1981–82 Quebec Nordiques season



The 1981–82 Quebec Nordiques season was the team's 3rd season in the National Hockey League. The Nordiques finished 4th in the Adams Division and lost in the Conference Finals to the New York Islanders 4 games to 0.

Off-season
During the off-season, the four divisions of the NHL were re-aligned to better reflect the geographical locations of the teams. Quebec remained in the Adams Division with the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres, while the Minnesota North Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs were replaced with the Hartford Whalers and the Nordiques provincial rival, the Montreal Canadiens. The Nordiques signed Marian Stastny out of Czechoslovakia, the brother of Peter Stastny and Anton Stastny. Quebec replaced team captain Marc Tardif with Robbie Ftorek prior to the season. Ftorek would not remain the Nordiques captain for long, as he was traded to the New York Rangers in December, and was replaced with Andre Dupont.

Regular Season
The Nordiques would find themselves under .500 only once throughout the season, and that was five games in when they had a record of 2-3-0. Quebec would get hot, and eventually reached a season-high nine games over .500 in the middle of January, however, a late season slump had the Nords finish the year only two games above .500, with a 33-31-16 record, earning 82 points, which was good enough to finish fourth in the Adams Division, and the Nordiques second post-season appearance in a row.

Offensively, the Nordiques were led by Peter Stastny, who set a team record with 139 points, as he scored 46 goals and earned 93 assists. Stastny finished behind only Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers and Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders in the NHL scoring race. Real Cloutier rebounded from an injury plagued 1980–81 season by scoring 37 goals and 97 points, while rookie Marian Stastny scored 35 goals and 89 points. Michel Goulet notched 42 goals and 84 points, while Dale Hunter had a breakout season, scoring 22 goals and 72 points, as well as a team record 272 penalty minutes. On defense, Mario Marois led the way, scoring 11 goals and 43 points.

In goal, Dan Bouchard held on to the number one job, winning a team record 27 games, while posting a team best 3.86 GAA, as well as earning a shutout in 60 games.

Playoffs
The Nordiques opened the 1982 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a best of five Adams Division quarter-final series with their Battle of Quebec rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal finished the season on top of the Adams Division with a 46-17-17 record, earning 109 points, which was 27 more than the Nordiques.

The series opened with two games at the Montreal Forum, and the Canadiens handled the Nordiques easily in the first game, cruising to a 5-1 victory, however, Quebec fought back in the second game, winning a close 3-2 game to even the series up. The series shifted to Le Colisee for the next two games, and the Nordiques took a 2-1 series lead in the third game, as they held off the Canadiens for a 2-1 victory. Montreal fought back in the fourth game, which featured had a brawl in which every player from both teams was involved. The brawl lasted for twenty minutes. There were 149 penalty minutes, and two game misconducts. The Canadiens easily defeated the underdog Nordiques 6-2 to even the series up at two games each, with the fifth and deciding game back at the Montreal Forum. In the fifth game, the teams were tied at two goals each after regulation time, and in overtime, Dale Hunter emerged as the hero, as he scored against Montreal goalie Rick Wamsley to clinch the series. Quebec completed the upset over the heavily favoured Canadiens, and the Nordiques moved on to the Adams Division finals.

Quebec would face the Boston Bruins in the best of seven Adams Division finals. Boston had a 43-27-10 record, earning 96 points, and a second place finish in the division. The Bruins defeated the Buffalo Sabres in four games in their first playoff round. The series opened with two games at the Boston Garden, and the Bruins took an early 2-0 series lead, defeating Quebec 4-3 and 8-4 in the first two games. The series moved to Quebec City for the next two games, and the Nordiques responded on their home ice, winning the third game in overtime by a 3-2 score, followed by a 7-2 thrashing in the fourth game to even the series up. The fifth game was back in Boston, however, the Nordiques surprised the Bruins, defeating them 4-3 to push Boston on the brink of elimination. The series moved back to Quebec for the sixth game, however, the Bruins stayed alive with a 6-5 overtime win, setting up a seventh and deciding game at the Boston Garden. The Nordiques once again came out with an upset victory, as Quebec squeaked out a 2-1 victory to win the series in seven games, and advance to the Wales Conference finals.

The Nordiques opponent in the Wales Conference finals was the two time defending Stanley Cup champions, the New York Islanders. The best of seven series opened with two games at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island, New York. The powerful Islanders took control of the series early, defeating Quebec 4-1 and 5-2 in the first two games. New York stayed hot as the series moved back to Le Colisee for the next two games, as they won the third game in overtime by a 5-4 score, before defeating the Nordiques 4-2 in the fourth game to sweep Quebec out of the playoffs.

Draft Picks
Quebec's draft picks from the 1981 NHL Entry Draft which was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec.