1985 Stanley Cup Finals
1 2 3 4 5 Total Edmonton Oilers 1 3 4 5 8 4 Philadelphia Flyers 4 1 3 3 3 1
Location(s)	Edmonton: Northlands Coliseum (3, 4, 5) Philadelphia: Spectrum (1, 2)
Coaches	Edmonton: Glen Sather Philadelphia: Mike Keenan
Captains	Edmonton: Wayne Gretzky Philadelphia: Dave Poulin
National anthems	Edmonton: Paul Lorieau Philadelphia: Kate Smith
Referees	Andy Van Hellemond (1) Kerry Fraser (2, 4) Bryan Lewis (3, 5)
Dates	May 21 – May 30
MVP	Wayne Gretzky (Oilers)
Series-winning goal	Paul Coffey (17:57, first, G5)
Hall of Famers	Oilers: Glenn Anderson (2008) Paul Coffey (2004) Grant Fuhr (2003) Wayne Gretzky (1999) Jari Kurri (2001) Kevin Lowe (2020) Mark Messier (2007) Flyers: Mark Howe (2011) Coaches: Glen Sather (2007)
Networks	Canada: (English): CBC (1–2), CTV (3–5) (French): SRC United States: (National): USA Network (Philadelphia area): PRISM (1–2), WTAF (3–5)
Announcers	(CBC) Bob Cole and Gary Dornhoefer (CTV) Dan Kelly, Ron Reusch, and Brad Park (SRC) René Lecavalier and Gilles Tremblay (USA Network) Dan Kelly (1–2), Al Albert (3–5), and Gary Green (PRISM/WTAF) Gene Hart and Bobby Taylor
Stanley Cup Finals

The 1985 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1984–85 season, and the culmination of the 1985 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the defending champion Edmonton Oilers (in their third straight Finals appearance) and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Oilers won the best-of-seven series, four games to one, to win their second Stanley Cup. It was also the sixth straight Finals contested between teams that joined the NHL in 1967 or later. Until 2022, this was also the last time that a team, defending champion, or runner-up appeared in the Finals for the third straight season. This was the fourth of nine consecutive Finales contested by a team from Western Canada, third of eight contested by a team from Alberta (the Oilers appeared in six, the Calgary Flames in 1986 and 1989, and the Vancouver Canucks in 1982), and the second of five consecutive Finals to end with the Cup presentation on Alberta ice (the Oilers won four of those times, the Montreal Canadiens once). Game five of this series was played on May 30, which at the time was the latest finishing date for an NHL season. The record was broken two years later.

Paths to the Finals

Edmonton defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3–0, the Winnipeg Jets 4–0, and the Chicago Black Hawks 4–2 to advance to the finals.

Philadelphia 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.

Game summaries

This was the first Stanley Cup Finals where games were scheduled for June. Had the series reached game six, it would have been played Sunday, June 2, with game seven on Tuesday, June 4. The NHL season would not extend into an actual June game until 1992, due to a players strike.

This was the second and last Stanley Cup Finals to use the 2–3–2 format, long favored by Major League Baseball for its World Series and used from 1985 through 2013 for the NBA Finals. Since Edmonton went 6–0 at home during the 1984 and 1985 Finals, it was able to clinch in game five on home ice each time.

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. Grant Fuhr stopped two penalty shots. Jari Kurri scored 19 goals through the entire playoffs, tying the single-year record set by Reggie Leach of the Flyers in 1976.

This was the last Stanley Cup Finals in which either starting goalie wore the old-style fiberglass mask. Both Fuhr and the Flyers' Pelle Lindbergh wore the face-hugging mask, which was introduced in 1959 by Jacques Plante. The backups, Edmonton's Andy Moog and Philadelphia's Bob Froese, wore the helmet-and-cage combination, similar to the one Billy Smith wore in leading the New York Islanders to four consecutive Cups from 1980 to 1983. The next year, the Calgary Flames' Mike Vernon sported a helmet-and-cage combo, and Montreal Canadiens rookie Patrick Roy wore a modern full fiberglass cage, the second goalie to sport that style in a Finals series after Gilles Meloche with the Minnesota North Stars in 1981. Fuhr switched to a full fiberglass cage the next season.

This was the first Stanley Cup Finals in which the NHL referee wore a helmet (Andy Van Hellemond). This occurred during Game 1.

Broadcasting

In Canada, this was the first of two consecutive years that the English-language rights of the Cup Finals were shared between CBC and CTV. CBC televised games one and two nationally while games 3–5 were televised in Edmonton only. CTV televised games 3–5 nationally while games were blacked out in Edmonton. Had the series gone to a Game 7, then both CBC and CTV would have simultaneously televised it while using their own production facilities and crews. Dan Kelly, Ron Reusch, and Brad Park called the games on CTV.

In the United States, this was the fifth and final season that the Cup Finals aired nationally on the USA Network. Under the U.S. TV contracts that would take effect beginning next season, ESPN would take over as the NHL's American television partner. The USA Network would not air NHL games again until 2015 when it became an occasional overflow channel for NBC Sports' national coverage of the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The USA Network's national coverage of the 1985 Cup Finals was blacked out in the Philadelphia area due to the local rights to Flyers games in that TV market. PRISM aired games one and two while WTXF aired games three, four, and five.

Team rosters

Edmonton Oilers

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
2		Lee Jr. Fogolin	D	R	30	1979	Chicago, Illinois
4		Kevin Lowe	D	L	26	1979	Lachute, Quebec
7		Paul Coffey	D	L	23	1980	Weston, Ontario
8		Dave Lumley	RW	R	30	1979	Toronto, Ontario
9		Glenn Anderson	RW	L	24	1979	Vancouver, British Columbia
10		Jaroslav Pouzar	LW	L	33	1982	Cakovec, Czechoslovakia
11		Mark Messier	C	L	24	1979	St. Albert, Alberta
12		Dave Hunter	LW	L	27	1979	Petrolia, Ontario
14		Esa Tikkanen	LW	L	20	1983	Helsinki, Finland
16		Pat Hughes	RW	R	30	1981	Calgary, Alberta
17		Jari Kurri	RW	R	25	1980	Helsinki, Finland
18		Mark Napier	RW	L	28	1984	North York, Ontario
19		Willy Lindstrom	RW	L	34	1983	Grums, Sweden
20		Billy Carroll	C	L	26	1984	Toronto, Ontario
21		Randy Gregg	D	L	29	1982	Edmonton, Alberta
22		Charlie Huddy	D	L	25	1979	Oshawa, Ontario
24		Kevin McClelland	C	R	22	1983	Oshawa, Ontario
26		Mike Krushelnyski	C	L	25	1984	Montreal, Quebec
27		Dave Semenko	LW	L	27	1979	Winnipeg, Manitoba
28		Larry Melnyk	D	L	25	1983	New Westminster, British Columbia
29		Donald Jackson	D	L	26	1981	Minneapolis, Minnesota
31		Grant Fuhr	G	R	22	1981	Spruce Grove, Alberta
35		Andy Moog	G	L	25	1980	Penticton, British Columbia
99		Wayne Gretzky (C)	C	L	24	1979	Brantford, Ontario

Philadelphia Flyers

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
2		Mark Howe	D	L	29	1982	Detroit, Michigan
3		Doug Crossman	D	L	24	1983	Peterborough, Ontario
5		Steve Smith	D	L	22	1981	Trenton, Ontario
8		Brad Marsh	D	L	27	1981	London, Ontario
9		Miroslav Dvorak	D	L	33	1982	Hluboká nad Vltavou, Czechoslovakia
10		Brad McCrimmon	D	L	26	1982	Dodsland, Saskatchewan
11		Len Hachborn	C	L	23	1981	Brantford, Ontario
12		Tim Kerr	RW	R	25	1980	Windsor, Ontario
14		Ron Sutter	C	R	21	1982	Viking, Alberta
15		Rich Sutter	LW	R	21	1983	Viking, Alberta
17		Ed Hospodar	D	L	26	1984	Bowling Green, Ohio
18		Lindsay Carson	LW	L	24	1979	Oxbow, Saskatchewan
19		Ray Allison	RW	R	26	1981	Cranbrook, British Columbia
20		Dave Poulin (C)	C	L	26	1982	Timmins, Ontario
21		Dave Brown	RW	R	24	1982	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
22		Rick Tocchet	RW	R	21	1983	Scarborough, Ontario
23		Ilkka Sinisalo	RW	L	26	1981	Valkeakoski, Finland
24		Derrick Smith	LW	L	20	1983	Scarborough, Ontario
25		Peter Zezel	C	L	20	1983	Scarborough, Ontario
26		Brian Propp	LW	L	26	1979	Lanigan, Saskatchewan
27		Thomas Eriksson	D	L	25	1979	Stockholm, Sweden
28		Joe Paterson	LW	L	24	1984	Toronto, Ontario
31		Pelle Lindbergh	G	L	25	1979	Stockholm, Sweden
32		Murray Craven	LW	L	20	1984	Medicine Hat, Alberta
35		Bob Froese	G	L	26	1982	St. Catharines, Ontario
42		Todd Bergen	C	L	21	1982	Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1985 Stanley Cup was presented to Oilers captain Wayne Gretzky by NHL President John Ziegler following the Oilers 8–3 win over the Flyers in game five.

The following Oilers players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup

1984–85 Edmonton Oilers

See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1984–85 NHL season

References

• Diamond, Dan (2000). Total Stanley Cup. Toronto: Total Sports Canada. ISBN 978-1-892129-07-9.
• Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Bolton, Ont.: Fenn Pub. pp 12, 50. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7