Napier posted two goals and an assists to help lead the Oilers to a Game 1 victory. (Photo via B. Bennett/Getty Images)
It took quite a while for the top-seeded ’78-’79 Montreal Canadiens to find a way to beat goaltender Grant Fuhr of the 6th-seeded ’84-’85 Edmonton Oilers and by the time they finally did, the game was close to out of reach. Mark Napier scored the first of two goals in the game a little over six minutes into the game to give Edmonton an early 1-0 lead. Then, in the final minute of the period, Jari Kurri scored his first of two goals in the game to give the Oilers a 2-0 lead heading into the second period. Late in the second, Napier made it 3-0 and then early in the third period, Kurri’s second goal made it 4-0 with about 16 and a half minutes to play. A little over a minute after that, Bob Gainey scored just his second goal of the tournament to get Montreal on the board. Defenseman Paul Coffey reinstated a four-goal lead for Edmonton with his 11th goal of the tournament at the 11:26 mark of the third period. The Canadiens got a garbage time goal in the final minutes from Yvon Lambert, but the game would end with a 5-2 final in favor of Edmonton. Montreal outshot the Oilers 37-29 and had two PP’s while Edmonton had none, but a rare poor game defensively and from goaltender Ken Dryden has them trailing 1-0 in the Ultimate NHL Final.
GAME 1:
| 1st Period | 2nd Period | 3rd Period | Overtime | Total | |
| #6 ‘84-’85 Oilers | 2 | 1 | 2 | — | 5 |
| #1 ‘78-’79 Canadiens | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | 2 |
GAME SUMMARY: ‘84-’85 EDM – 5 ‘78-’79 MTL – 2 (1-0 ‘84-’85 EDM)
1st Period:
- 1 – 0 EDM – 6:09 – EDM: M. Napier (7) assisted by C. Huddy (23), L. Fogolin Jr. (6)
- 2 – 0 EDM – 19:02 – EDM: J. Kurri (18) assisted by W. Gretzky (28)
2nd Period:
- 3 – 0 EDM – 18:59 – EDM: M. Napier (8) assisted by P. Coffey (53)
3rd Period:
- 4 – 0 EDM – 3:33 – EDM: J. Kurri (19) assisted by W. Gretzky (29), C. Huddy (24)
- 4 – 1 EDM – 4:48 – MTL: B. Gainey (2) assisted by L. Robinson (19)
- 5 – 1 EDM – 11:26 – EDM: P. Coffey (11) assisted by M. Napier (12), M. Messier (16)
- 5 – 2 EDM – 17:11 – MTL: Y. Lambert (7) assisted by G. Lafleur (28), P. Mondou (15)
TEAM STATS:
| #6 ‘84-’85 Oilers | #1 ‘78-’79 Canadiens | |
| 5 | Goals | 2 |
| 29 | Shots | 37 |
| — | PP | 0/2 |
| 2/2 | SH | — |
| — | PP% | 0% |
| 100% | PK% | — |
| M. Napier (2) | GWG | — |
STARS OF THE GAME:
- 1st Star: Mark Napier (EDM)
- 2nd Star: Jari Kurri (EDM)
- 3rd Star: Paul Coffey (EDM)
Game 2 will take place tomorrow night!
