There’s nothing quite like the NHL Playoffs. Everything is amped up to 11. There is nothing like watching your team play for a chance to win the Stanley Cup.
Well, maybe there’s something. When the game goes to overtime, there’s a chance for one of the teams to win the series, and it’s even better when it happens in Game 7. The chance for a team’s season to end in literally an instant at any moment is enthralling. It’s different than any other sport. In baseball, only one team can score at a time. In football, there’s a clear offense and defense. In soccer, they go to penalty kicks. In basketball, there’s a clock to tell you when the final buzzer comes. In hockey, at any time, either team can break millions of hearts all at once.
The amount of stress that comes with these moments. This is what makes them so great when they go your team’s way. However, the feeling that comes when it goes the wrong way sticks for a long, long time. There’s nothing in sports like those feelings.
There have been dozens of goals that ended a series. This will look at the best 30 of all time. These goals are so great that goals that have won Stanley Cup Finals aren’t on the list. Let’s start with number 30.