Top 10 plays of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Vegas Golden Knights ended the 2022-23 season in emphatic fashion by sinking the surprising and entertaining Florida Panthers in five games, which it means it's time to reflect on the moments that got us out of our seats this spring.

Let's dive into it - we know you're just here for the highlights.

Here are the top 10 plays from the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Honorable mention: An ode to Pavelski 🙏

It's been said before and we're going to say it again: Joe Pavelski is ageless. Well, not literally - he's 38 - but still. The Dallas Stars veteran had a remarkable spring, racking up nine goals in 14 contests (he missed five games after being placed in concussion protocol).

He became the oldest player to have a four-goal game in the regular season or the playoffs in Game 1 of the second round against the Seattle Kraken. We selected his last tally from that remarkable performance because of the outstanding hand-eye coordination required to bat home that knuckle puck.

It isn't hard to see why Pavelski became the league's active playoff goals leader this postseason, surpassing a couple guys named Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.

10. Draisaitl had some errands to run at the bank 🏦

It's long been known that Leon Draisaitl can burn you in a myriad of ways, but this goal was a new look, even for him.

The Edmonton Oilers superstar took his time by the goal line, holding onto the puck before seemingly deciding, "Oh, I'll just score now." With all the casualness in the world, he banked the puck off Golden Knights goalie Laurent Brossoit's back and in.

This particular tally might have been Draisaitl's most unique goal of the playoffs, and we had a lot to choose from: He scored 13 times in 12 games, tying Jonathan Marchessault for the most playoff goals this spring despite playing in 10 fewer contests.

9. Howden falls down in style 😎

In 54 regular-season games this campaign, Brett Howden had six goals. He had five in 22 playoff contests this spring. Talk about elevating your game at the right time!

The Golden Knights forward's best work might have come in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Howden stormed his way to the net and tucked the puck around Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky, falling down hard and sliding into the boards in the process to really add to the drama of it all.

This moment was particularly significant because it led to Bobrovsky getting pulled from the game for the first time in these playoffs. Before the final round, the Russian almost seemed invincible.

8. It's Stone's moment 🤩

It's rare that an empty-net goal stands out as one of the best plays of the postseason, but this one is special.

Golden Knights captain Mark Stone found the open cage from his own zone in order to complete the first hat trick in a Stanley Cup Final since Peter Forsberg did it in 1996. Oh, and his impressive feat also added to Vegas' 9-3 drubbing of the Panthers to clinch its first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

On top of all that, Stone has been struggling with a back injury for the past two seasons and he played his last regular-season contest of 2022-23 on Jan. 12 before making his triumphant return for Game 1 of the playoffs. Simply poetic stuff for the veteran.

7. 4 seconds is plenty of time for Tkachuk 🙀

Panthers superstar Matthew Tkachuk had no shortage of clutch moments throughout the playoffs - his four game-winning goals paint that picture pretty well.

You'll see Tkachuk on this list again soon enough, but for now, let's look at the marker that sent the Cardiac Cats to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996.

With under five seconds remaining in regulation of Game 4, Tkachuk skated to the slot with the puck on his stick, looking for the perfect moment to strike and dash the Carolina Hurricanes' dreams of staying alive in the series. Because he's Tkachuk, he found that moment with ease.

6. Playoff Palat is totally a thing 💪

The New Jersey Devils signed Ondrej Palat last summer partially because of his penchant for making plays like these.

The two-time Stanley Cup champion absolutely dummied the New York Rangers in Game 7 with his unrelenting will and work ethic. First, he hounded star defenseman Adam Fox and refused to leave his kitchen until he had the puck. Palat immediately entered another battle for possession with Chris Kreider and came away as the victor again. He then passed the puck beyond a diving Mika Zibanejad to find Michael McLeod in front, and McLeod showed off some serious patience to bury the shorthanded marker.

Talk about a forechecking machine, huh? We're tired just watching this.

5. Tkachuk says 'NO' to 5OT 🐀

Quadruple overtime was enough for Tkachuk. He wanted everyone to go to bed.

The talented agitator mercifully ended the absolute slog that was Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final in the seventh period of the contest. Without his heroics in the final seconds of the frame, there would've been an eighth.

Despite seeing just over 40 minutes of ice time, Tkachuk had something left in the tank and proved to be too much of a handful for the exhausted Hurricanes. He made a quick move around Brent Burns and ripped a blistering shot past Frederik Andersen, setting the tone for what would be a Panthers sweep.

4. How the Hill did he stop that?! 😏

No, seriously, we're still wondering how the hell Adin Hill stopped this.

The Golden Knights netminder robbed Panthers forward Nick Cousins of a sure thing in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, reaching back to stone him with his paddle in the blue paint.

Hill made that stop in what was only the 10th playoff start of his career; Vegas turned to him in the second round following an injury to Brossoit. Despite his big-game inexperience, Hill rose to the occasion with dazzling saves like this one to help steer the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup.

3. Very, very nice, Knies 😉

Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Matthew Knies couldn't have asked for a prettier first career NHL goal.

This play had a little bit of everything. The youngster used some nifty stick work to open up the net a bit, staying with the puck despite two Panthers defenders bearing down on him. Then he hit 'em with a pirouette and slid the puck into the mostly yawning cage with his backhand.

The cherry on top of the whole sequence? Fellow Arizona native Auston Matthews registered the primary assist. Just a very cool moment all around.

2. Pastrnak goes between his legs 🍝

Does a between-the-legs goal ever get old? No way.

Boston Bruins star David Pastrnak pulled this one off so smoothly that it's almost unnerving. In one fluid motion, he received Brad Marchand's pass with his back to Bobrovsky, guided the puck between his legs, and then lifted it to the top corner. There's no stopping that.

Between the regular season and the playoffs, Pastrnak scored 66 goals this campaign. This one might have been his best. We can always go for some more Pasta.

1. Barkov had 'em all fooled 🤫

Aleksander Barkov is a bad, bad man for this.

What was Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta supposed to do here? Barkov was in cruise control in front of the net and pulled the puck between his legs, essentially pantomiming that he was about to attempt the same move that Pastrnak did in the No. 2 spot.

Instead, he pulled the puck back out from between his skates and then scored on his backhand. Barkov had most of the net to work with since Raanta was still frozen from the Panthers captain's initial fake.

Take a bow, Sasha.