Miracle on Manchester
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| Date | April 10, 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Arena | The Forum | ||||||||||||||||||
| City |
Inglewood, California,  United States |
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| Attendance | 16,005 | ||||||||||||||||||
The Miracle on Manchester is the nickname given to a National Hockey League (NHL) playoff game between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers that took place on April 10, 1982 in the league's 65th season. The game, the third in a best-of-five postseason series, was played at The Forum, the Kings' home arena at the time, which was situated on Manchester Boulevard (hence the nickname) in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood. The Kings completed the largest comeback in NHL playoff history, going from being down 5-0 to win the game 6-5 in overtime. Combined with upset wins in Games 1 and 5, the Kings eliminated the heavily favored Wayne Gretzky-led Oilers in a 3-2 series victory to reach the second round.
The contest was the third in a five-game first-round playoff series between the Kings and Oilers. Under the playoff structure that existed at the time, the top four teams from each division qualified for the playoffs, with the first seed facing the fourth seed and the second and third seeds pairing off in the first round. In 1981–82, Edmonton easily won the division with 111 points, while Los Angeles finished in fourth place, 48 points behind.
The Oilers, in only their third season in the NHL, had a dominant season. Under the leadership of head coach and general manager Glen Sather, they finished first in the Clarence Campbell Conference and second best in the league after the New York Islanders. The Oilers won the Smythe Division with a record of 48 wins, 17 losses, and 15 ties for a total of 111 points, 34 points ahead of the second-place Vancouver Canucks. The Oilers, the only squad in the division to post a winning record, were the most potent offensive team in the NHL that year. They set an NHL record by scoring 417 goals, 32 more than any other team in 1981–82. The Oilers also had a capable defense for the time, allowing 295 goals, 26 fewer than the NHL average.
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