THIS DATE IN NHL HISTORY: April 22
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 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. Danny Grant assists on three of the North Stars’ four first-period goals, and former Canadien 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 Stanley Cup Playoff record for goals in a game set by 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 a 32-year-old mark by beating Bernie Parent at 2:06 of the third period. Sittler also gets an assist on Claire Alexander’s game-clinching shorthanded goal 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 straight series wins before losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the 1984 Final.
1987: Mikko Makela’s power-play goal at 19:57 of the third period gives the Islanders a 2-1 victory against the Philadelphia 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 Stanley Cup Playoff history.
1988: Patrik Sundstrom of the New Jersey Devils wipes out one of Wayne Gretzky’s records.
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.
Sundstrom scores twice in the second period and once in the third. He assists on each of Mark Johnson’s four goals 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.
2003: Patrick Roy’s NHL career comes 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’s power-play goal at 16:00 of the second overtime gives the Islanders their first Game 5 win since 1987 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
