1981 Stanley Cup Final

1981 Stanley Cup Finals
1 2 3 4 5 Total New York Islanders 6 6 7 2 5 4 Minnesota North Stars 3 3 5 4 1 1
Location(s)	Uniondale, New York (Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum) (1,2,5) Bloomington, Minnesota (Met Center) (3,4)
Coaches	New York: Al Arbour Minnesota: Glen Sonmor
Captains	New York: Denis Potvin Minnesota: Paul Shmyr
Dates	May 12 to May 21, 1981
MVP	Butch Goring (Islanders)
Series-winning goal	Wayne Merrick (5:37, first, G5)
Networks	CBC, Simulcast in the United States by USA Network
Announcers	Bob Cole, Mickey Redmond, and Gary Dornhoefer
← 1980 Stanley Cup Finals 1982 →

The 1981 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the Minnesota North Stars, making their first Finals appearance, and the defending champion New York Islanders, in their second Finals appearance. The Islanders would win the best-of-seven series four games to one, to win their second Stanley Cup. This would be the last all-American Finals until 1991, when the North Stars faced the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Minnesota defeated the Boston Bruins 3–0, the Buffalo Sabres 4–1 and the Calgary Flames 4–2 to advance to the Final.

New York defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 3–0, the Edmonton Oilers 4–2, and the New York Rangers 4–0 to reach the Final.

Dino Ciccarelli of the North Stars set a rookie record (since tied by Ville Leino in 2010), scoring twenty-one points (14 goals and seven assists) during the year's playoffs. The Islanders' much deeper lineup, however, won the day.

New York Islanders vs. Minnesota North Stars

New York wins the series 4–1.

The series aired on CBC in Canada. In the United States, this was the first of five seasons that the Cup Finals aired on the USA Network. For the 1981 Finals only, USA simulcast the CBC feed instead of producing their own coverage.

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