1982: Kings complete largest comeback in NHL history
It's only happened once in 108 years of the NHL's existence, and we may never see another game like it: the Miracle on Manchester.
The Los Angeles Kings were indisputably the underdogs headed into the first round against Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers in 1982. Edmonton had just set a new record for most goals in a single season, and Gretzky won his third consecutive Hart Trophy as league MVP, where the Kings finished 48 points behind in the standings.
Los Angeles immediately proved to be tough competition when, after trailing 4-1 in Game 1, the club mounted a resurgance and won by a final score of 10-8 (that's '80s hockey for you). Edmonton evened the series in Game 2 when none other than Gretzky scored the game-winning goal in overtime.
But the real magic happened in Game 3. The Oilers jumped out to a seemingly insurmountable 5-0 lead, led by the Great One with two goals and two assists. As the story goes, Kings owner Jerry Buss actually left the game at this point out of sheer embarrassment.
The Kings didn't back down, though. With both teams skating four-on-four, Jay Wells hit the back of the net early in the third frame to open scoring for Los Angeles. Doug Smith followed suit on a power play three minutes later, cutting the score to 5-2.
But ten minutes went by with no goals from either side, and the Kings' chance at winning the game was shrinking by the second. That's when, with six minutes remaining, Charlie Simmer beat goalie Grant Fuhr with a scrappy goal to make it 5-3. At this point, the life was coming back into Kings fans, and it felt like the game could be within reach again.
Mark Hardy's goal 90 seconds later only solidifed the belief that a comeback was possible. Los Angeles had come within one goal of tying the Oilers in just 16 minutes of play, all in the final frame.
Edmonton had three breakaways at different points of the third period, but goalie Mario Lessard shut the door on every single one, even getting some help from forward Daryl Evans who made a stick save to keep the Oilers at five goals.
Los Angeles took advantage of the Oilers' missed opportunities in spectacular fashion. There were five seconds left on the clock when rookie Steve Bozek lit the lamp for the Kings, sending the game to overtime in front of a home crowd.
There was no shortage of opportunities for both teams during sudden death. Mark Messier had a golden chance to end the game for the Oilers with Lessard way out of position, but he roofed the shot over the open net, gift-wrapping another chance for the Kings to win it.
Daryl Evans, in his rookie season, was the hero of the game for Los Angeles completing the historic comeback just over two minutes into overtime. He scored right off the faceoff and took off jumping down the ice, his teammates tackling him in celebration. The Kings won 6-5 in the most extraordinary come-from-behind victory in NHL history.
The Kings would go on to eliminate the powerhouse Oilers in Game 5 before falling to the Vancouver Canucks in the second round, but the memory of that seemingly impossible win has never faded.