2 2 2 1 Start date May 15, 1990 | 2 2 Champion Edmonton Oilers MVP Bill Ranford | |
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Location(s) Boston (Boston Garden) (1,2,5)
Edmonton (Northlands Coliseum) (3,4) Coaches Edmonton: John Muckler
Boston: Mike Milbury Captains Edmonton: Mark Messier
Boston: Ray Bourque Announcers Bob Cole, Harry Neale, Dick Irvin, Jr., Jiggs McDonald, Bill Clement, Fred Cusick, Derek Sanderson Similar 1985 Stanley Cup Finals, 1984 Stanley Cup Finals, 1991 Stanley Cup Finals, 1981 Stanley Cup Finals, 1973 Stanley Cup Finals | ||
In the 1990 Stanley Cup Final, the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Boston Bruins four games to one. For the Oilers, it was their fifth Cup win in seven years, and the only one since they traded Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988. This would be the last of eight consecutive Finals contested by a team from Alberta (the Oilers appeared in six, the Calgary Flames in two).
Contents
Road to the Final
Boston defeated the Hartford Whalers 4–3, the Montreal Canadiens 4–1, and the Washington Capitals 4–0 to advance to the Final.
Edmonton defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4–3, the Los Angeles Kings 4–0, and the Chicago Blackhawks 4–2.
The series
In game one, Petr Klima scored at 15:13 of the third overtime period to give the Oilers a 3–2 win; this game remains the longest in Stanley Cup Finals history (see Longest NHL overtime games), edging both Brett Hull's Cup-winner in 1999 and Igor Larionov's game-winner in 2002 by less than 30 seconds.
Though the Oilers ultimately won the series in five games, it was the Bruins who dominated play during the early part of the series. The Bruins had more chances to win the opener, and at one point had a 15-4 shot advantage in Game Two before the Oilers came back.
In game five at the Boston Garden on May 24, the Oilers won 4–1, the first time they had ever clinched the Cup on the road. Craig Simpson scored the game-winning goal. Oilers goaltender Bill Ranford, originally the backup who took over from Grant Fuhr for the remainder of the regular season and the entire playoffs, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Mark Messier won his first Stanley Cup as a team captain. He would win his sixth Stanley Cup as the captain with the New York Rangers four years later, and scored the Cup-winning goal, making him the only player to captain two different Cup-winning teams.
Ray Bourque would not reach the Stanley Cup Finals again until the Colorado Avalanche won in 2001. As for the Bruins, they wouldn't return to the Stanley Cup Finals until their championship season of 2011. The Oilers did not reach the Finals again until 2006, losing in seven games.
Stanley Cup engravings
Neither player qualified for engravement on the Cup, but both players received Stanley Cup rings. Ruzicka was also included on the team winning picture.