The 1986 post-season will go down as another unforgettable run in Calgary Flames history.
For starters, it was a whirlwind of a regular season for the Flames, who went 23-12-6 after overcoming a then-franchise record eleven-game losing streak from Dec. 14, 1985 to Jan. 7 1986.
Their efforts resulted in a second-place finish in the Smythe Division, second only to provincial rivals, the titanic Oilers, led by Wayne Gretzky who scored 215 points that season, the MOST by any player in a regular season in NHL history (remember this).
Gary Suter won the Calder Memorial Trophy as best rookie of the season.
The Flames swept the Winnipeg in the first round and then beat the Presidents' Trophy-winning Edmonton with the Hart Memorial Trophy winner Gretzky (yes, that 200+ point scoring guy) in seven games.
Rookie of the year Suter had a team-high five assists. His seven points were the second-highest in the series alongside teammates Hakan Loob, Joe Mullen and Oilers’ Glenn Anderson, trailing only The Great One’s 13 points.
This was a big moment in league history as this team, that came second to Edmonton in the Smythe Division by a mammoth 30 points, took down the big and mighty Oilers, and stopped them from potentially pulling off a historical Stanley Cup five-peat for the greatest player in hockey. Edmonton had won the Stanley Cup the two years before (1984, 1985), and would go on to win in the two years after (1987, 1988).
Sadly, this is the only flex Flames fans can have over Oilers fans as Calgary has never beaten Edmonton in any playoff series since.
The Flames then beat St. Louis in seven games to win the franchise's first Clarence S. Campbell Bowl as conference champions and advance to the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals. Al MacInnis and Paul Reinhart led the series with 10 and eight points respectively.
The Flames became the first team from Calgary to reach the Finals since the Calgary Tigers of the WCHL in 1924.
Unfortunately, after winning their first game, Calgary got topped by the Prince of Wales Conference champions Montreal Canadiens in four consecutive games to lose the series 4-1.
While the Flames did not claim Lord Stanley’s Cup that season, they produced a memorable season that resonates with Flames fans, and be remembered for years as the squad that denied immortality status for Gretzky.
The only team in NHL history that has won the Stanley Cup five years in a row are the 1956-60 Montreal Canadiens.
Fortunately, Calgary would have to wait only three more years to finally reach the mountain top in 1989. Nine of the Flames’ players from the 1986 Finals' squad would go on to lift the cup.
These finals were also against the Canadiens that consisted a lot of the 1986 Finals' roster, so a bit of payback was rightfully due.