Blackhawk's Cup Clincher, in perspective

June 25, 2013

Last night’s Stanley Cup Final Game 6 will almost certainly go down as having one of the most memorable in Cup history. But how does the Blackhawks’ comeback measure up against history? As you might guess, their game tying goal with 1:16 left in the 3rd period is the latest GTG to come in a Stanley Cup clinching game. Their game winning goal with :59 remaining is the latest Stanley Cup winning goal to come before overtime. Here’s the list of the latest Cup clinching goals:

Year
Game
Cup winner
Opponent
Period
Time of GWG
1999
6
Stars
Sabres
3OT
14:51
1996
4
Avalanche
Panthers
3OT
4:31
1934
4
Blackhawks
Red Wings
2OT
10:05
1944
4
Canadiens
Blackhawks
OT
9:12
1950
7
Red Wings
Rangers
2OT
8:31
2000
6
Devils
Stars
2OT
8:20
1933
4
Rangers
Maple Leafs
OT
7:34
1980
6
Islanders
Flyers
OT
7:11
1977
4
Canadiens
Bruins
OT
4:32
1954
7
Red Wings
Canadiens
OT
4:29
2010
6
Blackhawks
Flyers
OT
4:06
1951
5
Maple Leafs
Canadiens
OT
2:53
1966
6
Canadiens
Red Wings
OT
2:20
1940
6
Rangers
Maple Leafs
OT
2:07
1953
5
Canadiens
Bruins
OT
1:22
1970
4
Bruins
Blues
OT
0:40
2013
6
Blackhawks
Bruins
3
19:01
1947
6
Maple Leafs
Canadiens
3
14:39
1976
4
Canadiens
Flyers
3
14:18
1962
6
Maple Leafs
Blackhawks
3
14:14
1963
5
Maple Leafs
Red Wings
3
13:28
1945
7
Maple Leafs
Red Wings
3
12:14
1968
4
Canadiens
Blues
3
11:40
1946
5
Canadiens
Bruins
3
11:06
1989
6
Flames
Canadiens
3
11:02
1986
5
Canadiens
Flames
3
10:30

As you can see, last night’s goal was the first time that a team scored the Cup winning goal in the last 5 minutes of regulation. If we narrow the list to include only Finals series that ended in game 6 or 7, we see that last night was the 9th latest Cup winning goal since the modern Finals began in 1927.

Year
Game
Cup winner
Opponent
Period
Time of GWG
1999
6
Stars
Sabres
3OT
14:51
1950
7
Red Wings
Rangers
2OT
8:31
2000
6
Devils
Stars
2OT
8:20
1980
6
Islanders
Flyers
OT
7:11
1954
7
Red Wings
Canadiens
OT
4:29
2010
6
Blackhawks
Flyers
OT
4:06
1966
6
Canadiens
Red Wings
OT
2:20
1940
6
Rangers
Maple Leafs
OT
2:07
2013
6
Blackhawks
Bruins
3
19:01

Certainly the most impressive aspect of last night’s game was that, not only did the Blackhawks win the game late, they tied it late also. It’s difficult to track down full box scores of games pre-1980s, so it’s hard to me to evaluate where that accomplishment fits in with history. But suffice it to say, the Blackhawk’s night last night will be remembered as one of the craziest endings to a Stanley Cup Finals of all time.