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On the Fly: 5 unforgettable 2017 playoff moments

Andre Ringuette / National Hockey League / Getty

In this week's edition of "On the Fly," we're looking back at moments from this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs that have stayed with us through three rounds. And, heads up, Ottawa's featured prominently, because the Senators had a magical few weeks.

MacArthur's moment

Ian McLaren: Nobody expected Clarke MacArthur to play professional hockey again, much less score an overtime playoff goal to propel the Senators into Round 2.

Prior to those Game 6 heroics, it was in Game 2 of Ottawa's series against the Boston Bruins that MacArthur put himself back on an NHL score sheet, netting an opening-period goal that marked his first tally in almost two years.

MacArthur, of course, had been sidelined for most of the past two seasons after a series of concussions put his career in doubt. That he was able to return for Ottawa's postseason run was one thing, but to hit the back of the net on home ice was a special moment, to be sure.

"One of the most special moments I've lived as a coach," Senators head coach Guy Boucher said after the eventual Game 2 overtime win. "When (MacArthur) raised his arms, the whole city raised its arms."

That sentiment surely wasn't limited to Ottawa.

Anaheim's comeback

Flip Livingstone: The wildest third-period comeback of the playoffs was arguably the most controversial, as well.

The Anaheim Ducks scored three goals - all with an empty net - in the final 3:16 of Game 5 of the second round versus the Edmonton Oilers, sending what was a 3-0 contest to overtime. Corey Perry buried the game-winner 6:57 into the second extra frame to give the Ducks a 3-2 series advantage, but it was Rickard Rakell's game-tying goal that everyone was talking about.

Oilers goalie Cam Talbot was forced to try to make saves with two Anaheim players on top of him when Rakell slid in the equalizer, but an Edmonton coach's challenge did not change the call on the ice - good goal.

Edmonton blew a three-goal, third-period lead and wasted a glorious chance to pull ahead in the series - a fact that would end up haunting them only five days later when Anaheim eliminated the Oilers in Game 7.

The last-minute flurry of goals, in-crease controversy, and double-overtime winner all made the game one of the best of the 2017 postseason.

Sorry, Edmonton.

Pageau's 4

Craig Hagerman: If the Senators were a Cinderella story, then Jean-Gabriel Pageau might just have played the titular role.

The speedy forward was a rare source of offense for the Senators this postseason. Nowhere were his exploits more on display than in Game 2 of the second round, when Pageau put the Sens on his back and lifted them to an incredible double-overtime victory over the New York Rangers.

After tallying his second goal of the playoffs midway through the first period, Pageau waited until the dying minutes of regulation to strike again, notching his second of the game with just over three minutes remaining. He completed his hat trick with 62 seconds left and Craig Anderson on the bench, tipping in a Kyle Turris slap shot to tie the game at 5-5 and send it to extras.

In double OT, just under three minutes in, Pageau came in on a 2-on-1 break and shelved a wicked wrister over the catching glove of Henrik Lundqvist, capping off his four-goal outburst in style and bringing the Canadian Tire Centre to a frenzy.

Four shots, four goals.

Not too bad for a player who scored 12 times in 82 regular-season games.

Kadri's shift

Sean O'Leary: Though it's impossible to quantify, momentum is one of those divine elements in sports that you can just feel. It can start with a scoring chance, a save, or - in Nazem Kadri's case in Game 3 of the first round versus the Washington Capitals - a hit.

Trailing 2-0 in the early stages of the Toronto Maple Leafs' first home playoff game in four years, Kadri set out to provide his team a spark by pasting Brooks Orpik into the corner boards, bringing an anxious home crowd to its feet.

Moments later, as Toronto transitioned to the neutral zone, Kadri took another wild run at Orpik, knocking both players on the seat of their pants. As Kadri wandered to the bench for a change, Auston Matthews took his spot, and promptly bagged his first career playoff goal to make it a game - which Toronto ended up winning in overtime. Sports are fun that way.

It was one of those rare moments, when, as an observer, you could feel the energy of the game transitioning between the teams in a huge sequence. It was exactly what makes playoff hockey so exciting.

You can watch Kadri's thundering hits and Matthews' goal here.

Karlsson's ridiculous pass

Josh Wegman: I'll go as far as saying that Erik Karlsson's pass to Mike Hoffman in the first round was the nicest pass in NHL history.

From his own goal line, Karlsson elegantly saucered the puck past multiple Bruins to have it land perfectly on the blue line just as Hoffman was skating by. Watch it - and be wowed - here.

What made the play even more amazing was that Hoffman finished with the one-handed deke that was good enough to land Peter Forsberg on a stamp when he first completed the move in the 1994 Olympics. The fact that Ottawa won the game by a goal cements it as one of the most spectacular plays in NHL postseason history.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

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