If you want to understand why Montreal is a city that basically lives and breathes hockey, you don’t look at the dynasty years of the 50s or 70s. You look at 1986. Honestly, the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals shouldn't have even happened the way they did. On paper, it was a weird matchup. The Montreal Canadiens against the Calgary Flames. It was the first time two Canadian teams met in the final since 1967. People forget that.
The '86 season was total chaos.
Think about it. The Edmonton Oilers were the absolute kings of the world back then. Wayne Gretzky had just put up 215 points. Two hundred and fifteen! It’s a number that doesn't even sound real. Everyone assumed the Oilers would just stroll into the finals and hoist the Cup again. But then Steve Smith happened. That infamous own-goal in the division finals knocked the Oilers out and blew the door wide open for Calgary. Suddenly, the path to glory didn't go through Edmonton. It went through a rookie goaltender in Montreal who looked like he’d never felt a second of pressure in his entire life.
The Patrick Roy Factor
Most people talk about Patrick Roy like he was born a legend. He wasn't. Going into the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals, he was just a skinny 20-year-old kid from Quebec City who had played exactly one NHL game before that season. He had this weird habit of talking to his goalposts. Players on other teams thought he was a head case. But by the time the finals rolled around, nobody was laughing.
He was a wall.
Roy’s performance is basically the blueprint for how a goalie can steal a championship. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, becoming the youngest player ever to do it. It wasn't just that he stopped the puck; it was the way he did it. He popularized the butterfly style, dropping to his knees to cover the bottom of the net, which was still kind of a "new" thing back then. Calgary’s shooters—guys like Lanny McDonald and Joe Mullen—were absolutely baffled.
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The series actually started out looking like a Flames runaway. They took Game 1 in Calgary with a 5-2 win. The Saddledome was rocking. You’ve got to remember, Calgary was a gritty, tough team with a ton of heart. They felt like this was their moment to finally step out of the Oilers' shadow. But Montreal didn't blink. They took Game 2 in overtime thanks to Brian Skrudland.
That goal? It took nine seconds.
Nine seconds into overtime. It’s still the fastest overtime goal in NHL playoff history. That one play basically broke the Flames' spirit. You could see the momentum shift in real-time. Montreal went back home to the Forum and just suffocated them.
Why the Flames Couldn't Close the Gap
Calgary had a great roster. They really did. Al MacInnis was launching 100-mph slapshots before it was cool. Joe Nieuwendyk wasn't there yet, but they had veteran leadership in Lanny McDonald, the man with the most iconic mustache in sports history.
But Montreal had Jean Perron behind the bench and a bunch of "Smurfs." That’s what people called them because they were a smaller, faster team. Mats Naslund was a wizard. Bobby Smith was the big body in the middle. And then you had Claude Lemieux, who was just starting his career as the most hated man in hockey. He scored ten goals that postseason. Ten! As a rookie!
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The depth was the difference. While Calgary was relying on their top lines to carry the load, Montreal was getting contributions from everyone. Chris Nilan was providing the muscle. Guy Carbonneau was locking down the defensive zone. It was a perfectly balanced machine that just happened to be backstopped by a guy who refused to let anything past him.
By the time Game 5 rolled around back in Calgary, the air had sort of leaked out of the balloon for the Flames. Montreal won it 4-3. They celebrated on Calgary's ice. It was the Canadiens' 23rd Stanley Cup. People at the time thought it was the start of another dynasty. It wasn't, but it cemented the 80s as a decade where anything could happen if you had a hot goalie.
The Long-Term Impact on the NHL
The 1986 Stanley Cup Finals changed the way GMs built teams. Before '86, the logic was simple: get the most talent and you win. That's why the Oilers were so dominant. But Montreal proved that a disciplined defensive system and an elite goaltender could beat a high-flying offense.
It also marked the end of the "Old Guard" in a way. This was the last time the Canadiens would win with that specific brand of "Forum Magic" before the league started to shift toward the heavy-hitting, neutral-zone trap era of the 90s.
What You Might Not Know About the '86 Series:
- The Rookie Records: It wasn't just Roy. This finals featured an incredible amount of young talent. Guys like Gary Suter and Mike Vernon for Calgary were just starting out too.
- The Coaching Drama: Jean Perron was a rookie coach. He was under immense pressure in Montreal, a city that fires coaches for fun. Winning the Cup in his first year was a miracle.
- The Cursed Own-Goal: While not in the finals, Steve Smith's mistake in the playoffs leading up to this series is what made the '86 finals possible. It remains the biggest "what if" in hockey history. If Smith doesn't bank that puck off Grant Fuhr’s leg, do the Oilers win five straight Cups? Probably.
If you’re a fan today, you see the influence of this series every night. Every time a goalie drops into a butterfly or a team wins a series because of a hot "unknown" rookie, that's the ghost of 1986.
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Actionable Steps for Hockey History Buffs
If you want to dive deeper into this specific era, don't just stick to the highlight reels on YouTube. They're grainy and don't give you the full picture.
Check out the book The Game by Ken Dryden. Even though he retired before '86, it gives you the psychological profile of what it's like to play goal for Montreal, which explains exactly what Patrick Roy was dealing with. Also, look for the full broadcast of Game 2. Watching the pace of play in 1986 compared to today is jarring. It was much more open, much more dangerous, and way more physical.
Finally, visit the Hockey Hall of Fame's digital archives to look at the shot charts from that series. It’s wild to see how many high-danger chances Calgary actually had. On any other year, against any other goalie, the Flames probably walk away with the Cup. But Patrick Roy was in the way.
Go back and watch the tape of Brian Skrudland’s nine-second goal. It’s a masterclass in capitalizing on a team that isn't ready for the puck to drop. It’s the kind of play that coaches still use today to teach players to "play to the whistle" and be ready from the first second.
The 1986 finals weren't just a series; they were a shift in the sport's DNA.