Top 20 Cup Final games since 2000: No. 4

As the NHL prepares for the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NHL.com staff selected the best 20 Stanley Cup Final games since 2000. Our 15-writer panel nominated 44 games for consideration before each member voted for his or her favorite 20 from that list. Each favorite game was awarded 20 points, with the selections that followed receiving one fewer point each and so on, down to one point for each 20th-favorite game. Today, we look at Game 6 of the 2000 Final between the New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars, which was on 11 ballots and received three first-place votes, and 187 points.

2000 Game 6: New Jersey Devils 2, Dallas Stars 1 (2OT)

Jason Arnott capped a tight-checking series by scoring one of the most memorable Stanley Cup-winning goals in history 8:20 into the second overtime, giving the Devils their second championship.
Four of the final five games of the series were decided by one goal and the last two each required multiple overtimes.
Dallas kept its hope of repeating as Cup champion alive with a 1-0 victory in Game 5 at Continental Airlines Arena on Mike Modano's goal 6:21 into the third overtime. At Reunion Arena for Game 6, the Devils' goal drought reached 145 minutes, 31 seconds (dating to the third period of Game 4), before defenseman Scott Niedermayer scored shorthanded 5:18 into the second period to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead. Stars forward Mike Keane tied it 1:09 later, and the teams went 61:53 without another goal before Arnott scored the winner.
Devils defenseman Scott Stevens' shot from the left point caromed into the right corner, where forward Patrik Elias went to retrieve it while Arnott crept into the slot. Arnott was alone in front to receive Elias' backhand feed, which went between Stars defensemen Derian Hatcher and Sylvain Cote, and shovel it past goalie Ed Belfour, who was unable to get across the crease in time to make the save.
Belfour stopped 91 of 93 shots he faced during the final two games of the series. Brodeur, who made 30 saves in Game 6, stopped 70 of 72 shots in the last two games.

They said it: "When you're a kid growing up in your basement, every time you take a shot on the net, you're like, 'Overtime, I just scored the Cup winner.' I probably did that a zillion times as a kid. It's the highlight of my career. It's awesome because it's something they can't take away from me. It's really cool. It'll be with me forever, and I'll be etched in the history of the NHL." -- Devils forward Jason Arnott
Historical significance: It was the second straight season and fifth time in Stanley Cup Final history that the Cup-winning goal was scored in a multi-overtime game. Brett Hull gave Dallas a 2-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres and its first championship by scoring 14:51 into the third overtime of Game 6 of the 1999 Cup Final. … The Devils (103 points) topped 100 points for the fourth straight season in 1999-2000 but hadn't advanced past the second round since winning their first championship in 1995. … Stevens was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He averaged 25:25 of ice time and scored 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 23 games. … New Jersey won all three Cup Final games at Reunion Arena and tied the League record it set in 1995 with 10 road wins in the playoffs.

Iconic moment: In the celebration that followed Arnott's goal, Devils coach Larry Robinson authored a memorable post-game moment by wearing the No. 17 jersey of forward Petr Sykora, who had gone to the hospital for observation after being stretchered off the ice following a hit from Hatcher in the first period.
Telling stat: Arnott played 122 playoff games during his 18 NHL seasons, and this was his only overtime goal. It also was the first of two game-winning postseason goals he scored. The other was for the Nashville Predators in a 5-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings in Game 3 of the 2008 Western Conference Quarterfinals.