Jeff Marek mentioned in a recent episode of his podcast, The Sheet, that there should be a wing of the Hockey Hall of Fame devoted to the greatest games. Think about Bobby Orr’s Flying Goal or the Summit Series (your mind is probably racing at this moment to think of the best games). Hockey and its century-plus long history are filled with iconic moments and games that have stood the test of time.
Which games are Hall of Fame worthy? What game comes to mind from recent years? What are the criteria for a Hall of Fame game (and who gets a vote here)?
This list could go on and on. So, let’s start with a list that isn’t overwhelming: The 15 Hall of Fame caliber games from the past 20 years. Limiting it to 15 is sure to leave some great moments off the list, so this is an attempt to find the games that, if the Hall of Fame turns this idea into a reality, they’ll look here as a starting point (it’s worth noting, this list isn’t a ranking of the 15 best games, that’s probably worth exploring in another article after this).
Sidney Crosby & Alexander Ovechkin’s Dueling Hat Tricks
For a good decade-plus, Sidney Crosby against Alexander Ovechkin was must-watch TV. It was the hockey equivalent of Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning, a duel of stars who were guaranteed to play each other a few times each season and provide fireworks and plenty of highlights. The pinnacle of these meetings came in Game 2 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semi-Final.
Crosby and Ovechkin both scored hat tricks and traded goals throughout the night. Aside from the pressure of the playoffs, this game stood out since both star players took over the game. Ovechkin made the biggest impact with his shot, sniping three goals past Marc-Andre Fleury while Crosby powered his way to the net to score three “dirty-area” goals.
The Washington Capitals won the game 4-3, yet the Pittsburgh Penguins were the winners in the long run. The Penguins won the series in seven games on a run that would see them win the Stanley Cup.
Marc-Andre Fleury Saves Penguins in Game 7
In the rematch of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final, which also had an iconic last-second moment to end the series, the Penguins took the Detroit Red Wings to the distance. Game 7 went down to the wire with the Penguins holding a 2-1 lead but the lead was far from safe. The Red Wings were the team of the decade, playing in front of the Joe Lewis Arena crowd, and even as the clock wound down in the third period, it felt like an inevitability that they would tie the game, send it to overtime, and win the Cup.
With Hall of Fame defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom finding an open look near the net in the final seconds, a tie game felt like a certainty. Enter Fluery.
The Red Wings fired a few desperation shots at Fleury before the puck found Lidstrom in the faceoff circle with the goaltender out of position. Fleury’s sprawling effort blocked the shot, and the clock hit zero shortly after. The Penguins won the Cup, and the save was the iconic moment in the classic game.
Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal
Mention the “Golden Goal” in Canada, and everyone will know what you’re talking about. It’s one of those moments that anyone 18 or older can fondly recall where they were when it happened. There’s nothing like a championship game that goes into sudden-death overtime to create the best possible ending in sports. When it happens, the next goal wins or loses the title, and that’s how Canada defeated the United States in the Gold Medal Game at the 2010 Olympics.
Many people know how that game ended. Few remember how great that game was. Canada jumped out to a 2-0 lead, and with a prime Roberto Luongo stopping everything in front of the Vancouver crowd, it looked like an easy victory was in the works. Then, the USA cut the lead in half to head into the third period within striking distance. With the USA net empty in the final 30 seconds, Patrick Kane flipped the puck to the net, and Zach Parise collected the loose puck and zipped it past Luongo to tie the game and send it to overtime.
This is where Crosby transformed from a young rising star to the best player in the league and a Canadian icon. Since his junior days in Nova Scotia, he was regarded as the next generational talent. Very few players live up to the hype but Crosby did, and this was his crowning moment. He found the puck off the forecheck and fired it past Ryan Miller to end the game and give Canada the gold medal.
This game encapsulates the USA against Canada rivalry in a way that’s still relevant 15 years later. The USA squad was good, and as this game showed, they had the players to pull off the upset. Yet, as Canada always does, they stepped up when it mattered most and found a way to win, and it was their star leading the way.
Patrick Kane’s “Ghost Goal” to End Blackhawks Cup Drought
When the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, all the focus (and pressure) shifted to the Chicago Blackhawks, an Original Six team with the longest Cup drought (with their last title coming in 1961). In 2010, they finally had the team to end the drought with Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Duncan Keith leading a young and rising core while Marian Hossa was brought in to get the team over the hump.
The Blackhawks took a 3-2 series lead against the Philadelphia Flyers, a team that had a resurgence of their own. The Flyers made the playoffs on the final day of the regular season and then tore through the best teams in the Eastern Conference, featuring a rare reverse-sweep in the Semi-Final against the Boston Bruins. With the Cup in the building, Game 6 delivered.
The two teams traded goals in a high-scoring game that was tied up at three heading into overtime. Five minutes into the extra frame is when Kane showed why he was one of the most skilled players in the game and a future Hall of Famer. He collected the puck along the boards, skated around the Flyers defense, and then fired a sharp-angle shot to the top shelf that only he knew was in.
The reaction after this goal adds to the iconic moment. Most overtime winners are followed by a roar of the crowd or the air getting sucked out of the building. This goal had a confused silence followed by a sudden realization of what the winner meant. The Blackhawks won the Cup, snapped the longest drought in the NHL, and the Wells Fargo crowd noticed how quickly the game and their magical run ended. An added bonus from this game is that Toews, the team captain, hoisted the Cup, then handed it to Hossa, the veteran star who lost in the Final in back-to-back seasons before joining the Blackhawks.
Sam Gagner’s 8 Point Night
Sam Gagner averaged only 15 goals and 26 assists in his 17-year career as an NHL journeyman. By many measurements, he was the definition of an average NHLer. On February 2nd, 2012, against the Chicago Blackhawks, Gagner was unstoppable. The goals and assists kept coming as the puck kept finding him in the offensive zone or with a scoring chance there for the taking. When the final horn sounded, he had four goals and four assists, arguably the greatest regular-season performance of the decade.
There’s something else special about this night. The Edmonton Oilers were a terrible team in 2011-12. They would go on to finish with the worst record in their division for the third season in a row, and this game had minimal implications on the end-of-season standings. The Oilers, by all accounts, were in the middle of a forgettable season in the decade of darkness.
The Gagner game is a reminder of why we love hockey and why we watch the games. Even on a cold night in the middle of February, something magical can happen. Any player can catch fire and do something remarkable. Even in a rough season, the Gagner performance was a fond moment in Edmonton and shows why it’s always worth going to the rink, any rink, to watch a hockey game.
Bruins Game 7 Comeback vs Maple Leafs (2013 Quarterfinal)
Who would have thought this game, this series, would be a preview of the decade to come? From the Toronto Maple Leafs perspective, this is a historic collapse, even by Leaf standards. From the Bruins perspective, this is a historic comeback and part of a run where this team believed it deserved to be in the Final every season.
The Maple Leafs led 4-1 with 11 minutes to go in the third period. They even had a comfortable 4-2 lead with two minutes to go and the Bruins pulling Tuukka Rask. Yet, this game went to overtime thanks to goals from Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic, and Patrice Bergeron. Speaking of Bergeron, he would score again in overtime to start a decade of haunting the Maple Leafs, especially in the playoffs.
The honorable mention from the 2013 playoff is Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Blackhawks and the Bruins. The Blackhawks were trailing 2-1 in the final minutes and scored back-to-back goals to seal the victory and win the Cup.
Oshie Owns Sochi
Whenever the USA faces Russia, the game carries more weight. The preliminary game in the group stage between these two nations was no exception. It’s worth noting that Vladimir Putin had a strong say in Russian roster decisions and was in attendance for this game. So, it goes without saying, he cared about this game and wanted to see his nation win gold in the host country.
Fast forward to the shootout, which was the defining moment of the 2014 Olympics. After the first three rounds, anyone could attempt a shot, including skaters who had already attempted a shot. For the Russians, this meant turning to Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk, two of the best players in the world, known particularly for scoring in the shootout. For the United States, it meant turning to a little-known young skater on the St. Louis Blues in TJ Oshie, round after round after round.
Oshie came out on top in the eight-round shootout to give the USA the victory. What made it more impressive is that he kept beating Sergei Bobrovsky with the same move, where he’d handle the puck from side to side and then zip it between the goaltender’s legs. The shootout is that quintessential underdog story where an unknown player in his sixth season in the NHL outduels two shootout legends in front of a stunned Russian crowd.
Auston Matthews Scores 4 Goals in his NHL Debut
Has there ever been a better NHL debut? Possibly just not recently. Auston Matthews entered the NHL as a known scorer, and the Maple Leafs anticipated it, allowing him to take over games when they selected him with the top pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Yet, even the Maple Leafs were surprised by how his scoring ability would stand out, as it did against the Ottawa Senators in his first game in the NHL.
What stands out from his four-goal game is how he scored. There weren’t any “fluke” goals or goals handed to him by the Senators and their defense. Instead, the goals displayed the same skills that would eventually turn Matthews into a top-of-the-league player, notably his shot and ability to pick a target and bury the puck into the back of the net. It’s rare to find a prospect who turns into a star from day one, and Matthews was one of them.
Pat Maroon’s Double Overtime Goal vs Dallas
The 2019 playoffs saw two matchups in the First Round end with a Game 7 overtime winner (which is the best ending in sports, as stated previously by the Golden Goal). The Blues played the Dallas Stars in the Second Round, and Game 7 not only went into overtime, it also went into double overtime.
This game wasn’t memorable because of the goal or even the game itself as much as the significance of it. Pat Maroon nets the game winner. It allows the Blues, who were in last place in the NHL halfway through the season, to go on a Cup run and win their first title in franchise history.
Maroon then goes on to become a key depth forward for multiple Cup-winning teams. He joined the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019 offseason and helped them win back-to-back titles. He provided the Blues with the standout moment in a run for the ages.
“This is The Battle of Alberta We’ve Been Waiting For For 3 Decades!”
There’s something special about a goalie fight. What was once a common occurrence back in the day (along with line brawls and bench-clearing melees) is now a rarity. Yet, whenever the heavily padded goaltenders drop the gloves (and paddle), the adrenaline gets going for every hockey fan regardless of the score.
The Oilers took a 6-3 lead against the Calgary Flames in this February 2020 rendition of the Battle of Alberta. Both teams traded goals, and then the Oilers pulled away in this heated matchup before chaos ensued.
As a five-on-five line brawl was taking place, Mike Smith skated to center ice and stared at the other end of the ice with the sole intention of fighting Cam Talbot. The Flames goaltender got the memo and gave the Calgary crowd a moment they’d never forget. Both goaltenders traded blows and ended the bout with Smith taking down Talbot. The cherry on top is the call from Oilers broadcaster Jack Michaels, who ends it with the exclamation “This is the battle of Alberta we’ve been waiting for for three decades!”
Panarin & Gaudreau Score OT Winners The Same Night (5/16/22)
This was the first post-COVID playoffs where fans were back in full force, and the First Round delivered. This Sunday night in May was one of the best nights in hockey, certainly of the modern era. Not only did one game go to Game 7 but two did, and then went into overtime at that.
The Rangers were trailing 3-1 in the series to the Penguins and came back to force a winner-take-all game at Madison Square Garden. Artemi Panarin is a playmaking winger not known for his scoring. Yet, with an open look, he turned and found the back of the net to give the Rangers the win in overtime.
Then the night was capped off with a memorable game that takes on a new meaning when looking back on it. The Flames and the Stars were tied up at 1 in a low-scoring contest that featured over 50 saves from Jake Oettinger. It was going to take a great play to get the puck past the rising star goaltender of the Stars. The late Johnny Gaudreau sniped one from an impossible angle to the top shelf to end the game. It was the last memorable moment for Gaudreau as a Flame and a defining play in his career that was tragically cut short.
Panthers Comeback in Game 7 vs Bruins
Many people point to the Brad Marchand breakaway in Game 5 of this First Round series at the big moment. Marchand had a breakaway in the final seconds and a chance to end the game and the series but missed, creating a sliding doors moment for the next few years. Game 7 had more significance.
The Bruins held a one-goal lead with a minute to play, and the TD Garden crowd was buzzing, anticipating the best team in regular-season history to shut the door and advance to the next round. The Panthers found the back of the net thanks to a Brandon Montour shot from the point to send the game to overtime. Then, in overtime, Carter Verhaeghe scored the game-winner, and the rest is history. The Bruins would never be the same team, while the Panthers, with the upset, went on a run and became the modern dynasty of the NHL.
Connor McDavid’s Game 4 (& Game 5) in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final
There are many Connor McDavid moments in the past decade to choose from. It makes sense considering he’s the best player of this generation. From his end-to-end goals to the games where he scored four or five points and took over, McDavid wowed the hockey world time and time again.
In back-to-back games of the 2024 Final, with the Oilers one loss away from elimination, he willed them back into the series. He put together two of the best performances in the Final in recent memory, netting four points in both Game 4 and Game 5 to allow the Oilers to push the series to seven games and come one goal shy of winning the Cup.
These two games proved that the best player in the series and the playoffs was McDavid, and it wasn’t particularly close. The Panthers won the Cup but McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy, which created another iconic moment at the end of the series (with Gary Bettman awkwardly announcing he won the award only to see nobody come out and accept the trophy).
“3 Fights in 9 Seconds” USA vs Canada 4 Nations Face Off
This was a truly historic moment in hockey history, and for many reasons. The Four-Nations Face Off was an idea that Bettman had as a replacement for the All-Star Game, something that seemed like a good idea but nobody knew just how good (even Bettman, who anticipated an All-Star Game in 2026 and scheduled one before realizing there was no going back). Finland and Sweden had great rosters for the event but the main attraction was USA against Canada, and on Saturday night in Belle Center, with notable tension between the countries, it all came to a head.
The start is what everyone remembers. The puck drops, and Matthew Tkachuk drops the gloves with Brandon Hagel for a classic tilt. Seconds later, Brady Tkachuk and Sam Bennett go at it, a fight between two power forwards, in which both traded punches. Then, nine seconds into the game, JT Miller went at it with Colton Parayko (which it’s worth noting was a rather lopsided fight). These nine seconds did more to grow the game than any game in the previous 25 years, especially since many casual sports fans some the action unfold and were hooked.
The game itself was good but not great. Canada scored first, and the USA scored three unanswered goals to pull away with a 3-1 victory. However, this game was played at the same time that the NBA was doing their All-Star festivities, only further drawing attention to the success of the Four Nations.
Honorable Mention: The Final between Canada and the United States also delivered and fittingly went into overtime. McDavid’s goal in overtime of the final game was the perfect ending for a remarkable tournament, with shades of Crosby’s overtime goal 15 years back (and in some ways, it was a passing of the torch moment for Canadian icons). The game ended any debate not only about the event but for the NHL, there’s no going back to the All-Star Game. It’s only a matter of what type of international competitions they try.
Alexander Ovechkin’s Record-Breaking Goal
This is the moment that inspired this list. Wayne Gretzky’s goal record, like many of his records, appeared unbreakable. Nobody could surpass “The Great One” and score at such a high pace. Well, Ovechkin did, and as the 2024-25 season unfolded, the record was suddenly in his sights. By the time April rolled around, it was only a matter of how, not if he would score the record-setting goal.
It created an unusual environment for the Capitals, a team looking to secure the best record in the Eastern Conference, and Ovechkin. Every game drew a crowd and became must-watch TV. The attention and pressure, understandably, weighed on Ovechkin and the team. On a Sunday afternoon against the New York Islanders, he found an open shot from the slot and put some extra speed on it to zip it past Ilya Sorokin.
There are many hidden gems from this goal. The game before against the Blackhawks, he scored twice and needed one more to break the record in front of the home crowd but with the net empty, he chose to wait until he could properly set the record. Another gem is when the goal was scored, everyone posted their reactions on social media, and the Islanders tweeted something that only a Lou Lamoriello-run team could tweet (it was WSH Goal, 2-1 Islanders). Or the gem of Ovechkin sliding across the ice after scoring, which isn’t his typical goal celebration but created an iconic moment that fans can point to when thinking of the goal.
It’s hard to say whether this moment will be the most iconic from the list above. However, it’s hard to deny it stands out historically from the group. Which game do you think was the greatest from the past 20 years? Let us know in the comments section below!
