A dozen years after joining the NHL as an expansion team, the Vancouver Canucks made their first appearance in the Stanley Cup finals.
After finishing 34 points behind the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers and three games under .500 in the Smythe Division, the underdog Canucks went on to beat the Calgary Flames, the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks in the first three rounds to become the only obstacle standing between the New York Islanders and their third straight Stanley Cup.
The Canucks opened the scoring 1 minute 29 seconds into Game 1 at Nassau Coliseum after Swedish forward Thomas Gradin pounced on a rebound by goalie Bill Smith after a weak shot from Lars Molin. Gradin notched another goal and an assist in the hard-fought game, which resulted in a total of 130 minutes in penalties handed out. The Canucks took a 5-4 lead with only seven minutes remaining in the third period after a shorthanded goal by Jim Nill but the Islanders tied it after future Hall-of-Famer Mike Bossy scored his second goal of the night by banging home a loose puck left after goaltender Richard Brodeur collided with defenceman Harold Snepsts.
The Canucks had won 11 of their last 13 playoff games, including a series-ending 6-2 rout of the ‘Hawks two nights earlier, but the streak came to an end in overtime after Bossy completed a hat trick by intercepting a sloppy pass by Snepsts at the right face-off circle, skating into the slot and snapping the puck over Brodeur’s glove.
The Isles went to sweep the series in four games.
