1990 Stanley Cup playoffs


The 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League championship began on April 5, 1990, following the 1989–90 regular season. The sixteen teams that qualified, from the top four teams of the four divisions, played best-of-seven series with re-seeding after the division finals. The Conference Champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup.
This was the last time that the Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs until 2017. They would make the playoffs for 25 consecutive seasons from 1991 to 2016, excluding 2005, when the season was cancelled.
Since entering the NHL as expansion teams in the 1967–68 NHL season this was the first and only time to date that both the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins missed the playoffs in the same season.
The playoffs concluded on May 24 with the Edmonton Oilers winning the Stanley Cup, defeating the Boston Bruins in the final series four games to one. Edmonton goaltender Bill Ranford was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the playoffs.

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the playoffs:

Prince of Wales Conference

Adams Division

  1. Boston Bruins, Adams Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions, Presidents' Trophy winners – 101 points
  2. Buffalo Sabres – 98 points
  3. Montreal Canadiens – 93 points
  4. Hartford Whalers – 85 points

    Patrick Division

  5. New York Rangers, Patrick Division champions – 85 points
  6. New Jersey Devils – 83 points
  7. Washington Capitals – 78 points
  8. New York Islanders – 73 points

    Clarence Campbell Conference

Norris Division

  1. Chicago Blackhawks, Norris Division champions – 88 points
  2. St. Louis Blues – 83 points
  3. Toronto Maple Leafs – 80 points
  4. Minnesota North Stars – 76 points

    Smythe Division

  5. Calgary Flames, Smythe Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 99 points
  6. Edmonton Oilers – 90 points
  7. Winnipeg Jets – 85 points
  8. Los Angeles Kings – 75 points

    Playoff bracket

Division Semifinals

Prince of Wales Conference

(A1) Boston Bruins vs. (A4) Hartford Whalers

(A2) Buffalo Sabres vs. (A3) Montreal Canadiens

(P1) New York Rangers vs. (P4) New York Islanders

(P2) New Jersey Devils vs. (P3) Washington Capitals

Clarence Campbell Conference

(N1) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (N4) Minnesota North Stars

(N2) St. Louis Blues vs. (N3) Toronto Maple Leafs

(S1) Calgary Flames vs. (S4) Los Angeles Kings

(S2) Edmonton Oilers vs. (S3) Winnipeg Jets

Division Finals

Prince of Wales Conference

(A1) Boston Bruins vs. (A3) Montreal Canadiens

(P1) New York Rangers vs. (P3) Washington Capitals

Clarence Campbell Conference

(N1) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (N2) St. Louis Blues

(S2) Edmonton Oilers vs. (S4) Los Angeles Kings

Conference Finals

Prince of Wales Conference Final

(A1) Boston Bruins vs. (P3) Washington Capitals

Clarence Campbell Conference Final

(S2) Edmonton Oilers vs. (N1) Chicago Blackhawks

Stanley Cup Finals

The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Boston Bruins in five games. For the Oilers, it was their fifth Cup win in seven years, and their only one without Wayne Gretzky. In Game 1, Petr Klima scored at 15:13 of the third overtime period to give the Oilers a 3–2 win. The game broke the record for longest Final game, set in 1931 between Chicago and Montreal. This game remains the longest in Stanley Cup Final history to date, edging both Brett Hull's cup-winner in 1999 and Igor Larionov's game-winner in 2002 by less than 30 seconds. In Game 5 at the Boston Garden on May 24, the Oilers won 4–1, with Craig Simpson scoring the game-winning goal.

Playoff statistics

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.
PlayerTeam
Craig SimpsonEdmonton Oilers22161531+118
Mark MessierEdmonton Oilers2292231+520
Cam NeelyBoston Bruins21121628+751
Jari KurriEdmonton Oilers22101525+1318
Esa TikkanenEdmonton Oilers22131124+1226
Glenn AndersonEdmonton Oilers22101222+1220
Steve LarmerChicago Blackhawks2071522+28
Denis SavardChicago Blackhawks2071522041
Craig JanneyBoston Bruins1831922+32
Brett HullSt. Louis Blues1213821+117

Goaltenders

This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 420 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.
PlayerTeam
Boston Bruins20137484442.21.9092 1195:14
Montreal Canadiens1156291262.43.9111 640:46
Edmonton Oilers22166671592.53.9121 1401:13
Hartford Whalers734193233.21.8810 429:26
Washington Capitals944222283.31.8740 507:14