Is Lecavalier's Game 7 assist the most underrated play in NHL history?

JT Kreider

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Dec 24, 2010
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I never see it in highlight promos and commercials come playoff time. It definitely didn't get it's own "History will be made" when those were a thing. Yet I think it's an even better individual effort than the famous Lemieux goal against Minnesota that gets replayed over and over again.

Plus it was THE Stanley Cup winning goal. It is way too forgotten.
 

bobbyking

Registered User
May 29, 2018
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R u sure backhand through the legs is just unseen. But I do get ur point . It is underrated
 

Butch 19

Go cart Mozart
May 12, 2006
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Here's w hat I keep forgetting: watching old highlights in standard def is torture.

Also, who besides fans of the Cup winning team remembers the exact-single-cup-winning-goal and assist? A barely remember the Caps' series winning goal and that was just a few weeks ago.
 
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djboos22

Aho (insert pun)
Jan 17, 2011
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So Vinny is my favorite player of all time. So while that assist is very underrated, I think the most underrated play goes to Khabibulin and his save at the end of that game.

That save alone should have earned him the Smythe.
 

JT Kreider

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Dec 24, 2010
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Here's w hat I keep forgetting: watching old highlights in standard def is torture.

Also, who besides fans of the Cup winning team remembers the exact-single-cup-winning-goal and assist? A barely remember the Caps' series winning goal and that was just a few weeks ago.

Eller, Hornqvist, Letang, Keith, Martinez, Bolland, Brown, Kane, Bergeron, Talbot, Zetterberg, Chris Phillips own goal, Kaberle, Fedotenko, Rupp, ???, Tanguay, Arnott, Hull, ???, ???, Krupp, Broten, Messier
 

Butch 19

Go cart Mozart
May 12, 2006
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Eller, Hornqvist, Letang, Keith, Martinez, Bolland, Brown, Kane, Bergeron, Talbot, Zetterberg, Chris Phillips own goal, Kaberle, Fedotenko, Rupp, ???, Tanguay, Arnott, Hull, ???, ???, Krupp, Broten, Messier

Are those off the top of your head?

ha! I got 5. (and yes, one of them was Messier)

And even as a Kings fan I forgot that Brown had the GWG since their Cup-winning game was 6-1 (I think!)
 

JT Kreider

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Are those off the top of your head?

ha! I got 5. (and yes, one of them was Messier)

And even as a Kings fan I forgot that Brown had the GWG since their Cup-winning game was 6-1 (I think!)


Yes, off the top of my head. I have a stupid good memory, I guess I the Red Wings bored me as a kid so I didn't watch when they won their earlier SCF's
 

DownIsTheNewUp

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Mar 27, 2017
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Here's a better feed

I agree I kind of forgot who had the assists. Game 7 to me is more about Fedotenko because of his two goals, I agree it kind of overshadow Lecavalier performance. He was a beast.

Much better video quality thanks.

Certainly one of the better plays on a cup clinching goal. He makes that initial spin to the right and probably would have passed it there but there was literally no Tampa guys near the net. So he spins left and finds himself in a crowd of like 3 guys. It's super quick and hard to see but he somehow gets it through everyone's legs and it ends up near his skates, so he kicks it to his stick and gets the pass to Fedotenko open in the slot.

This setup by Vinny and Marty's game 6 OT winner were their career defining moments.
 

quoipourquoi

Goaltender
Jan 26, 2009
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Lecavalier was great that day. Couldn’t believe he went for a picture perfect Forsberg/Nilsson with three minutes left in a 2-1 game. That’s confidence - even if Kiprusoff got a toe on it.
 

Michael Farkas

Grace Personified
Jun 28, 2006
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Oh man, I forgot all about that...the whole game is on YT and I went and found it...3:06 left and he tries that move in game 7 to close the curtain...if he scored that, he might have been blamed for the lockout because no one would want to follow that performance...huge wrench to try that move in that spot...

Also, I think the last two line pass in NHL history was touched by Dmitry Afanasenkov if I'm not mistaken...that will beat anyone in late night, bar room trivia...
 
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Big Phil

Registered User
Nov 2, 2003
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Personally, I think it was a great play and I remember it greatly. I think of that play when I think of Lecavalier. When he wanted to, man oh man, did he have some skill. I know Matt Cooke gets a lot of blame for that shoulder hit and him never being the same (2008 or 2009) but it is strange that it took Lecavalier a long time to burst out. I think if he did do this then he has several great seasons prior to the Cooke hit and is already a future HHOFer by then. Oh well.

But I think a lot of that gets forgotten because it's Tampa. Look, in Canada we complain all the time that Joe Carter's World Series winning home run is never highlighted as much as, say, Carlton Fisk's 1975 blast even. Why? Who knows, because Fisk's didn't change anything, the Red Sox lost the next game. Carter is only the 2nd player to end the World Series on a home run, so why isn't it at LEAST as replayed as Thomson or Gibson or Maz's home run? Well, our argument often is because it was a Canadian team winning. I think the same can ring true for Tampa here. They aren't the classic hockey market and worse yet they came and went. They were okay in the seasons around the Cup win but they were a much different team after the Cup and it is easy to forget.

Maybe a similar thing goes for Cam Ward's eye popping save at the end of Game 1 in 2006. How is that not shown more? Easy, it is because Carolina is not a great market and they literally only had that one good year.

Ask anyone who isn't a Florida Marlins fan about Edgar Renteria's World Series winning single - in Game 7 in extra innings - in 1997. Same thing............how the heck is that not a bigger deal?
 

Sadekuuro

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Aug 23, 2005
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Yes, off the top of my head. I have a stupid good memory, I guess I the Red Wings bored me as a kid so I didn't watch when they won their earlier SCF's

McCarty's winner in '97 was quite memorable; I believe '98 was a long one-timer from Lapointe (much less so). In 2002 Shanahan had an power play goal somewhat early in the game that eventually stood up as the winner; his empty net insurance marker stands out more.
 

Jim MacDonald

Registered User
Oct 7, 2017
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It really was a heck of an individual effort. Good call JT on the post/topic! to spin, not get dizzy and feather that pass through is a beaut!
 
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BenchBrawl

Registered User
Jul 26, 2010
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Peak Lecavalier is underrated.He was a great player, but injuries slowed him down too quickly just as he was hitting his maximum.

He was really turning into Beliveau for a while.
 

The Macho King

Back* to Back** World Champion
Jun 22, 2011
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Lecavalier was great that day. Couldn’t believe he went for a picture perfect Forsberg/Nilsson with three minutes left in a 2-1 game. That’s confidence - even if Kiprusoff got a toe on it.
Vinny had gigantic balls. This probably led to him foregoing some of the simpler but more productive plays in favor of flash sometimes.

He tried to score from between his legs like twice a game at least it seems like. God he was fun to watch though.
 
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blood gin

Registered User
Jan 17, 2017
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It was an awesome physical effort. Just dominant. The pass itself was pretty mundane but keeping the puck was beautiful

This game 7 was an absolute disaster. 0 entertainment value
 

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