1980 Stanley Cup Final

The 1980 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1979–80 season, and the culmination of the 1980 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the New York Islanders in their first-ever Finals appearance and the Philadelphia Flyers, in their fourth Finals appearance, and first since 1976. The Islanders would win the best-of-seven series, four games to two, to win their first Stanley Cup championship and the third for a post-1967 expansion team after Philadelphia's Cup wins in 1974 and 1975.

1980 Stanley Cup Final
1 2 3 4 5 6 Total New York Islanders 4* 3 6 5 3 5* 4 Philadelphia Flyers 3* 8 2 2 6 4* 2
* overtime periods
Location(s)	Uniondale: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum) (3, 4, 6) Philadelphia: Spectrum (1, 2, 5)
Coaches	New York: Al Arbour Philadelphia: Pat Quinn
Captains	New York: Denis Potvin Philadelphia: Mel Bridgman
National anthems	New York: Joe Duerr Philadelphia: Kate Smith
Referees	Andy Van Hellemond (1, 4) Wally Harris (2, 5) Bob Myers (3, 6)
Dates	May 13–24, 1980
MVP	Bryan Trottier (Islanders)
Series-winning goal	Bob Nystrom (7:11, OT, G6)
Hall of Famers	Islanders: Mike Bossy (1991) Clark Gillies (2002) Denis Potvin (1991) Billy Smith (1993) Bryan Trottier (1997) Flyers: Bill Barber (1990) Bobby Clarke (1987) Coaches: Al Arbour (1996) Pat Quinn (2016) Officials: Andy Van Hellemond (1999)
Networks	Canada: (English): CBC (French): SRC United States: (English): Hughes (1–5), CBS (6)
Announcers	(CBC) Dan Kelly (1–5), Bob Cole (1–2), Jim Robson (3–6), Gary Dornhoefer and Dick Irvin Jr. (SRC) Rene Lecavalier and Gilles Tremblay (Hughes) Simulcast of CBC feed (CBS) Dan Kelly, Tim Ryan, and Lou Nanne
← 1979 Stanley Cup Final 1981 →

Paths to the Finals

Further information: 1980 Stanley Cup playoffs

See also: 1979–80 New York Islanders season and 1979–80 Philadelphia Flyers season

New York defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3–1, the Boston Bruins 4–1 and the Buffalo Sabres 4–2 to advance to the Final.

Philadelphia defeated the Edmonton Oilers 3–0, the New York Rangers 4–1 and the Minnesota North Stars 4–1 to make it to the Final.

Game summaries

In game one, Denis Potvin scored the first power-play overtime goal in Stanley Cup Final history. In game six, Bob Nystrom scored the Cup winner in overtime, his fourth career overtime goal, at the time putting him alone behind Maurice Richard's six on the all-time overtime goal-scoring list. Ken Morrow joined the team after winning the Olympic gold medal and added the Stanley Cup to cap a remarkable season.

The deciding game six was marred by one of the most infamous blown official calls in NHL playoff history. With the game tied 1–1, the Islanders Butch Goring picked up a drop pass from New York left wing Clark Gillies which had clearly gone back over the Flyers' defensive zone blue line into center ice. Linesman Leon Stickle waved the play as on-side, and Goring threaded a pass to right wing Duane Sutter who beat Philadelphia goalie Pete Peeters for a 2–1 New York lead. The Flyers argued vehemently to no avail. Everyone on both sides except Goring and Sutter appeared to relax as if play had been blown dead once the puck went over the blue line. Flyers captain Mel Bridgman stated the play changed the momentum of the game at a critical time even though the Flyers scored shortly afterwards to tie the score 2–2. Stickle admitted after the game that he had blown the call. Ultimately, it was the Flyers lack of discipline and the resulting Islander power play goals that were the difference in the series.^[1]

The series-winning overtime goal in game six was scored by Bobby Nystrom and assisted by fellow third liners John Tonelli and Lorne Henning. Nystrom's redirection of Tonelli's cross-ice pass from just above the Flyers left side face-off circle, floated up and over goalie Pete Peeters' blocker before the Philadelphia keeper could slide over to stop the puck. Henning's "thread the needle" pass was a key component of the goal.

May 13	New York Islanders		4–3	OT	Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
Mike Bossy (7) – pp – 12:02		First period			10:31 – Mel Bridgman (2)
Denis Potvin (2) – 02:20		Second period			17:08 – pp – Bobby Clarke (5)
Stefan Persson (3) – pp – 16:18		Third period			13:10 – Rick MacLeish (7)
Denis Potvin (3) – pp – 04:07		First overtime period			No scoring
Billy Smith 30 saves / 33 shots		Goalie stats			Pete Peeters 32 saves / 36 shots

May 15	New York Islanders		3–8		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
Butch Goring (5) – 03:23		First period			07:22 – pp – Paul Holmgren (7) 08:37 – Bob Kelly (1) 17:23 – Bobby Clarke (6)
Bryan Trottier (9) – pp – 03:28		Second period			01:06 – Bill Barber (12) 04:13 – pp – Paul Holmgren (8) 15:47 – pp – Brian Propp (3)
Butch Goring (6) – pp – 15:00		Third period			01:40 – Tom Gorence (3) 04:19 – Paul Holmgren (9)
Billy Smith 20 saves / 26 shots Chico Resch 3 saves / 5 shots		Goalie stats			Pete Peeters 20 saves / 23 shots

May 17	Philadelphia Flyers		2–6		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period			02:38 – sh – Lorne Henning (3) 07:43 – pp – Denis Potvin (4) 13:04 – pp – Bryan Trottier (10) 14:29 – pp – Mike Bossy (8)
No scoring		Second period			15:41 – pp – Clark Gillies (5) 17:25 – pp – Denis Potvin (5)
Bobby Clarke (7) – 09:48 Mike Busniuk (1) – 11:32		Third period			No scoring
Phil Myre 34 saves / 40 shots		Goalie stats			Billy Smith 30 saves / 32 shots

May 19	Philadelphia Flyers		2–5		New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period			07:23 – pp – Mike Bossy (9) 13:06 – Butch Goring (7)
John Paddock (1) – 01:35		Second period			No scoring
Ken Linseman (4) – 11:53		Third period			06:06 – Bryan Trottier (11) 12:35 – Bobby Nystrom (7) 14:08 – Clark Gillies (6)
Pete Peeters 22 saves / 27 shots		Goalie stats			Billy Smith 34 saves / 36 shots

May 22	New York Islanders		3–6		Philadelphia Flyers	Spectrum	Recap
Stefan Persson (4) – pp – 10:58		First period			No scoring
Bryan Trottier (12) – 16:16		Second period			01:45 – Bobby Clarke (8) 05:55 – Rick MacLeish (8) 17:04 – Mike Busniuk (2)
Stefan Persson (5) – pp – 14:57		Third period			09:43 – Rick MacLeish (9) 12:33 – pp – Brian Propp (4) 17:26 – Paul Holmgren (10)
Billy Smith 25 saves / 31 shots		Goalie stats			Pete Peeters 35 saves / 38 shots

May 24	Philadelphia Flyers		4–5	OT	New York Islanders	Nassau Coliseum	Recap
Reggie Leach (9) – pp – 07:21 Brian Propp (5) – 18:58		First period			11:56 – pp – Denis Potvin (6) 14:08 – Duane Sutter (3)
No scoring		Second period			07:34 – pp – Mike Bossy (10) 19:46 – Bobby Nystrom (8)
Bob Dailey (4) – 01:47 John Paddock (2) – 06:02		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			7:11 – Bobby Nystrom (9)
Billy Smith 21 saves / 25 shots		Goalie stats			Pete Peeters 28 saves / 33 shots

New York won series 4–2

Team rosters

New York Islanders

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
1		Chico Resch	G	L	31	1974	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
3		Jean Potvin	D	R	31	1979	Ottawa, Ontario
4		Bob Lorimer	D	L	26	1973	Toronto
5		Denis Potvin (C)	D	L	26	1973	Vanier, Ontario
6		Ken Morrow	D	R	23	1976	Davison, Michigan
7		Stefan Persson	D	L	25	1974	Bjurholm, Sweden
8		Garry Howatt	LW	L	27	1972	Grand Centre, Alberta
9		Clark Gillies	LW	L	26	1974	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
10		Lorne Henning	C	L	28	1972	Melfort, Saskatchewan
11		Wayne Merrick	C	L	28	1977	Sarnia, Ontario
12		Duane Sutter	RW	R	20	1979	Viking, Alberta
14		Bob Bourne	LW	L	25	1974	Kindersley, Saskatchewan
16		Steve Tambellini	C	L	21	1978	Trail, British Columbia
17		Alex McKendry	RW	L	23	1978	Midland, Ontario
19		Bryan Trottier	C	L	23	1974	Val Marie, Saskatchewan
21		Butch Goring	C	L	30	1980	St. Boniface, Manitoba
22		Mike Bossy	RW	R	23	1977	Montreal
23		Bob Nystrom	RW	R	27	1972	Stockholm, Sweden
24		Gord Lane	D	L	27	1979	Brandon, Manitoba
26		Dave Langevin	D	L	25	1974	Saint Paul, Minnesota
27		John Tonelli	LW	L	23	1977	Hamilton, Ontario
28		Anders Kallur	RW	L	27	1979	Ludvika, Sweden
31		Billy Smith	G	L	29	1972	Perth, Ontario

Philadelphia Flyers

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
2		Bob Dailey	D	R	27	1977	Kingston, Ontario
3		Behn Wilson	D	L	21	1978	Toronto
5		Frank Bathe	D	L	25	1977	Oshawa, Ontario
6		André Dupont	D	L	30	1972	Trois-Rivières, Quebec
7		Bill Barber	LW	L	27	1972	Callander, Ontario
9		Bob Kelly	LW	L	29	1970	Oakville, Ontario
10		Mel Bridgman (C)	C	L	25	1975	Trenton, Ontario
11		Dennis Ververgaert	RW	R	27	1978	Grimsby, Ontario
12		John Paddock	LW	R	25	1976	Oak River, Manitoba
14		Ken Linseman	C	L	21	1978	Kingston, Ontario
15		Al Hill	LW	L	25	1976	Nanaimo, British Columbia
16		Bobby Clarke	C	L	30	1969	Flin Flon, Manitoba
17		Paul Holmgren	RW	R	24	1975	Saint Paul, Minnesota
19		Rick MacLeish	C	L	30	1970	Lindsay, Ontario
20		Jimmy Watson	D	L	27	1972	Smithers, British Columbia
21		Gary Morrison	RW	R	24	1975	Farmington, Michigan
22		Tom Gorence	RW	R	23	1977	Saint Paul, Minnesota
25		Norm Barnes	D	L	26	1973	Rexdale, Ontario
26		Brian Propp	LW	L	21	1979	Lanigan, Saskatchewan
27		Reggie Leach	RW	R	30	1974	Riverton, Manitoba
28		Mike Busniuk	D	R	28	1979	Thunder Bay, Ontario
29		Jack McIlhargey	D	L	28	1980	Edmonton, Alberta
31		Phil Myre	G	L	31	1979	Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec
33		Pete Peeters	G	L	22	1977	Edmonton, Alberta

Stanley Cup engraving

The 1980 Stanley Cup was presented to Islanders captain Denis Potvin by NHL President John Ziegler following the Islanders 5–4 win over the Flyers in game six.

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

1979–80 New York Islanders

Players

  Centres

• 10 Lorne Henning
• 11 Wayne Merrick
• 16 Steve Tambellini
• 19 Bryan Trottier
• 21 Robert Butch Goring

  Wingers

• 8 Garry Howatt
• 9 Clark Gillies
• 12 Duane Sutter
• 14 Bob Bourne
• 17 Alex McKendry*
• 22 Mike Bossy
• 23 Bob Nystrom
• 27 John Tonelli
• 28 Anders Kallur

  Defencemen

• 3 Jean Potvin*
• 4 Bob Lorimer
• 5 Denis Potvin (Captain)
• 6 Ken Morrow
• 7 Stefan Persson
• 24 Gord Lane
• 26 Dave Langevin

  Goaltenders

• 1 Chico Resch
• 31 Billy Smith

• * Name engraved on Stanley Cup despite not officially qualifying.^[A]

Coaching and administrative staff

• John Pickett (Chairman/Owner)
• Bill Torrey (President/General Manager)
• Al Arbour (Head Coach), Bill MacMillan (Asst. Coach)
• Jim Devellano (Chief Scout), Gerry Ehman (Western Scout)
• Harry Boyd (Scout), Mario Saraceno (Scout)
• Ron Waske (Trainer), Jim Pickard (Asst. Trainer)

Stanley Cup engraving

• ^{^A} Two players had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup, even though they did not officially qualify.
  • #17 Alex McKendry (LW) – played 2 regular season and 6 playoff games (none in the playoffs)
  • #3 Jean Potvin (D) – played 32 regular season games, spending the whole season with the Islanders. He did not play in the playoffs.
• Ken Morrow became the first player to win the Olympic Gold (with Team United States), and Stanley Cup (with New York Islanders) in the same year.
• Al Arbour became the fourth person to win the Stanley Cup with four teams. Arbour won the Stanley Cup as a player with Detroit 1954, Chicago 1961, and Toronto 1962. 1964. The other three people to win cup with four teams are Jack Marshall, Harry (Happy) Holmes, and Tommy Gorman.
• Bryan Trottier was first Metis player to win the Stanley Cup
• Bob Nystrom, Anders Kallur and Stefan Persson were the first three Swedish born-trained players to win the Stanley Cup. Kallur and Persson were also the first European-trained players to win the Stanley Cup.

Broadcasting

Bob Cole, Dan Kelly, and Jim Robson shared play-by-play duties for CBC's coverage. Cole did play-by-play for the first half of Games 1 and 2. Meanwhile, Kelly did play-by-play for the rest of Games 1–5 (Kelly also called the overtime period of Game 1). Finally, Robson did play-by-play for the first half of Games 3–4 and Game 6 entirely, he also would've called Game 7 had there been one. In essence, this meant that Cole or Robson did play-by-play for the first period and the first half of the second period (except for Game 5 in which the roles of Kelly and Robson were switched). Therefore, at the closest stoppage of play near the 10-minute mark of the second period, Cole or Robson handed off the call to Kelly for the rest of the game.

In the United States, the first five games were syndicated by the Hughes Television Network. Hughes used CBC's Hockey Night in Canada feeds for the American coverage. Game 6 was televised in the United States by the CBS network, as a special edition of its CBS Sports Spectacular anthology series. Dan Kelly did the play-by-play for CBS for the first and third periods as well as overtime. Meanwhile, Tim Ryan did play-by-play for the second period while Lou Nanne served as the color commentator throughout the game. Game 6 remains the last Stanley Cup Final game to be played in the afternoon (earlier than 5 p.m. local time). This would also be the last NHL game to air on U.S. network television until NBC televised the 1990 All-Star Game.

See also

• 1980 NBA Finals
• 1980 World Series
• Super Bowl XV

References

• Total Stanley Cup. NHL. 2000.
• Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7.