The Montréal Canadiens won the 1984-85 NHL Adams division race on 94 points, 3 points ahead of the Quebec Nordiques. It came down to the final days: the Montréal Canadiens did not lead for good until April 4, 1985.
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Adams standings, 1984-85
Team
W
L
T
PTS
L10
Streak
Montréal Canadiens (MTL)
41
27
12
94
7-2-1
W1
Quebec Nordiques (QUE)
41
30
9
91
6-4-0
W1
Buffalo Sabres (BUF)
38
28
14
90
6-4-0
L1
Boston Bruins (BOS)
36
34
10
82
4-4-2
W1
Hartford Whalers (HFD)
30
41
9
69
7-3-0
L1
Final standings.
Turning points
The lead changed hands 16 times.
The Montréal Canadiens trailed by as many as 2 points on October 11, 1984.
The Montréal Canadiens took first place for good on April 4, 1985.
The Buffalo Sabres won 7 games in a row from December 23, 1984 to January 5, 1985, the longest run of the race.
The Hartford Whalers led by 2 points as late as October 28, 1984.
The Montréal Canadiens led by as many as 11 points on December 27, 1984.
The Montréal Canadiens went 11-4-3 from October 28, 1984 to December 6, 1984, turning a deficit of 2 points into a lead of 9 points.
The top two ended the day within two points of each other on 85 of the 148 days played.
The Montréal Canadiens spent 138 of the season's 179 charted days in first place.