1985–86 Minnesota North Stars season

1985–86 Minnesota North Stars
1985–86 Minnesota North Stars
Division	2nd Norris
Conference	4th Campbell
1985–86 record	38–33–9
Home record	21–15–4
Road record	17–18–5
Goals for	327
Goals against	305
Team information
General manager	Lou Nanne
Coach	Lorne Henning
Captain	Craig Hartsburg
Arena	Met Center
Team leaders
Goals	Dino Ciccarelli (44)
Assists	Neal Broten (76)
Points	Neal Broten (105)
Penalty minutes	Willi Plett (231)
Wins	Don Beaupre (25)
Goals against average	Don Beaupre (3.57)
	← 1984–85 1986–87 →

The 1985–86 Minnesota North Stars season was the North Stars' 19th season.

Coached by Lorne Henning, the team compiled a record of 38–33–9 for 85 points, to finish the regular season 2nd in the Norris Division.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] In the playoffs they lost the division semi-finals 3–2 to the St. Louis Blues.

Offseason

Regular season

Final standings

Norris Division
	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Chicago Black Hawks	80	39	33	8	351	349	86
Minnesota North Stars	80	38	33	9	327	305	85
St. Louis Blues	80	37	34	9	302	291	83
Toronto Maple Leafs	80	25	48	7	311	386	57
Detroit Red Wings	80	17	57	6	266	415	40

^[5]Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents

Norris Division record vs. opponents

Vs. Campbell Conference

Vs. Norris Division

1985–86 NHL records^[6]
Team	CHI	DET	MIN	STL	TOR	Total
Chicago	—	6−2	3−3−2	5−3	2−6	16−14−2
Detroit	2−6	—	1−6−1	2−5−1	3−4−1	8−21−3
Minnesota	3−3−2	6−1−1	—	4−3−1	7−0−1	20−7−5
St. Louis	3−5	5−2−1	3−4−1	—	3−3−2	14−14−4
Toronto	6−2	4−3−1	0−7−1	3−3−2	—	13−15−4

Vs. Smythe Division

1985–86 NHL records
Team	CGY	EDM	LAK	VAN	WIN	Total
Chicago	2−1	0−3	1−0−2	3−0	2−1	8−5−2
Detroit	0−2−1	0−3	2−1	0−3	0−3	2−12−1
Minnesota	2−0−1	1−2	1−2	1−2	1−2	6−8−1
St. Louis	2−1	1−1−1	1−1−1	3−0	2−1	9−4−2
Toronto	1−2	1−2	1−2	0−2−1	1−1−1	4−9−2

Vs. Wales Conference

Vs. Adams Division

1985–86 NHL records
Team	BOS	BUF	HFD	MTL	QUE	Total
Chicago	2−1	2−1	2−1	0−2−1	1−2	7−7−1
Detroit	1−2	1−1−1	1−2	0−3	1−2	4−10−1
Minnesota	0−3	1−2	2−1	1−1−1	1−2	5−9−1
St. Louis	2−1	1−2	1−1−1	2−1	2−1	8−6−1
Toronto	0−2−1	2−1	0−3	1−2	0−3	3−11−1

Vs. Patrick Division

1985–86 NHL records
Team	NJD	NYI	NYR	PHI	PIT	WSH	Total
Chicago	1−2	2−0−1	3−0	0−2−1	1−1−1	1−2	8−7−3
Detroit	0−2−1	0−3	0−3	1−2	1−2	1−2	3−14−1
Minnesota	2−1	2−0−1	2−1	0−2−1	0−3	1−2	7−9−2
St. Louis	2−1	1−1−1	1−1−1	1−2	1−2	0−3	6−10−2
Toronto	2−1	0−3	1−2	1−2	0−3	1−2	5−13−0

Schedule and results

1985–86 regular season^[7]

October

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 10, 1985	6–6 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	0–0–1
2	L	October 12, 1985	2–6	Buffalo Sabres (1985–86)	0–1–1
3	L	October 15, 1985	2–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	0–2–1
4	W	October 17, 1985	10–1	Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	1–2–1
5	L	October 19, 1985	3–7	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	1–3–1
6	W	October 22, 1985	5–4	St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	2–3–1
7	T	October 23, 1985	4–4 OT	@ St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	2–3–2
8	W	October 26, 1985	7–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	3–3–2
9	L	October 27, 1985	2–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86)	3–4–2
10	L	October 30, 1985	5–6	Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	3–5–2

November

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
11	L	November 2, 1985	1–3	Winnipeg Jets (1985–86)	3–6–2
12	T	November 6, 1985	3–3 OT	Montreal Canadiens (1985–86)	3–6–3
13	W	November 9, 1985	4–3 OT	New York Rangers (1985–86)	4–6–3
14	L	November 10, 1985	1–2	@ Boston Bruins (1985–86)	4–7–3
15	L	November 13, 1985	2–5	@ Hartford Whalers (1985–86)	4–8–3
16	L	November 16, 1985	2–4	Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	4–9–3
17	T	November 17, 1985	5–5 OT	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	4–9–4
18	T	November 19, 1985	3–3 OT	@ Calgary Flames (1985–86)	4–9–5
19	L	November 21, 1985	2–4	St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	4–10–5
20	W	November 23, 1985	4–2	Los Angeles Kings (1985–86)	5–10–5
21	W	November 25, 1985	4–3	@ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86)	6–10–5
22	T	November 27, 1985	4–4 OT	New York Islanders (1985–86)	6–10–6
23	L	November 29, 1985	1–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	6–11–6
24	L	November 30, 1985	3–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	6–12–6

December

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
25	W	December 3, 1985	9–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	7–12–6
26	L	December 7, 1985	4–8	@ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86)	7–13–6
27	L	December 9, 1985	4–6	New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	7–14–6
28	W	December 11, 1985	10–2	@ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	8–14–6
29	T	December 14, 1985	6–6 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	8–14–7
30	W	December 17, 1985	6–3	Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	9–14–7
31	L	December 19, 1985	3–4 OT	Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	9–15–7
32	L	December 21, 1985	2–5	@ Boston Bruins (1985–86)	9–16–7
33	W	December 22, 1985	8–3	@ New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	10–16–7
34	W	December 26, 1985	6–5	@ Winnipeg Jets (1985–86)	11–16–7
35	W	December 28, 1985	3–1	New York Rangers (1985–86)	12–16–7
36	W	December 31, 1985	6–3	Calgary Flames (1985–86)	13–16–7

January

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
37	W	January 2, 1986	3–2	Vancouver Canucks (1985–86)	14–16–7
38	L	January 5, 1986	2–6	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	14–17–7
39	W	January 7, 1986	3–2	@ New York Islanders (1985–86)	15–17–7
40	L	January 10, 1986	3–4	Los Angeles Kings (1985–86)	15–18–7
41	W	January 11, 1986	5–3	Washington Capitals (1985–86)	16–18–7
42	T	January 14, 1986	3–3 OT	Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	16–18–8
43	W	January 16, 1986	4–3	St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	17–18–8
44	W	January 18, 1986	5–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	18–18–8
45	L	January 19, 1986	2–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86)	18–19–8
46	L	January 21, 1986	5–7	@ Washington Capitals (1985–86)	18–20–8
47	L	January 23, 1986	2–5	Montreal Canadiens (1985–86)	18–21–8
48	L	January 25, 1986	3–6	Washington Capitals (1985–86)	18–22–8
49	W	January 27, 1986	6–2	New Jersey Devils (1985–86)	19–22–8
50	L	January 29, 1986	3–4	@ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86)	19–23–8
51	L	January 31, 1986	5–10	@ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86)	19–24–8

February

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
52	W	February 6, 1986	8–7 OT	Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	20–24–8
53	T	February 8, 1986	3–3 OT	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86)	20–24–9
54	W	February 10, 1986	4–3 OT	@ Montreal Canadiens (1985–86)	21–24–9
55	W	February 11, 1986	4–2	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	22–24–9
56	L	February 13, 1986	3–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	22–25–9
57	W	February 15, 1986	4–1	Hartford Whalers (1985–86)	23–25–9
58	L	February 16, 1986	3–5	Boston Bruins (1985–86)	23–26–9
59	W	February 19, 1986	6–5	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	24–26–9
60	W	February 21, 1986	5–2	Quebec Nordiques (1985–86)	25–26–9
61	W	February 23, 1986	4–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	26–26–9
62	L	February 24, 1986	1–5	@ New York Rangers (1985–86)	26–27–9
63	W	February 26, 1986	5–2	@ Hartford Whalers (1985–86)	27–27–9

March

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
64	W	March 1, 1986	5–4	New York Islanders (1985–86)	28–27–9
65	W	March 3, 1986	8–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	29–27–9
66	W	March 5, 1986	5–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	30–27–9
67	L	March 8, 1986	2–4	Winnipeg Jets (1985–86)	30–28–9
68	W	March 11, 1986	4–0	Edmonton Oilers (1985–86)	31–28–9
69	W	March 13, 1986	3–2	@ St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	32–28–9
70	L	March 15, 1986	2–3	@ Quebec Nordiques (1985–86)	32–29–9
71	W	March 17, 1986	6–5 OT	St. Louis Blues (1985–86)	33–29–9
72	W	March 19, 1986	6–5	@ Calgary Flames (1985–86)	34–29–9
73	L	March 21, 1986	4–5 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86)	34–30–9
74	L	March 22, 1986	2–6	@ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86)	34–31–9
75	L	March 24, 1986	0–1	Quebec Nordiques (1985–86)	34–32–9
76	W	March 26, 1986	6–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86)	35–32–9
77	W	March 29, 1986	5–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	36–32–9

April

Game	Result	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
78	L	April 1, 1986	1–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	36–33–9
79	W	April 2, 1986	7–5	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86)	37–33–9
80	W	April 5, 1986	5–3	Detroit Red Wings (1985–86)	38–33–9

Legend: Win (2 points) Loss (0 points) Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

Player statistics

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

Minnesota's draft picks at the 1985 NHL entry draft held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
3	51	Stephane Roy	Canada	Granby Bisons (QMJHL)
4	69	Mike Berger	Canada	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
5	90	Dwight Mullins	Canada	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
6	111	Mike Mullowney	United States	Deerfield Academy (USHS-MA)
7	132	Mike Kelfer	United States	St. John's School (USHS-MA)
8	153	Ross Johnson	Canada	Rochester Mayo High School (USHS-MA)
9	174	Tim Helmer	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHL)
10	195	Gordie Ernst	United States	Cranston East High School (USHS-RI)
11	216	Ladislav Lubina	Czechoslovakia	LTC Pardubice (Czechoslovakia)
12	237	Tommy Sjödin	Sweden	Timra IK (Sweden)

References

↑ "Willi Plett scored two goals Saturday night to lift... – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
↑ Hafner, Dan (April 6, 1986). "NHL Roundup : Liut Tends to Business; Hartford Makes Playoffs, 7-1". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
↑ "Stanley Cup Playoff Notebook – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
↑ Harris, Lisa (April 16, 1986). "Stanley Cup Playoff Roundup". UPI. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
↑ Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.
↑ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
↑ "1985-86 Minnesota North Stars Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 26, 2025.

[1] "Willi Plett scored two goals Saturday night to lift... – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 28, 2024.

[2] Hafner, Dan (April 6, 1986). "NHL Roundup : Liut Tends to Business; Hartford Makes Playoffs, 7-1". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 28, 2024.

[3] "Stanley Cup Playoff Notebook – UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 28, 2024.

[4] Harris, Lisa (April 16, 1986). "Stanley Cup Playoff Roundup". UPI. Retrieved January 28, 2024.

[nhl-gd-standings-5] Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Dan Diamond & Associates. p. 153. ISBN 9781894801225.

[6] "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.

[Gamelog-7] "1985-86 Minnesota North Stars Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 26, 2025.

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