Revisiting the Gretzky hattrick in Game 7, 1993, the closest the Leafs came to playing for the cup in my lifetime, it was almost sickening to rewatch the those three goals.
. . . 1st one, I'm sure almost no one remembers, but it was actually our best player Gilmour who gave away the puck to Kurri on the pp, Kurri let himself get rubbed out after passing the puck perfectly (eliminating the 2nd D man) and on a 2 on 1, McSorely passed back and Gretz took it off his skate and didn't miss despite the sharp angle.
Alright, chalk one up to bad luck / bad giveaway.
2nd one, a harmless 3 on 3 rush turns into a brutal Manderville poke check/skate by on Gretz, and of course he buries it low from the slot, Ugh.
Then the third was . . .just, worse than a knife in the back.
After the Leafs had been pressing, comeback was coming with 4 minutes left, Gretzky on a LONE MAN RUSH is played well defensively by Todd Gill, steered around the net, and he oh-so casually with one hand expertly deflects it off Dave Ellet's skate into the corner of the net.
Very telling is that Joe Bowen calls it as "and as Gretzky attempts to centre it to nobody, it goes off Ellet's foot and in" . . . that should be the clue right there, Joe. Gretzky never centres to nobody, crimminy.
Anyways, thanks for making me go through that pain again, haven't relived that in a couple of years. But my absolute DREAM as a LEAFS FAN, is to be able to say - in 1, 5, 10, 20 years, doesn't matter - "I don't even remember that Gretzky hattty in game 7, man".
Because you know what that means.
We'll have either won a cup, or, I'll have Alzheimers.