It was contested by the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers, making their third consecutive finals appearance, and the Montreal Canadiens.
The Canadiens swept the series to win their 19th Stanley Cup in franchise history, denying the Flyers a three-peat.
Montreal defeated the Chicago Black Hawks 4–0 and the New York Islanders 4–1 to advance to the final.
Reggie Leach scored four goals in the Finals, and nineteen times in total in the playoffs to win the Conn Smythe Trophy even though the Flyers lost the Cup to the Canadiens.
His accomplishment followed Roger Crozier (Detroit Red Wings, in 1966) and Glenn Hall (St. Louis Blues, 1968) and preceded Ron Hextall (Philadelphia, 1987), Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 2003) and Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers, 2024).