May 20: Sabres defeat Flyers in 1975 'Fog Game'
Plus: Lindros gets first playoff hat trick; first-year Golden Knights advance to Final
A hot, humid evening in Buffalo combines with a non-air conditioned Memorial Auditorium to slow things down. Play is interrupted five times by fog during regulation. After Sabres defenseman
Bill Hajt
scores midway through the third period to tie the game 4-4, play is interrupted seven times during overtime so players and rink attendants can skate around and try to dissipate the fog.
Despite the conditions, neither team is able to score until Buffalo's
Rene Robert
beats
Bernie Parent
at 18:29 of OT to give the Sabres the victory.
"I saw Robert's shot too late for me to come out and stop it," Parent says. "I'm surprised the overtime took so long. It was hard to see the puck from the red line. If three men came down and one made a good pass from the red line, you couldn't see the puck. A good shot from the red line could have won it."
MORE MOMENTS
1986: The Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames combine for
four goals in a span of 1:34
during the first period of Game 3 of the Final; it's the fastest four goals by two teams in a Final game. A power-play goal by
Joel Otto
at 17:59 puts the Flames ahead 2-1, but the Canadiens get goals by
Bobby Smith
,
Mats Naslund
and
Bob Gainey
to take a 4-2 lead after one period. Montreal wins 5-3 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
1992:The Chicago Blackhawks tie a single-year record with their 10th consecutive playoff victory when
Jeremy Roenick
scores at
2:45 of overtime
to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in Game 3 of the Campbell Conference Final at Northlands Coliseum. The Blackhawks trail 2-0 before scoring three times in the second period; Oilers defenseman
Brian Glynn
scores with less than 13 minutes left in the third period to force overtime.
1993: Montreal sets an NHL record with its seventh straight playoff overtime victory when
Guy Carbonneau
scores at 12:34 of OT to give the Canadiens
a 2-1 win
against the New York Islanders in Game 3 of the Wales Conference Final at Nassau Coliseum.
Vincent Damphousse
scores with 5:14 remaining in the third period to tie the game 1-1, and
Patrick Roy
makes 31 saves before Carbonneau wins it to give the Canadiens a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.
1997:
Eric Lindros
scores three goals
for the first playoff hat trick of his NHL career to help Philadelphia defeat the New York Rangers 6-3 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Lindros scores the first of Philadelphia's two goals in the first period, then breaks a 2-2 tie at 6:35 of the third. After
Trent Klatt
scores with 5:01 remaining to put the Flyers ahead 4-3, Lindros powers his way down the ice and puts the puck into an empty net to complete his hat trick.
2002: Detroit Red Wings defenseman
Chris Chelios
becomes the first U.S.-born player to appear in 200 Stanley Cup Playoff games when he takes the ice for Game 2 of the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche at Joe Louis Arena.
Steve Yzerman
has an assist on
Nicklas Lidstrom
's third-period goal to become the second player in Red Wings history to have 100 NHL playoff assists. However, the Avalanche go home with the victory when
Chris Drury
scores
2:17 into overtime for a 4-3 win
.
2007:The Anaheim Ducks turn defeat into victory against the Red Wings in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit leads 1-0 before
Scott Niedermayer
scores the tying goal with 48 seconds remaining in the third period.
Teemu Selanne
's unassisted goal at 11:57 gives the Ducks a stunning
2-1 win
and a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series. The Ducks close out the series two days later to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time.
2015:Nikita Kucherov scores 3:33 into overtime to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a
6-5 win against the Rangers
in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final at Amalie Arena. Kucherov skates into the New York zone, makes a move against defenseman Ryan McDonagh and beats Henrik Lundqvist with a wrist shot from between the circles to give the Lightning a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
2017:Rookie forward Pontus Aberg scores the go-ahead goal at 11:01 of the third period, and the Nashville Predators
defeat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1
at Honda Center in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final. It's Aberg's first playoff goal. Pekka Rinne makes 32 saves to help the Predators take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series and move within one win of their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since entering the NHL in 1998.
2018:The Vegas Golden Knights become the first team in 50 years to reach the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season when they
defeat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1
at Bell MTS Place in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final. Winnipeg native Ryan Reaves scores the tie-breaking goal in the second period. The Golden Knights, who win four in a row after losing Game 1, are the first team to make the Final in its inaugural season since 1968, when the St. Louis Blues win the all-expansion West Division title before being swept by the Montreal Canadiens. Marc-Andre Fleury becomes the first goalie in NHL history to reach the Cup Final in consecutive years with different teams.
