May 24: Islanders dynasty is born

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: May 24
1980: The New York Islanders begin a dynasty when
Bobby Nystrom
scores
7:11 into overtime
for a 5-4 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers at Nassau Coliseum in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. The eighth-year franchise wins the first of four consecutive championships.

A pass from
Lorne Henning
sends
John Tonelli
and Nystrom in on a 2-on-1 break. Tonelli's perfect pass finds Nystrom, whose backhand chip past goalie
Pete Peeters
gives New York the win after the Flyers force overtime by scoring two third-period goals.
"I just did the thing we had done in practice over and over and over again, go to the net," Nystrom says. "Tonelli
at the Saddledome in Game 5 of the Final. A goal by
Bobby Smith
midway through the third period gives Montreal a 4-1 lead and proves to be the Cup-winner when
Steve Bozak
and
Joe Mullen
score for Calgary. Rookie goalie
Patrick Roy
makes 30 saves for the victory and is voted winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
1988: A power outage knocks out the lights at the Boston Garden 16:37 into the second period in Game 4 of the Final, with the Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers tied 3-3. After efforts to restore power prove fruitless, NHL President John Ziegler cites League by-laws and announces that though the scoring totals will count, the game will be replayed, if necessary, in Boston at the end of the series as Game 7. The series continues two nights later in Edmonton.

1990: The Oilers win the Cup for the fifth time in seven seasons by
defeating the Bruins 4-1
at Boston Garden in Game 5 of the Final.
Glenn Anderson
and
Craig Simpson
score in the second period for the Oilers, and third-period goals by
Steve Smith
and
Joe Murphy
put the game away before Boston's
Lyndon Byers
breaks up
Bill Ranford
's shutout bid with 3:30 to play. Ranford, who behind his NHL career with the Bruins in 1985-86, wins the
Conn Smythe Trophy
as playoff MVP.

1994:The Vancouver Canucks advance to the Cup Final for the second time in their history when
Greg Adams' goal 14 seconds into the second overtime
gives them a 4-3 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Pacific Coliseum in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final. The Canucks trail 3-0 after the first period, tie the game with three goals in the second and get the win when Adams beats
Felix Potvin
on the first shift of the second overtime. It's Vancouver's first trip to the Final since 1982.
2011: Exactly 17 years after the Canucks advance to the Final with a double-overtime victory, they do it again. This time, defenseman
Kevin Bieksa
scores at
10:18 of the second OT
to give the Canucks a 3-2 victory against the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Arena in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final. Vancouver's Ryan Kesler ties the game 2-2 by scoring with 13.2 seconds remaining in the third period, and Roberto Luongo makes 54 saves before Bieksa takes advantage of a strange carom off the glass and beats Antti Niemi for the winner.
2013:James Neal
scores three goals
to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to a series-clinching 6-2 victory against the Ottawa Senators at Consol Energy Center in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It's the first series-clinching win at home for the Penguins since 2009. Neal finishes the series with nine points, including five goals in Games 4 and 5. It's the first trip to the conference finals for the Penguins since 2009, when they go on to win the Stanley Cup.
2016: The Penguins push the Eastern Conference Final to the limit with a
5-2 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning
in Game 6 at Amalie Arena. Pittsburgh leads 3-0 after two periods, but Brian Boyle scores twice for Tampa Bay to make it a one-goal game. However, Bryan Rust scores for the Penguins with 2:08 remaining, and an empty-net goal by Nick Bonino with 54 seconds to play sends the series back to Pittsburgh for Game 7.