The Stanley Cup Playoffs are all about sacrifice and leaving fans amazed at what a player is willing to endure in order to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup. Shnarped has selected sixteen of the gutsiest moments in playoff history and we’re letting you decide which one was the Gutsiest Playoff Moment of All-Time!
First Round: JAROMIR JAGR vs PATRICK ROY
Jaromir Jagr
May 2, 1999 – After a groin injury forces him to miss four straight games, Jaromir Jagr returns to the Penguins lineup with his team facing elimination against the New Jersey Devils. Jagr doesn’t just return to the lineup, he ties the game with 2:12 remaining in regulation and wins it in overtime. Jagr adds two assists in Game 7 as the Penguins win the series.
”It was just unbelievable,” his teammate Brad Werenka said of Jagr’s performance.
Jagr was hobbled so badly that he could barely stand up on skates before the Devils’ 4-3 victory Friday in Game 5. He talked pessimistically Saturday of playing in today’s game, but became more encouraged after being fitted with some scuba-diver’s pants that provided more support and partly eased the pain. (New York Times, 1999)
Patrick Roy
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1994 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal – Hospitalized with appendicitis, Patrick Roy watches his Montreal Canadiens lose Game 3 to the Boston Bruins and decides he needs to do something about it. Roy talks his doctors into letting him out of the hospital to play Game 4. Roy returns to the ice and stops 39 shots in a 5-2 Montreal win and follows that up with a 60 save overtime performance to win Game 5. The Bruins would wind up winning the series in 7 games and Roy would then have the surgery to remove his appendix.
The get-well wishes poured in for Patrick Roy, but there was no indication Friday whether the star goaltender would be back in time to save the Montreal Canadiens’ fading playoff hopes. Roy remained in the hospital for a second day after doctors postponed a decision on whether to remove his aching appendix. (LA Daily News, 1994)
“He was nervous and sad,” Roy’s wife, Michele, said. “I think his competitive instincts made his life miserable during the game. He was sick to his stomach. He was shaking. His hands were cold.” (Associated Press, 1994)
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