Ranking the NHL's final 4 greatest moments
This week, NHL.com unveiled its semifinal matchups as it looks to crown the greatest moment in NHL history as part of the league's 100-year celebration.
Fans have voted on their favorites in a 64-moment bracket-style system. One semifinal pits Wayne Gretzky reaching the 50-goal mark in his 39th game against Mario Lemieux scoring five different goals in one game, while the other is a faceoff between Bobby Orr's historic overtime winner in the 1970 Stanley Cup Final and Teemu Selanne setting the NHL rookie goals record.
All four are worthy candidates, but there can only be one winner. Below, we remove the matchup tags and rank the four remaining moments:
4. Selanne lights up NHL in rookie season
Teemu Selanne burst onto the scene during the 1992-93 season, needing very little time to adjust to the pace of the NHL.
He began scoring at a rapid pace, and on March 2, 1993 - following a hat trick against the Quebec Nordiques - he eclipsed Mike Bossy's rookie record of 53 goals in a season.
The young Fin then acted out his memorable celebration of throwing his glove into the air and using his stick as a gun to shoot at it.
Selanne went on to score 76 goals and 132 points - both rookie records that remain intact.
3. Lemieux does it all
On New Year's Eve, 1988, Lemieux proved he could do it all.
The Pittsburgh Penguins captain capped off an eight-point game against the New Jersey Devils by scoring goals at even strength, on the power play, shorthanded, on a penalty shot, and into an empty net, becoming the first and only player in NHL history to do so.
The game was the gem of Lemieux's season, in which he led the league in goals and points with 85 and 199, respectively.
2. Gretzky's untouchable scoring blitz
It's a record that, unless Nikita Kucherov kicks it up a notch, might never be matched.
On Dec. 23, 1981, after Game 37 on the season, Wayne Gretzky sat at 41 goals. Little did anyone know he'd hit the 50-goal plateau less than a week later.
Following a four-goal outing against the Los Angeles Kings on Dec. 27, Gretzky outdid himself two nights later against the Philadelphia Flyers. He collected five goals to become the fastest player to reach the 50-goal mark.
Gretzky went on to score an NHL-record 92 goals that season and total 212 points (the second-most in a single season).
1. Orr soars
It's the NHL's most iconic goal.
On May 10, 1970, in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, Bobby Orr scored the overtime winner just 40 seconds into the extra frame, putting the puck past St. Louis Blues netminder Glenn Hall on a perfectly executed give-and-go with Derek Sanderson.
The goal was made more memorable when, upon being tripped by defenseman Noel Picard, Orr jumped in celebration, giving birth to an unforgettable photo.
"As I skated across, Glenn had to move across the crease and had to open his pads a little," Orr said in Andrew Podnieks book, "The Goal: Bobby Orr and the Most Famous Shot in Stanley Cup History," according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "I was really trying to get the puck on net, and I did. As I went across, Glenn's legs opened. I looked back, and I saw it go in, so I jumped."
The goal gave the Bruins their first Stanley Cup in 29 years, and a statue of Orr airborne now sits immortalized outside TD Garden.
(Videos courtesy: NHL.com)