The 1979 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League, (NHL) began on April 10, after the conclusion of the 1978–79 NHL season. The playoffs concluded on May 21, with the three-time defending champion Montreal Canadiens defeating the New York Rangers 4–1 to win the final series four games to one for the Stanley Cup. Three Original Six teams made the semifinals, which would not happen again until the 2014 Conference Finals. Playoff seeds The twelve teams that qualified for the playoffs are ranked 1–12 based on regular season points. Note: Only teams that qualified for the playoffs are listed here. New York Islanders, Patrick Division champions, Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions – 116 points Montreal Canadiens, Norris Division champions, Prince of Wales Conference regular season champions – 115 points Boston Bruins, Adams Division champions – 100 points Philadelphia Flyers – 95 points New York Rangers – 91 points Atlanta Flames – 90 points Buffalo Sabres – 88 points Pittsburgh Penguins – 85 points Toronto Maple Leafs – 81 points Los Angeles Kings – 80 points Chicago Black Hawks, Smythe Division champions – 73 points Vancouver Canucks – 63 points Playoff bracket Division winners earned a bye to the Quarterfinals Teams were re-seeded based on regular season record after the Preliminary and Quarterfinal rounds Preliminary round (1) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (8) Vancouver Canucks This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. (2) New York Rangers vs. (7) Los Angeles Kings This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. (3) Atlanta Flames vs. (6) Toronto Maple Leafs This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. (4) Buffalo Sabres vs. (5) Pittsburgh Penguins This was the first playoff series meeting between these two teams. Quarterfinals (1) New York Islanders vs. (8) Chicago Black Hawks This was the second playoff series meeting between these two teams. New York won the only previous meeting in a two-game sweep in the 1977 Preliminary Round. (2) Montreal Canadiens vs. (7) Toronto Maple Leafs This was the fifteenth playoff meeting between these two teams; with the teams splitting the fourteen previous series. They met in previous year's Stanley Cup Semifinals, which Montreal won in a four-game sweep. These teams did not meet again in the playoffs until 2021. (3) Boston Bruins vs. (6) Pittsburgh Penguins This was the first playoff series meeting between these