Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers, in only their third season in the NHL, had a dominant season. Under the leadership of head coach and general manager Glen Sather, they finished first in the Clarence Campbell Conference and second best in the league after the New York Islanders. The Oilers won the Smythe Division with a record of 48 wins, 17 losses, and 15 ties for a total of 111 points, 34 points ahead of the second-place Vancouver Canucks. The Oilers, the only squad in the division to post a winning record, were the most potent offensive team in the NHL that year. They set an NHL record by scoring 417 goals, 32 more than any other team in 1981–82. The Oilers also had a very capable defense, allowing only 295 goals, 26 fewer than the NHL average.
The Edmonton club included many young stars – forwards Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, and Glenn Anderson; defensemen Paul Coffey and Kevin Lowe; and goaltenders Grant Fuhr and Andy Moog. However, the biggest star on the Oilers team and in the entire league was 21-year-old Wayne Gretzky, whose offensive supremacy broke existing NHL records by considerable margins. In 1981–82, Gretzky posting 92 goals, 120 assists, and 212 points, all league records, out-scoring his nearest rival for the scoring lead, Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders, by 65 points. Gretzky would win the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player for the third consecutive season.
The Oilers’ offensive attack was led by Gretzky, Anderson (105 points), Coffey (89 points, leading all NHL defensemen), Messier (88 points), Kurri (86 points), and Dave Lumley (74 points). The defense was anchored by Lowe, team captain Lee Fogolin, Garry Lariviere, Doug Hicks, and Charlie Huddy. In the net, Edmonton featured the goalie tandem of Fuhr and Moog; starter Fuhr was one of four Oilers on the Campbell Conference All-Star team, while backup Moog was also a future All-Star player.
The Oilers were a predominantly young team. They were boisterous, brash, and often undisciplined. Edmonton was one of the first teams to employ a wide-open, free-flowing style of hockey that emphasized speed and creativity, but it was also a scheme that produced a certain number of turnovers and errors. Going into the playoffs, the Oilers were the overwhelming favorites to represent the Campbell Conference in the Stanley Cup Final, and were expected to provide a strong challenge to the two-time defending Cup champion Islanders. Gretzky's Oilers were receiving more attention than Bossy's Islanders in the media.
Read more about this topic: Miracle On Manchester, Background