| Stanley Cup playoffs | |
| Year: | 1984 |
| Dates: | April 4–May 19, 1984 |
| Num Teams: | 16 |
| Defending Champions: | New York Islanders |
| Winners: | Edmonton Oilers |
| Second: | New York Islanders |
| Stat Leader Title: | Scoring leader(s) |
| Stat Leader Player: | Wayne Gretzky (Oilers) |
| Stat Leader Value: | 35 points |
| Award Title: | MVP |
| Award: | Mark Messier (Oilers) |
| Prev Season: | 1983 |
| Next Season: | 1985 |
The 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 4, after the conclusion of the 1983–84 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 19 with the Edmonton Oilers defeating the four-time defending champion New York Islanders 5–2 to win the Stanley Cup Finals four games to one, the franchise's first Stanley Cup.
The top four teams in each division qualified for the playoffs, as follows:
In the division semifinals, the fourth seeded team in each division played against the division winner from their division. The other series matched the second and third place teams from the divisions. The two winning teams from each division's semifinals then met in the division finals. The two division winners of each conference then played in the conference finals. The two conference winners then advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Home ice advantage in the conference finals and the Stanley Cup Finals was modified this season so it would be awarded to the team that had the better regular season record, like the first two rounds of the playoffs, instead of having it rotate by division and conference, respectively.[1] This resulted in home-ice advantage for the Adams and Smythe division champions in the conference finals and resulted in home-ice advantage for the Wales Conference champion in the Stanley Cup finals.[2]
Each division semifinals series was competed in a best-of-five playoff following a 2–2–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each series), with the team with home ice advantage playing at home for games one and two (and game five, if necessary), and the other team playing at home for game three (and game four, if necessary). In the middle two rounds, each series was competed in a best-of-seven playoff following a 2–2–1–1–1 format, with the team with home ice advantage playing at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the other team playing at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The Stanley Cup Finals was changed from a 2–2–1–1–1 format to a 2–3–2 format this season, with the sites for games five and six switched.[3]
This was the 19th playoff series between these two teams. Montreal lead 16–2 in previous playoff meetings. Montreal won the most recent meeting in seven games in the 1979 Stanley Cup Semifinals.
This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.
This was the sixth playoff series meeting between these two teams. The Islanders won four of the previous five meetings, including in each of the past three seasons. The Islanders won in six games in last year's Patrick Division Finals.
This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.
This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. Chicago won both previous meetings over the past two seasons, including last year's Norris Division Finals in five games.
This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Smythe Division Semifinals, in which Edmonton won in a three-game sweep.
This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. Both teams split their prior two meetings in the past two seasons. Calgary won last year's Smythe Division Semifinals 3–1.
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. Quebec won the only previous meeting 3–2 in the 1982 Adams Division Semifinals.
Game six of this series is referred to as the Good Friday Massacre.
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Patrick Division Semifinals, in which New York won 3–1. By winning their eighteenth consecutive series, the Islanders set a North American major professional sports record for most consecutive playoff series victories (previously set by the Boston Celtics with seventeen series wins over eight years in the 1950s and 1960s).
This was the fifth playoff series meeting between these two teams. St. Louis won three of the previous four meetings, including their most recent in the 1972 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals in seven games.
This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. This was a rematch of last year's Smythe Division Finals, in which Edmonton won in five games.
Lanny McDonald scored the overtime winner for Calgary in Game 6.
See also: NHL conference finals.
This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. Montreal won both prior meetings, including the most recent meeting in six games in the 1977 Stanley Cup Semifinals.
This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams.
See main article: article and 1984 Stanley Cup Finals.
This was the third playoff series meeting between these two teams. New York won both previous meetings, and was a rematch of New York's four-game sweep in last year's Stanley Cup Finals.
The Islanders attempted to match the 1950s Montreal Canadiens and win the Stanley Cup five consecutive times, against the Edmonton Oilers attempting to win the franchise's first championship. The Islanders lost the first game at home 1–0, but bounced back to defeat the Oilers 6–1 in the second game. Edmonton took over the series from that point, winning the next three games, all played in Edmonton.
These are the top ten skaters based on points.[4]
| Player | Team | data-sort-type="number" style="width:4em" | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Gretzky | 19 | 13 | 22 | 35 | +18 | 12 | ||
| Jari Kurri | Edmonton Oilers | 19 | 14 | 14 | 28 | +9 | 13 | |
| Mark Messier | Edmonton Oilers | 19 | 8 | 18 | 26 | +9 | 19 | |
| Paul Coffey | Edmonton Oilers | 19 | 8 | 14 | 22 | +18 | 21 | |
| Clark Gillies | 21 | 12 | 7 | 19 | +2 | 19 | ||
| Mike Bossy | New York Islanders | 21 | 8 | 10 | 18 | +5 | 4 | |
| Glenn Anderson | Edmonton Oilers | 19 | 6 | 11 | 17 | +6 | 33 | |
| Paul Reinhart | 11 | 6 | 11 | 17 | +9 | 2 | ||
| Patrick Flatley | New York Islanders | 21 | 9 | 6 | 15 | +7 | 14 | |
| Ken Linseman | Edmonton Oilers | 19 | 10 | 4 | 14 | +7 | 65 |
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.[5]
| Player | Team | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 9 | 6 | 355 | 32 | 2.21 | .910 | 3 | 870:31 | |||
| 11 | 6 | 5 | 361 | 29 | 2.44 | .920 | 1 | 712:32 | |||
| 21 | 12 | 8 | 567 | 54 | 2.73 | .905 | 0 | 1188:11 | |||
| 9 | 5 | 4 | 224 | 25 | 2.77 | .888 | 0 | 542:27 | |||
| 16 | 11 | 4 | 495 | 44 | 2.99 | .911 | 1 | 883:44 |