cup Champions.

New lessons, new practice rink, new perspective, new champions?

When the Oilers began play in the NHL in 1979, West Edmonton Mall was a mere set of plans that were just starting to be executed. The Mall had yet to open when Edmonton faced New York in the playoffs the first time. And in May 1983 when the Cup Final occurred, it only featured a single Phase, out of the four it would eventually have.

With the opening of Phase II in August 1983, came the marvel that is the domed-glass-ceiling Ice Palace. The Oilers would take advantage of this brand-new space; in an era where practice facilities weren’t too common, the Ice Palace became a de facto one of sorts for the Oilers. It was good to practice in a shiny new rink and be able to include a scaled-down version of the crowd din that an NHL game sees. Additionally though, it served as a consistent reminder to the Oilers of the community support. In an understated way, seeing how much Edmontonians loved watching the team gave them extra motivation moving forward.

This was the Golden Knights, before the Golden Knights existed. One thing Vegas has become known for is having many open practices at their City National Arena practice facility. Though it isn’t the first thing to get brought up often, that extent of connection with a community can be a huge boost for a team. It may be no coincidence that both Vegas and Edmonton would make their first Final appearances and win their first Cups early on. And the community support and connection is something that can’t be overlooked.

Is it a different ending this time?

The 1984 Stanley Cup Final would be a rematch of 1983. In some ways, it was wholly expected, given how strong Edmonton and New York had been the year prior. Even still, Final rematches aren’t all that common in the expansion-era NHL, and the Oilers had already been the fourth different Final opponent for the Islanders during their dynasty.

Dynasties in the NHL never last that long, mainly due to the physical nature of the sport. To play 100 or more games, playoffs included, in a season several times in a row is nearly impossible to pull off. That the Islanders did it five consecutive times, all with 16-team, four-round postseasons is a feat that even the current Florida Panthers will have a tough time pulling off. So one could easily say the Islanders were due. But the Oilers also had to do their part, and remember everything they’d learned up to this point.

Play the games

In both 1984 and 1985, the Final format was a bit different. The home games would be allotted similar to baseball’s World Series, with the home-ice advantage team getting Games 1, 2, 6, and 7, and the other team hosting Games 3–5. In this case, the Islanders began with Games 1 and 2 at Nassau.

Like the previous year, Game 1 was a feeling-out process, but this time it was the Oilers who would get the lone goal of the game, thanks to Kevin McLelland’s efforts. New York would run away with Game 2, however. Fort Neverlose continued living up to its moniker.

Unlike the previous year, though, the Oilers were hosting Games 3 and 4, and they had managed to steal that first game. With McLelland’s goal and Grant Fuhr’s shutout, the series was even. All Edmonton had to do now was create a new Fort Neverlose.

A few factors would come into play here. In Game 3, Fuhr was forced to leave due to injury, via Pat LaFontaine colliding with him. In came Andy Moog, who three years prior, had stymied a formidable Habs team and helped take the Isles to six games. Secondly, with the Islanders holding a 2–1 lead in the second period, Mark Messier would tie the game with a supreme solo effort.

Thirdly, though, the Oilers had learned the most important rule of sports: Defence wins championships. Apart from Game 2, they did not permit the Islanders more than two goals in a game during the entire series. New York having been clearly worn down by five full, lengthy, grueling seasons also contributed to this result. But once the Oilers turned the tides of Game 3, the focus included not giving the Islanders another sniff of life.

The conclusion to the 1984 Final

After back-to-back 7–2 routs, the Oilers dealt with one more rather close game in Game 5. They once again kept New York to just two goals, and the offence would do the rest. 5–2 final, four games to one series win, and they won the last home game of the season, to clinch the first Cup.

The Oilers winning the Stanley Cup in just their fifth NHL season is a record that will likely never be matched, let alone broken. Previously, it had taken the Flyers seven seasons to win their first. The aforementioned Golden Knights had to wait six years, and miss the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, before getting their first. Those dynasty Islanders had to play eight seasons to claim their maiden Cup. Not considering relocations, no other franchise has even won it in their first decade of existence.

But even to make that kind of history, the Oilers had to learn and grow through their first four playoff runs. A lot of things had to break certain ways. And, like the Golden Knights, they had to lose a Cup Final to know how to win one.