Ranking the Best Goals in the 2017 NHL Playoffs
The 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs have been so exciting. There has barely been a moment to pause and reflect on all the amazing moments we've seen along the way.
Catfish, bad breath and offside rulings have dominated the headlines during the Stanley Cup Final, but let's not forget that the engine that drives all the hysteria is the game played on the ice—and the showcase of speed and skill that it provides.
The outcome of the Stanley Cup Final is still in doubt, but as we wind toward the last week of the 2016-17 NHL hockey season, let's take a look back at some of the best goals of the playoffs.
Most goals on this list were important to their teams when they were scored, but some are here for their pure beauty.
Here's hoping we see a few more gems before the Stanley Cup is awarded.
10. Ryan Johansen Turns Jake Allen Inside out
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Date: May 7, 2017
Series: Game 6 of Round 2, with the Nashville Predators leading the St. Louis Blues 3-2.
Game Situation: 3:15 into the third period, with the score tied 1-1.
The Goal: If you're wondering what the Nashville Predators lost when Ryan Johansen underwent emergency surgery because of compartment syndrome in his left thigh after Game 4 of the Western Conference Final, here's a fine example of what he brought to the table.
At the time of his injury, Johansen was leading Nashville in scoring, with 13 points. Three of those points were goals—none prettier than the sick backhand past Jake Allen that proved to be the series-winner in Round 2 against the St. Louis Blues.
The goal was a marvellous example of the synergy employed by Johansen and his wingers, Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson. In this case, Arvidsson served as the playmaker on the two-on-one, while Johansen displayed Pavel Bure-esque poise as he rocketed down the slot toward Allen.
9. Auston Matthews Converts a Fortuitous Bounce
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Date: April 23, 2017
Series: Game 6 of Round 1, with the Toronto Maple Leafs trailing the Washington Capitals 3-2.
Game Situation: 7:45 into the third period of a scoreless game.
The Goal: All season long, Auston Matthews didn't just live up to the sky-high expectations of Toronto Maple Leafs fans—he exceeded them. After a 40-goal rookie campaign, Matthews added to his list of achievements by scoring four goals in six games in first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, helping to put a solid scare into the NHL's top regular-season team, the Washington Capitals.
Matthews' most thrilling goal was his last of the year. In the third period of a scoreless game, with the Leafs facing elimination, he corralled a wild bounce off a Morgan Rielly shoot-in and effortlessly guided the puck high to the glove side of Washington goaltender Braden Holtby.
The tally sent the home fans into a frenzy but proved to be the final high point of the Leafs season. Marcus Johansson tied the game for the Capitals five minutes and six seconds later and went on to score the goal that would end Toronto's season at the 6:31 mark of overtime.
8. Justin Williams Converts from the Slot in OT
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Date: April 21, 2017
Series: Game 5 of Round 1, with the series between the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs tied 2-2.
Game Situation: 1:04 into overtime, with the score tied 1-1.
The Goal: Justin Williams is known as a clutch playoff goal-scorer. He lived up to his reputation with an overtime game-winner that gave the Washington Capitals a 3-2 edge in their first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The back-to-back Presidents' Trophy winners got all they could handle from the upstart Maple Leafs in the first round but doused Toronto's hopes for an upset just over a minute into overtime in Game 5.
Washington calmly gained the zone before Evgeny Kuznetsov dished a perfect pass out to the slot, where Williams one-timed the puck past Frederik Andersen for the 3-2 series lead.
The goal was Williams' third of the playoffs but turned out to be his last. He couldn't deliver his patented Game 7 heroics when the Capitals were shut out 2-0 by the Penguins in the final game of their second-round series.
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7. Pontus Aberg Victimizes Olli Maatta to Open the Scoring
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Date: May 31, 2017
Series: Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, with the Nashville Predators trailing the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0.
Game Situation: 12:57 into the first period, with the game scoreless.
The Goal: Who says you can't beat a guy wide in the NHL?
Whoever it was, Nashville Predators rookie Pontus Aberg was having none of it in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Drafted 37th overall in 2012, in large part because of his explosive speed, Aberg made Pittsburgh defenseman Olli Maatta look like he was standing still, chipping the puck past him before cutting to the net.
Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray showed great flexibility in covering the bottom of the goal and got his glove up while sliding toward the shooter, but Aberg had no trouble roofing it over the prone netminder.
The goal was Aberg's second of the playoffs—and third of his NHL career.
6. Jake Guentzel Threads the Needle
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Date: May 31, 2017
Series: Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, with the Pittsburgh Penguins leading the Nashville Predators 1-0.
Game Situation: 16:36 into the first period, with the Predators leading 1-0.
The Goal: No one has more goals in these Stanley Cup Playoffs than Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Jake Guentzel. One of this best was his thread-the-needle effort to tie Game 2 against Nashville in the Stanley Cup Final.
Under four minutes after Aberg had opened the scoring for Nashville, Guentzel picked up a rebound at the goalmouth off a Conor Sheary shot, then squeezed the puck into the tiniest of holes under Pekka Rinne's glove to tie the game 1-1.
The goal was Guentzel's 11th of the playoffs. He'd go on to add another in the third period that proved to be the game-winner—his league-leading fifth of the playoffs.
Guentzel also scored Pittsburgh's only goal in Pittsburgh's 5-1 loss to Nashville in Game 3 and is on the cusp of matching or breaking a long list of rookie playoff scoring records.
5. Erik Karlsson Draws All Eyes to Him, Then Feeds Derick Brassard
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Date: April 15, 2017
Series: Game 2 of Round 1, with the Ottawa Senators trailing the Boston Bruins 1-0.
Game Situation: 12:12 into the third period, with the Bruins leading 3-2.
The Goal: Despite playing with a fractured foot throughout the playoffs, Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson took full advantage of the playoff stage to show his skill and versatility right up until his team was eliminated by defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.
One of Karlsson's most dazzling plays came early, in Game 2 of the first round against the Boston Bruins. The Sens lost Game 1 and fell behind in Game 2 before Karlsson showed off his all-world playmaking, patiently holding the puck as he skated across the blue line and into the offensive zone before feeding a perfect cross-ice pass to Derick Brassard for the one-timer, which beat Tuukka Rask and tied the game.
Ottawa would go on to win Game 2 in overtime and dispatch the Bruins in six games before beating the New York Rangers in six games. By the time his playoffs were finished after Ottawa's Eastern Conference Final defeat, the injured Karlsson had accumulated 18 points in 19 games to lead all defensemen. Brassard, playing through a shoulder injury, finished the playoffs with four goals and 11 points.
4. Leon Draisaitl Kicks off a Five-Point Night
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Date: May 7, 2017
Series: Game 6 of Round 2, with the Anaheim Ducks leading the Edmonton Oilers 3-2.
Game Situation: 2:45 into a scoreless first period.
The Goal: The Edmonton Oilers were pushed to the brink of playoff elimination after allowing three goals to the Anaheim Ducks late in the third period of Game 5, then surrendering Corey Perry's game-winner in double overtime.
Rather than rolling over, Leon Draisaitl was having none of it. He put his team on his back, forcing Game 7 with a five-point performance. He ignited the crowd at Rogers Place just 2:45 into the game.
Taking a pass from Adam Larsson, Draisaitl broke in and fought off the check of Hampus Lindholm to power down Main Street—or Whyte Avenue—and beat goaltender John Gibson to his glove side.
Draisaitl was just getting started. He scored two more goals and added two assists as the Oilers pummelled the Ducks by a score of 7-1. Edmonton was successful at staving off elimination but fell 2-1 to Anaheim in Game 7.
3. Corey Perry Completes the Comeback
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Date: May 5, 2017
Series: Game 5 of Round 2, with the series between the Anaheim Ducks and the Edmonton Oilers tied 2-2.
Game Situation: 6:57 into double overtime, with the score tied 3-3.
The Goal: On its own, it's just another goalmouth garbage goal from Perry, who scored most of his 50 from a similar location when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy in the 2010-11 season.
But the significance of this particular garbage goal was enormous. The double-overtime game-winner capped off a record-breaking Anaheim comeback that saw the Ducks score three goals in the final 3:16 of regulation, forcing overtime and stopping the Oilers from taking a 3-2 lead in the series.
The winner was a classic, with Getzlaf digging a puck out of the corner and feeding Perry in the slot. How many times have we seen that before?
After their history-making comeback win, the Ducks sagged in Game 6 in Edmonton. However, they broke the curse that had plagued them in Game 7 situations at home in the previous four seasons, beating Edmonton 2-1 and advancing to the Western Conference Final.
2. Kevin Fiala Scores in Overtime Against Chicago
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Date: April 17, 2017
Series: Game 3 of Round 1, with the Nashville Predators leading the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0.
Game Situation: 16:44 into overtime, with the score tied 2-2.
The Goal: Pekka Rinne's back-to-back shutouts in the first two games of Nashville's first-round series with the Chicago Blackhawks served notice that the Predators weren't messing around. But the goal that sunk the dagger into the heart of the Blackhawks was Kevin Fiala's game-winner back in Nashville in Game 3.
The manic crowd at Bridgestone Arena watched restlessly as Chicago took a 2-0 lead before Forsberg sent the game to overtime with two third-period tallies.
Fiala's game-winner came after James Neal forced a turnover and fed him in front of the net. He outwaited goaltender Corey Crawford before sliding his backhander along the ice, just past the end of Crawford's outstretched glove.
After the Predators dispatched the Blackhawks, Fiala's playoff run came to an abrupt end when he suffered a fractured left femur during Game 1 of Nashville's second-round series against the St. Louis Blues. Though the Swiss sniper played just five playoff games, he left an indelible mark on Nashville's historic playoff run.
1. Chris Kunitz Advances the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Final in Double OT
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Date: May 25, 2017
Series: Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final, with the series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators tied 3-3.
Game Situation: 5:09 into double overtime, with the score tied 2-2.
The Goal: What better time for winger Chris Kunitz to break out of his scoring slump?
The undrafted veteran, who scored just nine times in the 2016-17 regular season, picked Pittsburgh's do-or-die Game 7 against the Ottawa Senators to come to life.
Kunitz contributed on all three Penguins goals in the crucial game—first snapping a personal goalless streak that stretched back to February 16, then assisting on Justin Schultz's third-period power-play marker.
Pittsburgh advanced to defend its Stanley Cup title thanks to Kunitz's big shot from the top of the left circle off a feed from Sidney Crosby. The puck left Kunitz's stick end-over-end and entered the net high over the left shoulder of screened Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson.
At 37 years and 241 days, Elias Sports Bureau reported that Kunitz became the oldest player ever to score a Game 7 overtime goal (h/t NHL Public Relations).
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