Best Stanley Cup Playoff rivalry game debated by NHL.com panel

The NHL season has been paused because of concerns about the coronavirus, and NBCSN will try to fill the void by reliving some of the best games and moments from the past 12 years.

"Hockey Week in America" started Monday and includes 12 hours of programming each day. Tuesday will feature four of the best Stanley Cup Playoff rivalry games, starting with the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks in Game 7 of the 2014 Western Conference First Round. The network will also air Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Final between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils at 5 p.m. ET, Game 3 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers at 7 p.m. ET, and Game 2 of the 2014 Western Conference First Round between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues at 9 p.m. ET. The Rangers-Devils game will be rebroadcast at 11 p.m. ET, and the Penguins-Flyers game will be shown again at 1 a.m. ET Wednesday. Notable NHL outdoor games will air Wednesday, notable Stanley Cup-clinching games on Thursday, notable playoff performances on Friday, and the best games of the Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby rivalry on Saturday. Monday was the best Game 7 overtime thrillers.
NHL.com asked three of its writers to pick their favorite game from among the field each day. Today, the best playoff rivalry game:

Mike G. Morreale, staff writer

Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Final, which the New Jersey Devils won 3-2 in overtime against the New York Rangers, is the one for me. I'll remember it as the game when a rookie forward (Adam Henrique) and 40-year-old goalie (Martin Brodeur) stole the show at Prudential Center. The building shook and those rooting for the home team cheered uncontrollably when Henrique scored off a mad scramble in front of Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist at 1:03 of overtime to give the Devils their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 2003. No one will forget the ensuing celebration or Henrique's expression as he skated away from the crease, jumped against the end boards in the corner as fans pounded the glass, and teammates hopped off the bench and mobbed him. Brodeur was in a zone throughout the game and his usual acrobatic self, making 33 saves, including eight in the third period when the Rangers had momentum. Ryan Carter and Ilya Kovalchuk scored in the first period to give the Devils a 2-0 lead, but the Rangers got even on goals by Ruslan Fedotenko and Ryan Callahan in the second. Henrique's goal came on a tap-in from the crease after Lundqvist stopped Kovalchuk twice and Alexei Ponikarovsky once. "That one was like Christmas," Henrique said.

Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor

The most entertaining game of the most entertaining playoff series of the decade for me was Game 3 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. It featured so much a hockey fan could want: superstars at their peak, a combined 12 goals and 158 penalty minutes, a fight between Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and Flyers center Claude Giroux. Pittsburgh center Jordan Staal scored to close the gap to 5-4 midway through the second period, but Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds scored with 44 seconds left in the period to put Philadelphia ahead 6-4, and a goal 27 seconds into the third by Giroux made it 7-4. The Flyers won 8-4 and the animosity was so high between the teams that after the game Crosby said, "I don't like any guy on their team." The Flyers' marketing department replied with giveaway orange T-shirts before Game 4 that read, "Guess what? We don't like you either!"

Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

I'll take Game 3 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, as well. Just when you thought the heated Flyers-Penguins rivalry couldn't get any spicier, it did. It was a wild game, featuring countless highlights and raging emotions. Crosby was the target for fans in the stands and Flyers players on the ice, everyone doing their best to get one of the best players in the League off his game. I've interviewed Crosby countless times since he entered the NHL in 2005. I've never seen him more exasperated than he was in the aftermath of this Game 3, for many of the reasons my colleague Adam mentioned above. It was an unforgettable game and an unforgettable moment.