On Tuesday, the Calgary Flames the Montréal Canadiens for the first time in the 2024-25 season.
In a new series called Throwback Tuesday, we’ll look at events in the Flames’ past, usually revolving around the team they’ll play soon. In the first edition, we’ll look at the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals, the last time it was contested between two Canadian teams.
How the Flames got there
The Flames moved from Atlanta to Calgary before the beginning of the 1980-81 season and instantly became a perennial postseason team. In their first season in Calgary, the Flames made it to the semifinals, now the Conference Finals, where they fell in six games to the Minnesota North Stars.
Five seasons later, the Flames made their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history after defeating the original Winnipeg Jets in three games, a hard-fought seven-game series against provincial rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, followed by another Game 7 victory over the St. Louis Blues.
However, they fell short in five games to the Canadiens, who won their 23rd Stanley Cup in franchise history. The next two seasons saw the Flames bounced early in the post-season, falling in the divisional semifinals to the Jets in the 1987 postseason and being swept by the Oilers in the divisional finals in 1988 as the Oilers won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1987 and 1988.
The 1989 season was finally the Flames year though. For the second time in its three-year history, the Flames won the Presidents’ Trophy with a 54-17-9 record for 117 points. In the first round, they had a series against the Vancouver Canucks that went the distance, before defeating the Los Angeles Kings (led by Wayne Gretzky) in four games. Their Conference Finals matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks was a breeze as well, winning in five games to make their second Stanley Cup Final.
The 1989 Finals
Game 1 went in favour of the Flames, as the two teams traded goals in the first period. Canadiens’ Stephane Richer opened the scoring on the power play, followed by Al MacInnis’ fourth goal of the postseason. The defenceman scored another one less than two minutes later before Larry Robinson tied the game at two midway through the first period.
Theo Fleury scored the game-winning goal with just over eight minutes left in the second period as the Flames took Game 1 by a score of 3-2.
In Game 2, the Canadiens tied the series thanks to a 4-2 victory. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Robinson and Bobby Smith, before the Flames fought back and tied the game thanks to goals in the second period from Joe Nieuwendyk and Joel Otto. However, the third period belonged to the Canadiens, as Chris Chelios scored the game-winning goal eight minutes into the final frame before Russ Courtnall added an insurance goal a minute and a half later.
Game 3 saw the Canadiens put the Flames’ backs up against the wall as the Canadiens won 4-3 in the first game in Montréal to take a 2-1 series lead. Early in the game, Mike McPhee scored to put the Canadiens on the board, with Joe Mullen scoring late in the first period. The Flames took a 2-1 lead thanks to Mullen’s second goal in the second period.
Early in the third period, Bobby Smith scored to tie the game, before Doug Gilmour scored with just under seven minutes remaining. With just 51 seconds remaining in the game, Mats Naslund tied the game, before Ryan Walter ended it towards the end of the second overtime period.
A loss in Game 4 would be disastrous for the Flames, but the 1988-89 team didn’t know a whole lot about losing. After a scoreless first period, the Flames jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Gilmour and Mullen. The Canadiens cut the lead in half thanks to a goal from Courtnall with nine minutes left in the third period, but MacInnis scored a much-needed insurance goal with under two minutes left.
It was needed because with 27 seconds left, the Canadiens got back within one with another last-minute goal. However, Mullen scored his 15th goal of the postseason into the empty net with 11 seconds left for a 4-2 Flames victory and a 2-2 series tie to make it a best of three.
Back in Calgary for Game 5, the Flames jumped out to an early lead as Otto scored 28 seconds into the game. Mullen added another eight minutes later to extend the lead before Smith scored a power play goal with just over six and a half minutes left in the first to cut the Flames’ lead in half. With 29 seconds left in the third period, MacInnis scored his fourth goal of the series to take a 3-1 lead.
Mike Keane scored for the Canadiens with just under six minutes remaining in the second period, but netminder Mike Vernon held strong, saving 26 of 28 shots to put the Flames on the brink of their first Stanley Cup.
The decisive Game 6 returned to Montréal. Late in the first period, Colin Patterson scored his third goal of the postseason to give the Flames a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Early in the second period, Claude Lemieux scored his fourth of the postseason to tie the game. Then came one of the most memorable goals in Flames history.
Flames captain Lanny McDonald played 1,111 regular season games in his career, scoring 500 goals and 1,006 points. During the Flames’ 1986 postseason run where they made the Stanley Cup Final and lost to the Canadiens, the Hanna, Alberta native scored 11 goals and 18 points in 22 games.
Up until the 4:24 mark of the second period in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, McDonald, who was playing in his final season as a 35-year-old, had been held goalless. However, a pass from Nieuwendyk found McDonald streaking on the right wing, making no mistake to put the Flames up 2-1.
The Flames took a 3-1 lead 11 minutes into the third period, as Gilmour scored his 10th of the postseason. Thankfully, Rick Green’s goal for the Canadiens less than a minute later didn’t matter, as Gilmour scored into the empty net with 1:03 left on the clock for the Stanley Cup.
Now 35 years, 5 months, and 11 days later (or 12,948 days), the two teams meet for the first time in the 2024-25 season. Unlike the ’80s, both teams are in a rebuilding phase and won’t meet in the Stanley Cup Final anytime soon. But it’s still fun to look back at the first and only time the Flames won the Stanley Cup!
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.
