Today In NHL History - Boston Blackout

On May 24th in 1988, a transformer blowout blackened a fog-filled Boston Garden with 3:27 remaining in the middle frame of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and the Edmonton Oilers.
Deemed an Act of God, NHL president John Ziegler canceled the 3-3 match rescheduling it two nights later at Northlands Coliseum.

The Oilers won Game 4-A by a score of 6-3, sweeping the Bruins en route to their 5th Stanley Cup in 7 years and setting a modern record for the fewest games needed to hoist the hardware (18), in what would be Wayne Gretzky's final game as an Edmonton Oiler.
That's today in NHL history.

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.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Rick MacLeish kindly collected the deceased bat from the faceoff circle, sparing the linesman of the indiscretion, disposing it in the visitors penalty box then occupied by his teammate.

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.

Canucks Game 7 Overtime & Stanley Cup Finals

A curious correlation has emerged between playing a Game 7 overtime match against the Vancouver Canucks and advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. Specifically, to date, winning the former has ensured an appearance in the latter.

The Canucks met the Calgary Flames in three such overtime affairs and the Chicago Blackhawks once. Each time the victor qualified for the Cup Finals, hoisting once (1989) and losing three times (1994, 2004, 2011).  Interestingly, each Cup Final loss also occurred in a Game 7.

Year	Matchup	OT Winner
1989	Calgary over Vancouver	Joel Otto
1994	Vancouver over Calgary	Pavel Bure
2004	Calgary over Vancouver	Martin Gelinas
2011	Vancouver over Chicago	Alex Burrows

In 2024, the Edmonton Oilers eliminated the Canucks in Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs, by a score of 3-2. Unfortunately, the match was settled in regulation time, though Edmonton did advance to the Cup Final losing to Florida in seven games. Vancouver did not qualify for the 2026 postseason, so we'll have to wait at least another year before a Game 7 overtime opportunity presents itself and this peculiar pattern can be tested again.

* See also NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Game 7 History.
* See also Today In NHL History - Kirk McLean's Game 7 Save.