On May 10, 1973, with the Montreal set to meet the Chicago Blackhawks in the sixth game of that spring’s Stanley Cup Finals, the Canadiens were a win away from sipping from the Cup for the second time in three years.

The series had been an offensive affair so far, with the teams amassing a total of 45 goals in the first five games. The sixth would prove to be no exception to the rule.

The Blackhawks took a 2-1 lead into the dressing room when the buzzer ended the first period, but the Canadiens didn’t give up.  Montreal came back to take 3-2 and 4-3 leads before the Chicago’s Pit Martin completed a hat trick to even the score at four goals apiece after 40 minutes of play.

The Habs’ offensive heroes from the onset of the playoffs, Yvan Cournoyer and Jacques Lemaire led the charge in the third period. Cournoyer, with an assist from Lemaire, beat Tony Esposito at 8:13 before the pair combined to set up a Marc Tardif marker four and a half minutes later that gave the Canadiens a 6-4 victory and Stanley Cup bragging rights for the 18th time in franchise history.

With a dozen points each against Chicago, Cournoyer, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy, and Lemaire matched the mark set by Gordie Howe in 1955 for the most points in a Stanley Cup Finals series. They would share the record until 1988, when Wayne Gretzky picked up 13 against the Boston Bruins. 

Henri Richard, who scored the Canadiens’ first goal, had his name inscribed on the Stanley Cup for an 11th time, an NHL record that still stands to this day.