June 6 NHL History
1956: The NHL Board of Governors passes a rule allowing a player serving a minor penalty to return to the ice after a goal is scored by the opposition. Prior to the change, teams stay a power play for the full two minutes, regardless of how many goals they score.
1996: Peter Forsberg scores three goals in the first period for his first NHL playoff hat trick to power the Colorado Avalanche to an 8-1 victory against the Florida Panthers in Game 2 of the Final in Denver. The Avalanche go ahead 2-1 when Rene Corbet scores a power-play goal 10:43 into the game, and Forsberg completes his hat trick to put Colorado ahead 4-1 after one period. Joe Sakic finishes with four assists and Patrick Roy makes 27 saves. The victory gives Colorado a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.
2007: The Anaheim Ducks become the first West Coast NHL team to win the Stanley Cup when they close out a five-game Final against the Ottawa Senators with a 6-2 victory at Honda Center.
Travis Moen scores twice for the Ducks, who limit the Senators to 13 shots on goal against Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Defenseman Scott Niedermayer, who has an assist on Moen’s second goal, wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. The Ducks win the Cup in their 14th season in the NHL; they are the first California-based Cup-winning team and the first on the West Coast since the League exclusively begin competing for the Cup after the Western Hockey League folds in 1926.
The celebration is especially sweet for Ducks forward Teemu Selanne, who’s played 1,041 regular-season games without winning the Cup.
“Obviously, we had to wait a long time for something unbelievable,” an emotional Selanne said. “And it really makes it even more special. To get the win in our own home building … I’m so proud of my teammates. We’ve been like brothers. And we have had one dream together, and that’s why it’s so special.”
2013: Marian Hossa scores the tie-breaking goal 1:10 into the third period and the Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final at Staples Center. The Blackhawks limit the Kings to 21 shots, two in the third period, to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
2015: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy relieves starter Ben Bishop twice in the third period — once briefly and then for good with 7:41 remaining — in a 4-3 victory against the Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Final at Amalie Arena. Defenseman Jason Garrison scores to break a 3-3 tie during Vasilevskiy’s first appearance, and he stops all five shots he faces. It’s the fourth time in NHL history that a goaltender wins a game in the Final that he doesn’t start and the first since Frank Pietrangelo of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of the 1991 Final.
2016: The Pittsburgh Penguins move within one victory of their first Stanley Cup championship since 2009 by defeating the San Jose Sharks 3-1 in Game 4 of the Final at SAP Center. Ian Cole, Evgeni Malkin and Eric Fehr score for the Penguins, and rookie goaltender Matt Murray makes 23 saves.