Rallies and rivalries defined the NHL playoffs in the 1970s.
One time-honored franchise enjoyed its last great decade in this era. Meanwhile an upstart team wasted little time presaging its own dynasty in the ’80s.
The former beat its most time-honored rival in four of its six championship runs in the ’70s. In the first instance, it ended said foe’s bid for a Stanley Cup championship repeat, then staged an historic rally in Game 7 two series later to take the trophy itself. At the other bookend, it kept getting up after falling behind en route to another championship springboard.
In between, the new club knocked off its Original Six neighbor, then pulled a feat only one other team had in league history. One round later, it fell one win shy of doing it again and cutting off another team’s repeat hopes in the process.
The senior franchise in question would cap this decade with four consecutive Cups. The burgeoning brand would take the next four to start the next decade. But in terms of individual series in the ’70s, these two combined to win half of the 10 most dramatic.
10. 1975: NY Islanders vs. Pittsburgh
Even before becoming the second NHL team to win a best-of-seven series after facing the specter of a sweep, the Isles flexed their persistence. Game 1 at Pittsburgh Civic Arena saw them narrow 3-0 and 5-2 gaps in an eventual 5-4 shortcoming.
The Penguins raised 3-0 upper hands in their next two wins as well. But those and other leads shriveled to 3-1 and 6-4 finals. When the tide turned, the Islanders took Game 4, 3-1, and the next three by one goal apiece if you discount their late insurance. They turned 3-2 and 2-1 edges into 4-2 and 4-1 victories in the final minutes of Games 5 and 6, respectively.
Game 7 in Pittsburgh was the tightest tilt of the series. A scoreless draw stood until Ed Westfall struck with 5:18 left in regulation. That held up as the historic clincher in the 1-0 final.
The Isles proceeded to the semifinals, where they met the defending champion Philadelphia Flyers. They would fill another 3-0 pothole in that series, but ran out of steam in Game 7.
9. 1976: Buffalo vs. St. Louis
Unlike the other best-of-three play-in sets on this list, home ice held consistent sway here. To start, the bottom-seeded Blues took their home date, pacing themselves after a three-goal first period for the 5-2 victory.
Back in Buffalo, the upset-minded visitors were 12:25 away from finishing the sweep. That was when Craig Ramsay connected, followed by Danny Gare. When Gare’s first goal failed to hold up as the decider, he tallied again in overtime to force Game 3.
Buffalo’s Gilbert Perreult and St. Louis’ Red Berenson tuned the twine in the first and second periods, respectively. The deciding game then went quiet, scoring-wise, until the 15th minute of sudden death. That was when Donny Luce gave the hosts the 2-1 victory.
8. 1975: NY Islanders vs. NY Rangers
For the first time in 37 years, the Rangers faced a metropolitan foe in the postseason. They had previously bowed to the Americans in what proved that franchise’s last playoff hurrah.
To complete the circle, the three-year-old Long Island franchise faced the Blueshirts in its first Stanley Cup series. Though the series was a best-of-three wild-card round, the quality of competitive drama compensated for the light quantity of action.
The Isles’ established their comeback motif for the spring without fail in this set. They trailed by two goals at Game 1’s second intermission, only to win a 3-2 decision at Madison Square Garden. One night after an 8-3 letdown at home, they got their second chance to complete the upset in Manhattan.
The Rangers staged their own rally in the rubber match, deleting a 3-0 deficit in the third period. But the Islanders’ J.P. Parise ended the series a mere 11 seconds into the ensuing overtime.
7. 1979: Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo
The last year of the 1970s was also the last year of best-of-three wild-card series in the NHL playoffs. The on-and-off practice is likely off for good at this point. But the Penguins, in particular, ensured it went out in style
Holding the lower seed, Pittsburgh overcame deficits to win both of its road games, including the rubber match in OT. In between, the Sabres snatched a squeaker in Game 2, only doubling their lead to a 3-1 final in the last regulation minute.
Buffalo held 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 leads in front of its own fans in Games 1 and 3 alike. But starting with 6:06 remaining in Game 1’s third period, the Pens flipped the 3-2 disadvantage to a permanent 4-3 lead in a matter of 1:52.
In the deciding contest, George Ferguson scored the lone third-period goal to force overtime. One stanza later, he finished the rally he had started to win the series.
6. 1971: Chicago vs. NY Rangers
The underdog Blueshirts led this semifinal series twice, first after escaping Chicago Stadium with a 2-1 overtime decision. After a 7-1 blowout in Game 4 and a 3-2 OT loss in Game 5 shifted the momentum, they faced elimination at home.
By the eighth minute of Game 6’s second period, the Blackhawks held a 2-1 lead. New York finally got on board, then forced another sudden-death showdown with 15:39 left in regulation. The extra action would spill into a sixth period before Pete Stemkowski forced Game 7.
Back in their building, the Blackhawks had their turn surmounting a deficit. The Rangers’ only lead lasted 104 seconds before Cliff Koroll drew a 2-2 knot late in the middle frame.
With 15:35 left in regulation, Bobby Hull restored Chicago’s lead. That would stand as the decider in a dramatic finish, which only let up when Chico Maki inserted a dose of last-minute insurance.
5. 1971: Montreal vs. Boston
Some of this first-round set’s installments had a lopsided outcome. Even so, this was one of the better seesaws in the unparalleled Habs-B’s playoff chronicles.
The lead in the series changed a maximum three times. The visitor won four of the seven games, including a 5-2 Boston road win decided by Bobby Orr’s hat trick.
Four of the victories for either side were of the come-from-behind variety. The first of those rallies saw Montreal flip a 5-1 deficit into a 7-5 road triumph in Game 2.
Later facing elimination — and the franchise’s first playoff series loss to Boston since 1943 — the Habs roared to an 8-3 Game 6 victory at the Forum. Back at the Garden, rookie goaltender Ken Dryden blinked for the first goal of the deciding contest. But he had only one more setback thereafter while his mates paced themselves to a 4-2 victory, dislodging the first-place, defending champion Bruins.
4. 1978: Toronto vs. NY Islanders
Games 1 and 5 were comparatively lopsided, each ending in three-goal margins. With that said, this best-of-seven quarterfinal packed no shortage of quantitative, qualitative suspense.
Granted, the host won each of the first six contests. But the Islanders needed to bounce back after surrendering the first goal and work overtime to take Game 2. They did the same in Game 5 after letting the Maple Leafs climb back with 2-0 and 3-1 wins in Toronto.
Toronto’s desperation and crowd support undoubtedly boosted its four-goal outburst in Game 6’s opening frame. An eventual 5-0 lead morphed into a 5-2 victory to force Game 7 back at Nassau Coliseum.
There the Leafs’ third crack at sudden death in the matchup was the charm. This time it was their turn to shed first blood, pull even and then pull through with a 2-1 decision. Future Hall of Famer Lanny MacDonald clinched the series at 4:13 of Game 7’s fourth period.
3. 1972: St. Louis vs. Minnesota
After Minnesota’s 3-0 opening victory, the rest of this quarterfinal series featured five one-goal games and one 4-2 win by St. Louis. The latter came when the Blues’ season was on the line in Game 6.
Up to that point, the host had won each contest, but three of those wins were of the come-from-behind variety. The North Stars trailed Game 2 by margins of 2-1, 3-2 and 5-4 before finally prevailing in overtime, 6-5. They later let a 2-0 lead devolve into a 3-2 series-tying loss in Game 4. And they trailed entering the third period of Game 5, only to flip a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 win.
St. Louis again carried a one-goal edge into the closing regulation frame in Game 7. It only took 15 seconds for Charlie Burns to negate that, leading to the second overtime of the series. But the Blues bucked the home-ice trend after the midway point of the fourth frame, as Kevin O’Shea buried the clincher.
2. 1979: Montreal vs. Boston
When people reminisce on this semifinal, Game 7 tends to be the lone object of discussion. While there is no diminishing that contest’s legacy, the series as a whole was gratifyingly unpredictable.
The eventual victor came from behind in five games. In the first exception, Boston got back in the series with a 2-1 triumph in Game 3. The Bruins proceeded to knot the set with a 4-3 overtime victory.
Each team then took a turn intensifying its self-assertion on home ice. But in the finale, the Habs needed to surmount 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3 deficits. They erased the latter two in the third, forcing overtime by capitalizing on Boston’s infamous too-many-men infraction.
Guy Lafleur’s power-play tally was Montreal’s 10th game-tying goal of the series and the 13th by either team. Coming with 74 seconds to spare, the timely strike set the stage for Yvon Lambert’s OT clincher.
1. 1971 Stanley Cup Final
The team surrendering the first goal went on to win five of the seven games in this series. The team falling behind 2-0 and 3-2 in the set regrouped for the last two of those come-from-behind victories.
Montreal held a 1-0 lead in Game 1 before falling, 2-1, in overtime at Chicago Stadium. It raised a 2-1 upper hand in Game 2, only to let the Blackhawks get away with a 5-3 decision.
Home ice kept holding sway as the series shifted, though. The Canadiens eventually forced the rubber match by overcoming 1-0 and 3-2 deficits for a 4-3 win in Game 6.
As they did on the road in Game 3 at the Forum, the Blackhawks led Game 7 at Chicago Stadium, 2-0, in the second period. But the home-advantage motif finally gave out later in the period.
Jacques Lemaire got the Habs on the board, then watched Henri Richard draw and break a 2-2 knot. Richard’s go-ahead goal in the third stood as the decider in the 3-2 thriller that gave Montreal the Cup.
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