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The 1993 Stanley Cup Final series was contested by the Los Angeles Kings and the Montreal Canadiens to decide the NHL championship for the 1992–93 season. It was the first appearance in the Final for the Kings, and the 34th for Montreal, their first since the 1989 Final. The Canadiens won the series 4-1 to win the team's twenty-fourth Stanley Cup. The year 1993 was the 100th anniversary of the first awarding of the Stanley Cup in 1893. As of 2011[update], the Canadiens remain the last Canadian team to have won the Cup. The 1993 Canadiens are also the last Stanley Cup championship team to be composed solely of North American-born players.
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To reach the final, Los Angeles defeated the Calgary Flames 4–2, the Vancouver Canucks, 4–2 and the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4–3.
Montreal defeated their in-province rivals, Quebec Nordiques, 4–2, the Buffalo Sabres 4–0, and the New York Islanders 4–1.[1] With their rivals the Boston Bruins being eliminated by the Sabres in the division semifinals, as well as the two-time defending Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins being eliminated by the Islanders in the division final, Montreal's path to their first final since 1989 became much easier.[2] The Bruins had eliminated the Canadiens in the playoffs for three straight years,[3][4][5][6] mainly due to Boston goaltender Andy Moog, who was often referred to as the "greatest Hab killer" the Bruins ever had.[7]
This would be the last Stanley Cup Final series to be played in the Montreal Forum, and the last time Wayne Gretzky would play in the Finals as well. Gretzky was trying to become the first player to captain two teams to the Stanley Cup, having led the Edmonton Oilers to Stanley Cup championships in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1988. It was Montreal's first trip to the Finals since 1989, when they lost to the Oilers' provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames. Meanwhile, it was the first-ever trip to the Finals for the Kings in their 26-year history. As of 2011[update], this is the most recent time that a Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup Championship. It is also (to date) the last time the Canadiens have advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. It was the last Final in which a Canadian franchise would have home ice advantage with the Stanley Cup up for grabs until the Vancouver Canucks reached the Finals in 2011.[8]
| Tuesday, June 1 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 – 4 | Los Angeles Kings | Montreal Forum | ||||
In Game 1 at the Montreal Forum, the Kings jumped out to a 1–0 lead on Luc Robitaille's power-play goal at 3:03 of the first period. The Canadiens tied the game late in the first on Ed Ronan's goal at 18:09 (although it was merely a pass that Gretzky accidentally deflected into his own net). Robitaille would break the 1–1 deadlock with his second power-play goal of the game at 17:41 of the second period. Jari Kurri added an insurance marker off a Patrice Brisebois turnover at 1:51 of the third, and Gretzky sealed the 4–1 win for the Kings with an empty net goal at 18:02.
| Thursday, June 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 3 – 2 | OT | Los Angeles Kings | Montreal Forum | |||
The most memorable moment of the series came late in the third period of Game 2. With the Kings leading by a score of 2–1, Canadiens coach Jacques Demers called for a measurement of the curve of Kings defenceman Marty McSorley's stick. The stick was deemed illegal and McSorley was given a two-minute minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. As it was late in the game and Montreal was facing the prospect of going to Los Angeles down two games to none, Demers pulled goalie Patrick Roy, producing a 6-on-4 advantage for the Canadiens. In dramatic fashion, Montreal's Éric Desjardins scored from the point to tie the game at 2 and force overtime. Desjardins then scored his third goal of the game 51 seconds into overtime to give Montreal the win and the momentum heading toward Games 3 and 4 at the Great Western Forum. Desjardins is the first and, as of 2011, the only defenceman to get a hat trick in the Cup Finals; before this game he had scored just two playoff goals.
| Saturday, June 5 | Los Angeles Kings | 3 – 4 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Great Western Forum | |||
In Game 3 in Los Angeles, the Canadiens jumped out to a 1–0 first period lead on a tip-in goal by Brian Bellows at 10:26, and Gilbert Dionne and Mathieu Schneider increased that lead to 3–0 at 2:41 and 3:02 of the second period. After a memorable check by long-time Kings defenceman Mark Hardy on Montreal's Mike Keane, the Kings fired back to tie the game in the second period on goals by Robitaille, Tony Granato, and Gretzky. With time running out in the third period, Montreal captain Guy Carbonneau appeared to cover the puck in the goal crease, which with such little time remaining (12 seconds) would have resulted in a penalty shot for Los Angeles. But the referee ruled that the puck had been shot by a Kings player into Carbonneau's equipment, and so the period remained scoreless. After the series, the referee admitted that he had made a mistake on the call. The game went into overtime and the Canadiens won again; it was their ninth consecutive overtime playoff victory. John LeClair scored the winner just 34 seconds into the extra period.
| Monday, June 7 | Los Angeles Kings | 2 – 3 | OT | Montreal Canadiens | Great Western Forum | |||
Game 4 was a carbon copy of the previous game. Montreal bolted out to an early 2–0 lead, but the Kings fought back in the second period with goals by Mike Donnelly at 6:33 and McSorley on a power play at 19:56. As was the case in Game 3, the third period in Game 4 ended up scoreless. Once again, it was John LeClair who was the hero for Montreal as he netted the overtime winner 14:37 into the extra period, banking the puck off the leg of sliding Los Angeles defenceman Darryl Sydor. In doing so, he became the first player since Montreal legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard in 1951 to score playoff overtime goals in consecutive games, and giving Montreal an NHL-record ten consecutive overtime wins in the 1993 playoffs.
| Wednesday, June 9 | Montreal Canadiens | 4 – 1 | Los Angeles Kings | Montreal Forum | ||||
Leading the series three games to one, the Canadiens headed back home for Game 5. After Paul DiPietro gave Montreal a 1–0 lead with a goal at 15:10 of the first period, McSorley tied the game for the Kings at 2:40 of the second period. The Canadiens' response was swift as Kirk Muller scored just 71 seconds later, and then Stephane Lebeau scored a power-play goal at 11:31 to give the Canadiens a 3–1 lead after two periods. DiPietro scored again at 12:06 to give Montreal a 4–1 lead. That ended up being the final score, with Muller's goal turning out to be the game winner. Gretzky did not manage a shot on net during the entire game.[1]
With the win, the Canadiens won the series four games to one and clinched their 24th Stanley Cup championship. Montreal goaltender Patrick Roy won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time (he won it for the first time in 1986). With the Canadiens' win, Wayne Gretzky was denied the distinction of being the first player to captain two teams to a Stanley Cup championship. As it turned out, the feat would be accomplished the very next year by Gretzky's good friend and former teammate Mark Messier, as he led the New York Rangers to their first Stanley Cup title in 54 years. Messier had previously captained the Edmonton Oilers to the Stanley Cup in 1990.
All quotes are by Bob Cole, unless otherwise noted.
The tip-off is the referee leaves the stick in the penalty box, and that's where it is now. An illegal stick. Jacques Demers waiting for this moment.—On Marty McSorley's penalty for using an illegal stick in Game 2.
Desjardins ready...Schneider ready...Desjardins, no shot...on the outside, Desjardins shot...scores! They have tied it!—On Eric Desjardins' tying goal late in Game 2.
Brunet carries in, Ronan in front of the net...there's a shot! Desjardins following the play, and he missed on the short side, there he is again! Scores! Desjardins! And the Canadiens win in overtime, his third goal of the game! And the series is a brand new one!—On the overtime goal by Eric Desjardins in Game 2.
The Canadiens win the game in overtime again!—After John LeClair scores in overtime of Game 3.
—On Paul DiPietro's goal in Game 5.
And now a 24th Stanley Cup banner will hang from the rafters of the famous Forum in Montreal! The Canadiens win the Stanley Cup!—The dying seconds of Game 5.
† Included on the team picture, but left off the Stanley Cup.
The 1993 Montreal Stanley Cup riot occurred in Montreal after the Montreal Canadiens won their 24th Stanley Cup. Fans poured out of the Montreal Forum and began to commit acts of vandalism and violence while their team was celebrating inside.[9] In the epicenter of the riots, Ste. Catherine St., stores were looted and police cruisers were set ablaze. The riots caused $2.5 million dollars in damage,[10] $3.5 million in 2012 dollars.[11]
At the high point of the riot 980 officers were dispatched and they made 115 arrests. The police reported 47 police cars damaged, 8 of those 47 cars were completely destroyed. Rioters arrested after they broke windows, looted stores and set fires. Some of the rioters were suspected of planning to loot stores using the riot as a decoy. 168 were injured, including 49 police officers.[12]
Due to the Kings as the Canadians' opponents, most of the Los Angeles news media, including the Los Angeles Times and the Daily News, also covered the riots; Times staff writer Helene Elliott was pressed into service as a news reporter minutes after the riots began.
| Preceded by Pittsburgh Penguins 1992 |
Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup Champions 1993 |
Succeeded by New York Rangers 1994 |