This Date in Playoff History: May 14

1977: Montreal center Jacques Lemaire scored 4:32 into overtime, giving the Habs a 2-1 win in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final to complete Montreal's four-game sweep against the Bruins. Even though Lemaire would retire just two seasons later, he was still second on the team with 12 assists and 19 points. This Cup was the second of four straight that the Canadiens would win.

1985: Oilers right wing Jari Kurri scored a hat trick, Paul Coffey set a record for defensemen with six points in a playoff game and Wayne Gretzky scored the game-winning goal in Edmonton's 10-5 win in Game 5 of Edmonton's third-round series against the Blackhawks to give the Oilers a 3-2 lead in the series. Kurri also had a hat trick in Games 2 and 6 of this series and had another one in the first round against the Winnipeg Jets, setting a record of three hat tricks in a series, which still stands today.

1988: Bruins right wing Rick Middleton beat Devils goalie Sean Burke for the game-winning goal in Boston's 6-2 win in Game 7 of the Wales Conference Final, eliminating New Jersey. The Devils, who were in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history because of John MacLean's game-winning goal in overtime against the Blackhawks in their last game of the regular season, had a remarkable underdog playoff run, knocking off the Islanders in six games and the Capitals in seven games before losing to the Bruins. Boston center Ken "the Rat" Linesman led the Bruins in scoring in the series with 10 points and Devils defenseman Tom Kurvers led New Jersey with seven points. The Bruins were swept by a powerhouse Oilers team in four games in the Stanley Cup Final.

1993: Islanders left wing David Volek, who was drafted No. 208 in the 10th round 1984 Entry Draft, scored his second goal of the game at 5:16 of overtime, giving the Islanders a 4-3 win in Game 7 to eliminate the defending Cup-champion Penguins. The Islanders, who had beaten the Capitals in six games the previous round, including three overtime wins, advanced to the Wales Conference Final where they were defeated by the eventual Cup-champion Canadiens, who are the last Canadian team to win the Cup.

1995: Pittsburgh left wing Luc Robitaille beat Washington goalie Jim Carey at 4:30 of overtime, giving the Penguins a 6-5 win in Game 5 of their first-round series and cutting the Capitals' series lead to 3-2. This game started a Penguins comeback in the series, which they were able to win in seven games. Robitaille was playing in his lone season as a Penguin, but still managed to be second on the team with 7 goals in 12 playoff games.

1998: The Red Wings beat the Blues 5-2 in Game 4 of their second-round series, giving Detroit a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Blues would bounce back to win Game 5 by a 3-1 score in Detroit, but the Red Wings beat easily took care of St. Louis 6-1 in Game 6 and the Red Wings advanced to the Western Conference Finals, where they beat the Stars in six games. Detroit proceeded to win its second straight Cup when they swept the Cinderella Capitals in the Stanley Cup Final.

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