With 2026 around the corner, we’ve reached the quarter-century mark, if you can believe that. So, this is a good time to look back at the 25 years and all the great moments that filled them. There were plenty of great hockey moments, and it was hard to choose 25 but thanks to multiple contributors and input from writers around the hockey world, this is the list of the best.
Part one of this series will dive into moments 25 through 16 on the list as we count down to one. Make sure to stay tuned to see how the full rankings shake out!
25: Vegas Winning The 2023 Stanley Cup
Looking back, there’s something surreal about the run the Vegas Golden Knights had. Their first season saw them reach the Stanley Cup Final, which could have made this list. Expansion franchises usually struggle out of the gate and take years to build up a contender. The Golden Knights won the Cup in their sixth season of existence and dominated the Florida Panthers in the Final in the process.
Many point to the Golden Knights and their run of success as a reason to change the rules. They play in a state with minimal taxes, and they danced around the salary cap by placing a few players on the long-term injured list, only to bring them back for the playoffs. The bottom line is that they proved that a team that’s willing to spend and literally push the chips into the middle of the table will win. It’s how they aggressively went after the Cup while proving that hockey can work in the desert.
That’s also a bigger implication of their Cup victory. The Golden Knights winning in front of a packed arena in Game 5 proved that hockey works in that market, and other sports followed suit by bringing teams to Las Vegas, a city that was seen as the opposite of a sports market.
24: Kings vs Sharks Reverse Sweep in 2014 First Round
It’s debatable whether a reverse sweep should be on this list. Some might say that it’s not a hockey moment. Others will say that 24 is too low, considering the rarity of the event. There were two reverse sweeps in the past quarter-century and four in NHL history. So, both find their way to the end of the list.
What makes the 2014 reverse sweep special is that it fueled a Cup run. The Los Angeles Kings won it all in 2012 but had their backs to the wall in the First Round and looked poised to lose to a San Jose Sharks team that was looking for a breakthrough with a 3-0 series lead. Instead, they flipped the series. The Kings didn’t just win the next four games but dominated play, winning each game by multiple scores. After winning that matchup against the Sharks, they proved they could beat anyone when needed, and that’s what they did en route to a Cup title.
23: Flyers vs Bruins Reverse Sweep in 2010 First Round
The debate is whether this reverse sweep was more memorable than the Kings over the Sharks. After all, there hasn’t been one since that 2014 series comeback. The Philadelphia Flyers’ reverse sweep over the Boston Bruins is more memorable for two reasons. It was the first in Stanley Cup Playoff history since 1975, so coming back from 3-0 felt impossible. The other key was how the Flyers came back against the Bruins.
The Flyers had to win Game 4 in overtime just to avoid the sweep. Then Game 6 was a 2-1 defensive battle that put all the pressure on the Bruins to avoid going down in infamy. To cap it all off was a Game 7 for the ages, where the Flyers trailed 3-0 in the first period only to score four unanswered to complete the comeback. This was the pinnacle of the Cinderella run that saw a team that made the playoffs on the final day of the season reach the Final.
22: Sam Reinhart’s Four Goals in Game 6 of 2025 Stanley Cup Final
In hindsight, this might be one of the best single-game performances in Final history. It’s still a new memory, and it will take a few years to determine its significance. That said, Sam Reinhart’s four-goal performance in Game 6 to put the series away stands out as a defining moment from the rematch, the series, and the Florida Panthers’ rise as a modern dynasty.
The four-goal night in the final game of the series makes for a good case to have two awards: a Conn Smythe Trophy and an award for the best performance in the Final. Sam Bennett was awarded the Conn Smythe for his play throughout the playoffs but many voters had already made up their mind before Reinhart’s Game 6. That night allowed him to end the playoff run with 11 goals and 23 points, both of which were more than Bennett’s totals.
Reinhart’s game has its parallels throughout sports. From Reggie Jackson’s three home run game in the World Series to Steve Young’s seven touchdown Super Bowl game. Reinhart stole the show in the decisive game and put the series away with four goals in the 5-1 win.
21: Mike Smith & Cam Talbot Goalie Fight
Some of the coolest things in hockey involve the goalies. From goalie goals to acrobatic saves to goalie fights. For anyone who covers the game, it’s something that is secretly on their bucket list to witness two goaltenders drop the gloves and pads at center ice and go at it.
That’s what happened in the middle of the 2019-20 season on Feb. 2 when the Calgary Flames faced the Edmonton Oilers. In the middle of a line brawl that started by Cam Talbot’s net, Mike Smith skated to the middle of the ice and dared Talbot into the fight. The two goaltenders went at it, and everyone on the ice stopped and watched the bout. Jack Michaels had the call that best encapsulated the moment, stating, “This is the Battle of Alberta we’ve been waiting for for three decades!”
There are some honorable mentions, including a Carey Price and Tim Thomas fight and a Ryan Miller against Jonathan Benier battle. The Smith-Talbot one stands out in part because it came at the height of the rivalry in recent years, with the Flames and Oilers both being Cup contenders and playing in plenty of great games leading up to that game. The fight was the pinnacle of those matchups.
20: Artemi Panarin & Johnny Gaudreau’s 2022 First Round Overtime Winners
This isn’t one moment. However, it’s one of the best hockey nights in recent memory. To cap off the First Round, there were two matchups that went the distance and then went into overtime, setting up the best possible ending in sports. A sudden death overtime goal would end the game and the series.
The first one was Artemi Panarin’s first signature moment with the New York Rangers. The star winger is known for his playmaking but against the Pittsburgh Penguins, he fired the puck to win the game and complete a 3-1 series comeback.
In hindsight, the late Johnny Gaudreau’s goal is all the more meaningful. The Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars were knotted up in a 1-1 goaltending duel between the established veteran Jacob Markstrom and the up-and-coming Jake Oettinger. Gaudreau darted around in the offensive zone and snuck the puck into the top shelf to end the series and send the Saddledome into a frenzy. It was the final iconic moment for the elite player in Calgary, and many fans look back at that moment fondly, as it gave a fanbase that hasn’t seen much success a moment of joy.
19: Pat Maroon’s 2019 Second Round Double-Overtime Winner
This moment in a vacuum is cool but not significant. It’s the sliding doors of this goal that make it meaningful. The St. Louis Blues had a run for the ages, going from worst to first that season and tearing through the playoffs to win the first and only Cup in franchise history. The biggest moment in that run came in the Second Round.
The Blues and Dallas Stars went to overtime in Game 7, and because one wasn’t enough, they had a second one underway. With both teams running on fumes, Pat Maroon got to the net and powered the puck into the goal to end the series. That goal sent the Blues to the Western Conference Final and ultimately helped them win the Cup. The goal also worked out well for Maroon as he won the Cup that year and then signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the Cup in 2020 and 2021.
18: Bruins-Panthers 2023 First Round Game 7 Ending
Speaking of sliding door moments, this series had a few of them. The Boston Bruins had a historic regular season, and the series was theirs to lose. Many point to the Game 5 Brad Marchand breakaway as the defining moment, as he could have put that game away, and instead, the Panthers came back and won it. Then they won Game 6 to force a winner-take-all game at TD Garden.
It’s why Game 7, notably the ending, is the biggest moment from this series. The Bruins held a 3-2 lead in the final minute, and the crowd sensed a victory in the works. With the Panther net empty, the last-desperation heave was on, and it came from defenseman Brandon Montour, who found a rebound and zipped it past Jeremy Swayman to force overtime. Then came overtime, and with the Panthers controlling the puck in the offensive zone, Carter Verhaeghe, who was building a reputation for goals in the playoffs, went to the top corner to complete the series comeback and the upset.
The Bruins were never the same after this game. The same is true about the Panthers, who went on a deep playoff run after this, where they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Final. Then the Panthers became the juggernauts of the Eastern Conference and the NHL, winning the Cup in 2023 and 2024. Now, imagine if the Bruins hold on in the final minute or are the ones who score the overtime goal. Are they the dynasty of the NHL? Does Marchand ever get traded to Florida? I guess we’ll never know.
17: Sam Gagner’s 8-Point Night
This performance is a reminder that on any given night, something crazy can happen at the arena. That’s what happened on a cold February night in the decade of darkness in Edmonton. The Oilers were going nowhere, and Sam Gagner was a long-time NHLer but far from a star. But for one game, nobody on the Chicago Blackhawks could stop him.
Once in a while, a star player will have four goals or five points. Likewise, eight-point nights were expected in the 1980s, with Wayne Gretzky putting together a few. At some point in this otherwise meaningless game, everyone started to notice that Gagner was on a heater and started to keep track of every shift. Gagner ended the night with four goals and four assists to send the fans home with a memorable moment in a forgettable season.
16: Connor McDavid’s Back-to-Back 4-Point Games in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final
Connor McDavid has provided plenty of great hockey moments in the past decade-plus. It’s hard to choose the one or two that stand out but this is the first McDavid moment (there’s another, don’t worry). It came in the Stanley Cup Final against the Panthers when the team needed him most.
The Oilers were trailing 3-0 in the series and needed a win. It’s when McDavid’s four-point night forced the series back to Sunrise for Game 5. Then, he distributed three assists and scored the empty-netter to force a Game 6.
The Oilers ultimately forced a Game 7 and nearly completed the series comeback, and it was only possible because McDavid, the greatest player of the generation, took over two games in a row. His back-to-back performances and overall play to give the Oilers a chance earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy in a losing effort, which led to arguably the most iconic moment of that series, where Gary Bettman announces that McDavid won the award only to realize there’s no chance that he’s coming back on the ice to receive it.
