Quote:
Originally Posted by Howie_16
It is a reasonable conclusion to think that the Islanders would have defeated our 1980-81 Flames in the Stanley Cup Final, but I do think we would have put up a good fight.
We played the Islanders (and each of the other 19 teams) 4 times that year, twice in Calgary and twice on the road:
December 13, 1980 - NYI 4 @ Calgary 4
December 23, 1980 - Calgary 2 @ NYI 2
January 20, 1981 - Calgary 0 @ NYI 5
February 25, 1981 - NYI 4 @ Calgary 11 I think we had team that matched up better with the Islanders than Minnesota did, who fell in 5 games in the Final. We had size and toughness, we were tough at home (only 5 losses in the regular season in the Corral that first year) and we showed we could win a big game on the road with a game 7 victory at the Philadelphia Spectrum in round 2. |
That 11-4 game in Calgary really stands out. Wow!
Also, it's crazy that given the fact that back in the late 70s and early 80s travel was not as easy as it is today (most if not all teams flew commercial I'm sure) but yet they not only played a completely balanced schedule in the regular season but in the playoffs as well (with the 1 vs. 16 format).