JACKSONVILLE, Fla – I love history.
That does not come as a big surprise to those that know me. I’ve always been a history nut. I love studying the history of US Presidents, primarily those before World War I. Sports history is also one of my passions. You should see the old VHS tapes that I bought from the NFL about football in the 50’s and 60’s. No matter. The availability of old hockey videos and DVDs are not that great. So, here is something that I would hope that the NHL Network would do during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, rather than showing unless the next day replay of the Blues and Red Wings.
Replay some of the classic games in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Here are five suggestions for games. In their way, they are memorable moments from the history of the Stanley Cup.
1. Game 6 of the 1964 Stanley Cup Finals. Toronto Maple Leafs @ Detroit Red Wings. April 23, 1964. Toronto faced elimination in this game and found themselves in overtime. Bob Baun, who had left the game earlier after taking a Gordie Howe slapshot to the ankle. Baun returned and scored the winning goal to give the Maple Leafs a 4-3 win. Toronto would win the cup two nights later at home.
2. Game 4 of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals. St. Louis Blues @ Boston Bruins. May 10, 1970. Normally it would sound strange to include the final game of a Stanley Cup Finals series sweep but this game is known for the classic picture of Bobby Orr scoring the winning goal in overtime on Glenn Hall and then flying through the air.
3. Game 6 of the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals. Philadelphia Flyers @ New York Islanders. May 24, 1980. Bobby Nystrom’s overtime goal gives the New York Islanders their first Stanley Cup Championship. This game appeared on CBS television mainly due to the US Olympic hockey team goal medal three months earlier. However, this was a one shot deal and the NHL would not reappear on one of the major US TV networks for almost a decade.
4. Game 3 of the 1982 Stanley Cup First Round series. Edmonton Oilers @ Los Angeles Kings April 10, 1982. The only non-finals game on my list and for good reason. Heading into the third period, Edmonton lead Los Angeles 5-0. In the game also known as the “Miracle on Manchester”, L.A. comes back to score 5 times in the third period to send the game to overtime, with Darrell Evans scoring the game winner 2:35 in. L.A. would end up winning the series 3-2 but lost in the next round to Vancouver.
5. Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals. Vancouver Canucks @ New York Rangers. June 14, 1994. I know, you might be surprised that I didn’t pick either game six or game seven of the Rangers Eastern Conference finals series against New Jersey, picking either Mark Messier’s guarantee victory game or Stephane Matteau’s double-overtime goal in game seven. Include them in the list of the next five. Game seven of the 1994 finals was only the second game seven in the finals since 1971 (the other one being 1987) and the first Stanley Cup title for the Rangers since 1940.
I’m sure that you might have disagreements with some of the selections and can suggest others. That is what will make the viewing so great. There are so many to choose from.
Contact Kenneth.Holdren@prohockeynews.com
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