Today In NHL History - Good Friday Brawl

On April 20th in 1984, divisional rivals Montreal Canadiens and Quebec Nordiques engaged in a now famous fight known simply by its calendar namesake emanating from the perfect storm of NHL playoffs, politics and provincial pride.

The Good Friday Brawl fisticuffs ensued at the end of the second period of Game 6 of the Adams Division Finals and lasted for ten minutes before teams retreated to their respective dressing rooms. Upon surveying the damage to teammate Jean Hamel from a Louis Sleigher sucker punch, the Canadiens returned to settle the score in the final frame.

Montreal beat Quebec that night to seal the series by a margin of 4-2.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Sedin's Disallowed Goal

On April 19th in 2010, Vancouver Canucks forward Daniel Sedin deflected a puck off his skate and past Los Angeles Kings netminder Jonathan Quick in Game 3 of the opening round of the 2010 playoffs, pulling his team within a goal three minutes into the third period.

Ruled a good goal by on-ice referee Steve Kozari, NHL SVP Mike Murphy and the off-ice video review crew overturned the ruling after a lengthy six minute review, causing CBC's Hockey Night In Canada broadcaster Jim Hughson to remark "Wow, that is a most interesting call".

NHL Rule 78.5(ii) states a goal shall be disallowed "when the puck has been kicked using a distinct kicking motion." A "distinct kicking motion" is defined by Rule 38.4(iv) as "one which, with a pendulum motion, the player propels the puck with his skate into the net." Rule 49.2 clarifies, however, that "a puck that deflects into the net off an attacking player’s skate who does not use a distinct kicking motion is a legitimate goal".

Absent evidence of a "distinct kicking motion", Murphy was invited to speak with Ron Maclean on HNIC and share the reasoning behind his decision to overturn the on-ice ruling and disallow Sedin's goal.

The interview appeared to further confuse an already perplexed panel.

Maclean: Tell us exactly how you came to your conclusion.

Murphy: ... It [the puck] had to be propelled some way. We felt it was the skate and not a distinct kicking motion but with a kicking motion that made it move back the other way. It wasn't a deflection. It wasn't a redirect. It was a kick. So that's the decision we came up with.

Maclean: If he's just making a stop ... and it [the puck] hits his skate and changes direction, is that a kicking motion?

Murphy: No ... We'll let that stand as a goal. We felt that wasn't the case here. He knew what he was doing.

When questioned the next day as to how Murphy could have known that Sedin "knew what he was doing", Commissioner Bettman deflected the question and controversy, electing instead to defend his staff:

"Mike Murphy was trying to explain at one o'clock in the morning as best he could exactly what was going on. And if he wasn't as articulate as perhaps those looking to parse his words would like, so be it. But as I said, I have complete confidence in Mike Murphy, Colie Campbell, and the entire hockey operations department. I think this whole tact of innuendo and insinuation is both insulting and pure fantasy. And I suggest everyone move on and focus on the fact we are having a dynamic playoffs."

Interestingly, a near identical goal was scored by the same player three months earlier. After video review, that goal was allowed to stand.

Clouding the waters of incompetence with conspiracy, allegations of partiality surfaced as an interview from earlier that season between LAKings.com and the club's former player (10yrs), captain (7yrs), and coach (4yrs) turned NHL SVP revealed Murphy's bias towards the team.

LAKings.com: You were with the Kings from early on in the team’s existence – how have you seen the team change in the time since then?

Murphy: Well I have seen some obvious changes with the colors of the uniforms and the logo and the different arena where they play. What has not changed is the great group of solid hockey fans in Southern California that support and love the Kings, even with the changes. I think it would be so neat to see the Kings succeed and win a Stanley Cup because it would do just a tremendous amount for the Southern California market and the Kings franchise. They have been hard working and very close in a number of years, so that would be nice to see.

The disallowed goal preserved the Kings 4-2 lead en route to a 5-3 win, taking a 2-1 series lead over the Canucks. The win, however, would be the last for Los Angeles as Vancouver ultimately cinched the series 4-2.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Maple Leafs 3-0 Comeback

On April 18th in 1942, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 3-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final becoming the first NHL team to ever recover from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series and win the round, or in this case the Stanley Cup.

In fact, only 3 of the 172 times a NHL team has trailed 3-0 in a best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series have they comeback to win. The other two times happened in the Quarterfinal round, first in 1975 when the New York Islanders beat the Pittsburgh Penguins and then again in 2010 when the Philadelphia Flyers caught up to the Boston Bruins.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Dan Boyle's Own Goal

On April 18th in 2010, defenseman Dan Boyle of the San Jose Sharks backhanded a shortside winner into his own goal with 51 seconds played in sudden death overtime of Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarter-finals to the surprise and chagrin of netminder Evgeni Nabokov.

The gaff, Boyle's first goal of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs, gave the 8th seeded Colorado Avalanche a 1-0 win and 2-1 series lead against the top seeded Sharks. Colorado goaltender Craig Anderson finished the game with a 51 save shutout, adding another chapter to his storybook season.

The Sharks won the next three games to take the series 4-2.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Brodeur's Playoff Goal

On April 17th on 1997, netminder Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils scored an unassisted empty net goal against the Montreal Canadiens joining Ron Hextall as the second goalie to ever score in a NHL playoff game.

The Devils went on to beat the Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal 5-2, eventually taking the series 4-1.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Andrew Peters Golf Swing

On April 16th in 2006, Buffalo Sabres slugger Andrew Peters challenged Toronto Maple Leafs bruiser Wade Belak to a fight with 5 minutes to play in the penultimate game of the regular season. Belak's decline was met with a golf swing gesture by Peters referencing the fatal blow dealt to Toronto's playoff hopes that night.

Peters was assessed a 10 minute misconduct and ejected from the game for the unsportsmanlike swing, described by Belak as "disrepectful". Peters later apologized to his teammates and Sabres owner Tom Golisano noting "It was just stupid, I got caught up in the moment."

Buffalo beat Toronto that night by a score of 6-0 and were eventually eliminated in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals by the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes. Ironically, Peters never skated in a playoff game during that postseason or any other in his NHL career.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Kopitar Highsticks Sedin

On April 15th in 2010, Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings inadvertently high-sticked Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarter-finals lodging his stick into the Art Ross winner's helmet.

Despite direct evidence of a high-sticking infraction, the play went unpenalized presumably owing to the absence of an injury. When questioned as to the non-call, the referee Kelly Sutherland responded that the high-stick was "very gentle" and didn't warrant a whistle. Interesting.

The Canucks won the game 3-2 no thanks to the officiating.

That's today in NHL history.