1980 NHL Playoffs
This is the first year teams must all compete in four rounds to win the cup. The seeding this season is correct! The first round is a best of 5 series.
First Round
Minnesota outscores
Detroit 26-2 in their 3 game sweep. The most lopsided series I ever saw.
Lanny McDonald had 10 points! Every favourite won their series except for the 9 seed
Blackhawks beating 8 seed
Buffalo. That’s not much of an upset though.
Washington in their first playoff series advance,
Colorado in their first series lose.
Atlanta’s Brian Sutter led the round in scoring with 13 points.
2nd Round
All the top seeds are able to advance to the semi finals.
St. Louis almost blows a 3-0 lead on
Toronto by getting completely shut down by their defense, but take game 7.
Chicago gave the
Rangers a slight scare but without
Bobby Orr, New York is still playing!
NHL Semi Finals
New York Rangers vs St. Louis Blues
NY’s Blair Chapman scores the series first goal in the final minutes of the opening period. After both teams started firing blanks. Former WHA star
Dan Bouchard stopped 24 shots for
St. Louis, but
Rangers got a 18 save shutout from
Dennis Heron! Rangers win 1-0. After a scoreless first period of game two, I expected another defensive battle.
NY though broke through with 2 goals in the 2nd. With the game still close, the
Rangers stepped on the gas peddle and exposed
Bouchard a bit. In the first 8 minutes of the third,
Terry Ruskowski scored twice, while
Chapman and
Brett Callighen also tallied. That chased
Bouchard from the
Blues net. The
Rangers kept coming, and in the end, they turn in an 8-0 win!!
Blair Chapman has 3 goals in the first two games for the Rangers!
Thoroughly embarrassed and scoreless through the first two games, the
Blues hosted game three with and edge to their game. They took 4 minor penalties in the first, and
Stan Smyl got into a fight. Two more fights take place in the 2nd, and two
Blues,
Mel Bridgman, and
Tony Currie, are kicked out of the game. Through all this, there is no score. In the third period, the
Blues continued the parade to the penalty box, and finished the game with 44 mins.
Bob Gainey though, gets
St. Louis’ first goal of the series, which amazingly, holds up.
St. Louis wins game three, 1-0! A much calmer game 4 sees the two teams tied at one after a period.
St. Louis has their best period of the series, scoring twice in the 2nd period to take a decent lead. The
Rangers respond in the third, with goals from
Blair Chapman and
Mike Zuke, forcing overtime. Just 90 seconds into OT,
Darryl Sutter scores on the PP, giving the
Rangers a 4-3 win!
Bob Gainey scored St. Louis' first goal of the series in game three!
Facing elimination, the
Blues score first.
Stan Smyl gets his 6th. It stays that way until
NY’s Blair Chapman ties it midway through the 2nd. The two teams again can’t find another goal, and we need OT for the 2nd straight game. It takes 6 minutes this night, and the hero is
Rick Meagher, scoring his first of the playoffs for
New York, clinching the series!
Rangers win 2-1, and advance to the Stanley Cup finals.
L.A. Kings vs Minnesota North Stars
After an early
Kings goal, the
North Stars impressed.
Dino Ciccarelli tied it late in the first, then
Brad Park and
Dave Taylor get 2nd period markers.
Minny shut the
Kings down the rest of the way to surprise the defending champs with a 3-1 win. Game two appeared to have the same scenario playing out. 1-0
LA early, then tied by
Dino Ciccarelli. This time though, the
Kings turned it on.
Guy Lafleur, Denis Potvin, Butch Goring and
Mike Foligno score before the 2nd period ends giving
LA an insurmountable 5-1 lead!
Kings win it 6-3.
Ciccarelli gets Minny on the board in both games!
Denis Potvin’s late first period power play goal gives the
Kings a 2-0 lead in game three. The
Kings are starting to look like they can handle the
North Stars. The lead is extended to 3-0 before
Minny gets two goals in 16 seconds. That’s all the scoring though, as
Billy Smith shuts the door. 3-2
Kings take back home ice advantage. Just like game three,
LA jumps out to a 2-0 lead. Just like game three, the lead gets extended to 3 before
Minnesota’s Lanny McDonald gets his squad on the board with his first of the series and 10th of the postseason. Just like game three,
Billy Smith shuts the door from there.
Kings win 3-1.
Billy Smith will not allow a tying goal to the North Stars!
Game 5 is a statement game for
LA. The offensive juggernaut grabs an early lead, extends it, then shuts down any comeback attempt.
Billy Smith makes 23 saves. The
Kings allow the 3rd highest scoring team in hockey to just 3 goals over the final 3 games of the series. 5-0
LA wins to take the series in 5.
