The Greatest Playoff Series of the Modern Era

[DrJones]

#9 - Penguins def. Capitals 4-3 (2009 East Semifinal)

Yeah, I know. Game 7 was a dud. Crosby vs Ovechkin is a very tired narrative by now. But this was awesome firewagon hockey, perhaps the peak of the "New NHL" era. Two generational talents in their absolute prime going head-to-head for the first and only time.









PS: Of all the series I've listed in this thread, this is the only one that I didn't see a single game of while it was actually going on. I was in Europe for the entire 2nd and 3rd rounds, and got back to Canada just in time for Games 6 & 7 of PIT/DET. But I watched every PIT/WSH (as well as CAR/BOS, ANA/DET, and (sigh) CHI/VAN) game in their entirety on the NHL Network during the summer.

[DrJones]

#8 - Rangers def. Canucks 4-3 (1994 Stanley Cup Final)

[SidVish]

I was waiting to see that one you just posted.

Great thread. This is bringing up all kinds of emotions both good and bad.

[DrJones]

#7 - Flames def. Oilers 4-3 (1986 Smythe Final)

The difference between hockey of the mid-80s and early 90s is striking. There's some definite LOL-worthy goaltending here (check out Fuhr allowing a combo Cloutier/Buckner goal in the first clip), but man, was there a lot of skill and hatred on display.

The Flames were the 2nd highest scoring team in the NHL with 354 goals. The Oilers scored 426. Yes, that's correct: Edmonton scored 72 more goals than any other team. BTW, the Blackhawks led the league with 267 goals this season.

I can't really find any highlight packages aside from complete games, so I'll let this guy explain things, LOL.









Unless you were watching hockey then, it's hard to explain how unbeatable the Oilers seemed back then (the 80s were not exactly a period of parity). The Flames were a consistent thorn in Edmonton's side (as Calgary could hang with them, whereas the Oilers pretty much annihilated all others). But even then, an act of God was required to beat them. And as it so happens...

The Oilers were first in the league with 119 points to the Flames' 89, so even reaching a Game 7 against the back-to-back champs was a major accomplishment. Calgary shockingly jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Edmonton tied the score and were carrying the play. 13-year-old me thought the Flames were toast. We pick up the action with 5 minutes gone in the 3rd period:



What would've happened if the greatest gaffe in hockey history didn't take place? Do the Oilers win 5 straight Stanley Cups, or would they let off the gas just a little, allowing the Flyers to beat them the following year? Would Patrick Roy become Patrick Roy (because those '86 Habs weren't beating the Oilers, trust me)? Would Pocklington have sold Gretzky to LA in the summer of '88 if the Oilers were going for a record 6th straight Cup?

[DrJones]

#6 - Red Wings def. Avalanche 4-3 (2002 West Final)

"We come to it at last, the great battle of our time." - Gandalf the White

The fifth and final clash of titans. Two Cups apiece. The Avs had won 3 of the first 4 playoff meetings, but couldn't get past Dallas in '99 or '00. Sakic, Forsberg, Roy, and Blake (plus youngsters Drury and Tanguay) gave Colorado an edge in star power against every team in the league. Every team but one, that is.

Here are the Red Wings' top 9 scorers during the 2001/02 season, in order:

Brendan Shanahan
Sergei Fedorov
Brett Hull
Nicklas Lidstrom
Luc Robitaille
Steve Yzerman
Igor Larionov
Chris Chelios
Pavel Datsyuk

Now read that again. Oh yeah, and Dominik Hasek was in goal.

Now a lot of these stars were at the tail end of their primes (or well past them). But still: Good Lord. This was the Heavyweight Title Fight to determine the champion of the Dead Puck Era. (Cue Devils fans sulking in the corner.)

The only thing that keeps this from the top spot is the Game 7 blowout and the general crappiness of the era. (Despite being stacked with all-time greats, nobody on either team scored 80 points in 01/02.)

But it was an epic nonetheless. Enjoy.















As always, thanks to Dan Cloutier for making all of this possible.

[Psyblast]

I can tell you in vivid detail where I was for every single game of that series.

This series is why I could pick Patrick Roy's wife out of a police lineup.

This series is why Selanne's goal for the Ducks in OT on LOLja's giveaway is only the second most heartbreaking Game 5 of my life, even with the Red Wings rebounding to win the final two.

The funny thing is, this wasn't supposed to be the final chapter of the rivalry. Nobody watching that series at the time, including the leadup to Game 7, was thinking, "this is it for this rivalry, winner takes all, the final round." The Red Wings replaced Hasek with CuJo, the Avalanche signed Selanne and Kariya a year later on the same day; I remember an old issue of The Hockey News with a cover talking about "the great arms race" between Detroit and Colorado.

But then Minnesota retired Patrick Roy in Game 7 OT, Giguere swept the Red Wings, Kariya and Selanne had absolutely miserable seasons for Colorado, Hasek decided to unretire and completely nuked the Red Wings' financial situation, along with the locker room, and by the time the two teams would meet again in the playoffs, everybody was gone save for fossilized versions of Sakic and Forsberg and Foote and a couple old relics on Detroit's side. The blood feud was over. The arms race ended with Patrick Roy being jeered off the JLA ice and sitting with a towel wrapped around his neck.



Btw, has anybody ever accomplished what Peter Forsberg accomplished in the 2002 playoffs? He missed the ENTIRE season, and then led the playoffs in scoring! While only playing three rounds!! I hated Forsberg as much as I hated Lemieux on those goddamn Colorado teams (for very different reasons, of course).

[Shakes]

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

#8 - Rangers def. Canucks 4-3 (1994 Stanley Cup Final)

I was wondering where on the list you were going to put this series as I kind of figured this one was going to be there. I always thought that this series was a bit overrated personally because I saw this in 87 (and because I just really hate the team that won). Kind of hard to say 1994 in this years finals.

I hated Lemieux on those goddamn NJ teams too Psy so I feel your pain.

[moose141]

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

#9 - Penguins def. Capitals 4-3 (2009 East Semifinal) Yeah, I know. Game 7 was a dud. Crosby vs Ovechkin is a very tired narrative by now. But this was awesome firewagon hockey, perhaps the peak of the "New NHL" era. Two generational talents in their absolute prime going head-to-head for the first and only time. PS: Of all the series I've listed in this thread, this is the only one that I didn't see a single game of while it was actually going on. I was in Europe for the entire 2nd and 3rd rounds, and got back to Canada just in time for Games 6 & 7 of PIT/DET. But I watched every PIT/WSH (as well as CAR/BOS, ANA/DET, and (sigh) CHI/VAN) game in their entirety on the NHL Network during the summer.

A little late to the party but as I went through each of these pages I was waiting to see if this series would make the cut. Unbelievable series, I know from watching it that there weren't a ton of scrums/bad blood but the quality of hockey and pace of the game in this series was fantastic. Not to mention the level that Crosby and Ovechkin were playing at in this series was unbelievable, trading hat tricks in Game 2 and both averaging nearly 2 points per for the series. Not to mention that aside from Game 7 basically every game was decided by a goal with a pair of the games going to overtime.

Doing a great job with all of these recaps, love seeing all of the series from the past! Awesome idea.