Boyle: Orr 'made my dad fall in love with hockey'

The battle to be named the winner of Greatest NHL Moments Presented by Coors Light and Pepsi Zero Sugar is down to two, with Boston Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr's iconic overtime goal to win the 1970 Stanley Cup Final up against Pittsburgh Penguins center Mario Lemieux scoring five goals five different ways Dec. 31, 1988, in the final.
Fans can vote through Nov. 29. The winner will be announced during the 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic between the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa on Dec. 16 (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports, NHL.TV).
NHL.com conducted an informal poll of current players on which moment they would pick. The results will run on NHL.com from now until Dec. 16.

Brian Boyle said he was a big fan of Mario Lemieux growing up, but the New Jersey Devils forward, who is from the Boston area, said it's no contest when it comes to the
Greatest NHL Moment
.
"I love Mario and loved to watch him play. When he retired the first time, I was devastated," said Boyle, a native of Hingham, Massachusetts. "What he did for the League, a franchise and city is remarkable.
"But
Bobby Orr
made my dad fall in love with hockey. I consider Bobby Orr a close friend, and he's a remarkable human being. What he did for Boston in terms of growing the game was great, not just with that goal, but that goal certainly was iconic."

Travis Zajac, Boyle's teammate in New Jersey, agreed.
"I'd probably go with Orr just because it was to win the Stanley Cup," Zajac said. "Everyone dreams about scoring the game-winning goal for the Stanley Cup, and one of the best players ever in the NHL was able to do it while flying through the air."

Florida Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck grew up in Pittsburgh, so naturally he sees the final round a different way.
"It's tough. One won the Stanley Cup, but what Mario did individually was incredible, five goals, five different ways, one night. I'm sure that's up there, for sure," Trocheck said.

Minnesota Wild coach Bruce Boudreau wouldn't take sides in the debate, choosing to eschew the debate by praising each moment.
"The
Mario Lemieux
play will never happen again. The Bobby Orr moment is a totally different dynamic," Boudreau said. "It's an iconic, picture-taking goal that will last forever in your mind. For anybody that's born in the '50s or '60s, you know. So the No. 1 visual would be Bobby Orr in my mind, because it's five different ones with Mario, but Mario did the thing that's never going to be broken."