The 1989 Stanley Cup Final featured two Canadian hockey teams, the Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames. The Stanley Cup (French: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff winner.
The 1989 Stanley Cup Final is the last one to feature the two top-seeded teams. FOX was scheduled to air Games 1, 5, and 7; ESPN was scheduled to air Games 2, 3, 4, and 6.
The Flames icon was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992 with 500 career goals.From the 1989 Calgary Flames championship team, five players earned induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame — MacInnis, McDonald, Gilmour, Mullen and forward Joe Nieuwendyk — with Gilmour and Nieuwendyk going into the Hall together as members of the Class of 2011.Gilmour finished his career with 1,414 points in 1,474 games, with the center also winning the 1993 Selke Trophy awarded to the league's top defensive forward.Mullen, who tallied 1,063 points in 1,062 games, was a two-time Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner.
This was also The first round saw the Calgary Flames take on a familiar foe and division rival, the Vancouver Canucks. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers it to be one of the "most important championships available to the sport". After serving a penalty, Lanny McDonald stepped out of the box, took a pass from teammate Joe Nieuwendyk on the right side, and ripped one top-shelf past Patrick Roy and gave Calgary a 2-1 lead in the game. The 1989 Stanley Cup Finals was contested between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens, the top two teams during the 1988–89 NHL regular season. What a night!
In overtime, both goalies made spectacular saves, including Mike Vernon's famous breakaway save on Stan Smyl.
Calgary was able to contain the Blackhawks' offense and would take the series 4-1 as they move on to the Stanley Cup Finals and play the Montreal Canadiens in a rematch from 1986.The stage was set for a rematch of the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals, Calgary coming off a somewhat easy 4-1 series win over the Blackhawks, and the Habs coming off of a hard-fought 4-2 win over the The first game of the finals was in Calgary, and it was a 3-2 win thanks to a couple of goals from the blue-line anchor, Al MacInnis.
Thirty-one years ago today, the Calgary Flames lifted the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Montreal Canadiens in six games.
After this loss, head coach Terry Crisp made the decision to scratch Lanny McDonald. The stage was the Montreal Forum, where Game 3 of the 1989 Stanley Cup final between the Calgary Flames and Montreal Canadiens had progressed deep into the second overtime period. The Habs did score later on, but two third period goals by Doug Gilmour lifted the Flames to a 4-2 victory in game six and their first Stanley Cup.After the Flames won the cup, it was announced that Al MacInnis was the Conn Smythe winner, and by doing so he became the first defenseman in NHL history to win the award. In game five, the Flames came out with a great first period, up 3-1 and they were able to hang out and win with a final score of 3-2. Game 1 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals was the first Finals game shown on network television since 1980 and the first in prime time since 1973. In goal, Mike Vernon posted a 2.66 goals-against average that season and outdueled Hockey Hall of Famer Patrick Roy in the Stanley Cup Final.On paper, the two teams were evenly matched as the Flames ranked second in the league in goals scored and against.