Top 10 Postseason Moments

10) Huet's Remarkable Stop- In game 5 of the Caps' series against the Flyers, Cristobal Huet made a miraculous save that ended up being the difference maker in his team's 3-2 win.




9) "HOSSA!!!"- In one of the most electrifying plays of this postseason, Marian Hossa blew the roof off the Igloo during Game 5 of the second round with a series-winning overtime goal, leaving play-by-play man Mike Emrick only to proclaim "HOSSA!!!"




8) Umberger's Second Round- For somebody whose playoffs started with a demotion from the first to the fourth line, R.J. Umberger had a pretty amazing second round. His eight goals, some of them scrappy, some beautiful (such as the one in the video below), led the Flyers to a surprising 5-game series victory over the Canadiens.




7) Saves of the Century- In overtime of game 6 of the second round matchup between the Sharks & Stars, both Evgeni Nabokov and Marty Turco each made a miraculous, simply unbelievable save to keep their respective teams alive. Only the videos that follow can hope to illustrate how miraculous those saves were. It was these two mind-blowing stops that helped elevate this game to the status of one of the best of all-time...






6) There's No Place Like Home (Penguins Home Winning Streak)- When the Red Wings beat the Penguins at the Igloo on May 31st, it was the Penguins first home loss since February 24th and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's first home loss since November 21st. Now, Fleury may have been out for a couple months, but the Penguins home play down the stretch was remarkable. Without it their easily-won playoffs series could have turned into nail-biters.


5) Os-Great- He didn't win the Conn Smythe, and didn't even start the season or postseason as the starter, but there's no denying that Chris Osgood was sensational this postseason, posting an unreal 1.55 Goals Against Average (the highest by .42) and a .930 save percentage. Osgood was on Detroit for their two cups in 1997 and 1998, then sort of faded away, but now has roared back with a spectacular performance this season. Detroit's unmatched success during the season was undoubtedly largely in part due to having probably the two best goaltenders in the league both on your team.





4) So Close, Yet So Far- Hardly anyone was counting down when the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup, because the Penguins were knocking hard on the doorstep. A spectacular two minutes from the Penguins, in which they poured on the offense, was just a bit too late to overcome their 3-1 deficit, as Marian Hossa was seconds and inches away from tying the game in the dying seconds.





3) A Fleury of Hope- The Penguins simply should not have won Game 5 of the finals, but they did thanks to superhuman goaltending by Marc-Andre Fleury. He had saves that were above and beyond the call of duty, allowing the Penguins to win depite the fact that Detroit dominated for most of the latter five periods.



2) Picking Up the Scraps- A season sold on the theme of "Vengeance" for the Flyers awful 2006-07 season might be better labeled as "Survival". The Flyers managed to squeeze into the playoffs after a season of multiple crushing injuries, depressing losing streaks, and disasterous lead-relinquishing. The Flyers' first round wasn't much different. They worked up to a 3-1 series lead, but then lost game 5. Game 6 in Philly, carrying the slogan "THIS is Game 7!" for Flyers' fans saw the Flyers go up 2-0 but then lose 4-2. The series culminated in a game 7 in Washington, which saw the Flyers struggle into overtime on the backs of two ugly goals, one trickling through Cristobal Huet's five hole, and the other after Patrick Thoresen dominoed a Capital into Huet, knocking him over leaving the Flyers with an empty net to score on. Yet, the Flyers pulled through in overtime, scoring on the power play to finally end the series. The Flyers organization, especially General Manager Paul Holmgren, deserves credit for fueling an amazing, often-overlooked turnaround this season.






1) Seventh Heaven- In one of the most electrifying games in NHL history, the Stars and Sharks played a stunning seven periods. However, this wasn't your grandmother's multi-overtime affair. The score may have been 2-1, but the unbelievable goaltending of Marty Turco and Evgeni Nabokov kept this game tied at one a lot longer than it should have been (with two unbelievable saves that made #5 on this list). The implications may have had a hand in the intensity of this game- the Stars were looking to put away the Sharks after two unsuccessful bids, and a loss would have been the Stars' third straight and would have forced a game 7 in San Jose making the Stars 3-0 series lead a distant memory.