April 30: Kings complete historic series comeback against Sharks

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: April 30
2014: The Los Angeles Kings highlight a historic night when they defeat the San Jose Sharks
5-1 in Game 7
at SAP Center in the Western Conference First Round, becoming the fourth team in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup Playoff series after losing the first three games.

Two members of the Kings, forwards Jeff Carter and
Mike Richards
, become the first players to do it twice, having played on the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers, who won their series against the Boston Bruins after losing the first three games. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick makes 39 saves and yields five goals in the four wins after allowing 16 in the three losses.
The victory by the Kings caps a hectic night of Game 7s.
A couple of hours earlier, Nino Niederreiter scores at 5:02 of overtime to give the Minnesota Wild a
5-4 victory
against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center, moving them into the Western Conference Second Round. The Avalanche lead 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3, only to have the Wild tie the score each time, the last on a goal by Jared Spurgeon with 2:27 remaining in the third period. Minnesota becomes the first team in NHL history to score four game-tying goals in the seventh game of a playoff series.
The New York Rangers start the night by becoming the first NHL team to win a Game 7 in three consecutive years when they
hold off the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1
at Madison Square Garden to win their Eastern Conference First Round series. Henrik Lundqvist makes 26 saves for the Rangers. The win against the Flyers comes after the Rangers defeat the Ottawa Senators in seven games in 2012 and the Washington Capitals in 2013.
MORE MOMENTS
1970:The
St. Louis Blues defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3
at the Civic Arena in Game 6 of their NHL Semifinal series, advancing to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in their three-year NHL history.
Bill McCreary
leads the scoring with a goal and two assists; the second assist comes on the series-winning goal by
Larry Keenan
with 5:35 remaining in the third period.
1972:
Ken Hodge
scores three goals for the only playoff hat trick of his NHL career and
Garnet Bailey
scores the winner with 2:16 remaining in the third period to give the Bruins a
6-5 victory against the Rangers
at Boston Garden in Game 1 of the Final. Hodge's three goals help the Bruins build a 5-1 lead; Bailey's shot beats
Ed Giacomin
for the win after the Rangers score four consecutive goals to tie the game 5-5. It's the first time in 43 years that Boston and New York play in the Final.

1986: The Edmonton Oilers' dreams of winning the Stanley Cup for a third straight year end when defenseman
Steve Smith
accidentally scores into his own net at 5:14 of the third period and the
Calgary Flames win 3-2
at Northlands Coliseum in Game 7 of the Smythe Division Final. Smith, playing on his 23rd birthday, tries to throw a cross-ice pass but inadvertently banks the puck off goalie
Grant Fuhr
and into the net to break a 2-2 tie. The goal is credited to Calgary forward
Perry Berezin
, the player whose dump-in Smith picks up behind the net. It comes after Edmonton wins the Cup in 1984 and 1985; the Oilers win it again in 1987 and 1988.

1992:The Detroit Red Wings
defeat the Minnesota North Stars 5-2
in Game 7 of the Norris Division Semifinals at Joe Louis Arena. Five players score and
Tim Cheveldae
makes 29 saves for the Red Wings, who come back to win the best-of-7 series after trailing 3-1. At the time, they are the ninth team in NHL history to do so.
1994: The Sharks, playing in their first Stanley Cup Playoff series, stun the top-seeded Red Wings with a
3-2 victory
at Joe Louis Arena in Game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. The game is tied in the third period when Detroit goalie
Chris Osgood
comes out of the net and tries to throw a backhand pass up the right side; Sharks forward
Jamie Baker
picks it off and shoots the puck into the vacant net before Osgood can get back. Baker's goal with 6:35 remaining helps the Sharks become the first team since the 1975 New York Islanders to advance to the second round in their playoff debut.

On the same night,
Pavel Bure
scores at 2:20 of the second overtime to give the Vancouver Canucks a
4-3 win against the Calgary Flames
at the Saddledome in Game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
2008:Patrick Marleau becomes the first player in playoff history to score shorthanded goals on consecutive days. His unassisted goal 9:19 into the second period also proves to be the game-winner when the visiting Sharks
defeat the Dallas Stars
2-1 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
2013:Alexander Steen scores a shorthanded goal at 12:36 of overtime to give the Blues a
2-1 win
against the Kings in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals at Scottrade Center. Steen steals the puck from Kings goalie Jonathan Quick and puts in into the vacant net to become the eighth player in Stanley Cup history to score an overtime goal while his team is shorthanded.
2015:
Joel Ward
scores with 1.3 seconds left in the third period to give the Capitals a
2-1 victory against the Rangers
in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Second Round series at Madison Square Garden. Ward, unchecked in the slot with time running out, takes a pass from Alex Ovechkin and shoots the puck through the legs of Henrik Lundqvist for the win.

2019: Logan Couture scores three goals for his first playoff hat trick, helping the Sharks
defeat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2
at Pepsi Center in Game 3 of the Western Conference Second Round. Couture scores at 12:50 of the third period to put the Sharks ahead 3-2 and hits the empty net with 30 seconds remaining. It's his 43rd playoff goal since 2010; only Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals (50) has more.