1981 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The 1981 Stanley Cup Playoffs began on April 10th (after the conclusion of the 1980-81 NHL season) and concluded on May 21, 1981 with the champion New York Islanders defeating the Minnesota North Stars 5–1 to win the Final series four games to one and win the Stanley Cup.

In game one of the Edmonton-Montreal series, Wayne Gretzky recorded five assists; at the time this was a single game playoff record.

Playoff Seeds
The sixteen teams that qualified for the playoffs are ranked 1–16 based on regular season points.


 * New York Islanders, Patrick Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 110 points
 * St. Louis Blues, Smythe Division champions – 107 points
 * Montreal Canadiens, Norris Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 103 points
 * Los Angeles Kings – 99 points (43 wins)
 * Buffalo Sabres, Adams Division champions – 99 points (39 wins)
 * Philadelphia Flyers – 97 points
 * Calgary Flames – 92 points
 * Boston Bruins – 87 points (37 wins)
 * Minnesota North Stars – 87 points (35 wins)
 * Chicago Black Hawks – 78 points (31 wins)
 * Quebec Nordiques – 78 points (30 wins)
 * Vancouver Canucks – 76 points
 * New York Rangers – 74 points (30 wins)
 * Edmonton Oilers – 74 points (29 wins)
 * Pittsburgh Penguins – 73 points
 * Toronto Maple Leafs – 71 points