Today we look back on another big day in National Hockey League history. May 7 saw its fair share of Stanley Cup Finals, legendary players doing what they do best, and some great streaks going wide. Let’s get on board the THW time machine and relive the best moments this history has to offer over the decades.
The final moments of the Stanley Cup
On May 7, 1968, rookie Serge Savard scored his first goal in a playoff game to give the Montreal Canadiens a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. The first of Savard’s 19 goals in a playoff match was an abbreviated tally in the third period. Goaltender Gump Worsley had the fourth postseason shutout of his career.
Two years later, Phil Esposito had three assists to lead the Boston Bruins to a 4-1 victory over the Blues in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. It was the Bruins’ ninth straight win in the 1970 playoffs.
Bobby Orr made Stanley Cup history on May 7, 1972. He scored two goals and assisted on a third goal in the Bruins’ 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. The three points give him 22 in the postseason, a new record for defensemen.
He broke his own record, which he scored with 20 points during Boston’s run to the 1970 Stanley Cup. Orr’s 24 points during the 1972 postseason remained tied for sixth all-time for most points by a defender in a single playoff game.
On May 7, 1977, Yvonne Lambert scored two goals and added two assists in a 7-3 Canadiens victory over the visiting Bruins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Lambert had just one goal and one assist in the other 13 games he appeared in that season.
Not all bad memories are in St. Louis
Not everything on this date in Blues history has been losing games in the Stanley Cup Final. On May 7, 1971, Sid Abel was named the team’s new head coach, replacing Scotty Bowman, who had been a hit in Montreal. Abel only coached the team for 10 games during the 1971-72 NHL season.
On May 7, 2002, Keith Tkachuk scored his only playoff hat-trick in the Blues’ 6-1 home win over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals. The late Pavol Demitra had a goal and three assists as well.
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On a side note, Chris Chelios became the 15th player in Stanley Cup playoff history to notch 100 assists with an assist on the only Red Wings goal.
Pat Maron, a St. Louis native, reached the Western Conference Final on May 7, 2019. His goal, off a rebound, in double overtime beat the Dallas Stars 2-1 in Game 7 of the second round series. Stars goaltender Ben Bishop, also born in St. Louis, made 52 tackles in the losing effort.
Strips stretched
On May 7, 1983, Mike Bossy led the charge as the New York Islanders defeated the Bruins 8-4 in Game 6 of the Wales Conference Final. He scored four goals, including two in the second period, to help the Islanders reach the Stanley Cup Final for the fourth year in a row. He was Boston’s most hated player that spring as he scored nine goals in the series and was the winner in all four of the Islanders’ wins, an NHL record.
Two years later, the Edmonton Oilers replaced the Islanders as the dominant team in the NHL. They beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 on May 7, 1985, in the second game of the Campbell Conference Final. It was 12 olivesy An outright win, the longest streak at the time, as they remained undefeated through the postseason. Their 12-game winning streak was snapped in Game 3 of the series. Their record stood until the Pittsburgh Penguins won 14 straight playoff games between 1992 and 1993.
Ilya Bryzgalov led the Anaheim Ducks to a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on May 7, 2006, in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Bryzgalov made 22 saves, becoming the seventh guard in league history to earn a shutout in three straight games.
Great date in new jersey
On May 7, 1994, Stephen Richer scored two goals in Boston as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Bruins 5-4 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Richer’s second goal, at 14:19 into overtime, tied the score at 2-2. It was the third of four overtime goals by Richer. He scored another goal in 1994 against Rangers in the next round.
Exactly one year later, Martin Brodeur scored the first playoff game in Devils history. The achievement came in another post-season win in Boston, this time a 5-0 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. It was Brodeur’s second playoff shutout.
The Devils signed free agent Brian Rafalski on May 7, 1999, who had come to a halt after four years of college hockey in Wisconsin, followed by four seasons of professional hockey in Sweden and Finland. Rafalski went on to play 833 games in the NHL between the Devils and Red Wings. He won a Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2000 and 2003 before winning his third with the Red Wings in 2008.
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Wayne Gretzky made more NHL history on May 7, 1993, with two third-period goals with the Los Angeles Kings, in Game 3 of the Smythe Division Final. He became the first player to score 100 goals with the second goal. His goal earlier in the period proved to be the game winner in a 7-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
This was his record 19th in the NHLy The game-winning goal of the career playoffs, breaking the tie with Maurice Richard. Gretzky still holds the all-time record with 122 playoff goals, and the 24 game winners tied Brett Hull for the most ever.
On May 7, 1999, Bill Ranford made his first postseason start in three years to lead the Red Wings to a 3-2 overtime victory against the Avalanche in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Kirk Maltby scored the game-winning goal four minutes into extra time. Claude Lemieux became the first player in NHL history to play in 50 Stanley Cup playoff games with three different teams; Avalanche, Devils and Canadians.
The following year, Philadelphia Flyers rookie outfielder Andy Delmore terrorized the Penguins with a triple in their 5-3 victory in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. He was the first rookie to score a hat-trick in a postseason game. He scored five goals in the six-game series versus the Penguins. He only had one goal in the other 14 matches he played in his career.
At 42 years and 93 days, Mark Recchi became the oldest player to score multiple goals in a playoff game on May 7, 2010. He scored two goals in the Bruins’ 5-4 overtime loss at the Flyers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Later that evening, Jonathan Toews tied an NHL postseason record by scoring a power-hitting three goals in the Blackhawks’ 7-4 victory against the Canucks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals. He added two assists, becoming the first player in franchise history to have a five-point game in the playoffs.
On May 7, 2013, the San Jose Sharks eliminated the Canucks from the postseason with a 4-3 overtime victory in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals. Patrick Marlowe scored on the power play, in overtime, to complete the first four-game sweep of the Sharks in their 22-year history.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored one of the biggest goals in Washington Capitals history on May 7, 2018. After getting a feed from Alex Ovechkin, he scored in overtime to defeat the Penguins in Game 6 of the second round.
The goal eliminated Pittsburgh, ending their two-year reign as Stanley Cup champions, and advancing to the Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years. The Capitals finished their playoff run by winning their first championship in franchise history.
Phil Kessel made history in 2021 when he scored a goal in a 5-2 victory over the Sharks. The point was the 900th of his NHL career that took him through the Maple Leafs, Penguins, and Coyotes organizations. The 34-year-old now has 399 goals and 956 points in 1,204 games and is currently (as of May 7, 2022) on an Iron Man streak that lasted 982 games (an NHL record).
happy birthday
There are 22 current and former NHL players who call May 7 their birthday. Among the groups are Dave Karpa (52), Brad Eisbister (46), Tim Connolly (42), Nate Prosser (37), Anton Khudobin (37) David Chlimko (36), Chad Rohwedl (33), Josh Anderson (29) and Jesse Polygraphy (25).
Also, Frank J. Selke was born on this date in 1893. You will recognize the name from the award given each year to the best defensive forward in the league that bears his name, even though he never played in an NHL game. Selke has won nine Stanley Cups in the front offices of both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Canadiens.
Some of his notable moves included trading with Ted Kennedy while he was in Toronto and signing Hall of Famers Maurice Richard, Elmer Lash, Doug Harvey and Jack Plant to Montreal. Under his watch, the Canadiens farm system has produced additional Hall of Famers, Jean Beliveau, Dickie Moore, Tom Johnson, and Henry Richard. Selke himself was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960.
* Originally built by Greg Boysen