Great Moments in Hockey History: Bob Nystrom OT Hero

May 24, 1980: Bob Nystrom scores at 7:11 of overtime of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final as the New York Islanders defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 and capture the franchise's first championship.

Nystrom's goal was the fourth and final overtime tally of his playoffs career, moving him to second place on the all-time list behind Maurice "Rocket" Richard (six).

This Day In Hockey History: May 24th

1974 - Philadelphia Flyers acquired Reggie Leach from the Oakland Seals, in exchange for Larry Wright, Al MacAdam, and a first round draft pick in 1974 (Ron Chipperfield).

1979 - Boston Bruins fired coach Don Cherry.

1980 - Bob Nystrom scored at 7:11 of overtime as the NY Islanders beat the Flyers 5-4 in Game 6 of the Finals, to become the 1980 Stanley Cup Champions.

1984 - Mike Keenan received his first NHL coaching job when he was named the new head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, replacing Bob McCammon.

1986 - Bobby Smith scored the winning goal, as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Flames 4-3 in Calgary, in Game 5 of the Finals, to become the 1986 Stanley Cup Champions.

1988 - The lights went out in Boston at 16:37 of the second period (due to a power outage) with the game tied 3-3 between the Bruins and the Oilers in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The scoring totals counted, but the game was replayed.

1989 - New York Rangers fired Phil Esposito as both their General Manager and coach. Neil Smith was later named their new GM, and Roger Neilson took over as coach.

1990 - Edmonton Oilers beat the Bruins 4-1 in Game 5 of the Finals in Boston, to win their fifth Stanley Cup. Bill Ranford won the Conn Smythe Trophy, as playoff MVP.

1994 - Quebec Nordiques fired Pierre Page, who had been their General Manager and Head Coach. They named Pierre Lacroix as their new General Manager.

1994 - Greg Adams scored at 20:14 of OT to lead the Canucks to a 4-3 win over the Leafs in Vancouver, to win the series and advance to Stanley Cup Finals.

1997 - Toronto Maple Leafs fired General Manager Cliff Fletcher.

Happy Birthday to Lionel Conacher, Pat Verbeek, Kris Draper, Kent-Erik Andersson, Ville Peltonen, Guillaume Latendresse, Vladimir Orszagh, Artem Anisimov, Merlyn Phillips, Alain Lemieux, Pelle Lindbergh and Bruce Gamble.

This Day In Hockey History: May 23rd

1968 - Toronto Maple Leafs acquired defenseman Pierre Pilote from Chicago in exchange for forward Jim Pappin.

1977 - Gordie Howe left the Houston Aeros, and along with sons Mark and Marty, joined the New England Whalers of the WHA.

1979 - The New England Whalers officially changed their name to the Hartford Whalers.

1996 - Sergei Fedorov picked up four assists as Detroit won 6-4 at Colorado, in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

1999 - Lindy Ruff became the Buffalo Sabres all-time leader in playoff coaching victories (breaking the mark of 18 held by Scott Bowman) in a 5-4 win at Toronto.

2000 - Joe Nieuwendyk scored the winning goal at 12:10 of overtime in the Stars 3-2 win against the visiting Colorado Avalanche, in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.

Happy Birthday to Gary Roberts, Dave Babych, Vic Stasiuk, Brian Campbell, Bryan Hextall Jr., Tom Rowe, Ken Quinney, Pete LoPresti and Dolly Dolson.

Hockey History Photo of the Day: Patrick Roy and Wayne Gretzky, 1993 Stanley Cup Final

1993. A saint is born.

While his Stanley Cup victories in 1986 and 2001 may have produced better statistics, Patrick Roy's finest moment took place during the Montreal Canadiens' championship of 1993. Playing behind a team many expected to be bounced from the first round against the Quebec Nordiques, Roy's stellar goaltending led to an unprecedented 10 consecutive overtime wins.

After surviving the Nordiques and handily dusting away the Sabres and Islanders, Montreal ran into a daunting foe in the Stanley Cup final. Wayne Gretzky, possessed in bringing the Stanley Cup to Hollywood, led the LA Kings into their first Stanley Cup appearance.

Things did not look good for Montreal early in the series. The Kings already had taken game 1 in Montreal and led game 2 by a score of 2-1 with a couple of minutes left to play. That's when Montreal coach Jacques Demers called for a stick measurement on LA defenseman Marty McSorley. With McSorley in the penalty box and Roy on the bench for the extra attacker, Montreal defenseman Eric Desjardins scored the tying goal, and his second of the game. In overtime Desjardins completed the hat trick.

The illegal stick penalty proved to be the turning point of the series. Montreal went on to win the next three games.

Though dubbed a goon, McSorley was having a heck of a playoff, and would always be remembered for this blunder if it were not for his assault on Donald Brashear years later.

Roy was the indisputable MVP of the playoffs. This strange series will also always be remembered for Roy's cocky wink to Tomas Sandstrom, who took it upon himself to get into Roy's kitchen all series long. As always, Roy would have the last laugh.

This Day In Hockey History: May 22nd

1970 - The Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks were officially granted their NHL franchises, for expansion fees of $6,000,000 each.

1970 - Oakland Seals traded Francois Lacombe, cash and a first round draft choice in 1971 to Montreal in exchange for Ernie Hicke and Montreal's 1st choice (Chris Oddleifson). The Canadiens used the pick one year later to select Guy Lafleur.

1972 - Bernie Geoffrion was named as the first coach of the expansion Atlanta Flames.

1978 - Bobby Hull scored the winning goal as the Winnipeg Jets beat the New England Whalers 5-3 in Game 4 of the Finals, to win the 1978 Avco Cup, as the WHA Champions.

1987 - Calgary Flames hired Terry Crisp as their new head coach, replacing Bob Johnson, who had resigned to work for USA Hockey.

1992 - Calgary Flames named Dave King as their new head coach.

2000 - Chicago Blackhawks named Alpo Suhonen as their new head coach.

Happy Birthday to Janne Niinimaa, Rich Preston, Andrei Nazarov, George Patterson, Pete Kelly, Marc Pouliot, Lude Check and Jim Playfair.

Bruce Driver Remembers 1984 Olympics

Dan Laible of the Utica Observer-Dispatch recently caught up with long time NHL defenseman Bruce Driver. In a three part interview Driver talks about coaching kids hockey, his days with the New Jersey Devils and his fond memories of the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics:

"With more than enough defensemen in the grouping at that time, Driver remembers Coach King, in late September or October of '83 coming to him and saying that either he or Kevin Dineen would be cut from the team following their next game. However, after the game, King decided to keep both Driver and Dineen, currently the Florida Panthers coach, on the Olympic squad. " We played a lot of hockey and traveled a lot," says Driver, a member of the New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup winning team in 1995.

"Experiencing the opening ceremonies in Sarajevo was so special and spectacular that Driver appears to still be in awe of it today. He tells of his team getting off to a great start in international competition during the Olympics, and what an impressive roster they had. Many of the young Canadians the following season went on to the NHL. Russ Courtnall, JJ Daigneault, Dave Gagner, Darren Eliot, and Pat Flatley, Driver's teammate from his time spent at University of Wisconsin, were included of those to turn pro, after Sarajevo. " We lost in the bronze medal round to Sweden ", Driver said. " The Olympics were just unbelievable and getting to meet athletes, not just hockey players, from other countries was exciting."

Here's my biography of 1984 Olympian and 1995 Stanley Cup champion Bruce Driver