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1983 PLAYOFFS
Hartford has won its 1st ever playoff series! We were favoured against the Nordiques and delivered, beating them 3 to 1 in the best of 5. I was happy about that, but it set up a 2nd round matchup against the defending champion Canadiens.
The series with Montreal was tough, and we almost pulled it out. We were down 2-0, before storming back to win 3 straight. Unfortunately a Game 6 loss at home sealed our fate, as we were blown out in Game 7. I attribute the loss to not having a hot goaltender. I don't know if I fully agreed with the hot-or-not indicator, as I believe Mike Liut should have been heating up a bit more, especially after his 3-0 shutout against Quebec.
We were also a bit devastated by injuries during the playoffs, especially to our defense corps. I've attached a photo of the kind of thing I was dealing with.
In the broader playoff picture, the Oilers won it all against the Rangers to claim their first championship. Wayne Gretzky was actually injured mid-playoffs, so he missed the final. But Mark Messier lifted the Cup in the end. The game has Moose as captain ahead of Gretzky anyway, I guess because of his strong leadership.
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