Dino Ciccarelli of the North Stars set a rookie record (since tied by Ville Leino in 2010), scoring twenty-one points (14 goals and seven assists) during the year's playoffs. The Islanders' much deeper lineup, however, won the day.
Date
Visitors
Score
Home
Score
May 12
Minnesota
3
New York
6
May 14
Minnesota
3
New York
6
May 17
New York
7
Minnesota
5
May 19
New York
2
Minnesota
4
May 21
Minnesota
1
New York
5
New York wins the series 4–1.
Broadcasting
The series aired on CBC in Canada. In the United States, this was the first of five seasons that the Cup Finals aired on the USA Network. For the 1981 Finals only, USA simulcast the CBC feed instead of producing their own coverage. However, USA's national coverage was blacked out in the New York metro and Minnesota area due to the local rights to their respective teams in that markets. In the New York area, SportsChannel New York aired three games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and WOR televised two games in Bloomington, Minnesota while KMSP aired every game of the series in the Minnesota area.
The 1981 Stanley Cup was presented to Islanders captain Denis Potvin by NHL PresidentJohn Ziegler following the Islanders 5–1 win over the North Stars in game five.
The following Islanders players and staff had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup
† Lorne Henning (Center) played nine regular season and one playoff game. He was the last playing-coach to win the Stanley Cup.
†† Jean Potvin 18 games regular season games and did not dress in the playoffs. He spent the rest of year as a broadcaster. Potvin's name was put on the cup in 1981, even though he did not officially qualify.
A new ring was created in 1993 for the winners from 1979 to 1991. New York Islanders was misspelled. NEW YORK ILANDERS missing the first "S". Name was spelled correctly on the Replica Cup also created in 1993.
