1993 Stanley Cup Finals

The 1993 Stanley Cup Final NHL championship series was contested by the Los Angeles Kings and the Montreal Canadiens to decide the NHL championship. It was the Kings' first appearance in the Final, the 34th for Montreal, and their first since the 1989 Final. The Canadiens won the series 4-1 to win the team's twenty-fourth Stanley Cup. 1993 was the 100th anniversary of the first awarding of the Stanley Cup. To date, the Canadiens remain the last Canadian team to have won the Cup.

Paths to the Final
To reach the final, Los Angeles defeated the Calgary Flames 4–2, the Vancouver Canucks 4–2 and the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3.

Montreal defeated the Quebec Nordiques 4–2, the Buffalo Sabres 4–0, and the New York Islanders 4–1.

The series
This would be the last Stanley Cup Final series to be played in the Montreal Forum, and the last time Wayne Gretzky would play in the Final as well, as he tried to become the first Stanley Cup captain on two teams, having captained the Edmonton Oilers to Stanley Cups in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1988. It was Montreal's first trip to the finals in four years, while it was the first-ever trip to the finals for the Kings in their 26-year history. As of 2009, this is the most recent time that a Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup Championship. It is also (to date) the last time the Canadiens have advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.

Game one
In game one at the Montreal Forum, the Kings jumped out to a 1–0 lead on Luc Robitaille's power-play goal at 3:03 of the first period. The Canadiens tied the game late in the first, on Ed Ronan's goal at 18:09 (although it was merely a pass that Wayne Gretzky accidentally deflected in). Robitaille would break the 1–1 tie with his second power-play goal of the game at 17:41 of the second period. Jari Kurri added an insurance marker off a Patrice Brisebois turnover at 1:51 of the third, and Gretzky sealed the 4–1 win for the Kings with an empty net goal at 18:02.

Game two
The most memorable moment of the series came late in the third period of game two. With the Kings leading by a score of 2–1, Canadiens coach Jacques Demers called for a measurement of the curve of Kings defenceman Marty McSorley's stick. The stick was deemed illegal and McSorley was given a two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. As it was late in the game and Montreal was facing the prospect of going to LA down two games to zero, Jacques Demers pulled goalie Patrick Roy for a 6 on 4 advantage. In dramatic fashion, Montreal's Éric Desjardins scored from the point to tie the game at 2 and force overtime. Desjardins then scored his third goal (the first defenceman to score a hat trick in a cup final) of the game 51 seconds into overtime to give Montreal the win and the momentum heading toward games three and four at the Great Western Forum.

Game three
In game three in Los Angeles, the Canadiens jumped out to a 1–0 first period lead on a tip-in goal by Brian Bellows at 10:26, and Gilbert Dionne and Mathieu Schneider increased that lead to 3–0 at 2:41 and 3:02 of the second period. After a memorable check by Kings long-time defenceman Mark Hardy on Montreal's Mike Keane, the Kings fired back to tie the game in the second period. Luc Robitaille, Tony Granato and Wayne Gretzky all had goals to make the score 3–3. With time running out in the third period, Montreal captain Guy Carbonneau appeared to cover the puck in the goal crease, which with such little time remaining (12 seconds) would have resulted in a penalty shot for Los Angeles. But the referee ruled that the puck had been shot by a Kings player into Carbonneau's equipment, and so the period remained scoreless. The game went into overtime and the Canadiens won again; it was their ninth consecutive overtime playoff victory. John Leclair scored the winner just 34 seconds into the extra period.

Game four
Game four was a mirror image of the previous game. Montreal bolted out to an early 2–0 lead, but the Kings fought back into the game in the second period with goals by Mike Donnelly at 6:33 and Marty McSorley on a power play at 19:56. As was the case in game three, the third period in game four ended up scoreless. Once again, it was John LeClair who was the hero for Montreal as he netted the overtime winner 14:37 into the extra period, banking the puck off sliding defenceman Darryl Sydor's leg. In doing so, he became the first player since Montreal legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard in 1951 to score playoff overtime goals in consecutive games, and giving Montreal an NHL-record ten consecutive OT wins in the 1993 playoffs.

Game five
Leading the series three games to one, the Canadiens headed back to the Forum for game five. After Paul DiPietro gave Montreal a 1–0 lead with a goal at 15:10 of the first period, Los Angeles defenceman Marty McSorley tied the game at 2:40 of the second period. The Canadiens' response was swift as Kirk Muller scored just 71 seconds later and then Stéphan Lebeau scored a power-play goal at 11:31, to give the Canadiens a 3–1 lead after two periods. Paul DiPietro scored again at 12:06 to give Montreal a 4–1 lead. That ended up being the final score, and Kirk Muller's goal turned out to be the game winner. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup Finals four games to one. Patrick Roy was awarded his second Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP. The Canadiens winning denied Wayne Gretzky from becoming the first Stanley Cup captain on two teams.

Riot
The 1993 Stanley Cup Riot occurred in Montreal after the Montreal Canadiens won their 24th Stanley Cup. Fans poured out of the Montreal Forum and began to commit acts of vandalism and violence while their team was celebrating inside. The riot was mostly focused on Ste. Catherine St. stores were looted and police cruisers burned. The riots caused an estimated $10 million dollars in damages and injured 168 people, including 49 police officers. 115 people were arrested.