The Greatest Playoff Series of the Modern Era

[DrJones]

10 Series that Just Missed the Cut

Canadiens def. Whalers 4-3 (1986 Adams Final)
Capitals def. Flyers 4-3 (1988 Patrick Semifinal)
Flames def. Canadiens 4-2 (1989 Stanley Cup Final)
Penguins def. Rangers 4-2 (1992 Patrick Final)
Maple Leafs def. Red Wings 4-3 (1993 Norris Semifinal)
Devils def. Flyers 4-3 (2000 East Final)
Oilers def. Red Wings 4-2 (2006 West Quarterfinal)
Canadiens def. Capitals 4-3 (2010 East Quarterfinal)
Bruins def. Lightning 4-3 (2011 East Final)
Blackhawks def. Red Wings 4-3 (2013 West Semifinal)

[DrJones]

Greatest Five-Game Series

Canadiens def. Kings 4-1 (1993 Stanley Cup Final)

It would kinda have to be this one. 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup. Hockey's greatest player vs hockey's most successful team. 11:45 for the drama.

[Shakes]

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

Honourable Mentions #6-10 Oilers def. Flyers 4-3 (1987 Stanley Cup Final) Cup Finals tended to be squashes back in the day (especially when the Oilers were involved), but the '87 Flyers, led by a rookie bearded goalie with anger management issues, were no jobbers. Philly had come-from-behind wins in Games 5 and 6 and actually led Game 7 after the first period before succumbing to the inevitable. Make sure you watch the final few seconds of Game 6 (about 9:00 in), where a roaming Hextall nearly makes the mother of all goalie blunders. NOTE: The 1987 Flyers hold the record of most playoff games played in a single season (26). The 2014 Kings and Rangers can both beat that record.

They also had a comeback victory in Game 3 where they were down 3-0 in the 2nd period at the Spectrum. I hope this is one heck of a list for the Top 10 because to me this was the greatest Final series ever to be played. Here's another cool fact. On the very last shift of Game 6. The Oilers had pulled there goalie, Grant Fuhr. 5 of the 6 players on that last shift are in the Hall of Fame (McSorley the odd man out).

[DrJones]

Greatest Four-Game Series

Sabres def. Bruins 4-0 (1993 Adams Semifinal)

One of the more underrated upsets in NHL history (Bruins were 2nd in the league with 109 points; Sabres had 86). 3 of the 4 games went to OT. Game 4 was a back-and-forth nailbiter that was 5-5 after 60 minutes. Buffalo was in the midst of losing Super Bowls. The Sabres hadn't won a playoff series in 10 years. The call.



PS: I had completely forgotten that Fuhr had been yanked and Hasek was the winning goalie in this game.

PPS: Man, for one of the top 5 defencemen of all time, Bourque sure got owned on memorable goals a lot.

[DrJones]

Quote: Originally Posted by Shakes

They also had a comeback victory in Game 3 where they were down 3-0 in the 2nd period at the Spectrum. I hope this is one heck of a list for the Top 10 because to me this was the greatest Final series ever to be played. Here's another cool fact. On the very last shift of Game 6. The Oilers had pulled there goalie, Grant Fuhr. 5 of the 6 players on that last shift are in the Hall of Fame (McSorley the odd man out).

This series was my hardest cut and could have justifiably been in the top 5.

[Psyblast]

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

Sharks def. Red Wings 4-3 (1994 West Quarterfinal) Wings fans must've scrubbed YouTube pretty good, as I could barely find any decent highlights. Just a stunning upset at the time. (And yes, this game was going on concurrently with G7 Flames/Canucks above.) Better look away, Psyblast.

This game jaded me against Chris Osgood forever. Seriously. This is one of my faintest, earliest memories of sports, and I never truly forgave Osgood for that loss.

Quote:

Red Wings def. Blues 4-3 (1996 West Semifinal) It's safe to look again, Psyblast. BTW, if the Blues had won here, it would've been the largest upset by point differential (131 to 80!!!) in league history.

Funny story: I was sent to bed during Game 7. It was a "school night"; didn't matter that it was Game 7 in freaking OT.

About 30 seconds after I laid down in bed, I heard screaming from the living room and ran out in time to see Steve Yzerman vanish beneath a pile of red and white sweaters in the corner. Poor Jon Casey.

Quote:

Avalanche def. Red Wings 4-2 (1996 West Final) One of the rare 6-game series on this list. Kinda important in the grand scheme of things. Colorado finished 2nd overall in the NHL standings with 104 points -- 27 points behind Detroit. PS: Sorry, Psyblast.

The first chapter of an epic tale; the prelude/introduction of course being the Red Wings' firebombing of Roy in Montreal that sent him to Denver that same season. This would've been a run-of-the-mill (albeit crushing) defeat, until Mr. Son of a Bitch decided to scramble Kris Draper's face in Game 6. A level of scumbaggery and villainy even the 2007-2009ish Ducks couldn't match (although they tried). One of my favorite books was written by a Denver columnist about the Red Wings/Avalanche rivalry, that began in the final game of that series.

[kehlis]

This is fantastic stuff.

Thanks DrJ.

[DrJones]

Honourable Mentions #16-20

Red Wings def. Avalanche 4-2 (1997 West Final)

Turnabout is fair play. Plus some Gary Thorne for your listening pleasure.



Stars def. Avalanche 4-3 (2000 West Final)

Slightly preferred this series to Stars/Avs I the previous year. If Bourque's shot with 13 seconds left had gone in, this might've made the top 10.



Penguins def. Sabres 4-3 (2001 East Semifinal)

Le Magnifique vs The Dominator? Last 3 games go to OT? Unlikeliest Game 7 OT hero in history? Sign me up!



Avalanche def. Devils 4-3 (2001 Stanley Cup Final)

Excellent storylines (top 2 teams in league, Brodeur vs Roy, Bourque's first Cup, Avs dethrone champs without Forsberg, etc.), but this one is a little overrated IMO. Quality of play wasn't the greatest. Marty had a real chance to grab the GOAT hammer here, but was significantly outplayed by Roy.



Hurricanes def. Sabres 4-3 (2006 East Final)

And now we jump ahead 5 years, although it seems like 50, considering how different the lay of the land was post-lockout. Nobody ever brings up this one when it comes to memorable series, but it's the freaking Buffalo Sabres vs the former Hartford Whalers for the opportunity to be the heavy favourite for the Stanley Cup! We were one period away (it was 2-1 BUF after 2 in G7) from a Buffalo vs Edmonton Final!!!





A couple things about this series:

1. Buffalo had, what, two, maybe three healthy D-men by the end of this series? Brutal injury luck.

2. There was an overwhelming media narrative at the time (and lasted through at least 2008) that Chris Drury was the clutchiest clutch clutcher who ever clutched ("He won a Little League World Series!!1!") and was far more valuable than Daniel Briere, who didn't have Drury's "intangibles". Think about that for a second.