Harman Patil (Editor)

1981–82 Edmonton Oilers season

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Division
  
1st Smythe

1981–82 record
  
48–17–15

Road record
  
17–12–11

Conference
  
1st Campbell

Home record
  
31–5–4

Goals for
  
417 (1st)

The 1981–82 Edmonton Oilers season was the Oilers' third season in the NHL, as they finished with a franchise record 48 wins and 111 points, and won the Smythe Division for the first time in team history. The Oilers would set an NHL record win 417 goals, the first time in NHL history that a team finished with over 400 goals.

Contents

Wayne Gretzky would continue rewriting the record books, scoring an NHL record 92 goals, which included 50 goals in 39 games, also an NHL record. Gretzky's 212 points was also a record, and it was the first time in NHL history that a player had over 200 points, as he would win his third Hart Trophy and his second Art Ross Trophy.

Mark Messier would break the 50 goal plateau for the first time in his career, while Glenn Anderson would get 105 points. Paul Coffey would lead the defense with 89 points.

In goal, Grant Fuhr would become the starting goalie, and would break the Oilers franchise record for wins in a season with 28. He would also lead the club with a 3.31 GAA and a .898 save percentage.

Going into the playoffs, the Oilers would face the Los Angeles Kings, and after splitting the first 2 games, the Oilers held a 5–0 lead on the Kings heading into the 3rd period of game 3. Los Angeles would come back to tie the game 5–5, before completing the comeback with an overtime goal, taking a 2–1 series lead. The game would come to be known as the Miracle on Manchester. Edmonton would come back to tie the series in game 4, but the Kings would eliminate Edmonton in game 5, shocking the hockey world, and ending the Oilers season a lot sooner than expected.

Season standings

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Awards

  • Art Ross Memorial Trophy: Wayne Gretzky
  • Associated Press Athlete of the Year: Wayne Gretzky
  • Hart Memorial Trophy: Wayne Gretzky
  • Lou Marsh Trophy: Wayne Gretzky
  • Lester B. Pearson Award: Wayne Gretzky
  • NHL Plus/Minus Award: Wayne Gretzky
  • First NHL All-Star Team: Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier
  • Second NHL All-Star Team: Grant Fuhr and Paul Coffey
  • Records

  • 417: An NHL team record for most goals in a single season.
  • 212: An NHL record for most points in a single season by Wayne Gretzky.
  • 200: First NHL player to hit a 200-point-milestone by Wayne Gretzky on March 25, 1982.
  • 120: An NHL record for most assists in a single season by Wayne Gretzky.
  • 92: An NHL record for most goals in a single season by Wayne Gretzky.
  • 68: An NHL record for most even strength goals in a single season by Wayne Gretzky.
  • Trades

    * Later traded to the Minnesota North Stars

    Draft picks

    Edmonton's draft picks at the 1981 NHL Entry Draft

    References

    1981–82 Edmonton Oilers season Wikipedia