1981 Stanley Cup playoffs
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 8–May 21, 1981 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | New York Islanders |
| Runner-up | Minnesota North Stars |
| Semifinalists | |
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← 1980
1982 →
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The 1981 Stanley Cup playoffs, the championship of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 8, after the conclusion of the 1980–81 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 21 with the champion New York Islanders defeating the Minnesota North Stars 5–1 to win the Final series four games to one and win the Stanley Cup.
In game one of the Edmonton-Montreal series, Wayne Gretzky recorded five assists, at the time this was a single game playoff record.
The sixteen teams that qualified for the playoffs are ranked 1–16 based on regular season points.
The New York Islanders, the defending 1980 Stanley Cup champions, entered the playoffs as the regular season, Campbell Conference and Patrick Division champions, earning 110 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs earned 71 points during the regular season to finish sixteenth overall in the league. This was the second playoff series between these two teams, with the only previous meeting being the 1978 Quarter-finals, where Toronto defeated the Islanders in seven games. The Islanders won three of the four games in this season's regular season series.
Toronto was swept in the opening round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year. New York's series-clinching win in game three was the first (and to date only) time that the Islanders have won a playoff game in Toronto, and this was also only the second (and to date, last) victory that a road team has ever earned in the three series between these two franchises. As of 2014, this series marks the only time that the Islanders have defeated Toronto in the Stanley Cup playoffs. In game one, the Islanders scored three times on the power play, and Bryan Trottier scored twice and added three assists in a decisive 9-2 victory. The Islanders dominance of the Maple Leafs continued in game two, as Trottier recorded a hat trick in a 5-1 Islanders win. The Islanders jumped all over the Maple Leafs quickly in game three, by jumping out to a 5-0 lead after the first period. The Maple Leafs and Islanders traded goals in the second period 19 seconds apart. Game three ended in a series-clinching 6-1 Islanders victory.
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