RE-LIVE THE EDMONTON OILERS 1984-85 SEASON

7 years ago

After putting the brakes on the juggernaut that was the New York Islanders and parading the 1984 Stanley Cup up and down Jasper Avenue, the only encore that would do for the 1984-85 Edmonton Oilers was to follow that up by keeping another date with the engraver.

Sure, another 100-plus-point season, Edmonton’s fourth in a row, was nice. So was another campaign in which Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson and the Oilers would again score at least 400 goals – 401 to be exact. A record 15-game unbeaten streak (12-0-3) to start the season served notice the Oilers were ready to rumble again.

Fine. Good. But one Stanley Cup does not a dynasty make – unless you live down the road in Calgary – so “repeat” was the rallying cry for NHL season six inside and outside Northlands Coliseum as Glen Sather’s young Oilers and their fans strutted into the 1984-85 campaign in lock-step and kept on marching until that second Cup came home to Edmonton.

RECORD 49-20-11 109 Pts. – 2nd Overall

GD 401-298 plus-103 SH% 15.5 SV% .887

NOTABLE TRANSACTIONS

1985-04-14	Pat Conacher signed as free agent by New Jersey.
1985-03-05	Tom Gorence signed as free agent by New Jersey.
1985-02-21	Marco Baron signed as free agent (formerly with Los Angeles).
1985-02-06	Dave Lumley claimed on waivers from Hartford.
1985-02-01	Craig MacTavish signed as free agent (formerly with Boston).
1985-01-24	Terry Martin traded to Minnesota with Gord Sherven for Mark Napier.
1984-10-09	Billy Carroll claimed on waivers from NY Islanders.
1984-10-09	Dave Lumley claimed on waviers by Hartford.
1984-10-09	Terry Martin claimed on waivers from Toronto.
1984-06-21	Mike Krushelnyski traded by Boston for Ken Linseman.
1984-06-09	Selmar Odelein drafted 21st overall.
1984-06-09	Daryl Reaugh drafted 42nd overall.

LEADING SCORERS

		Scoring
Player	Pos	Age	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S	S%
Wayne Gretzky	C	24	80	73	135	208	98	52	358	20.4
Jari Kurri	RW	24	73	71	64	135	76	30	261	27.2
Paul Coffey	D	23	80	37	84	121	55	97	284	13.0
Mike Krushelnyski	LW	24	80	43	45	88	56	60	187	23.0
Glenn Anderson	RW	24	80	42	39	81	24	69	258	16.3
Mark Messier	C	24	55	23	31	54	8	57	136	16.9
Charlie Huddy	D	25	80	7	44	51	50	46	146	4.8
Dave Hunter	LW	27	80	17	19	36	-1	122	119	14.3
Mark Napier	C	28	33	9	26	35	12	19	50	18.0
Willy Lindstrom	LW	33	80	12	20	32	5	18	98	12.2

Goalie Stats
Player	Age	GP	W	L	T/O	GA	SA	SV	SV%	GAA	SO	MIN
Grant Fuhr	22	46	26	8	7	165	1426	1261	.884	3.87	1	2559
Andy Moog	24	39	22	9	3	111	1050	939	.894	3.30	1	2019
Mike Zanier	22	3	1	1	1	12	100	88	.880	3.89	0	185
Marco Baron	25	1	0	1	0	2	9	7	.778	3.64	0	33
Daryl Reaugh	19	1	0	1	0	5	35	30	.857	5.00	0	60
Team Total		80	49	20	11	295	2620	2325	.887	3.64	2	4856

SEASON RECAP

With the ring and the bling to go with the swagger they were already well-known for, the Oilers had supplanted the four-time champion Islanders as the big dogs on the NHL block and they, like every Cup winner, had every opponent waiting on them with something to prove. It didn’t matter.

The Oilers ripped off that 15-game unbeaten streak – it started with a 2-2 tie against the Los Angeles Kings and ran through an 8-5 win over Washington – before they finally lost, 7-5 on Nov. 11 to the Philadelphia Flyers, the team they would end up facing in the Stanley Cup final.

In between that first meeting with the Flyers, the Oilers would put together a pair of eight-game winning streaks and another of four to surpass 100 points for the fourth straight season. Gretzky hit the 200-point mark, with 208, for the third time. The Oilers won the Clarence Campbell Conference with 109 points, while the Flyers were Prince of Wales champs with 113.

MAKE IT TWO TIMES

Gretzky, already the greatest player in the game, put his stamp on the 1985 post-season like nobody ever has, scoring a record 47 points (17-30-47) in just 18 games on the way to his first Conn Smythe Trophy. Not that he needed much help, he got plenty from Paul Coffey, who had 37 points, and Grant Fuhr, who went 15-3-0 as the goaltender of record in every game.

Los Angeles hung in against the Oilers in the opening round despite being swept 3-0, as overtime goals by Lee Fogolin and Anderson were the difference. The Winnipeg Jets fell in four straight in the second round before the Oilers prevailed 4-2 over the Chicago Blackhawks to advance against the Bullies in the Cup final.

After the Flyers won the first game of the final, 4-1 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, the Oilers turned it on and they never looked back. After 3-1, 4-3 and 5-3 wins to go up 3-1 and set the stage, Gretzky and the Oilers completed the repeat with an exclamation mark, pounding the Flyers 8-3 to ignite a second straight Stanley Cup celebration. Encore complete.

Listen to Robin Brownlee Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260.

RECENTLY BY ROBIN BROWNLEE

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