NHL: 30 best series winning goals in NHL Playoffs history

NHL: 30 best series-winning goals in NHL playoff history:
15. Ken Doraty beats the Bruins

Listen, there isn’t a ton to say about this one, but it’s literally impossible to keep this off the list. It was back in 1933. Ken Doraty was one of the first “great when it matters” players in league history. He remains the only person to score a hat trick in overtime. This is so far back, this is before overtime was sudden death.

That was unless the game goes to six overtimes. Toronto and Boston were playing in their fifth and final game of the semi-finals. This was back in 1933, remember, so there were only nine teams in the league. They didn’t have to play in the first round, so this was their first series of the playoffs.

It was early in the league’s existence, but there were already pretty passionate fanbases in Boston and Toronto. While cities like Montreal and New York shared teams, Boston and Toronto had one franchise to root for. Now, these two teams fought to make it to the Final. Three of the first four games of the series went to overtime, so the extra frame was very familiar with these two teams. However, six overtimes seems a little egregious. That’s what happened in the fifth and deciding game when neither team could score for two hours, 44 minutes, and 45 seconds. Then Doraty got the puck and finally put it behind the great Tiny Thompson.

There’s not going to be a video of this. Televisions didn’t even arrive in Canada until 1952. This is still one of the greatest series-ending goals ever. It was a fun ride in the way-back machine, but it’s time to get back to more recent times. Doraty was a monster in overtime, and here’s hoping someone can dig up a radio broadcast.