Miracle on Manchester
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The Miracle on Manchester refers to a legendary ice hockey playoff game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL. The game took place on April 10, 1982. The name refers the location of the Kings' home arena at the time, The Forum, which is located on Manchester Boulevard in the city of Inglewood.
The game is regarded as one of the most amazing comebacks in hockey history. It is perhaps one of the most famous game in the Kings' history and one of that franchise's all time greatest moments.
[edit] Background
During the 1981-82 NHL season, the Kings had a talented team fronted by the famous "Triple Crown" line, however they had never advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs before.
Meanwhile the Oilers were a young, up-and-coming team that would shortly establish itself as one of the greatest dynasties of all time, led by the legendary Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky was only in his third year in the league, but by the 1981-82 season, he was already one of the most dominant players in the history of the league, and he made the Oilers one of the elite teams in the NHL.
The Oilers and Kings met in the first round of the playoffs. Game 3 was in Los Angeles.
[edit] The game
The Oilers established a quick lead, and the Kings were trailing 5-0 after the second period. It looked as though the Oilers had the game well in hand. However, the Kings stormed back, scoring five unanswered goals, tying the game on a goal by Steve Bozek with five seconds left on the clock, sending the game to overtime.
In overtime, Doug Smith won a faceoff and drew the puck back to Daryl Evans. At 2:35 of overtime, Evans put the puck past Edmonton netminder Grant Fuhr to win the game and cap off the stirring comeback.
The Kings drew momentum from their stunning comeback, and went to eliminate the Oilers in five games.
