Most impactful hits in NHL history?

[Bear of Bad News]

Sure, sure, a bunch of nobodies. You make it sounds like it was Miracle on Ice.

Here are the posted odds the morning of Game 1:

 

[NyQuil]

Stevens on Kariya led to one of the most electrifying moments in NHL history.

I also think it was one of the hits that started the ball rolling down the hill on modern protocol.

The OP said not to consider the hits on Kariya, Lindros etc.

 

[Machinehead]

The OP said not to consider the hits on Kariya, Lindros etc.

I ignored him.

 

[ovikovy817]

Wilson's hit on ZAR

2018 Playoffs
R2G3 series tied 1-1.
Pens lead by 1 in G3. After that hit in the middle of the game Pens stoped playing hockey and Caps came back and won that game.
I'm not sure the Caps would win the series (and later the Cup) if they lose G3 meaning they are down 1-3 in the series (since the Pens won G4).

 

[Crow]

From google (I’m lazy):

Dustin Byfuglien, a player for the Chicago Blackhawks, hit Chris Pronger, a defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers, during Game 5 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals on June 6, 2010.

Byfuglien's hit on Pronger was notable because it occurred early in the second period and Pronger was known for being tough to knock off his skates. The hit was seen as a turning point in the game as Byfuglien went on to have a strong performance, contributing four points to the Blackhawks' 7-4 victory.

Pronger was viewed as a villain by many in the NHL due to his aggressive playing style, which often led to him getting under other players' skin. However, in this instance, Pronger had a poor performance, finishing the game with a minus-5 rating.

 

[John Mandalorian]

Kind opposite momentum swing on this one

Were they moving the Versus logo to make it look like he was reaching out to it?

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

You’re pushing back really hard on something that everyone else remembers with clarity.

Detroit was an absolute wagon which won 3 more games than anyone else in the league (on a 48 game schedule!). Again they were 12-2 in the playoffs. Nobody thought of them as “soft” either. That was a team with Konstantinov, McCarty, Ciccarelli, Primeau, Lapointe, Grimson, and a bunch of blue-collar grinders like Burr and Taylor. They could mix it up with anyone. And the “perennial choker” label is an anachronism when talking about this team — as of spring ‘95 they had only one really disappointing series in their background, the previous year against the Sharks.

Why was it a defining moment in NHL history? Because that Finals was the tipping point that began the Dead Puck era. The Devils raised some eyebrows beating Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, but nobody took them seriously against Detroit. In sweeping that series, they showed that the neutral zone trap and a shit-load of obstruction could neutralize even the most loaded offense. By the following spring you get Florida in the Finals, then Washington, and then the balance tips all the way over so that by ‘99 it’s full blown DPE hockey. That series was also the point at which Brodeur and Stevens began to really carve out their HHOF arguments, and Claude Lemieux won the Smythe which cemented him as a playoffs all-timer.

Everyone else = a couple other people?

Let's look at some facts:

The Devils made it to the Conference Finals the previous season and lost in game 7 in double OT to the eventual Cup winner. They were literally one goal away from the Cup Finals.
(The Red Wings hadn't won more than one playoff round since 1988)
The previous season the Devils had 106 points
(The mythical Wings had 100).
Claude Lemieux actually had more points the previous playoffs. 7 goals 18 points in 20 games.
Brodeur had already won the Calder. He started 17 games the previous playoffs and posted a .928 SV%.

Yes the Wings were favored as they had a ton of offensive talent. I am not arguing they weren't favored. And to be clear, I've said the Wings got destroyed. It's not some attempt to downplay the loss. They got their ass absolutely handed to them.

A team that was one win away from the Cup Finals the previous season is not some massive David and Goliath story. The "defining moment" is a revisionist narrative. Average goals per game actually went up the next year, which unlike 1995 wasn't shortened by lockout. Also the next 5 Cups were won by Colorado, Detroit, and Dallas.

Look I respect you as a poster here but forgot that when it comes to the Red Wings that it's kind of pointless to engage with you. Maybe as a Wings fan I'm overly influenced by how it felt at the time, but every Wings fan I knew wasn't thinking they were the massive favorites because they'd done nothing in the playoffs to instill confidence.

Anyway, back to the topic of the thread...

 

[bleedgreen]

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.

If memory serves the Flyers went public talking about how Kaspar was gonna get it next game, they were gonna go after him and hurt him. I think it was either next game or very soon after. Leclair did the most talking on TV. Lots of anticipation to see Kaspar get his comeuppance across the league as the puck dropped, and like five seconds in Kaspar dropped Leclair with essentially the same exact hit and he was hurt too. It was perfectly evil and soul crushing. I loved it.

Kaspariatis and Konstantinov were two of hardest hitters ever, if they weren’t in Steven’s shadow they’d have gotten a lot more notice about it.

 

[Jericho111091]

Robinson on Dornhoefer was a beaut

 

[MVP Zacha]

Everyone else = a couple other people?

Let's look at some facts:

The Devils made it to the Conference Finals the previous season and lost in game 7 in double OT to the eventual Cup winner. They were literally one goal away from the Cup Finals.
(The Red Wings hadn't won more than one playoff round since 1988)
The previous season the Devils had 106 points
(The mythical Wings had 100).
Claude Lemieux actually had more points the previous playoffs. 7 goals 18 points in 20 games.
Brodeur had already won the Calder. He started 17 games the previous playoffs and posted a .928 SV%.

Yes the Wings were favored as they had a ton of offensive talent. I am not arguing they weren't favored. And to be clear, I've said the Wings got destroyed. It's not some attempt to downplay the loss. They got their ass absolutely handed to them.

A team that was one win away from the Cup Finals the previous season is not some massive David and Goliath story. The "defining moment" is a revisionist narrative. Average goals per game actually went up the next year, which unlike 1995 wasn't shortened by lockout. Also the next 5 Cups were won by Colorado, Detroit, and Dallas.

Look I respect you as a poster here but forgot that when it comes to the Red Wings that it's kind of pointless to engage with you. Maybe as a Wings fan I'm overly influenced by how it felt at the time, but every Wings fan I knew wasn't thinking they were the massive favorites because they'd done nothing in the playoffs to instill confidence.

Anyway, back to the topic of the thread...

Scott Stevens must have hit you coming across the middle if you think that the Red Wings weren't heavily favored.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

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

One of the worst calls all time.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Everyone else = a couple other people?

Thread on this series:

Thread 'Wings-Devils 1995 Stanley Cup Final'

Feb 21, 2018

Hey everyone,

As much as it will pain me to do this, I was 17 when I started my love/enjoyment of hockey, unfortunately for me this coincided with the Devils sweeping the Wings. Since I was a bit too young/green to understand hockey's nuances that I've come to learn and love, I wanted to learn/get peeps thoughts on how the Devils took it to the Wings in 95, from Devils Fans, Wings Fans and hockey fans in general. My thoughts to start

1. Keith Primeau was supposedly playing a great two-way game coming into the final, and Scott Stevens caught him with a check that give him a back spasm...

• Jim MacDonald
• Replies: 58
• Forum: The History of Hockey

“I know it seemed EVERYONE was giving the cup to the Wings before the series started”

“I remember the Devils run that spring, that was quite an upset. Detroit looked to be world beaters all that spring”

“I thought that New Jersey had zero chance.”

“The Wings were certainly the overwhelming favourites going into the finals”

“One of the bigger upsets in Stanley Cup Finals history”

“I actually had fun watching that Devils run, given how scrappy they were and viewed as a big underdog heading into those Finals.”

Again this was a dominant #1 overall seed against a team that didn’t have home ice in any series. Of course it was viewed as an underdog against a heavy favorite.

Let's look at some facts:

The Devils made it to the Conference Finals the previous season and lost in game 7 in double OT to the eventual Cup winner. They were literally one goal away from the Cup Finals.
(The Red Wings hadn't won more than one playoff round since 1988)
The previous season the Devils had 106 points
(The mythical Wings had 100).
Claude Lemieux actually had more points the previous playoffs. 7 goals 18 points in 20 games.
Brodeur had already won the Calder. He started 17 games the previous playoffs and posted a .928 SV%.

Yes the Wings were favored as they had a ton of offensive talent. I am not arguing they weren't favored. And to be clear, I've said the Wings got destroyed. It's not some attempt to downplay the loss. They got their ass absolutely handed to them.

A team that was one win away from the Cup Finals the previous season is not some massive David and Goliath story. The "defining moment" is a revisionist narrative. Average goals per game actually went up the next year, which unlike 1995 wasn't shortened by lockout. Also the next 5 Cups were won by Colorado, Detroit, and Dallas.

Nobody cared what happened the year before. If someone came to you right now talking about how the Rangers, Bruins and Canucks are contenders, what would you say? “That was last year, different teams, nobody cares how they did a year ago”.

Look I respect you as a poster here but forgot that when it comes to the Red Wings that it's kind of pointless to engage with you.

I have no idea what this means. I was a huge fan of those Wings teams. I really doubt I have any more history arguing about the Wings than about 20 other teams.

 

[Bradely]

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.

Living by the swords, dying by it.

 

[Bradely]

Did Burrows bite someone.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Flyers are involved of lots of famous hits for some reason.

 

[Garbageyuk]

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

Then the Wilson hit is excluded. It was impactful because it injured Carrier.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Everyone else = a couple other people?

I responded to you with actual data on what the public thought at the time of the series.

You ignored it for some reason.

 

[Mr Nogatco]

2018 ECF Game 7

About 30 seconds into the game Tom Wilson sends Chris Kunitz flying, gathers the puck and assists Ovi on the game’s opening goal, which ends up being the game winner.

Sets the tone for a physically dominant shutout win and sends the Caps to the Cup final.

 

[The don godfather]

Rome on horton bruins win the cup the end .

 

[Fatass]

Quinn on Orr was huge. Then Orr beat the sh*t out of Quinn. “Those Were The Days”.

 

[Brookbank]

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.

These head hunting thugs that lumbered around giving real hockey players brain damage should have been dealt with 20 years sooner.

 

[MakoSlade]

Scott Stevens must have hit you coming across the middle if you think that the Red Wings weren't heavily favored.

I think Mr. Hollyfeld has taken a few too many blows to the head.

As a huge Devils fan who lived this, I was loving the fact that they made it to the finals but Detroit looked like an unstoppable juggernaut. I had barely a desperate hope the Devils had a chance. My cousin, also a die-hard Devils fan, bet a boatload of money on the Wings to hedge his bets.

When the Kozlov hit happened, it was huge. And Stevens "you're next" line, and those crazy eyes, that made me think wow, this is going to happen. So yeah, the Devils were huge underdogs, and yeah, this hit changed the series. It was a most impactful hit.

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

For the Blackhawks:

-Buff on Pronger (the bad boy met his match, Hawks were not gonna be pushed around)
Hawks go on to win game 5 and then the cup in 6.

-Bolland on Richards WCF 2013 game 1. I'd argue Richards was never the same. (questionable hit too) Hawks go on to win the cup.



-Bolland on Nyqvist 2nd Round 2013 Game 7 OT. It freed up Seabrook to walk in and win it.
Hawks go on to win the cup.


-Seabrook on Backes, suspended. Hawks go to OT of game 7 in the WCF but fall to the Kings who win the cup.


Against Blackhawks:

Torres on Hossa in 2012, suspended 25 games. Hossa would miss 8-9 months. Coyotes win five one-goal games and eventually the series.

 

[Patdud]

Aaron Rome on Horton lit a fire under that team and it was absolute torched earth against Vancouver then on with the Bruins taking 4 of the next 5.

Mike Richards hit on Krejci (breaking his wrist) took out Bruins No.1 Center in 2010 and they never recovered, blowing the 3-0 lead.

 

[M88K]

Will never not be convinced that Marchment cost the Stars a Cup with this hit