1985–86 Hartford Whalers season



The 1985–86 Hartford Whalers season was the Whalers' 7th season in the National Hockey League. The Whalers finished 4th in the Adams Division and defeated the Quebec Nordiques in the Division Semi-finals 3 games to 0 and lost in the Division Finals to the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 3. This was the only season the Whalers won a playoff round in their NHL history.

Game Log
See also 1985–86 Hartford Whalers: Head-to-Head Results

Hartford Whalers 3, Quebec Nordiques 0
The Whalers opened the 1986 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Quebec Nordiquess in a best-of-five series. Quebec finished the regular season with a 43-31-6 record, earning 92 points, and finishing in first place in the Adams Division. In 1985, the Nordiques reached the Wales Conference finals, where they lost to the Philadelphia Flyers. The 1986 post-season was the Whalers first playoff appearance since 1980.

The series opened on April 9 at Le Colisée in Quebec City. The Nordiques opened the scoring 2:44 into the game on a power play goal by Anton Stastny, however, the Whalers Dean Evason scored with 49 seconds remaining in the period to tie the game 1-1. The clubs played to a goalless second period, as the game remained tied heading into the third. In the third period, the Whalers John Anderson scored on the power play at 9:29, giving Hartford their first lead of the game at 2-1. Just over three minutes later, the Nordiques tied the game on a goal by Brent Ashton, as Quebec tied the game 2-2. The game would go into overtime, as the Whalers Sylvain Turgeon scored 2:36 into the extra period, as the Whalers defeated the Nordiques 3-2 to win their first ever post-season game, and take a 1-0 series lead. Mike Liut made 37 saves for the victory.

The second game of the series was played on April 10 in Quebec. The Whalers took an early 1-0 lead on a goal by Stew Gavin 3:53 into the game. At 8:51 of the first period, Paul MacDermid scored for Hartford, giving the club a 2-0 lead over Quebec after the first period. In the second period, MacDermid scored his second goal of the game, as Hartford took a 3-0 lead after two periods. In the third period, the Nordiques Alain Cote scored 1:39 into the period, cutting the Whalers lead to 3-1. With under five minutes remaining in the period, the Whalers Torrie Robertson scored, as Hartford won the game 4-1 and took a 2-0 series lead. Mike Liut was very solid in goal again for the Whalers, as he made 26 saves for the win.

The series shifted back to the Hartford Civic Center for the third game, as the Whalers pushed the Nordiques on the brink of elimination. The third game of the series was played on April 12. The Whalers opened the scoring 2:29 into the game on a power play goal by Kevin Dineen. Just under three minutes later, the Whalers Dave Tippett scored a shorthanded goal to give Hartford a 2-0 lead. The Nordiques Alain Lemieux cut the Whalers lead to 2-1 with a power play goal midway through the period. At 15:08, the Whalers Ron Francis restored the two goal lead with his first career playoff goal. Just 44 seconds later, the Nordiques Brent Ashton cut the Whalers lead down to one with a shorthanded goal, as Hartford held a 3-2 lead. With 40 seconds remaining in the period, the Whalers Ray Ferraro scored a power play, as Hartford took a 4-2 lead into the first intermission. Early in the second period, Ulf Samuelsson scored for Hartford, extending their lead to 5-2. At 11:06 of the second period, the Nordiques Michel Goulet scored a power play goal, cutting the Whalers lead to 5-3. Just over two minutes later, the Whalers Ray Ferraro scored his second power play goal of the game, as Hartford regained their three goal lead. Twenty-six seconds after Ferraro's goal, the Whalers John Anderson scored on the power play, giving the Whales a commanding 7-3 lead. In the third period, Anderson scored his second goal of the game 7:00 into the period, as Hartford took a lead of 8-3. The Nordiques Mark Kumpel scored midway through the period, however, the Whalers Kevin Dineen scored his second goal of the game with under two minutes left, as the Whalers crushed the Nordiques 9-4 to sweep the series and complete the upset. This marked the first time in franchise history that the Whalers had won a series since moving to the NHL.

Montreal Canadiens 4, Hartford Whalers 3
The Whalers faced the Montreal Canadiens in a best-of-seven series to determine the champion of the Adams Division. Montreal finished the regular season with a 40-33-7 record, earning 87 points and second place in the Adams Division. In the first round of the post-season, the Canadiens swept the Boston Bruins in three games. The Whalers and Canadiens had previously met in the post-season during the 1979-80 season, as Montreal swept Hartford in the first round of the playoffs.

The series opened on April 17 at the Montreal Forum in Montreal. The two clubs skated to a scoreless first period, as Mike Liut shut the door for the Whalers, making 14 saves during the period. In the second period, Hartford opened the scoring with a goal by Stew Gavin at 4:24 to take a 1-0 lead. Just over two minutes later, the Whalers struck again, as Sylvain Turgeon scored to make it 2-0 for the Whalers. Late in the second period, John Anderson scored on the power play, as the Whalers took a 3-0 lead into the third period. Midway through the third period, the Canadiens Chris Nilan ended the shutout bid by Liut, as he scored to cut the Whalers lead to 3-1. The Whalers Stew Gavin scored his second goal of the game as he scored an empty net goal with 58 seconds left in the period, as Hartford won the game 4-1 and took a 1-0 series lead.

The second game of the series was played on April 19 in Montreal. In the first period, the Canadiens scored first, as Stephane Richer scored on the power play at 12:33 of the period. Just under five minutes later, Guy Carbonneau of the Canadiens scored to make it 2-0. The Canadiens dominated the Whalers in the first period, outshooting them 15-2. In the second period, the Canadiens Guy Carbonneau scored his second goal of the game 6:12 into the period, making it 3-0 for Montreal. The Whalers responded with a power play goal by Ray Ferraro just over a minute later, as Hartford cut the Canadiens lead to 3-1. This would be as close as Hartford would get, as the Canadiens shut down the Whalers for the rest of the game, winning the contest 3-1 and tying the series up at 1-1.

The series shifted to the Hartford Civic Center for game three, played on April 21. Montreal opened the scoring early in the first period on a goal by Kjell Dahlin to take a 1-0 lead. Late in the period, the Canadiens Stephane Richer scored on the power play, as Montreal took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. The Canadiens struck again, as early in the second period, Claude Lemieux scored as Montreal took a 3-0 lead in the game. The Whalers Dave Tippett scored just 32 seconds after Lemieux, cutting the Canadiens lead to 3-1. In the third period, Montreal continued to hold off the Whalers, then Guy Carbonneau scored an empty net goal late in the period, as Montreal won the game 4-1 and took a 2-1 series lead over Hartford.

The fourth game of the series was played on April 23 in Hartford. The Whalers opened the scoring at 13:53 of the first period, as Stew Gavin scored against Patrick Roy of the Canadiens to give Hartford a 1-0 lead. The two clubs played very tight defensively, as after two periods, the score remained 1-0 Hartford, as the shot count was 12-11 for Montreal through two periods. In the third period, the Canadiens Mats Naslund scored a power play goal at 12:22, as Montreal tied the game 1-1, sending the game into overtime. In the extra period, the Whalers Kevin Dineen scored 1:07 into the period, leading Hartford to a 2-1 victory and tying the series at 2-2.

The series shifted back to Montreal for the fifth game, played on April 25. Only 2:05 into the game, the Canadiens Claude Lemieux scored a power play goal, giving the Canadiens a 1-0 lead. At 8:26 of the first period, Montreal's Guy Carbonneau scored a shorthanded goal, followed by a second power play goal by the Canadiens, this time by Mats Naslund, as Montreal took an early 3-0 in the game. With under five minutes remaining in the period, the Whalers Kevin Dineen scored, as Montreal took a 3-1 lead after the first period. In the second period, the Whalers Kevin Dineen scored his second goal of the game at 14:14, cutting the Canadiens lead down to 3-2. Just under two minutes later, Mike Lalor scored for the Canadiens, as Montreal took a 4-2 lead after two periods. Midway through the third period, the Whalers John Anderson scored, as Hartford trailed Montreal by a score of 4-3. The Canadiens managed to hold off the Whalers, as Guy Carbonneau scored a late goal, as Montreal won the game 5-3 and took a 3-2 series lead.

The series returned to Hartford for the sixth game, with the Whalers facing elimination. The game was played on April 27. In the first period, Montreal fired 14 shots at Mike Liut, however, Liut stopped them all as the game remained scoreless after the first period. In the second period, Dean Evason finally broke through for the Whalers, as he scored at the 7:30 mark of the period, giving the Whalers a 1-0 lead. The Whalers took this lead into the third period. In the third period, the Whalers were able to hold off the Canadiens, as Mike Liut made 32 saves for his first career playoff shutout, as the Whalers defeated the Canadiens 1-0 and tied the series up at 3-3.

The seventh and final game of the series was played back in Montreal on April 29. With only 13 seconds left in the first period, the Canadiens Mike McPhee scored a shorthanded goal, giving the Canadiens a 1-0 lead. The game was played very tight defensively, as Montreal held on to their 1-0 lead late into the third period. The Whalers Dave Babych broke the shutout bid by Patrick Roy with under three minutes left in the game, as Hartford tied the game 1-1, sending the contest into overtime. In the extra period, the Canadiens Claude Lemieux scored on Mike Liut 5:55 into the extra period, as Montreal won the game 2-1 and won the series, eliminating the Whalers from the post-season.

Forwards
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Defencemen
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Goaltending
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average {| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"

Awards and Records

 * The Whalers did not win any awards this season.