The 1993 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1992–93 season, and the culmination of the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Los Angeles Kings and the Montreal Canadiens. It was the first appearance in the Final for the Kings and the first appearance since the 1920 Stanley Cup Final for a team based on the west coast of the United States. It was also the 34th appearance for Montreal, their first since the 1989 Stanley Cup Final. The Canadiens defeated the Kings in five games to win the team's 24th Stanley Cup. The year 1993 was the 100th anniversary of the first awarding of the Stanley Cup in 1893, and the first Finals to start in the month of June. To date, the 1993 Canadiens are the last Stanley Cup championship team to be composed solely of North American-born players, the last Canadian-based team to win the Stanley Cup, and the last Canadian team outside of Toronto to win a championship in one of the four major North American sports leagues.
The series is remembered for Kings defenceman Marty McSorley's penalty late in the third period of game two for using an illegal stick, in what proved to be the turning point in the 1993 Cup Finals. When McSorley entered the penalty box, Los Angeles held a 1–0 series lead, and a 2–1 score in the contest. The Canadiens then went on to score the equalizer on the ensuing power play, won game two in overtime, and then defeated the Kings in the next three games to win the Cup.
From the moment that McSorley was called for the penalty, the Kings failed to win another postseason game for the remainder of the 20th century, losing all the remaining games of the Finals, failing to qualify for the playoffs in five of the next seven seasons, and being swept out in the first round the other two times. Their next postseason win did not come until 2001, against the Detroit Red Wings. Meanwhile, the Canadiens did not appear in the Stanley Cup Final again until 2021.
Paths to the Finals
Los Angeles Kings Los Angeles had started the season well but faltered from December to February, though they managed to rebound and clinch a playoff spot. Superstar Wayne Gretzky sat out from October to January due to injury. Los Angeles did not have home ice advantage for all four playoff rounds, and was the only club to face Canadian teams in every round. To reach the finals, Los Angeles defeated the Calgary Flames in the Smythe Division Semifinals 4–2, the Vancouver Canucks in the Smythe Division Finals 4–2, and the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Campbell Conference Finals 4–3.
Montreal Canadiens Montreal defeated the Quebec Nordiques (their provincial rivals) in the Adams Division Semifinals 4–2, the Buffalo Sabres in the Adams Division Finals 4–0, and the New York Islanders in the Wales Conference Finals 4–1. The Canadiens initially lost their first two games against the Nordiques, due in part to a couple of weak goals let in by star Montreal goaltender (and Quebec City native) Patrick Roy. Afterwards, a newspaper in Roy's hometown district suggested that he be traded, while Nordiques goaltending coach Dan Bouchard proclaimed that his team had solved Roy. The Canadiens then responded by winning the next four games to eliminate the Nordiques, then swept the Sabres and took the first three games against the Islanders, tying a record of 11 consecutive playoff wins set by the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins the year before.
The playoffs in both conferences saw numerous upsets, with the top teams in each conference – the Blackhawks and Penguins – being eliminated before the Conference Finals. The Campbell Conference saw the Blackhawks swept in the Norris Division Semifinals by the rival St. Louis Blues. Montreal's path to their first Cup Finals since became much easier after the Sabres swept the Canadiens' bitter rivals, the Boston Bruins, in the Adams Division Semifinals and the Islanders eliminated the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions (and the league's top regular-season team), the Pittsburgh Penguins, in the Patrick Division Finals. The Bruins had eliminated the Canadiens in the playoffs for three straight years, mainly due to Boston goaltender Andy Moog, who was often referred to as the "greatest Hab killer" the Bruins ever had. The Kings' path through the 1993 playoffs was similarly made easier as their nemesis, the Edmonton Oilers, who had eliminated the Kings from the playoffs in 1990, 1991, and 1992, failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since they joined the NHL in 1979.
Game summaries This was the last Stanley Cup Final series played in the Montreal Forum, and the last time Wayne Gretzky competed in the Finals. The Kings were appearing in the Finals for the first time in their 26-year history. They did not appear in the Finals again until 2012, where they faced the New Jersey Devils and won their first Stanley Cup. Montreal's victory is the most recent championship won by a Canadian team. They did not appear in the Finals again until 2021, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Game one
In game one at the Montreal Forum, the Kings jumped out to a 1–0 lead on Luc Robitaille's power-play goal at 3:03 of the first period. The Canadiens tied the game late in the first on Ed Ronan's goal at 18:09 (although it was merely a pass that Wayne Gretzky accidentally deflected into his own net). Robitaille would break the 1–1 deadlock with his second power-play goal of the game at 17:41 of the second period. Jari Kurri added an insurance marker off a Patrice Brisebois turnover at 1:51 of the third, and Gretzky sealed the 4–1 win for the Kings with an empty net goal at 18:02. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st LAK Luc Robitaille (7) – pp Alexei Zhitnik (9) and Wayne Gretzky (21) 03:03 1–0 LAK MTL Ed Ronan (2) Unassisted 18:09 1–1 2nd LAK Luc Robitaille (8) – pp Rob Blake (6) and Wayne Gretzky (22) 17:41 2–1 LAK 3rd LAK Jari Kurri (9) Wayne Gretzky (23) and Tony Granato (9) 01:51 3–1 LAK LAK Wayne Gretzky (14) – en Tomas Sandström (16) 18:02 4–1 LAK Penalty summary 1st MTL Lyle Odelein Holding 02:42 2:00 MTL Gilbert Dionne Hooking 06:12 2:00 LAK Kelly Hrudey Delay of game 11:03 2:00 LAK Jari Kurri Holding 15:54 2:00 2nd LAK Tony Granato Goaltender interference 05:08 2:00 LAK Dave Taylor Roughing 06:23 2:00 MTL Kirk Muller Roughing 06:23 2:00 LAK Marty McSorley Unsportsmanlike conduct 07:16 2:00 MTL Lyle Odelein Unsportsmanlike conduct 07:16 2:00 MTL Vincent Damphousse Slashing 10:23 2:00 LAK Corey Millen High-sticking 17:23 2:00 MTL Patrice Brisebois Holding 17:23 2:00 MTL Eric Desjardins High-sticking 17:23 2:00 MTL Patrick Roy Delay of game 18:33 2:00 LAK Wayne Gretzky Hooking 19:32 2:00 3rd LAK Charlie Huddy Hooking 06:41 2:00 MTL J.J. Daigneault Cross-checking 18:41 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 11 20 7 38 11 10 11 32
Game two
The turning point of the series for the Canadiens came late in the third period of game two. With the Kings leading by a score of 2–1, Canadiens head coach Jacques Demers called for a measurement of the curve of Kings defenceman Marty McSorley's stick. The stick was deemed illegal and McSorley was given a two-minute minor penalty for illegal equipment. As it was late in the game and Montreal was facing the prospect of going to Los Angeles down two games to none, Demers pulled goalie Patrick Roy, producing a 6-on-4 advantage for the Canadiens. Montreal's Eric Desjardins scored from the point to tie the game at two and force overtime. Desjardins then scored his third goal of the game 51 seconds into overtime to give Montreal the win and the momentum heading toward games three and four at the Great Western Forum. Desjardins is the first and only defenceman to score a hat trick in the Cup Finals.
Reports suggested Canadiens head coach Jacques Demers knew which of the Kings' hockey sticks to challenge, thanks to a Montreal Forum employee assigned to the Kings' locker room who temporarily moved the Kings' portable stick rack to the Montreal's locker room. Demers has denied this and credited captain Guy Carbonneau with spotting McSorley's illegal stick. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st MTL Eric Desjardins (2) Vincent Damphousse (10) and Stéphan Lebeau (2) 18:31 1–0 MTL 2nd LAK Dave Taylor (3) Unassisted 05:12 1–1 3rd LAK Pat Conacher (6) Dave Taylor (5) and Tony Granato (10) 08:32 2–1 LAK MTL Eric Desjardins (3) Vincent Damphousse (11) and Mathieu Schneider (2) 18:47 2–2 OT MTL Eric Desjardins (4) Benoit Brunet (8) and Ed Ronan (3) 00:51 3–2 MTL Penalty summary 1st MTL Lyle Odelein Roughing 05:57 2:00 LAK Luc Robitaille Hooking 06:40 2:00 MTL Patrice Brisebois Roughing 07:05 2:00 LAK Rob Blake Tripping 10:25 2:00 MTL Patrick Roy High-sticking 10:38 2:00 LAK Tim Watters Holding 13:01 2:00 MTL Kirk Muller Tripping 13:01 2:00 LAK Darryl Sydor Holding 14:44 2:00 MTL Mathieu Schneider High-sticking 17:02 2:00 LAK Tony Granato Holding 17:53 2:00 2nd MTL Kirk Muller Cross-checking 00:35 2:00 LAK Charlie Huddy Cross-checking 04:20 2:00 LAK Marty McSorley Roughing 09:43 2:00 MTL Vincent Damphousse Roughing 09:43 2:00 LAK Luc Robitaille Roughing 16:02 2:00 MTL Gilbert Dionne Roughing 16:02 2:00 3rd MTL Benoit Brunet Slashing 01:31 2:00 MTL Vincent Damphousse Cross-checking 02:30 2:00 LAK Alexei Zhitnik Tripping 04:17 2:00 LAK Dave Taylor Goaltender interference 11:56 2:00 MTL Patrice Brisebois Cross-checking 13:16 2:00 LAK Marty McSorley Illegal equipment 18:15 2:00 OT LAK Rob Blake Misconduct 00:51 10:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT Total 5 9 9 1 24 16 12 11 2 41
Game three
In game three in Los Angeles, the Canadiens jumped out to a 1–0 first period lead on a tip-in goal by Brian Bellows at 10:26, and Gilbert Dionne and Mathieu Schneider increased that lead to 3–0 at 2:41 and 3:02 of the second period. After a memorable check by long-time Kings defenceman Mark Hardy on Montreal's Mike Keane, the Kings fired back to tie the game in the second period on goals by Robitaille, Tony Granato and Gretzky. With time running out in the third period, Montreal captain Guy Carbonneau appeared to cover the puck in the goal crease, which with such little time remaining (12 seconds) would have resulted in a penalty shot for Los Angeles. But the referee ruled that the puck had been shot by a Kings player into Carbonneau's equipment, and so the period remained scoreless. After the series, the referee admitted that he had made a mistake on the call. The game went into overtime and Montreal's John LeClair scored the winner just 34 seconds into the extra period, giving the Canadiens their ninth consecutive overtime playoff victory. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st MTL Brian Bellows (6) – pp Kevin Haller (6) and Kirk Muller (6) 10:26 1–0 MTL 2nd MTL Gilbert Dionne (6) Mike Keane (11) and Stephan Lebeau (3) 02:41 2–0 MTL MTL Mathieu Schneider (1) Guy Carbonneau (3) 03:02 3–0 MTL LAK Luc Robitaille (9) Wayne Gretzky (24) and Tomas Sandstrom (17) 07:52 3–1 MTL LAK Tony Granato (6) Unassisted 11:02 3–2 MTL LAK Wayne Gretzky (15) Mike Donnelly (7) and Mark Hardy (2) 17:07 3–3 3rd None OT MTL John LeClair (3) Kirk Muller (7) and Brian Bellows (9) 00:34 4–3 MTL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st LAK Alexei Zhitnik Tripping 04:23 2:00 MTL Brian Bellows Cross-checking 05:21 2:00 MTL Eric Desjardins Interference 07:40 2:00 LAK Tim Watters Tripping 10:21 2:00 MTL Ed Ronan Goaltender interference 13:09 2:00 MTL Stephan Lebeau Slashing 16:37 2:00 LAK Rob Blake Roughing 19:59 2:00 2nd LAK Dave Taylor Slashing 11:42 2:00 MTL Ed Ronan Slashing 11:42 2:00 3rd MTL Stephan Lebeau Holding 06:48 2:00 LAK Tomas Sandstrom Goaltender interference 10:50 2:00 OT None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 OT Total 12 9 12 3 36 10 13 10 0 33
Game four