Most impactful hits in NHL history?

[895]

If the Caps close it out against the Habs, the Wilson hit on Carrier will probably be considered the inflection point.

What are the other most impactful hits in NHL history?

Not including hits that were impactful because they injured someone and derailed their career, like the hits on Crosby/Lindros/Kariya.

Just pure momentum swinging hits

 

[Beauner]

 

[tarheelhockey]

1995 Finals, Game 2, tie game, NJ a huge underdog trying to get out of Detroit with two wins on road ice.



That was when you knew the Devils weren’t messing around and had a real chance to take the Red Wings down.

 

[Toby91ca]

If the Caps close it out against the Habs, the Wilson hit on Carrier will probably be considered the inflection point.

What are the other most impactful hits in NHL history?

Not including hits that were impactful because they injured someone and derailed their career, like the hits on Crosby/Lindros/Kariya.

Just pure momentum swinging hits

My controversial take is that hits don't generally put your team in the best position during a particular play. A lot of the big hits take you out of position...but it really depends. I think the Wilson hit last night was more coincidental than being a big turning point/impact because they happened to score shortly after the hit.

That's not to say hits don't help, I'm more referencing the in the moment act. I think big hits, over and over will beat the other team.....if they fear something coming, so they don't go as hard after the puck, etc. You see that over an over. I haven't watched all the WSH v MTL games, but watched good parts of all of them and I thought in game 1 that's what we were going to see.....at least at the start of the game, MTL seemed out matched physically.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Mike Richards was it, on Krejci in 2009? Bruins historic collapses yielded the likes of Trent Whitfield playing for the Bruins.

As for this Wilson hit unless Montreal goes out next game without a whimper it's an extreme reach to call this Wilson hit an all time series impact considering Washington led the series 2 to 1 and only trailed this game by a goal....

 

[Taro Tsujimoto]

Sabres still haven't recovered from this.

 

[CowbellConray]

Sabres still haven't recovered from this.

Correct - Lucic Miller started a path that has kept Bufflao out of the playoffs

 

[bov]

Sarich on Marleau changed the series iirc.

 

[Edmonton East]

1995 Finals, Game 2, tie game, NJ a huge underdog trying to get out of Detroit with two wins on road ice.



That was when you knew the Devils weren’t messing around and had a real chance to take the Red Wings down.

Yup. What's crazy is several of Scott Stevens' biggest hits were in the playoffs.

 

[Master Bill]

Sarich on Marleau changed the series iirc.

Flames still lost to the Sharks in that series actually, but it did change that game as they came back to win the game:



Still the biggest and most influential hit I've seen in a playoff game.

 

[miscs75]

 

[SomeDude]

Most people will go for the Scott Stevens Lindros hit, but Kaspar is the one that cracked the egg.

I remember watching this live as a kid and it’s when I realized Lindros was in fact a human capable of being hurt. The guy was a machine before this.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

1995 Finals, Game 2, tie game, NJ a huge underdog trying to get out of Detroit with two wins on road ice.



That was when you knew the Devils weren’t messing around and had a real chance to take the Red Wings down.

NJ a huge underdog?? they made the conference finals the season before whereas the Red Wings were consistently underachieving in the postseason.

But yes I do remember getting my hopes up that they may finally live up to their potential in the playoffs and I'd get to see Yzerman hoist the Cup, only to have those hopes crushed quite literally by Scott Stevens.

Painful memory but in a strange turn of events I often find myself defending Stevens here because of the revisionist history that he ran around all the time braining guys every shift.

 

[Idiot Stick]

Kind opposite momentum swing on this one

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Kronwall's hit on Havlat was impactful in that it raised the temperature of the series for sure. Kronwall got a 5 minute major and was tossed out for the hit and the Blackhawks ended up holding off the Wings comeback. But the Wings blew out the Blackhawks the next game and held on in Game 5 to end the series.

 

[Silky mitts]

When Pavelski took that double hit and the Sharks turned the game around, normally you'd say it's the penalty that turned the game but since it's Pavelski maybe the team took it up a few levels

 

[tarheelhockey]

NJ a huge underdog?? they made the conference finals the season before whereas the Red Wings were consistently underachieving in the postseason.

Detroit was 33-11-4 in the regular season and 12-2 so far in the playoffs. That’s a top-30 regular season of all time, combined with the fastest run to the Finals in the 16-win era (a record they still hold with the dynasty Oilers).

New Jersey was the 5th seed in the East and 9th seed overall after going 22-18-8, and on the verge of being relocated to Nashville. Yes they came off a conference finals appearance, but they were regarded as a team on the decline.

Yes, Jersey was a huge underdog in that series. Watching the Wings get dismantled was shocking.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

VAN was taking the series and after this hit, I swear this is where things turned around for Boston and it was because of this hit

 

[Cursed Lemon]

Stevens hitting Lindros and Kariya has to be the two most consequential hits in hockey history. While both players were injury prone up to that point, those two hits effectively derailed their careers.

 

[Toby91ca]

Most people will go for the Scott Stevens Lindros hit, but Kaspar is the one that cracked the egg.

I remember watching this live as a kid and it’s when I realized Lindros was in fact a human capable of being hurt. The guy was a machine before this.

Well, ignoring the fact this is covers both of the items the OP wasn't looking for with the question (i.e. not looking for ones that caused injuries....Lindros actually named, but looking for something that was momentum swinging)....this certainly didn't swing any momentum....it was regular season and neither team did much damage in the playoffs.

The other thing though, this may have been Lindros' first concussion in the NHL, but he was certainly already hurt quite a bit. That happened in his 6th season and he had already missed an average of 16 games a year in his first 5 seasons....which included a shortened season due to lockout.

 

[Chainshot]

Always felt this set a tone in this series since it was OT of Game 1 -

 

[Primary Assist]

Steve Bernier's major in Period 1 of Game 6 vs the Kings pretty much sealed the deal on the King's Cup Run. I remember watching this game live at the frat house and right away everyone knew he was getting 5. Such a dumb hit.

Now the Kings probably would have won the series anyway, but that took all the wind out of the Devils' sails and put the Cup on a tee for LA

 

[MVP Zacha]

NJ a huge underdog?? they made the conference finals the season before whereas the Red Wings were consistently underachieving in the postseason.

But yes I do remember getting my hopes up that they may finally live up to their potential in the playoffs and I'd get to see Yzerman hoist the Cup, only to have those hopes crushed quite literally by Scott Stevens.

Painful memory but in a strange turn of events I often find myself defending Stevens here because of the revisionist history that he ran around all the time braining guys every shift.

From CoPilot.

In the 1995 Stanley Cup playoffs, the New Jersey Devils emerged as champions, defeating the Detroit Red Wings in the finals. The Devils were considered underdogs with odds of +1500 before the playoffs began. The Red Wings, on the other hand, were favorites with odds of +250. It was a remarkable upset and a defining moment in NHL history.

 

[Rebels57]

Most people will go for the Scott Stevens Lindros hit, but Kaspar is the one that cracked the egg.

I remember watching this live as a kid and it’s when I realized Lindros was in fact a human capable of being hurt. The guy was a machine before this.

Kasparaitis laughing next to the bench while they carried Lindros off is still to this day one of the most despicable things i've ever seen in an NHL game.

 

[Rebels57]

Kind opposite momentum swing on this one

Did Rome get suspended for that? Good god was that late.