2011 NHL Postseason: The four greatest play-off series in National Hockey League History – Part 1
The National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs are all about making history and performing to the limits which in the end are inducted into the hall of fame and history books. Players who perform top-class in the post-season are the ones who are the most remembered
in comparison to those who lag behind.
Performing in a play-off series is extremely difficult due to the level of pressure one has to face and how high the stakes are for the team. Teams depend on making it deep into the play-offs to survive in the league and make themselves known all around
the world.
The play-off conference finals have just begun, but it does not mean that history has not yet been created. San Jose and Detroit had one of the most thrilling series in the whole post-season which will surely be remembered. It was for the first time that
two teams played a series and six consecutive games were decided by only a goals difference, game seven could have also been the same but an empty netter by San Jose in the final period changed it.
Remembering some of the greatest series in NHL play-off history, it will be a good way to reminisce on the past series which made hockey what it is today.
1950 Stanley Cup Finals (Detroit Red Wings vs. New York Rangers)
No doubt, Detroit is probably the team which has the most history associated with it when we talk about the post-season. Making their consecutive 20th entry in the play-offs, Detroit has proved that all that experience and heritage really pays
off in the end.
It was in the 1950 Stanley Cup finals that really put on a show between the Red Wings and Rangers. The oldest and one of the most memorable finals were also one of the most mysterious. Throughout the whole series, there was no clear winner even though Detroit
was the top seed in the entire league. The Red Wings were without their superstar player, the legendary Gordie Howe who was out due to an injury.
The Rangers could not play at home because Madison Square Garden was hosting a circus at that time and thus, they had to play in Toronto for game two and three. New York came back to win 4-3 in over-time in game four after being shut-out 4-0 in game three
as the series was levelled 2-2. They won again in game five, over-time putting Detroit on the verge of elimination but lost 5-4 in game six to force a game seven. In one of the most thrilling game seven’s in history, Detroit managed to pull through in a double
over-time as Pete Babando scored a backhander off a brilliantly executed play by George Gee to make it the first and only play-off final to be decided in a double OT.
1994 Western Conference Quarterfinals (San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings)
Now, the San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings have become accustomed to meeting each other in the play-offs, but that was not always the case when these two teams met for the first time in the post-season during the Western Conference quarter-finals.
During the 1994 quarter-finals, Detroit was the top team in the conference with 100 points and the Sharks were entering the post-season for the first time. In their first game against a might Red Wings club, San Jose beat them in Game one, 5-4 at their very
own Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit came back to win the next two taking a lead in the series but the Sharks answered again in game four. San Jose took a 3-2 lead in the series after game five when they won 6-4 and had Detroit on the brink of
elimination but the Red Wings countered back by a scoring onslaught and showed them why they were Number One, beating the Sharks 7-1 and forcing a game seven decider.
Game seven was scheduled to be in Detroit in front of an intimidating 19,000 plus Red Wings crowd. Jamie Baker fired the game winner in the final period with 6:35 left to play. The Sharks eventually won the series and went on into the conference finals that
same year but could not advance any further. They are back in the same position against the Vancouver Canucks who have their eyes set on the Stanley Cup.
In continuation of the remaining two games which were some of the best in history, we will discuss them in the second part of this article.
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