April 22: Sundstrom has playoff-record eight-point night for Devils
Plus: Sittler scores five goals for Maple Leafs; Roy plays final NHL game
Sundstrom, a 26-year-old forward, has the greatest offensive night in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to that point, scoring three goals and assisting on five others for eight points in New Jersey's
10-4 victory against the Washington Capitals
in Game 3 of the Patrick Division Final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Sundstrom scores twice in the second period and once in the third. He assists on each of the four goals scored by
Mark Johnson
and one by defenseman
Anders Carlsson
. The Devils score 10 times on 31 shots against Capitals goalies
Clint Malarchuk
and
Pete Peeters
.
Sundstrom's eight points in a playoff game are one more than the record set by Gretzky in 1983 and matched by him in 1985 and 1987.
Mario Lemieux
of the Pittsburgh Penguins equals Sundstrom's eight-point performance during the 1989 playoffs, but it has never been surpassed.
MORE MOMENTS
1945:The Toronto Maple Leafs avoid a reverse of their historic comeback three years earlier when they
defeat the Detroit Red Wings 2-1
at Olympia Stadium in Game 7 of the Final to win the Stanley Cup. The Maple Leafs win the first three games, all shutouts by
Frank McCool
. But the Red Wings, who had blown a 3-0 series lead and lost the 1942 Final to Toronto, win the next three games. Game 7 is tied 1-1 midway through the third period, but
Babe Pratt
becomes the first defenseman to score a Stanley Cup-winning goal when he beats Detroit goalie
Harry Lumley
. Toronto becomes the first road team to win Game 7 in the Final, something that does not happen again for 26 years.
1971: The Minnesota North Stars become the first expansion team to win a playoff game against an Original Six team when they
defeat the Montreal Canadiens 6-3
at the Forum in Game 2 of the Semifinals. Two former Canadiens play big roles in the win:
Danny Grant
assists on three of the North Stars' four first-period goals, and goalie
Cesare Maniago
finishes with 32 saves. The NHL's post-1967 teams are 0-17 before the North Stars' victory.
1976:
Darryl Sittler
ties the playoff record for goals in a game set by Montreal's
Maurice Richard
in 1944 when he scores five times in Toronto's
8-5 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers
at Maple Leaf Gardens in Game 6 of the Quarterfinals. Sittler scores once in the first period and three times in the second, then equals Richard's 32-year-old mark by beating
Bernie Parent
at 2:06 of the third period. Sittler also gets an assist on a game-clinching shorthanded goal by
Claire Alexander
with 4:29 remaining to complete a six-point night.
1983:The New York Islanders win their NHL-record 14th consecutive playoff series by
defeating the New York Rangers 5-2
at Madison Square Garden in Game 6 of the Patrick Division Final.
Butch Goring
scores twice and
Billy Smith
makes 28 saves for the Islanders, who extend their streak to 19 before losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the 1984 Cup Final.
1987:
Mikko Makela
scores a power-play goal at 19:57 of the third period to give the Islanders a
2-1 victory against the Flyers
at the Spectrum in Game 2 of the Patrick Division Final.
Kelly Hrudey
makes 40 saves before Makela beats
Ron Hextall
to score the latest game-winning goal in regulation time by a road team in playoff history.
1998:
Bruce Gardiner
scores 5:58 into overtime to give the Ottawa Senators a
2-1 win against the Devils
in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at East Rutherford, New Jersey. Gardiner becomes the 49th player in NHL history to score his first playoff goal in overtime.
2003:
Patrick Roy
sees his NHL career come to a sudden end when
Andrew Brunette
scores at 3:25 of overtime in Game 7 to give the Minnesota Wild a
3-2 victory against the Colorado Avalanche
at Pepsi Center in Game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Roy retires a month later having won the Stanley Cup four times and holding NHL records for games played (1,029), regular-season wins (551) and playoff wins (151). The Wild, in their third NHL season, win the first playoff series in their history.
2016: The Islanders end a streak of 11 consecutive losses in Game 5 of a playoff series when they
defeat the Florida Panthers 2-1 in double overtime
. The win puts New York ahead 3-2 in its Eastern Conference First Round series. Rookie Alan Quine scores a power-play goal at 16:00 of the second overtime to give the Islanders their first Game 5 win since defeating the Flyers in 1987.
2017:Magnus Paajarvi scores at 9:42 of overtime to give the St. Louis Blues a
series-clinching 4-3 win
against the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at Xcel Energy Center. Paajarvi is the seventh Blues player to score a series-clincher in overtime but the first since
Pierre Turgeon
against the Phoenix Coyotes in 1999.
2018: Jake Guentzel of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores four consecutive goals in a series-clinching
8-5 win
against the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round. He's the third player in NHL history to score four straight goals in a playoff game. Flyers center Sean Couturier, playing his second straight game with a torn knee ligament, scores three goals and assists on two others; he and Guentzel become the first set of opposing players to each get five points in a playoff game. The Penguins become the second NHL team to win at least nine consecutive playoff series more than once; they also win nine in a row from 1991-93. The Canadiens win 13 straight from 1976-79 and 10 in a row from 1956-60.
2019: The Carolina Hurricanes become the 12th team in NHL history to push the defending Stanley Cup champions to a Game 7 in the opening round and 10th to do so in the expansion era (since 1967-68) when they
defeat the Capitals 5-2
at PNC Arena in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round. Jordan Staal scores the third game-winning goal of his playoff career and first since
Game 4 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
, when he's a member of the Penguins.
