The Greatest Playoff Series of the Modern Era

[DrJones]

By "modern era", I mean from Gretzky's rookie year (1979/80) to now. I started watching the NHL in the 1980/81 season, so close enough. I'm judging series by the following:

- quality of games
- quality of teams
- stakes
- drama
- bad blood
- my personal whim

This is gonna be a top 40 list: 30 honourable mentions (my list, so Canadian spelling applies) listed in chronological order followed by a top 10. Hopefully I can finish this before Game 1 starts on Wednesday. Comments are welcome!

[DrJones]

Honourable Mentions #1-5

Kings def. Oilers 3-2 (1982 Smythe Semifinal)

By point differential (111 to 63!), this is the biggest upset ever, though I don't consider it the greatest ever because of the Oilers' youth and inexperience. I'm sure most of you know of the Miracle on Manchester (LA scoring 5 in the 3rd and then winning in OT, still the greatest single-game comeback in NHL history), but you may not remember that the Kings' other two wins were by 10-8 and 7-4 scores, because 80s!



Yes, Kings fans, Bob Miller's been around for awhile.

Islanders def. Rangers 3-2 (1984 Patrick Semifinal)

The climax of the Islanders/Rangers rivalry. NYR coach Herb Brooks looking for another Miracle: ending the Islanders' "Drive for Five". The Rangers scored a controversial goal with under a minute to go in the decisive Game 5 (first-round series weren't best-of-7 until 1987), and OT would decide all. Take it away, Bob Cole and Dick Irvin Jr...



Oilers def. Flames 4-3 (1984 Smythe Final)

Get used to this matchup. The late, great Don Wittman with the PBP.



Nordiques def. Canadiens 4-3 (1985 Adams Final)

Perhaps the most bitter rivalry in NHL history. Big city vs small city, tradition vs underdogs, federalists vs separatists, you name it. Two teams and fanbases who absolutely despised each other. Any MTL/QUE series from '82, '84 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday_Massacre), '87, or even '93 could easily claim a spot on this list, but I'm a sucker for Game 7 OT and Stastnys.



Islanders def. Capitals 4-3 (1987 Patrick Final)

The Easter Epic. Back in the day when Ron MacLean and Don Cherry were young(ish) and 3-1 comebacks and multi-OT games were rare.

[ImTellinTim]

[DrJones]

Just for fun, here's footage of the aforementioned Good Friday Massacre from 1984. A benches-clearing-brawl at the end of the second period and another one at the beginning of the third. All this while the score was 1-0 in Game 6!!



Try to imagine what Twitter (or these boards) would be like if something like this happened today. And while you watch this, remember there was no instigator penalty back then, so nobody got hurt and no stars ever got targeted, right Grapes?

EDIT: Make sure you watch to the end for the best PA reciting of penalties ever. Amazing!

[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.

Kings def. Oilers 4-3 (1989 Smythe Semifinal)

Gretzky vs Edmonton in his first and most memorable playoff showdown with his old team. Game 7 of EDM/LA came on shortly after the devastating finale of the Canucks/Flames series (yes, I was wearing a Stan Smyl jersey as he went in on his breakaway against Vernon), so I watched most of this through a red haze of blood and hatred.



Bruins def. Whalers 4-3 (1990 Adams Semifinal)

BRASS BONANZA FOREVER.



Bruins def. Canadiens 4-3 (1991 Adams Final)

The finest of the many Bourque/Neely Bruins vs Roy Habs matchups. Some fun stuff here.



Canadiens def. Whalers 4-3 (1992 Adams Semifinal)

The Last Stand of the Hartford Whalers. Oh, Yvon Corriveau...

[slickdtc]

Legendary.

[BlueNGold]

Watching the Bruins miss all those empty net chances in that '91 series vs Montreal was strangely entertaining.

[DrJones]

Honourable Mentions #11-15

Devils def. Sabres 4-3 (1994 East Quarterfinal)

A strange choice, as this series was pretty much the Big Bang of the Dead Puck Era. But I was fascinated with this goaltending duel. The first and only playoff meeting between Hasek and Brodeur. Marty won the war, but had a much bigger army (NJ outshot BUF 151-88 over Games 5-7). As a bonus: Rock 'Em Sock 'Em "commentary"!



Canucks def. Flames 4-3 (1994 West Quarterfinal)

My happiest hockey moment ever. Still the only time a team has trailed a series 3-1 and won Games 5, 6, and 7 in OT.



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.



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.

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.