1983 Stanley Cup playoffs


The 1983 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League began on April 5, after the conclusion of the 1982–83 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 17 with the champion New York Islanders defeating the Edmonton Oilers 4–0 to win the Final series four games to none and win the Stanley Cup for the fourth consecutive season. '''
The 1983 Playoffs marked the first time that seven NHL teams based in Canada all qualified for the playoffs in the same season. Since the 1967–68 expansion, all the Canadian teams have qualified for the playoffs on five other occasions – 1969, 1975, 1976 and 1979, and 1986, the last time to date that all active Canadian teams qualified. This is also the most recent time that the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs in the same season.
In the Wales Conference, the Patrick Division champion Philadelphia Flyers were upset by the New York Rangers in the first round. The defending champion Islanders had qualified second in the Patrick Division, and defeated the Washington Capitals in the first round, and defeated the Rangers to qualify for the Conference Final. In the Adams Division, the first-place Boston Bruins defeated the Quebec Nordiques and the Buffalo Sabres to advance to the Conference Final. In the Conference Final, the Islanders defeated Boston in six games to qualify for their fourth consecutive Cup Finals appearance.
In the Campbell Conference, the Smythe Division first seed Edmonton Oilers swept the Winnipeg Jets in the opening round, and defeated the Calgary Flames in the Smythe Final. The Norris Champion Chicago Black Hawks defeated the St. Louis Blues three games to one and the Minnesota North Stars in the Norris Final four games to one. Edmonton defeated the Norris Division champion Chicago Black Hawks in a four-game sweep in the Conference Final to advance to the Cup Final.

Playoff seeds

The 1983 playoffs followed the format introduced in the previous season. The four teams with the best regular-season records from each of the four divisions would secure playoff berths. The division semi-finals would see the first-place club against the fourth-place team, while the second- and third-place teams faced off. The winning clubs would then meet in the division final. Home-ice advantage for these first two rounds of the playoffs would be granted to the team with the better regular-season record. Division winners would then face one another in the conference finals.
Home-ice advantage for the conference finals had been determined by coin flips prior to the start of the previous season. That event determined that home-ice advantage would be granted to champions of the Adams and Smythe divisions this season. Similarly, a puck flip determined that home-ice advantage for the Stanley Cup finals would be granted to Campbell Conference champion this season.
The following teams qualified for the playoffs:

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division

  1. Boston Bruins, Adams Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 110 points
  2. Montreal Canadiens – 98 points
  3. Buffalo Sabres – 89 points
  4. Quebec Nordiques – 80 points

    Patrick Division

  5. Philadelphia Flyers, Patrick Division champions – 106 points
  6. New York Islanders – 96 points
  7. Washington Capitals – 94 points
  8. New York Rangers – 80 points

    Clarence Campbell Conference

Norris Division

  1. Chicago Black Hawks, Norris Division champions – 104 points
  2. Minnesota North Stars – 96 points
  3. Toronto Maple Leafs – 68 points
  4. St. Louis Blues – 65 points

    Smythe Division

  5. Edmonton Oilers, Smythe Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 106 points
  6. Calgary Flames – 78 points
  7. Vancouver Canucks – 75 points
  8. Winnipeg Jets – 74 points

    Playoff bracket

Division Semifinals

Prince of Wales Conference

(A1) Boston Bruins vs. (A4) Quebec Nordiques

(A2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (A3) Buffalo Sabres

(P1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (P4) New York Rangers

(P2) New York Islanders vs. (P3) Washington Capitals

Clarence Campbell Conference

(N1) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (N4) St. Louis Blues

(N2) Minnesota North Stars vs. (N3) Toronto Maple Leafs

(S1) Edmonton Oilers vs. (S4) Winnipeg Jets

(S2) Calgary Flames vs. (S3) Vancouver Canucks

Division Finals

Prince of Wales Conference

(A1) Boston Bruins vs. (A3) Buffalo Sabres

scored the game-winner in game seven on a slapshot off a rebound of his own shot just seconds earlier.

(P2) New York Islanders vs. (P4) New York Rangers

Clarence Campbell Conference

(N1) Chicago Black Hawks vs. (N2) Minnesota North Stars

(S1) Edmonton Oilers vs. (S2) Calgary Flames

Conference Finals

Prince of Wales Conference Final

(A1) Boston Bruins vs. (P2) New York Islanders

Clarence Campbell Conference Final

(S1) Edmonton Oilers vs. (N1) Chicago Black Hawks

Stanley Cup Finals

The rising Edmonton Oilers qualified for their first final but more than met their match in the veteran Islanders. The Islanders won the series in a four-game sweep.

Player statistics

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.
PlayerTeam
Wayne GretzkyEdmonton Oilers16122638+204
Rick MiddletonBoston Bruins17112233+136
Barry PedersonBoston Bruins17141832+1021
Bob BourneNew York Islanders2082028+1914
Mike BossyNew York Islanders1917926+710
Jari KurriEdmonton Oilers1681523+168
Ray BourqueBoston Bruins1781523+1510
Mark MessierEdmonton Oilers1515621+1114
Brent SutterNew York Islanders20101121+1826
Duane SutterNew York Islanders2091221+1643

Goaltenders

This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.
PlayerTeam
New York Islanders17133494432.69.9132 960:02
Edmonton Oilers16115461483.04.8960 946:16
Buffalo Sabres1064234283.08.8802 545:06
Boston Bruins1798481613.58.8731 1022:10
Chicago Black Hawks844238324.01.8660 479:04