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 defeated the Flyers in five games to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. 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.
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.
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.
Game one
Tuesday, May 21 Edmonton Oilers 1–4 Philadelphia Flyers Spectrum
The Flyers posted a 4–1 victory to open the series. Edmonton coach Glen Sather was reportedly so disappointed with his team’s performance that he burned the game videotapes after watching them.
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