1986 Stanley Cup playoffs

The 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 9, after the conclusion of the 1985–86 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 24 with the champion Montreal Canadiens defeating the Calgary Flames 4–1 to win the Stanley Cup, in five games.

This was the last time to date that all active Canadian teams have qualified in the same season and also the second time that all seven active teams at the time qualified, the first occurring three years earlier. The 1986 playoffs saw three first place teams eliminated in the opening round and the fourth, Edmonton, bowed out in the second. This was the last time that all six Sutter brothers participated in the playoffs in the same year.

In the first round, six of the eight series ended in a three-game sweep. The only two first-round series that did not were the Rangers over the Flyers, and the Blues over the North Stars, both going the full five games.

The Montreal Canadiens decided to go with a rookie goaltender by the name of Patrick Roy. This decision proved to be a good one just like when the Canadiens rode rookie goalie Ken Dryden to a Stanley Cup championship in 1971. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Canadiens beat the Calgary Flames, who were also riding a rookie netminder, Mike Vernon. Patrick Roy won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP and had a sparkling 1.92 goals against average along with 15 wins. St. Louis forwards Doug Gilmour and Bernie Federko led the playoffs in scoring with 21 points despite missing the finals; this feat was not repeated until 1999.

The 1986 playoffs marked the first time that all four former WHA teams made the playoffs in the same year. This would happen again the following year and in 1999, by which time 3 of those teams had moved, the Quebec Nordiques to Denver, the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix, and the Hartford Whalers to Raleigh.