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THE PLAYOFFS

In the first round, the team once again faces its provincial rivals, the Nordiques, who claim home-ice advantage, having recorded two more points during the regular season.

Quebec takes full advantage of home ice and wins the first two games of the opening round. Unhappy with his performance at the outset of the series, Patrick Roy bounces back the next game and allows his team to cut the series lead with a 2-1 win in overtime. It is the first of 10 straight overtime games the team will win in the playoffs.

The Habs never look back, posting three wins in a row to claim what will prove to be the final playoff meeting between the two teams.

There is a huge media build up for the division final between Montreal and Buffalo. For the first time, Roy and Grant Fuhr will face each other in the playoffs. The duel doesn’t disappoint as the series’ four games all end 4-3 in favor of the Habs, the last three all decided in overtime.

In the conference final, the team meets the New York Islanders, who upset Pittsburgh, defeating the reigning Stanley Cup Champions in seven games.

Montreal wins the first three games. The team’s 2-1 win in Game 3 allows the Canadiens to tie the playoff record of 11 consecutive victories, held by the Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks. After losing the fourth game on the road, the Habs earn their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals with a 5-2 win in Game 5 at the Forum.

In the Finals, Montreal takes on the Los Angeles Kings, who are making their first appearance in the Final, 26 years after joining the NHL. In Game 1, Luc Robitaille scores two power-play goals and helps lead the Kings to a 4-1 victory.

The second game will be forever remembered for a momentum-changing incident. With the Habs trailing 2-1 late in the third period, Demers – acting on a tip from captain Guy Carbonneau – requests that Marty McSorley’s stick be measured for an illegal curve. Referee Kerry Fraser confirms the Canadiens’ suspicions and, with McSorley sent to the penalty box, Demers pulls Roy for an extra attacker. With a two-man advantage, Eric Desjardins scores the tying goal and sends the game to overtime. Just 51 seconds into the extra frame, Desjardins completes the first hat trick by a defenseman in Stanley Cup Finals history as he beats Kelly Hrudey.

In the following game, the team explodes out of the gate to take a 3-0 lead before the Kings mount a comeback to tie the game. In overtime, Montreal once again strikes quickly as John LeClair wins it with a goal just 34 seconds into the extra frame.

The fourth game is virtually a carbon copy of Game 3. The Habs see the Kings overcome a deficit once again and the game is tied at the end of regulation. Roy makes a series of spectacular saves, including a standout stop on Tomas Sandstrom. Roy winks at Sandstrom following the save and the image is caught by a TV cameraman, a highlight that will be replayed ad inifinitum.

LeClair once again seals the Kings’ fate and becomes the first player since Maurice Richard in 1951 to score in overtime in consecutive playoff games.

The Habs avoid making the same mistake in Game 5 and hold their 4-1 lead right to the final buzzer. The Canadiens win their 24th Stanley Cup, the last at the Forum.