As the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers get ready to
face off in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Canadiens fans can
reminisce about what happened 32 years ago today. On June 9, 1993, the most
storied franchise in the NHL won its 24th Stanley Cup.
The Habs posted a 4-1 win in the fifth and final game of the
series. Paul DiPietro stole the show with two goals on a pair of assists from
John LeClair, while Kirk Muller and Stephane Lebeau also beat Kelly Hrudey to
seal the deal for Montreal.
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Goaltender Patrick Roy was nearly flawless, surrendering a
single goal on the 19 shots he faced, giving him a .947 save percentage. For
the second time in his career, the netminder was also awarded the Conn Smythe
trophy as the playoffs MVP, having signed 16 wins on 20 games with a 2.13
goals-against average and a .929 SV.
What was even more impressive was that 10 of the 16 wins
were achieved in overtime. The only extra time game Montreal lost that year was
against the Quebec Nordiques in the first round of the playoffs. From that
point on, the Canadiens and Roy became invincible in overtime.
The Habs dispatched the Nordiques in six games, swept the
Buffalo Sabres in four tilts, vanquished the New York Islanders in five
meetings before finishing the job against the Los Angeles Kings in the Cup final. It was the last time
Montreal would get to win the biggest prize of them all, but it wasn’t for its
star goaltender.
Three years later, after a mid-season trade to the Colorado
Avalanche, Roy would raise the Cup as a member of the newly established Denver
franchise. At that time, he didn’t win the MVP trophy. He would make history in
2001, winning his fourth Cup and his third Conn Smythe Trophy. To this day, he
remains the only player to have won that honour three times, with two different
teams.
Photo credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-Imagn Images
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