@rafiki

21d

Patrick Kane Ends Chicago's 49-Year Stanley Cup Drought

Today, 16 years ago, the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in OT of Game 6 to win their first Stanley Cup since 1961, ending a 49-year championship drought. Patrick Kane scored the Cup-winning goal just 4:06 into overtime, giving Chicago its fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history. The championship capped a remarkable season for a young Blackhawks core that would go on to define an era. Chicago finished the regular season with a 52-22-8 record, won the Central Division, and entered the playoffs as one of the NHL's top teams. Led by the "Core Seven" of Toews, Kane, Keith, Hossa, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, and Sharp, the Blackhawks rolled through the postseason. They defeated Nashville and Vancouver before sweeping the Presidents' Trophy-winning San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Final. The Stanley Cup Final itself was a back-and-forth battle. After Chicago won the first two games, Philadelphia responded with two straight victories to even the series before the Blackhawks regained control with a 7-4 win in Game 5. The series ended with one of the strangest goals in hockey history. Kane's sharp-angle shot slipped through Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton and became lodged in the back of the net. Kane celebrated immediately, but most players, officials, broadcasters, and fans had no idea the puck had crossed the goal line until moments later. "I don't know, it didn't seem like there was much reaction from anyone, so I think that's why I celebrated the way I did," Kane said. "I went kind of crazy, threw the gloves off, skated down the ice. I don't know, you dream of scoring an overtime goal to win the Stanley Cup as a kid... It was a pretty special moment.” (NHL) A decade later, in 2020, the NHL classed it as the Goal of the Decade, joining the Blackhawks Franchise, Joel Quenville, and the 2014 SCF as the Franchise, Coach, and Series of the Decade. Jonathan Toews won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, but it was Kane's unforgettable overtime winner that became the defining image of Chicago's return to the top. The victory also marked the beginning of the so-called “only modern dynasty”, as the Blackhawks would add two more Stanley Cups over the next five seasons.   Quote Source: https://www.nhl.com/news/patrick-kane-stanley-cup-winner-named-nhl-goal-of-the-decade-314182708

Blackhawks

Replies:

Vegas joins the NHL!

On June 22, 2016, Las Vegas officially became an NHL city when the league awarded Bill Foley’s expansion group the franchise that would become the Vegas Golden Knights. A decade later, that announcement looks like one of the best decisions the NHL has ever made. The Golden Knights became the first major professional sports team in Las Vegas, helping change the city’s reputation as a sports market, and paving the way for the NFL’s Raiders, MLB’s Athletics, and continued NBA expansion talks. Nobody could have known just how quickly the franchise would take off, seeing a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in its debut season, playoff appearances in eight of the first nine years, and a Stanley Cup championship in 2023. Foley ended the announcement with a line that resonates in the heart of all who adore the team and have grown with them, “Las Vegas is hockey-ready. We’re convinced of it. We know it.” Go Vegas, baby!

@Bro

Biggest loser in Hockey?

This has been on my mind a lot lately and yes you can call me salty or whatever. On December 12th 2025 the Vancouver Canucks traded star player Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild for Marco Rossi, Zeev Buimm, Liam Ohgren and a first round pick. Many Canucks like myself were very upset but saw it coming a 100 kilometres away. Buy as soon as Quinn Goes to the Wild he shows his true self. Before his first game against his former team he was asked about his former team and his response “honestly I don’t know any of there guys” Not a good look as*hat He was the Captain of the Canucks for two years and played there for almost 7 seasons. You know at least AT LEAST SIXTEEN OF THEM He also treated his tenure with the Canucks as a prison sentence always with one word answers but as soon as he goes to the Wild he’s all jolly. He never seemed happy even though his best years so far are with Vancouver. He never smiled and never did anything for this community he never cared to help people less fortunate in Vancouver especially going to B.C. Children’s Hospital where Canucks captains always have gone. No he’s done nothing. Sorry this was kinda a rant

@rafiki

"Fresh from the bench it's Crosby"

The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs looking to do something that had not been done in nearly two decades: win back-to-back championships. After defeating the San Jose Sharks in the 2016 Final, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and the Penguins' core returned. The regular season was far from easy. Pittsburgh dealt with injuries throughout the year, including a significant absence from Letang, who missed the entirety of the playoffs with a herniated disc, but still finished with 50 wins and earned the second seed in the Metropolitan Division. Their toughest test up to that point came in the second round against the Washington Capitals. For the second straight postseason, the Penguins faced their longtime rival, who had won the Presidents' Trophy and entered the series as the favorite. Pittsburgh once again ended Washington's season, winning 2-0 in Game 7 on the road to eliminate the Capitals for the second consecutive year. The Eastern Conference Final against the Ottawa Senators was another battle. After the teams split the first six games, the series went to a deciding Game 7 in Pittsburgh. Chris Kunitz became the hero, scoring his second goal of the game in double overtime to send the Penguins back to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight year. I can still hear Lange's voice: "Fresh from the bench it's Crosby; Crosby onto Kunitz; Kunitz a shot; HE SCOOOOOOORES!!! PENGUINS WIN IT! AND THEY GO TO THE FINAL!" In the Stanley Cup Final, the teams traded home wins through the first four games before Pittsburgh took control with a 6-0 victory in Game 5, setting up a chance to close out the series in Nashville. Game 6 remained scoreless for most of the night until Patric Hornqvist, a former Predator, scored with just 1:35 remaining in the third period. Carl Hagelin added an empty-net goal, giving Pittsburgh a 2-0 victory and its fifth Stanley Cup in franchise history. With the win, the Penguins became the first team in the salary cap era and the first since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings to win consecutive Stanley Cups. Sidney Crosby also became just the third player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in back-to-back seasons, leading the Penguins' core of himself, Malkin, and Letang to their 3rd Stanley Cup. Looking back, after Crosby and Letang joined Malkin in the 2005 draft, I don't think anyone could've predicted that they would create one of the most successful and long-lasting cores of the modern NHL. After 20 years, these three managed to accumulate 3 Stanley Cups, 3 Harts, 3 Conn Smythes, 4 Art Rosses, 5 Ted Linsays, and 23 All-Star Selections, proving their greatness. Crosby is still performing at the highest level on his classic $8.7 million contract; Malkin signed a $5.5 million 1-year contract for the 2026-27 season; and Letang is also looking to return. They are not surrounded by the team that won those back-to-back cups, but they are still acting as the glue holding together a young and rising Pens Team.