May 27 NHL History
1975: The Philadelphia Flyers win the Stanley Cup for the second straight year by defeating the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 in Game 6 of the Final at Memorial Auditorium.
Bernie Parent makes 32 saves for his sixth and final NHL playoff shutout. Bob Kelly breaks a scoreless tie by stealing the puck from defenseman Jerry Korab and jamming a shot past Roger Crozier 11 seconds into the third period. Bill Clement scores an insurance goal with 2:47 remaining.
Parent becomes the first player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in back-to-back seasons.
1993: Wayne Gretzky saves the day for the Los Angeles Kings in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final. The Toronto Maple Leafs hold Gretzky off the score sheet through regulation, but he scores a power-play goal 1:41 into overtime to give the Kings a series-tying 5-4 victory at the Great Western Forum. Gretzky keeps alive the Kings’ hopes of making the Stanley Cup Final for the first time when he redirects a pass from Luc Robitaille past Toronto goaltender Felix Potvin for the win.
1994: Stephane Matteau scores 4:24 into the second overtime to give the New York Rangers a 2-1 victory against the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final at Madison Square Garden. Matteau picks up a dump-in, circles the net and slides the puck past Martin Brodeur for his second double-overtime goal of the series; the call of “Matteau, Matteau, Matteau” by Rangers radio announcer Howie Rose becomes one of the most famous in the history of New York sports. The win puts the Rangers into the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1979. Matteau, who comes to the Rangers from the Chicago Blackhawks just before the NHL Trade Deadline, gets to be the hero after New Jersey forces overtime when Valeri Zelepukin scores with 7.7 seconds remaining in the third period.
1995: Paul Coffey scores one goal and assists on another in the Detroit Red Wings’ 6-2 road victory against the San Jose Sharks to pass Denis Potvin and become the highest-scoring defenseman in NHL playoff history with 166 points. Coffey scores 4:01 into the game to trigger a four-goal first period by the Red Wings, who complete a four-game sweep of the Sharks in the Western Conference Semifinal. Detroit coach Scotty Bowman sets a record of his own; it’s his 46th career playoff series victory, moving him past Toe Blake.
2003: Martin Brodeur makes 16 saves to help the Devils defeat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 3-0 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Brodeur becomes the second NHL goaltender to have a shutout in each of the four rounds in the playoffs. Jeff Friesen scores twice for New Jersey, which outshoots Anaheim 21-8 through the first two periods.
2004: Brad Richards ties a single-season record with his sixth game-winning goal of the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He also has an assist, helping the Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Calgary Flames 4-1 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at the St. Pete Times Forum. The victory ties the series 1-1.
2011: Nathan Horton scores at 12:27 of the third period to give the Boston Bruins a 1-0 victory against Tampa Bay in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final at TD Garden. Horton becomes the first player in NHL history to score the winning goal in a Game 7 twice in one season; his overtime goal exactly one month earlier eliminates the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of the conference quarterfinal. Tim Thomas makes 24 saves for the shutout.
