The 5 Greatest Goals in NHL Playoff History

Great goals come from great plays, and in hockey, there’s no limit to what starts a great play. While we’ve seen some of the highest quality and largest quantity of goals scored throughout the history of the NHL, it’s hard to pick the top five.

What makes for a great goal can include several things, such as when it was scored, the stakes of the game at that moment, or just simply how skillful it was in comparison to all other goals. All of those factors feature in our breakdown of the five best goals scored in the NHL playoffs.

5. Stephane Matteau 1994 – Rangers vs. Canucks Game 7

Starting us off is Stephane Mattaeus’ legendary wrap-around goal that sent the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup final back in 1994. The game was tied into double overtime, where Stephane Mattaeu of the New York Rangers would skate his way around the back of the Canucks goal with a defender on his back, faking a pass inward before making a full pivot around the opposite side of the net, where a Canucks defender lays out to unsuccessfully block a shot right at the goalies lower-left blocker. The shot snuck through the goalie’s pad and Mattaeu and fans began to jump with joy, as the Rangers were through to the Stanley Cup Finals, which they then went on to win.

4. Steve Yzerman 1996 – Red Wings vs. Blues Game 7

A literal blast from the past is Steve Yzerman’s Game 7 goal against the St. Louis Blues in the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs. As simple as it sounds, the Detroit Red Wings were in a double OT standoff against the Blues in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Yzerman of the Red Wings took it upon himself to skate past a defender up the ice and rip a slap-shot right at the opposing off-side line directly into the back of the Blues net. This snipe caused the Red Wings to make it to the final.

3. Steve Babando 1950 – Bruins vs. Red Wings Game 7

This one goes as far back as 1950 with Steve Babando playing for the Detroit Red Wings. This was the first-ever Game 7 OT goal scored in NHL history and Babando still holds the record to this day as being the only player in the history of the league to ever score a Stanley Cup-winning goal in double OT of Game 7 in the Finals.

2. Patrick Kane 2010 – Flyers vs. Blackhawks Game 6

No lights, no signal, no crowd cheering. Patrick Kane single-handedly ended the Philadelphia Flyers’ Cup run with a silent snapshot through the legs of the goalie in a Game 6 road game in 2010. From the moment Kane receives the puck on the left side of the net, he jukes out a defender, slipping a tight-angle shot right beneath the goalie’s pads and seems to be the only one celebrating. The crowd, full of orange Flyers jerseys, does not react to the goal, nor does the goal light go off. Kane starts to celebrate until everyone catches on, as he just won the Stanley Cup Final for the Blackhawks in opposing territory.

1. Bobby Orr 1970 – Bruins vs. Blues Game 4

Surely you’ve seen or heard of this iconic Game 4 moment created by none other than the Boston Bruins’ Bobby Orr. In a 1970 Game 4 Stanley Cup match against the St. Louis Blues, the game would head into OT, but it’d only take 40 seconds before ending. Bobby Orr of the Bruins would receive a pass from his teammate right in front of the net and redirect it in for the win, just before sending himself flying completely horizontal to the ground, knowing he’d swept the Blues 4-0 to take the Stanley Cup trophy.