A thread on the main board put this thought into my head - what was Roy's best overall run? Its a good discussion, especially for a player who has three Conn Smythe's.
Patrick Roy's Best Playoff Run
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vadim sharifijanov
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- Oct 10, 2007
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i thought 93 was pretty universally believed to be his greatest, and maybe the greatest period?
JackSlater
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- Apr 27, 2010
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Dennis Bonvie
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quoipourquoi
Goaltender
1993 overall, because it was consistent from start-to-finish, but the last three rounds of 1996 and 2001 were on that level.
Big Phil
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- Nov 2, 2003
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1993 is his best. I remember Harry Neale saying about Roy "There is the Conn Smythe Trophy winner unless someone stole all the ballots." Neale always had a clever way of saying something you automatically agreed with.
In 1986 and 1993 these were big playoff upset years that the Habs were fortunate to avoid and get a more clearer path to the Cup, so you can factor that in, but at the end of the day he was brilliant in 1993 and outside of New Jersey in 2001 and Detroit in 1996 I don't know if anyone was all that much better in those years than the 1993 year.
In 1986 and 1993 these were big playoff upset years that the Habs were fortunate to avoid and get a more clearer path to the Cup, so you can factor that in, but at the end of the day he was brilliant in 1993 and outside of New Jersey in 2001 and Detroit in 1996 I don't know if anyone was all that much better in those years than the 1993 year.
2001 always surprises me. Look at Roy's numbers vs. Brodeur's. Brodeur had a .897 save percentage in the playoffs yet was just 1 win away from the Cup! Roy had to be a lot better though, with a .934 save percentage.
quoipourquoi
Goaltender
In Brodeur’s defense (kind of) he let in 2 or less in 14 of New Jersey’s 15 wins. Letting in four 3rd period goals in Game 2 vs. Toronto probably wasn’t a career highlight moment or anything, but that’s pretty much it in terms of wins where he needed to be bailed out by his team.
He certainly earned his losses though.
Dennis Bonvie
Registered User
In 1993 the Habs beat Quebec in the first round, the 2nd place team in their division who they finished 2 points behind.
After that they beat Buffalo (2 games over .500), the Islanders (3 games over .500) and the Kings (4 games over .500).
So they didn't exactly beat the iron of the NHL that year. Things fell very nicely for Montreal.
That's more than what the 1981 Islanders had to face, only facing a .500 team in the Finals.
Dennis Bonvie
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quoipourquoi
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Still, that’s the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best offensive teams in the East. Los Angeles was 3rd out West (5th overall).
vadim sharifijanov
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as qpq notes above, offensively that wasn't mediocre competition. another way of saying it is that he swatted away sakic, then peak lafontaine/mogilny, then gretzky. obviously that oversells it, but maybe no more than saying he beat three .500 teams is underselling what he did.
and quality of competition aside, roy did absolutely steamroll that competition didn't he?
after kicking off the quebec series with two losses—a subpar performance, mind you, that if he didn't play another playoff game all spring would have had him 2nd in playoff GAA and SV% when all was said and done—he won eleven straight games. then he lost a single game against each of the islanders and the kings.
there's the ten straight overtime wins, more than one and a half games' worth of scoreless overtime hockey, but there's also roy never giving up more than three goals in any game, win or loss. in 2012 jonathan quick did it too. before roy, no one had done it since gump worsley in 1968. worsley did it before 100 point scorers were invented, and quick did it in a season with one single 100 point scorer. roy did it in a year when randos were scoring 100 and sundin, lafontaine, and turgeon all had career highs of at least twenty points more than their next best year. i think that was the biggest accomplishment: eighteen straight games of completely dialed in goaltending.
JianYang
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Montreal finished around 6th overall in the league that year, and that was with Roy having a pedestrian regular season by his standards. I believe his GAA was somewhere in the ballpark of 3.20. So I don't think the team was as mediocre as they are portrayed.
Things fell in line pretty well though. Boston went down to Buffalo, and those Boston teams had Montreal's number.
They also avoided the Pens. It would have been a great matchup, and it was the closest we got to seeing mario play the habs in the playoffs. It kinda sucks that never happened.
They also avoided strong roadblocks in the west like Chicago and Detroit.
It was a very unpredictable playoff year in general.
I might say 86 was his best run. There were a few unknown, and fresh faces including Roy himself from that would go on to have long careers from that run.
93 also had some of that vibe on defense with guys like brisebois, Desjardins, odelein, Schneider still very early in their careers. They all went on to play a ton of games, but it's only in retrospect that we realize how solid that defense was.
I would also add that 94 had some magical roy vibes too. He stonewalled the bruins at the old garden with around 60 saves in one of the most memorable goalie performances I have ever seen. That was also the playoff where he required emergency surgery as well, so that got in the way. This is more one of those "what if" scenarios.
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The Panther
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Can anyone who remembers 1986 (I saw 1993 only) compare those two runs? While 1993 has the sexy 10 overtime wins, my casual impression is that the '93 skaters are a stronger, deeper team than the Habs of '86.
I'm always surprised at how many people remember/were alive from the time to watch these series. I guess it's because I'm used to visiting video game forums where the average age probably skews a lot younger than here. I don't even have any first-hand memories of Roy's 2001 run!
While the 1993 Habs team had some decent players, I always found it impressive Roy was able to get them to the finals and then win the whole thing. Outside of him, there weren't really any other stars on the team. (I don't consider Damphousse a star even if he did score 97 pts that year).
Dennis Bonvie
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In 1986 Roy was a rookie so he seemed more of a sensation at the time. Roy being only 20 and inexperienced relied more on his athleticism so he looked better in that run.
Much like 1993, things fell their way and the Habs didn't have to play any of the top teams. Though they only had an 87 point season, the only team they played with a better record was Calgary (89 points) in the finals. But the 1993 team under Jacques Demers seemed a better coached team. Yes, they were a stronger team than the 86 Habs, on the ice if not on paper.
Dennis Bonvie
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Dennis Bonvie
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All good points.
But remember, we are only comparing Roy runs to other Roy runs. They were all great runs and even in 89 he played great losing to the Flames in the finals.
They are all so close its easy to make a case for any of them.
quoipourquoi
Goaltender
Oh, for sure. That 12-2 run in rounds 2-4 gets a lot more complicated against Boston, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.
FerrisRox
"Wanna go, Prettyboy?"
Well, that's silly. Damphousse, Muller and Bellows were definitely NHL stars, Denis Savard was a former star and Guy Carbonneau was the best in the league at what he did.
Dread Clawz
LAWSonic Boom
From the early 80's to about 93, Montreal never had many superstars, but they always had a solid collection of very good players and were never an easy out in the playoffs.
The Panther
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Montreal was fortunate in '93 (and in '86) to avoid the top teams, but it's what you do with what you're given that counts.
They were a bit like Edmonton in 1990 where they had a rough start, but then the whole team kind of was galvanized behind a hot goaltender. The Oilers, however, did face the #1 RS team in the Finals, whereas the Habs faced:
Quebec 4th overall
Buffalo 15th overall
NY Islanders 12th overall
LA Kings 11th overall
So, it wasn't the roughest competition, especially when considering that LA was clearly running on fumes by the time they reached the Final, for which they had 2 days to prepare after a seven-game series. But give the Habs a lot of credit because they went 16-2 after dropping the first two games to Quebec, which is pretty amazing in the playoffs regardless of opponent. They had some advantage, and took advantage of that advantage (which Pittsburgh, for example, did not).
Montreal was an excellent team in this period. They lacked a superstar skater who could win games by himself, but when you can roll four lines of really good players with Roy in net, that's much better than having a couple of superstars with holes in the line-up. Even though we think of them as more of a defensive team, they had four PPG-scorers that season (which doesn't include rising John LeClair, or veteran Denis Savard). On the blue line, they had Desjardins, Daigneault, Schneider, and Brisebois. And then they had both Mike Keane and Guy Carbonneau up front to check other teams' stars.
They were a bit like Edmonton in 1990 where they had a rough start, but then the whole team kind of was galvanized behind a hot goaltender. The Oilers, however, did face the #1 RS team in the Finals, whereas the Habs faced:
Quebec 4th overall
Buffalo 15th overall
NY Islanders 12th overall
LA Kings 11th overall
So, it wasn't the roughest competition, especially when considering that LA was clearly running on fumes by the time they reached the Final, for which they had 2 days to prepare after a seven-game series. But give the Habs a lot of credit because they went 16-2 after dropping the first two games to Quebec, which is pretty amazing in the playoffs regardless of opponent. They had some advantage, and took advantage of that advantage (which Pittsburgh, for example, did not).
Montreal was an excellent team in this period. They lacked a superstar skater who could win games by himself, but when you can roll four lines of really good players with Roy in net, that's much better than having a couple of superstars with holes in the line-up. Even though we think of them as more of a defensive team, they had four PPG-scorers that season (which doesn't include rising John LeClair, or veteran Denis Savard). On the blue line, they had Desjardins, Daigneault, Schneider, and Brisebois. And then they had both Mike Keane and Guy Carbonneau up front to check other teams' stars.
TheDevilMadeMe
Registered User
1986 is before my time too, but just based on roster, the defense was much stronger than 1993. They were led by Larry Robinson, who was no longer as much of an offensive force as he once was, but was probably just as good defensively as he ever was, finishing 3rd in Norris voting that year, and 4th the following year. 1986 also had young Chelios, but that was a couple of years before he got any Norris votes.
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