Today In NHL History - Bergeron Saves Goal

On May 22nd in 2010, Montreal Canadiens blueliner Marc-Andre Bergeron saved an empty net goal with 2 minutes remaining in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Flyers sophomore forward Claude Giroux found the Habs empty net 36 seconds later to secure a 3-0 win. Philadelphia won the series 4-1.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Buffalo Sabres Bat Attack

On May 20th in 1975, Buffalo Sabres center Jim Lorentz slayed a boisterous bat during a fog-filled Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals at The Aud. The incident marks the only known animal killing by a player during a NHL game.

While birds have famously found their way onto the field of play for several sports (baseball, tennis, football, golf, hockey) over the years, often with unfortunate outcomes, dive-bombing bats are rare.

Buffalo won 5-4 in overtime but lost the series 4-2 to Philadelphia.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Preakness Trumps Playoffs

On May 19th in 2007, NBC abandoned overtime in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals in favor of two hours of pre-race Preakness Stakes coverage, blacking out the Ottawa Senators 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres, clinching their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 1927.

The Heidi Game moment resulted in a ratings boost from 1.5 during the final half-hour of hockey to 3.8, 4.8 and 7.5 for the next three increments of pre-race coverage. An hour after Alfredsson's winner, Curlin won by a head at Pimlico running a 1:53.46.

That's today in NHL history.

NHL Playoff Sweeps Without Surrendering Lead

When a team wins the first four games of a playoff series they are said to have swept their opponent. When the victor does so without ever relinquishing the lead in any of the four games, they have completed the rare feat of a perfect sweep.

A perfect sweep, often referred to as an annihilation, has happened only 16 times in the 591 best-of-seven NHL Stanley Cup playoff series played through 2012, and only four times over the past 20 seasons. That's only 2.7% of all such seven game series or 1 in 36. The chart below describes every such perfect sweep, showing the year, teams and round.

Date: Matchup (Round)
1946: MTL over CHI (S)
1952: DET over MTL (F)
1954: MTL over BOS (S)
1960: MTL over CHI (S)
1960: MTL over TOR (F)
1969: BOS over TOR (Q)
1969: STL over PHI (Q)
1977: MTL over STL (Q)
1978: MTL over TOR (S)
1979: NYI over CHI (Q)
1987: DET over CHI (P)
1989: PIT over NYR (P)
1992: CHI over DET (Q)
1995: DET over SJS (Q)
2000: DET over LAK (P)
2009: DET over CLB (P)

(P = Preliminary, Q = Quarterfinal, S = Semifinal, F = Final)

The Montreal Canadiens lead the league with six such sweeps and are the only team to do it twice in a single postseason. That happened in 1960 when Montreal annihilated both the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs en route to their fifth straight Stanley Cup championship. Chicago, on the other hand, has been on the losing end of a perfect sweep four times, leading all teams in this category. Only twice has a team been annihilated in the Stanley Cup Final, the last time being 53 years ago.

Thus far, the only series in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs where a team has never trailed involves the Quarterfinal matchup between Pittsburgh and Ottawa, where the Penguins lead the series 2-0. With plenty of hockey to play it's far too early to project a sweep, let alone an annihilation.

Today In NHL History - Canucks Fan Flashes Eager

On May 18th in 2011, a proud Vancouver Canucks fan hoisted her Henrik Sedin jersey to flash her breasts for San Jose Sharks penalized enforcer Ben Eager in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final.


Though worthy of honorable mention, Tits McGee's pierced twins were ultimately upstaged by Daniel and Henrik who combined for 5 points in a 7-3 win, giving the Canucks a 2-0 series lead largely owing to Eager's cheapshots and chatter which earned him 20 minutes in penalties.

That's today in NHL history.

Today In NHL History - Gino Odjick Fights Blues

On May 17th in 1995, Gino Odjick of the Vancouver Canucks attacked all five St. Louis Blues skaters in the third period of Game 6 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in response to Glenn Anderson spearing Pavel Bure in the eye earlier in the previous game.

The Canucks lost the game that night 8-2 but won the series 4-3.

That's today in NHL history.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Series Win Droughts

Every Stanley Cup winning season begins by qualifying for the postseason. Only 8 teams, however, take the second crucial step of winning a playoff series. For the remaining 22 teams, the playoff series win drought begins.

The chart below describes, in descending order, the number of seasons each of these 22 teams has gone without winning a series in the Stanley Cup playoffs, showing the last year they actually won a postseason series. Where no year appears, that team has NEVER won a playoff series.

Team: Years (Last Series Win)
NYI: 19 (1993)
FLA: 16 (1996)
WPG: 13
CLB: 12
MIN: 9 (2003)
CGY: 8 (2004)
TOR: 8 (2004)
EDM: 7 (2006)
BUF: 6 (2007)
COL: 5 (2008)
DAL: 5 (2008)
ANA: 3 (2009)
CAR: 3 (2009)
MTL: 3 (2010)
TBL: 2 (2011)
VAN: 2 (2011)
NAS: 1 (2012)
NJD: 1 (2012)
PHI: 1 (2012)
PHO: 1 (2012)
STL: 1 (2012)
WAS: 1 (2012)

The Phoenix Coyotes hold the all-time series win drought record of 23 seasons going 14 seasons in Phoenix and 9 seasons in Winnipeg without a series win, a streak that was snapped in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The current leader is the New York Islanders who have failed to win a playoff series for two decades. The Florida Panthers are close behind with 16 seasons separating them from a postseason series win. Arguably worse are the current Winnipeg Jets (formerly Atlanta Thrashers) and Columbus Blue Jackets, neither of whom have ever won a playoff series, let alone a playoff game, in their unremarkable franchise histories.

Interestingly, 6 of the 7 Canadian teams (Winnipeg, Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Montreal, Vancouver) find themselves on the list, with Ottawa being the only club to win a playoff series this postseason. Unfortunately for the hockey-crazed nation, their teams also rank high on the Stanley Cup Championship drought lists, with 20 years separating the country from its last Cup win (Montreal 1993).

Of the eight teams to advance to the second round of the 2013 Playoffs, only two teams (New York Rangers, Los Angeles) have won a playoff series in consecutive postseasons.  None of the other six teams (Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, San Jose) won a series last season.
Dynasties are dying as parity prevails in the salary-capped NHL. Enjoy playoff success while it lasts, as the shelf-life seems to be short.