1993 Stanley Cup playoffs

The 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) began after the conclusion of the 1992–93 NHL season on April 18 and ended with the Montreal Canadiens defeating the Los Angeles Kings four games to one to win the Stanley Cup on June 9.

[5] The Presidents' Trophy-winning Pittsburgh Penguins, who had won the Stanley Cup the previous two years,[6][7] were the favorite to repeat.

It was also the first time that longtime Oilers and then-New York Rangers captain Mark Messier had missed the playoffs in his career.

Boston won all five previous series head-to-head, including last year's Adams Division Semifinals in seven games.

The fourth game saw Brad May's game-winning goal in overtime, which has become famous in NHL lore thanks to Rick Jeanneret's "May day!"

This was the final playoff series between the provincial rivals before the Nordiques moved to Denver in 1995 and became the Colorado Avalanche.

The Canadiens lost the first two games of this series against the rival Nordiques, due in part to a couple of weak goals let in by star Montreal goaltender Patrick Roy.

However, Montreal head coach Jacques Demers held himself to a promise he had made to Roy earlier in the season and kept him as the starting goalie.

Entering the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winner, the Penguins faced off against the fourth place team from their division the New Jersey Devils.

Belfour famously went on a rampage after the game, smashing his stick against the net, and breaking a hot tub, coffee maker and a television in the visitors' locker room at the St. Louis Arena.

In a revival of the heated Original Six rivalry, Nikolai Borschevsky's game seven overtime goal gave Toronto the series and made them the sixth club to eliminate a team with a better regular season record in the first round of the playoffs.

This was also Toronto's first playoff series win over Detroit since the Maple Leafs beat the Red Wings in the 1964 Stanley Cup Finals.

This was the second overall playoff series between these two teams and was a rematch of last year's Smythe Division Semifinals, which Vancouver won in seven games.

The goal also counted and Jet fans in attendance began to throw debris onto the ice in frustration with the call.

Islanders defenceman Darius Kasparaitis played a large role in his team's win neutralizing Pittsburgh stars Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr with big hits.

Toronto defeated St. Louis in seven games to advance to a league semifinal series for the first time since 1978, despite Blues' goaltender Curtis Joseph's best efforts.

The Vancouver Canucks, who easily won the regular season Smythe Division title, were strong favourites over the Kings.

This was the only time during this era (1982–1993) that a Canadian team did not advance to the Conference Final representing the Smythe Division.

Montreal's win in Game 3 was their 11th straight, tying the single-playoff record set a year earlier by Pittsburgh and Chicago.

For the first time since 1982, this series did not have either the Calgary Flames or the Edmonton Oilers representing the Smythe Division, and it was the only one between then and 1994 not to feature a team from Western Canada.

During Game 1, Los Angeles defenceman Marty McSorley delivered a serious, open-ice hit on Toronto's Doug Gilmour.

Leafs captain Wendel Clark took exception to the hit and went after McSorley for striking their star player.

After the game, McSorley claimed in the interviews he received dozens of threats on his hotel phone from angry fans.

The fires of the feud were fanned by Hockey Night in Canada studio analyst Don Cherry, who heaped abuse on Melrose throughout the telecast, criticizing everything from his playing style to his haircut, and claimed Sandstrom had "deserved" to have his arm broken, for being a "ChickenSwede".

[11] Toronto took a 3–2 series lead heading into Game 6 in Los Angeles, which would ultimately become one of the most controversial in NHL history.

With the game tied at four in overtime, Wayne Gretzky high-sticked Gilmour in the face, cutting his chin open.

However, Gretzky was not penalized by referee Kerry Fraser and went on to score the winning goal moments later evening the series at three games each.

In Game 7, Gretzky scored a hat-trick and added an assist to give the Kings another 5–4 win and the first Stanley Cup Finals berth in team history.