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Time of India
5 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Reliving the 25 most unforgettable Stanley Cup clinching moments in NHL history
Bobby Orr's airborne celebration (Credit: Le Studio du Hockey/Hockey Hall of Fame) Nothing in hockey compares to the sudden-death tension of a Cup-clinching overtime goal. The first ever came in 1933, when Bill Cook's OT winner gave the Rangers their first championship. Seven years later, Bryan Hextall's double-overtime dagger extended New York's glory. The 1950 Final saw Pete Babando become an unlikely hero. Scored in the second OT of Game 7 to crown Detroit, also modern eras have added to the lore, in 1996, Uwe Krupp's triple-overtime goal ended the longest Cup-clinching game in history. Patrick Kane's sneaky 2010 winner left even his teammates confused before celebrations erupted. Alec Martinez's 2014 rebound in double OT cemented the Kings' dynasty. These moments didn't just win championships; they became immortal. Goaltenders who stole the show when it mattered most Great goalies define legacies in Game 7s and elimination nights. Rookie Ken Dryden's 1971 Conn Smythe performance stunned Chicago, proving Montreal's faith in him was justified. Patrick Roy's 63-save masterpiece in 1996; a triple-OT shutout; showcased his clutch gene. Tim Thomas' 2011 shutout in Vancouver was a masterclass, stopping 37 shots to silence a hostile crowd. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Keep Your Home Efficient with This Plug-In elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Learn More Undo Rookie Jordan Binnington's 2019 Game 7 brilliance ended St. Louis' 52-year drought, outdueling Boston's veterans. Even backups left marks; Cam Ward's 2006 Cinderella run earned him playoff MVP as Carolina triumphed. When the pressure peaked, these netminders delivered. NHL Unforgettable Moments Unexpected heroes who rose to the occasion The Stanley Cup has a way of turning role players into legends. In 2003, fourth-liner Mike Rupp scored his first playoff goal; the Cup winner; in New Jersey's Game 7 shutout. Ruslan Fedotenko, a quiet contributor, netted both goals in Tampa's tense 2004 clincher. Max Talbot, known for grit, scored both in Pittsburgh's 2009 Game 7 upset over Detroit. Lanny McDonald's 1989 storybook ending; a goal in his final game; etched his name in Flames lore. Bobby Nystrom, a checking-line forward, became an Islanders icon with his 1980 OT winner. These moments prove championships aren't just won by stars, but by those who seize their chance. From early pioneers like Cook and Hextall to modern icons like Kane and Binnington. These moments transcend eras, and they capture desperation, skill, and sheer will. Henri Richard's 1971 Game 7 rally, Bobby Orr's airborne celebration. And Jonathan Toews feeding Bryan Bickell for Chicago's 17-second comeback in 2013. Read more: Florida Man energy meets Canadian pride as Stanley Cup final becomes a battleground beyond the rink The Cup isn't just won; it's etched into history by those who refuse to let the moment overwhelm them. Whether through a goalie's brilliance, an underdog's grit, or a disputed call, these 25 snapshots remind us why hockey's ultimate prize carries such weight. Decades from now, new names will join this list; but the magic of a Cup-clinching moment will never fade.
Boston Globe
05-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Remembering memorable Boston-New York playoff battles
Ahead of Monday's Game 1, let's look at some of the most memorable playoff battles between Boston and New York across the four major professional sports leagues over the years. 1972 Stanley Cup Finals Before the advent of the Eastern and Western Conferences, the Bruins and Rangers met in the Stanley Cup Finals twice. The 1972 matchup was the final time the two Original Six franchises met to play for Lord Stanley, with the Bruins winning in six games thanks to their dramatic wins in Games 1 and 4. In the clinching Game 6 win, Bobby Orr scored the first goal while Gary Cheevers blanked the Rangers for a 3-0 victory. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Bobby Orr and Jean Ratelle got to hold the Stanley Cup before the 1972 matchup between the Bruins and Rangers. ASSOCIATED PRESS/Associated Press Advertisement 1973 and 1974 NBA Eastern Conference finals The Celtics and Knicks battled it out for the Eastern Conference crown in back-to-back seasons in the early-to-mid 1970s. In 1973, New York took a 3-1 series lead before Boston won two straight games to force a Game 7 at Boston Garden. But the Knicks picked up a decisive 94-78 win, handing the Celtics their first ever Game 7 loss. A year later, the Celtics got their revenge by finishing the Knicks in five games. John Havlicek put up 30-plus point performances in the final two games of the series, helping Boston advance to the NBA Finals. Advertisement 1984 NBA Eastern Conference semifinals Thanks to Bernard King, the Knicks pushed the Celtics' and Larry Bird to seven games in 1984. King scored 44 points in Game 6, outdueling Larry Legend's 35-point performance to force a Game 7. But, Bird showed up in the series' deciding game, putting up a 39-point triple-double to help the Celtics win, 121-104, en route to their second title of the Bird era. 1986 World Series Of course, the Fall Classic between the Red Sox and Mets is remembered for what happened in Game 6. After taking a 5-3 lead in the top of the 10th inning, Boston was an out away from winning its first World Series title in 68 years. But, New York recorded three straight hits before Bob Stanley threw a wild pitch that allowed the Mets to tie the game at five. In the same at-bat that he saw the wild pitch, Mookie Wilson hit a groundball to first that between the legs of Bill Buckner and allowed Ray Knight to score from second base to win the game. The New York Mets won Game 6 of the 1986 World Series when Bill Buckner was unable to field a grounder. STAN GROSSFELD In Game 7, the Red Sox took a 3-0 lead in the second inning before the Mets evened the score in he sixth. Knight's homer in the seventh helped the Mets take a 6-3 lead in the seventh as they added a couple more runs in the eighth to hold off the Red Sox' rally and win Game 7, 8-5. 1999 ALCS The first Red Sox-Yankees postseason battle didn't feature the dramatics of their other playoff matchups. As New York was in the midst of its dynasty run (four World Series wins in five years), the Yankees were able to take down the Red Sox in five games. Advertisement Game 3, though, featured a pitching duel between two of the generation's top aces, with Roger Clemens taking the bump for the Yankees and Pedro Martinez on the mound for the Red Sox. Martinez pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 12 hitters. Clemens's first postseason start at Fenway since leaving the Red Sox, meanwhile, went south pretty quickly. He only pitched two-plus innings, getting pulled in the third as he allowed five runs. As the Red Sox won Game 3 13-1, the Fenway Faithful began a chant of 'Where is Roger?' that was followed by 'In the shower.' Red Sox fans heckled Roger Clemens as he departed Game 3 of the 1999 ALCS early, but the Yankees got the last laugh. Globe Staff Photo 2003 ALCS Four years after their first playoff battle, the Red Sox and Yankees met again for the AL pennant in 2003. This time, there was plenty of drama. With the series tied 1-1 in Game 3, Martinez and Clemens went head-to-head in another highly anticipated matchup at Fenway. The rivalry heated up when Martinez plunked Karim Garcia with a pitch, with words being exchanged between the two while Martinez also stared down Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. In the next inning, Manny Ramirez thought Clemens tried to hit him with a pitch high and inside, strolling toward the mound. As the benches cleared, Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer made his way over to Martinez, who tossed the 72-year-old to the ground. The Yankees went on to win Game 3, but the Red Sox were able to even the series in Game 6 to force a Game 7. It appeared that the Red Sox were set to go back to the World Series for the first time in 17 years, taking a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning as they chased Clemens out of the game early on. Advertisement Martinez remained on the mound, giving up a string of hits as his pitch total went over 100, allowing the Yankees to tie the game. A few innings after Grady Little's controversial decision to leave Martinez on the mound, Aaron Boone hit a walk-off home run off Tim Wakefield in the 11th to send the Yankees to the World Series. 2004 ALCS Somehow, the ALCS sequel between the Red Sox and Yankees outdid the original. You likely know the story by now, but in case you forgot, New York took a 3-0 series lead after its 19-8 win in Game 3. Trailing 4-3 in Game 4, Kevin Millar drew a four-pitch walk from Mariano Rivera. Dave Roberts pinch ran for him, stealing second before scoring on Bill Mueller's base hit to tie the game. David Ortiz hit a walk-off home run in the 12th to keep the Red Sox' hopes alive. Ortiz played hero again in Game 5, hitting a home run in the eighth that cut the Yankees' lead to 4-3 before hitting a walk-off single in the 14th in a marathon of a game. Game 6 featured Mark Bellhorn's three-run homer and Alex Rodriguez's glove slap of Bronson Arroyo, with Boston winning that one, 4-2. Game 7 wasn't anywhere near as dramatic, with Ortiz and Johnny Damon hitting home runs in the early innings that gave the Red Sox an 8-1 lead before winning, 10-3. The Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to comeback from a 3-0 deficit and win a series when they defeated the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS. Davis, Jim Globe Staff Super Bowl XLII After the Red Sox delivered the Yankees arguably the most painful loss in postseason history, the Giants gave the Patriots a similar defeat a few years later. On the precipice of history, New England was only 2:45 away from becoming the first team in NFL history to go 19-0 after Tom Brady threw a touchdown pass to Randy Moss that gave the Patriots a 14-10 lead in Super Bowl XLII. Advertisement It appeared that the Patriots' defense had one more stop in them. But after Asante Samuel's dropped interception, Eli Manning somehow avoided a sack and threw a deep ball that was caught by Giants wide receiver David Tyree, who stuck the ball to his helmet for a 32-yard reception. The 'Helmet Catch' got New York into New England territory, but the Giants also converted a third-and-11 three plays later before Manning threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress to take a 17-14 lead with 35 seconds remaining. Brady tried a couple of Hail Mary attempts on the ensuing possession, but the Patriots weren't able to come up with their version of the 'Helmet Catch,' allowing the Giants to pull off one of the biggest upsets in NFL history. 2010 AFC Divisional Round In the heat of the Patriots-Jets rivalry, Rex Ryan was able to lead Gang Green into Foxborough and upset New England just a month after losing a game to its AFC East foe 45-3. The Jets' defense made life difficult for Brady, snapping his months-long streak of not throwing an interception early on. The Patriots were able to keep the game relatively close through most of it, but Shonn Greene's 16-yard touchdown run with just under two minutes remaining essentially served as the knockout blow as the Jets took a 28-14 lead. After their 28-21 win, Jets linebacker Bart Scott gave a memorable interview to ESPN, leading Jets fans to remember their team's upset win over the Patriots as the 'Can't Wait' game. Advertisement Super Bowl XLVI The Giants' second Super Bowl win over the Patriots was eerily similar to their first championship win over New England. Following Wes Welker's critical drop with four minutes left, the Giants got another miraculous grab when they had the ball while trailing in the game's final minutes. Mario Manningham was somehow able to keep his feet inbounds to come up with a 38-yard reception to move the Giants to midfield with just over 3:30 remaining while trailing 17-15. As New York reached the red zone, New England allowed Ahmad Bradshaw to rush for a six-yard touchdown that gave the Giants a 21-17 lead with 59 seconds left. Brady nearly connected with Rob Gronkowski on a Hail Mary on the game's final play. 2018 ALDS Meeting in the ALDS for the first time, the Red Sox and Yankees split the first two games at Fenway, setting the stage for a pivotal Game 3. But, the Red Sox quickly put the Yankees away in a historic defeat, beating their rival 16-1 as they recorded 18 hits. Brock Holt became the first player in postseason history to have ever hit for the cycle in that game. Brock Holt became the first player in MLB postseason history to hit for the cycle when he did so in Game 3 of the 2018 ALDS. Jim Davis In Game 4, it appeared the Red Sox were set to comfortably clinch their ticket to the ALCS. Chris Sale pitched a scoreless eighth, but Craig Kimbrel was shaky as Boston held a 4-1 lead entering the ninth. The closer loaded the bases, hitting a batter that allowed a run to score, while Gary Sanchez's fly ball to left seemed like it was going into the bleachers off the bat. But it fell short of the fence, resulting in a sac fly before Kimbrel was able to induce a ground out to win the game and series. 2021 AL Wild Card Game While the Red Sox and Yankees met for Game 163 in the 1978 season, that game didn't count as a playoff matchup. So, the 2021 AL Wild Card Game was the first time the two teams faced off in a one-game playoff. Xander Bogaerts and Kyle Schwarber's early home runs chased Gerrit Cole out of the game in the third inning. The Red Sox needed some defensive help, though. Holding a 3-1 lead in the sixth, they were able to execute a perfect relay off Giancarlo Stanton's double to throw Aaron Judge out at home, proving to be a pivotal play in
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
With junior season over, could Flames top prospect Zayne Parekh be on his way to Calgary soon?
The Saginaw Spirit are out of the playoffs. And like clockwork, the speculation has begun about how soon Zayne Parekh might arrive in Calgary to join the Flames. The 19-year-old defenceman, selected ninth overall in last year's NHL Draft by the Flames, saw his OHL season end on Saturday night when the Spirit allowed four third period goals to the Erie Otters, who eliminated them in five games. About an hour before the end of the game, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman stoked the fires when he said he believes the Flames had a plan in place to bring their star blueline prospect to Calgary if the Spirit were eliminated. The most intriguing prospect in the Flames pipeline, Parekh is coming off a spectacular season in the OHL – the Herald's Wes Gilbertson's lengthy profile of Parekh was published Friday and can be read here. After winning the CHL's Defenceman of the Year award in 2023-24, his draft year, he did even more this past season, recording 33 goals and 74 assists in the regular season and becoming the first defenceman since Bobby Orr – yes, that Bobby Orr – to record 30 goals in two consecutive seasons on the Ontario major-junior circuit. Parekh signed an entry-level deal with the Flames in the fall so could join the team at any time now that the Spirit have been eliminated. While he didn't light the world on fire during training camp, the organization is high on his potential and his puck-moving, high-tempo style could help a Flames group that has struggled to score. daustin@
Boston Globe
21-02-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Passion, skill, hate (on the ice) as Team USA plays Canada for 4 Nations Face-Off title at TD Garden
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up It was the second time in six days the North American puck superpowers faced off, following Team USA's emotionally-spiked 3-1 win Saturday night in Montreal. Advertisement The Yanks opened play at Bell Centre by initiating three fights in the opening nine seconds, which in itself was enough to make the Garden a double-runnered cauldron of hard feelings and national pride for the rematch. USA fans, one or two no doubt carrying signs mostly saying, 'Hooray for our side', had to wonder if blood would be spilled again in the old West End. Hockey fans forever will have that primal thirst for a cocktail of round-house rights with shots on net. Two hours prior to puck drop, boisterous chants of 'USA!, USA! USA!' erupted around the Bobby Orr statue outside TD Garden, loud enough at times to echo all the way to Parry Sound, Ontario. Fans decked out in Canada and USA sweaters and caps streamed in and out of North Station and shimmied cheek-to-jowl the aisles of the jampacked Bruins Pro Shop. At least a half-dozen of the proud USA fans in the crush of humanity rocked their 'Eruzione 21″ red, white, and blue sweaters. It was a night of national pride and long memories. US captain Mike Eruzione and his band of ragtag Olympic brothers dismissed the mighty Soviet Union, 4-3, at Lake Placid, Feb. 22, 1980. Forty-five years later, the luster still shines on that eventual gold medal. Advertisement There also was a simmering subtext to the 4 Nations Face-Off final because of the, shall we say, quirky politics that have existed for weeks now ever since President Trump began expressing his yearning to make Canada part of the United States. POTUS has been clear he'd like to expand America's 'Original 50″ brand, be it by adding Canada or Greenland or … Trump grew up in Queens. Must have inherited the hockey gene from the Broadway Blueshirts. President Trump chose not to take up Team USA's offer to attend the final, but the Bench Boss in Chief did jump on the blower and offered the stick-carrying troops best wishes in the fight against America's mortal hockey enemy to the north. 'I don't know if it gives us that much of a boost — we were pretty jacked up anyway,' noted the Blue Jacket's Zach Werenski, the defenseman from Grosse Pointe, Mich. 'I think it's just one of those things, you'll look back on it and you got a call from the president of the United States — a cool moment, for sure.' The erudite Jon Cooper, coach of Team Canada, politely downplayed what role, if any, politics might have played in the USA-Canada grudge match Part Deux. 'Other than the fact … the talk of [Canada] becoming the 51st state,' mused Cooper with subtle sarcasm, 'and someone saying, 'Wow, we'd have one helluva hockey team.' ' Advertisement Team America entered the night without Charlie McAvoy on their blue line. McAvoy, the Bruins' No. 1 defenseman, earlier Thursday checked out of Mass. General Hospital, some 72 hours after he was admitted because of severe shoulder pain. McAvoy, 27, could miss substantial playing time with the Bruins as he recovers from a collarbone/shoulder injury, and an accompanying infection. The Bruins resume league play Saturday with the Ducks in town. Mike Sullivan, the Team USA coach who is also McAvoy's father-in-law, reported late in the morning that his son-in-law's health is on the uptick. 'Charlie's doing very well,' noted Sullivan, the ex-Bruins bench boss and two-time Stanley Cup winner as the Penguins coach. 'He's progressing very well. He's obviously disappointed … but he's doing extremely well.' Before leaving the Garden following Team USA's late-morning workout, Sullivan said he was uncertain if McAvoy would be in the building for the final. Cooper tweaked Canada's lineup slightly, subbing in Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis for the Flyers' Travis Konecny Jarvis was jacked, not only because of his chance to play for the title, but also because a car full of his longtime pals from Winnipeg, Manitoba, made the 30-your drive (1,850 miles) to watch their bud play for Canada. Who was left to tend their backyard rink? 'These are the guys I've played hockey with since I was 7 years old,' said Jarvis, his smile that of at least an 8-year-old. 'They're basically family. Shows how crazy Canadians are, I guess.' Cooper, apprised of the traveling Manitobans about to tool down Causeway, smiled and shook his head in admiration. 'Proud to be of the same heritage as those guys,' said Cooper, his name twice on the Cup from his tenure behind the Lightning bench. 'Because we have the same passion. And it shows how much this sport and these players, how much it means to them. Wow … it's one thing [to make that drive] in June, but … February … that's a tough one.' Advertisement 4 Nations is in the books. The best-on-best tournament played well, the overall skill and speed of play mesmerizing. The players seamlessly ducked out of the NHL's grueling 82-game schedule without a blink, and fulfilled their No. 1 promise: put on a show to remember. 'We're here to celebrate the sport,' said Cooper. " For me, we are here to celebrate a game and, if after this game, all the little girls out there and all the little boys out there are inspired by the players in this game and how they complete … if after watching tonight they go and become hockey players, that's the real win. Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at
