There’s little in sports that incites the type of nail-biting suspense as sudden death overtime in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And what’s more exciting than an overtime winner?
Answer: Not much.
Not all overtime winners are created equal. Some come along with unforgettable calls from the booth, others trickle through goaltenders from impossible angles, while some provide lasting imagery like Bobby Orr soaring through the air or Theo Fleury sliding from one end of the ice to the other for an unforgettable celebration.
Here is a list of some of the greatest, strangest, and most unforgettable overtime goals in NHL history.
Best OT goal call that could double as a distress signal
Brad May will never be mentioned among the NHL’s greatest goal scorers, but the former veteran of 1,041 games certainly ranks among the greatest overtime goals scored.
The Buffalo Sabres completed an upset sweep of the Adams Division champion Boston Bruins on April 24, 1993 when 21-year-old May dangled past Hall of Fame defenceman Ray Bourque and beat Andy Moog to lift his team to victory in overtime. Long-time Sabres play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret delivered one of the most memorable goal calls of all-time, shouting “May day, May day, May day, May day, May day!” as the Sabres celebrated.
Best OT goal celebration
Theo Fleury scored 455 goals in the regular season over the course of 15 seasons. It’s his winner in overtime of Game 6 versus the Edmonton Oilers in 1991 that stands out as perhaps his most memorable goal.
The Calgary Flames fended off elimination in Game 5 and slayed the beast once again two nights later when Fleury intercepted a Mark Messier pass and buried the winner behind Grant Fuhr. Fleury slid almost the entire length of the ice, throwing his arms up in celebration as his teammates chased him down.
The Flames lost Game 7.
Best bar-down OT winner
Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman, double-overtime winner, Wayne Gretzky in a St. Louis Blues sweater… this bar-down goal in the 1996 playoffs has it all.
Yzerman’s winner sent the Blues packing in the second round, while Detroit went on to play the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference final to ignite one of the NHL’s most heated rivalries.
The Avalanche captured its first Stanley Cup in a sweep of the Florida Panthers later that spring.
Best OT goal from a seemingly impossible angle
James Neal’s tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins began with a snake-bitten run of one goal in his first 20 games following a trade from the Dallas Stars in 2011.
Neal was goalless in the 2011 playoffs as the Penguins held a 2-1 series lead on the Tampa Bay Lightning. The sniper was set up along the boards at the hash marks with the puck on his stick in the second overtime period of Game 4.
“It only takes one,” said Penguins play-by-play man Paul Steigerwald.
That was the first post-season goal of Neal’s career.
Best OT score and soar
Make a list of the most memorable goals ever scored, in any sport that counts goals, and Bobby Orr’s Stanley Cup winning goal in 1970 better be at or near the top.
Orr secured the Boston Bruins’ sweep of the St. Louis Blues when he beat Glenn Hall and was sent soaring through the air after being tripped up by defenceman Noel Picard for one of the most iconic images in sports history.