Puck Talk

Puck Talk

To help set the mood for the return of the NHL Puck Talk looks back at some of his favorite Stanley Cup Playoff series from the late 80’s and early 90’s, an era between when most playoff games started to be televised nationally and the stifling, trapping game introduced by the Devils. This is the kind of hockey we want to see when they open for business again soon.

1987 Patrick Division Semi-Finals: Islanders-Capitals. This one is famous, of course, for Pat Lafontaine’s goal in the 4th overtime of Game 7 but it was a great series even before the epic finale. The Capitals had a 3-1 lead in the series behind Mike Gartner up front, Larry Murphy and Scott Stevens on defense and the surprise duo of Pete Peeters and Bob Mason in net. But the Isles would rally to win Games 5 & 6 and then, trailing late in Game 7, forced a winner-take-all OT on a goal from the ageless Brian Trottier. Washington dominated a lot of the extra sessions but couldn’t get anything past Isles keeper Kelly Hrudey setting the stage for Lafontaine’s turn-around slapper past Mason in the 4th OT to win the series.

1988 Wales Conference Finals: Bruins-Devils. The Devils needed overtime of their final regular season game to even get in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history but after wins over the Islanders and Capitals they came within a whisker of going all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Bruins, still flying high after finally beating the Canadiens in the Adams Division final, won Game 1 on a late winner from Ray Bourque. The Devils responded with a Game 2 win in the Garden on an OT goal from Doug Brown.
Game 3 was all Boston but the real fireworks were after the game when enraged Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld confronted ref Don Koharski in the tunnel, famously telling him to “have another donut, you fat pig!” The league suspended Schoenfeld for one game but the Devils got some kind of restraining order from the state of New Jersey to let him coach Game 4. That led to the referees pulling a wildcat strike and refusing to the do the game which forced the use of replacement refs instead. Under those bizarre circumstances, the Devils won 3-1 to even the series. The teams would split the next two games to set up a decisive Game 7 back in Boston. The Bruins looked to pull away in Game 7 with Reggie Lemelin robbing Pat Verbeek on a point-blank chance in the 1st and Ray Bourque jumping into an offensive faceoff and setting up Nifty Middleton to make it 3-0 B’s in the 2nd. But the Devils wouldn’t die and cut it to 3-2 in the 3rd before Craig Janney picked off an errant Ken Daneyko pass, faked Burke and buried a huge insurance goal. Two more late goals would ice it and the Bruins were off to the Finals.

1989 Smythe Division Semi-Finals: Flames-Canucks. An outstanding series from start to finish with an epic Game 7. The Flames had over 40 more points than Vancouver in the regular season but needed about a dozen ridiculous saves from Mike Vernon in OT against the likes of Petri Skriko, Stan Smyl and Tony Tanti, plus a fluke goal from Joel Otto, to sneak past the Canucks in Game 7 on the way to their only Stanley Cup championship.

1990 Adams Division Semi-Finals: Bruins-Whalers. The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the black and gold heading into the 3rd period in Hartford of Game 4 in their first round series in ‘90. Losing 5-2, trailing in the series two games to one, and with an injury to Ray Bourque, the Bruins were on the brink of an embarrassing upset at the hands of the Whale. Enter Dave Poulin. The ex-Flyer led the way as the Bruins scored 4 times in the 3rd to earn an improbable 6-5 comeback victory and even the series. The Bruins would go on to win Game 5 but Hartford responded in Game 6 to send it back to Boston for Game 7. There, Bourque’s return to the lineup was the inspiration, and goals from rookie John Byce and Cam Neely gave the Bruins a lead that Andy Moog would preserve as Boston survived on the way to their second finals appearance in three years.

1993 Norris Division Finals: Maple Leafs-Blues. A tremendous series that Toronto would eventually win an anti-climatic 6-0 demolition job in Game 7 that was nothing at all like the rest of the series. Game 1 was an all-time playoff classic. The Leafs threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Blues but Curtis Joseph absolutely stood on his head in the St. Louis goal making 60-something saves by the end of the night. Despite Cujo’s heroics, the Leafs would pull it out in double overtime after Doug Gilmour, who was virtually superhuman in the ’93 playoffs, scored an outrageous spinning wrap-around goal. The Blues bounced right back with OT win in Game 2 and it was back and forth from there until Toronto finally turned out the lights in Game 7.

1993 Campbell Conference Finals: Kings-Maple Leafs. The Leafs reward for beating the Blues in ’93 was a date with Wayne Gretzky and the upstart Kings. After splitting the first four games, Glen Anderson would win Game 5 for the Leafs in overtime to put them one game away from the Finals. In Game 6 Wendell Clark’s hat-trick nearly put the Kings away but Wayne Gretzky’s controversial OT winner (not the goal itself but that Wayne got away with a high-stick right before it) saved LA and sent the series back to Toronto for Game 7. And Game 7, of course, was vintage Wayne. He calls it his greatest game of all-time. I don’t rate it that high myself. Either way, Wayne got his hat-trick, Barry Melrose and his mullet got enough limelight to parlay a playoff run into a career on TV and the Kings got their first ever trip to the Finals.

1994 Western Conference Quarterfinals: Canucks-Flames. The Flames led 3 games to 1 before Vancouver came roaring back behind overtime goals in Game 5 from Geoff Courtnall and Game 6 from Trevor Linden. In Game 7, Canucks goalie Kirk McLean made the single most incredible save I think I’ve ever seen to rob Warren Reichel in overtime, a sprawling two-pad stack to kick the puck off the line at the last possible instant, and Pavel Bure scored on a breakaway to complete the comeback.

1994 Eastern Conference Finals: Rangers-Devils. I dislike the Rangers as much as anyone but it’s impossible to do this list without this series and the Finals from ’94. It was that good. The Rangers came into the series with the best record in the league but after a win in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden the Devils took a 3-2 series lead home with them for Game 6. Mark Messier guaranteed a win in Game 6 and, with his team down 2-1, backed it up with the tying goal, winning goal and an empty netter to lead the Rangers to a 4-2 win. The Rangers took a one-goal lead into the dying seconds of Game 7 but the immortal Valerie Zelapukin scored for Jersey to send it in OT. That set the stage for the equally immortal Stephane Matteau to win it for the Rangers in double OT with his bank shot off Brodeur.

1994 Stanley Cup Finals: Rangers-Canucks. To this day, still the most exciting Finals I’ve ever seen. Set against the backdrop of the Rangers seeking their first Cup since 1940 and the Canucks seeking their first Cup ever. Game 1 was almost all Rangers but the Canucks tied it on a fluky late goal to send it to OT. The OT was all Rangers but they couldn’t get anything past Kirk McLean, including a shot that Brian Leetch whistled off the crossbar. Vancouver went the other way with the puck after it caromed out and Greg Adams converted a 2 on 1 to give them a huge stolen win in Game 1.
New York bounced back though to take the next two games. Game 4 in Vancouver was another classic highlighted by Mike Richter’s stop of Pavel Bure’s penalty shot. With the game tied at 2-2 with five minutes to go Leetch went coast to coast to set up a goal for Alexi Kovalev that won it for NY and gave them a 3-1 series lead. Game 5 was one of the wildest games I’ve ever seen. With Rangers fans ready to go insane the Canucks silenced the crowd and took a 3-0 lead early in the 3rd. Then the Rangers rallied for 3 quick ones in about a ten minute span to tie it and send the place into a madhouse again. Less than thirty seconds later Vancouver went back in front 4-3. Courtnall made it 5-3. Bure made it 6-3. 8 goals in the third period all told. The Canucks won Game 6 in Vancouver too to force a Game 7 back in New York. In Game 7 the Rangers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals from Leetch and Adam Graves. Vancouver made it 2-1 on a great goal from Linden. Messier made it 3-1. Linden scored to make it 3-2 in the 3rd. The rest of the game was Vancouver chasing that tying goal. They threw plenty of heat at NY but Richter, with help from a post, held on and the Rangers, at long last, had their Stanley Cup.

Questions? Comments? Please send feedback to Michael James at feedback@barstoolsports.com