NHL: 30 best series winning goals in NHL Playoffs history

NHL: 30 best series-winning goals in NHL playoff history:
6. Tony Leswick beats the Canadiens

There are some seasons where it’s clear which teams are meant to face each other in the end. It almost never works out that way. The last time two number-one seeds faced off in the Stanley Cup Final was 2001 when the Colorado Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils. That’s once this century that it happened. However, way back in 1954, the two best teams by far were Montreal and Detroit. They ended up facing off in the Stanley Cup Final.

Like any great series, this one was bound to go seven games. A 25-year-old Gordie Howe was looking more towards knocking players out than putting pucks in the net. He led the series with 23 PIMs. It was an NHL that would be unrecognizable today, but it was just as entertaining. This series is just as enjoyable today as it was then.

This was the last time the Stanley Cup Final went to overtime in the seventh game. It seems almost impossible. The Final has gone to Game 7 17 times since then, and never did it go to overtime. This made this series special. Montreal won Games 5 and 6 to force that Game 7. In the final game, it was a strange one. Floyd Curry scored for the Canadiens in the first period and Red Kelly scored for the Red Wings. In overtime, an absolutely bizarre goal ended the game.

It happens in a flash, and we’re not talking about top-of-the-line technology here, but checking defenseman Tony Leswick just threw a puck towards the net after it was pushed around the boards. Gerry McNeil prepares to stop it with his feet, but it deflects off his defender and into the net. The look on McNeil’s face says it all. The Red Wings would win the Stanley Cup. Notably, these two teams did not shake hands at the end of the game as the Red Wings just walked off the ice. This appears to be the earliest indication of a mic drop.