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:

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:

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!