Easter Epic
Encyclopedia
The Easter Epic is the nickname given to a National Hockey League
Stanley Cup Playoff game between the New York Islanders
and Washington Capitals
, played April 18–19, 1987, at the Capital Centre
in Landover
, Maryland
. It is so named because the game started on Saturday evening but did not finish until the early hours of Easter
Sunday. The game was included in its entirety on the New York Islanders 10 Greatest Games DVD box set released in 2009.
against the second place Washington Capitals
in a best of seven series. It was the fifth consecutive season these two teams matched up with each other; the Islanders had won three of the previous four, but looked to avenge their earliest exit ever from the playoffs at the hands of the Capitals the previous spring.
The first two games were played at the Capitals' home, Capital Centre. Washington won Game 1 4-3, and the Isles were victorious in Game 2 3-1, sending the series to Long Island
tied at one game apiece.
On home ice the Islanders dropped Games 3 (2–0) and 4 (4–1), falling behind in the series three games to one. No NHL
team had won a series coming back from this kind of deficit in twelve years; coincidentally, it was the Islanders who performed the feat, coming from three to nothing to rally and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins
in 1975. In similar comeback fashion, just two years earlier, the Islanders also became the first team to rally to win a best of five series after trailing two games to none; that series was against the same Washington Capitals.
Armed with that history, the Islanders staved off elimination, winning 4–2 in Game 5. Their momentum continued, and the New Yorkers took Game 6 on home ice, winning 5–4. This brought the Islanders and Capitals to a decisive Game 7, before a sold-out crowd on Washington's home ice.
(with Mike Emrick
and Bill Clement on the call) and in Canada on Hockey Night in Canada
(with Bob Cole
and Harry Neale
on the call), Game 7 began shortly after 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
. (ESPN was blacked out in the New York City and Washington D.C. markets, to protect the Islanders and Capitals broadcast outlets.) This was the lone game of the night, because the other seven series were finished.
The first period was dominated by the Capitals, but the game was scoreless through nineteen minutes, when sniper Mike Gartner
beat Islander goaltender Kelly Hrudey
to give the Capitals the lead after one period, 1–0.
Patrick Flatley
tied the score at 1 midway through the second period, but Grant Martin
responded for the Capitals, and after 2 periods, they led 2–1. Washington had outshot the Islanders to this point 25–10, and carried the play for most of the first forty minutes.
The game remained 2–1 through most of the third period, thanks to the strong efforts of both Hrudey and Washington netminder Bob Mason
.
Then, with just over five minutes remaining in regulation, Islander legend Bryan Trottier
backhanded a shot between Mason's pads - thanks in part to a strap breaking on one of Mason's pads. A frantic final minutes produced no further scoring, and the game went into sudden death overtime. Little did anyone know that this game hadn't even reached its halfway point yet.
In the first overtime, many scoring chances were thwarted by Mason and Hrudey, and the game remained tied. Greg Smith
of the Capitals had the best chance with seconds remaining, as his long range slap shot beat Hrudey, but caught the right post and bounced away.
As the game moved on into the second overtime, the players would begin to show their fatigue. Short bursts of action were replaced by longer and longer periods of slow play. Hrudey continued to shine, stopping 17 shots in the second overtime session alone; Mason contributed nine more saves and was aided by a shot that hit the post by Randy Wood.
The scoreless second overtime set-up the first triple-overtime game since Pete Stemkowski
had scored for the New York Rangers
against the Chicago Blackhawks
16 years earlier.
Slowly, the Islanders began to finally take the play from the Capitals, and in the third overtime period, outshot the Capitals 11–10. They had the better chances as well, but Mason continued to shine as the game remained tied. For the first time since March 27, 1951, an NHL game was headed into the fourth overtime.
of the Islanders pinched in to keep the puck in the zone. He circled behind the net and fed Gord Dineen
, whose shot was blocked in front of Mason. The deflection bounced to Islander star Pat LaFontaine
, who had gone back to the blueline to cover for Leiter. He spun and launched a slapshot toward the net. Mason, screened on the play, never saw the puck as it clanged off the post behind him, into the net for the game winner. The then-fifth-longest game in NHL
history, and longest since 1943, was over after 68:47 of overtime. The Islanders, weary but jubilant, mobbed LaFontaine, and then Hrudey, having won Game 7, 3–2.
The Capitals had not trailed the series up until that point, nor had they trailed in the game. It is still the longest game in Islander history and was the longest the Capitals had ever played; the Capitals would lose a longer game (79:15 of overtime) to Pittsburgh in the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs
.
New York Islanders Vs Washington Capitals
Patrick Division Semifinals, Game 7
Islanders 3, Capitals 2, 4OT
First period - 1,Wash. Gartner 4 (Adams, Stevens) 19:12
Penalties - Konroyd, NYI 7:36. Kerr, NYI, Gould, Wash 19:51
Second period - 2, NYI, Flatley 3 (Konroyd, Trottier) 11:35
3, Wash, Martin 1 (Adams, Murphy) 18:45
Penalties - Boyd, NYI, Blum, Wash 3:55. Gilbert, NYI, Kastelic, Wash., 6:04
Trottier, NYI, 14:58
Third period - 4, NYI Trottier 5 (Kerr, Konroyd) 14:37
Penalties - Martin, Wash 1:31, Diduck, NYI, Franceschetti, Wash 10:21
Sutter, NYI, Jensen, Wash 19:06
First overtime - Scoring, None Penalties, None
Second overtime - Scoring, None Penalties - Kerr, NYI, Stevens, Wash, 8:46
Flatley, NYI, Duchesne, Wash, 10:49. Adams, Wash, Misconduct, 16:47
Third overtime - Scoring, None Penalties, None
Fourth overtime - 5, NYI, LaFontaine 4 (Dineen, Leiter) 8:47
Penalties - None
Shots on goal
NYI 5–5–11–11–9–11–5—57
Wash 15–10–11–11–17–10–1—75
Goaltenders, NYI Hrudey, Wash. Mason
Power plays NYI 0–1, WAS 0–2
Referee: Andy Van Hellemond
Linesmen: John D'Amico
, Ron Finn
Attendance 18,130
stopped an amazing 73 shots over the 7 periods, including 50 straight from the end of the second period on. His 73 saves still stands as an NHL record; Jean-Sebastien Giguere
(2003) and Roberto Luongo
(2007) have both recorded 72-save games. Mason stopped 54 shots, including 36 from the end of regulation until LaFontaine beat him to end the marathon.
The Islanders had to regain their composure, as well as their strength, as they advanced to the Patrick Division Finals against a rested Philadelphia Flyers
squad. They once again fell behind three games to one, and once again tied the series with consecutive victories. But there was no second miracle this season, as Philadelphia won Game 7 decisively, 5–1, and won the series, before eventually bowing out in the Stanley Cup Finals
to the Edmonton Oilers
.
The game gave the Islanders franchise the unique accomplishment of having won both the shortest (0:11 in game 3 of 1975 preliminary series vs. the New York Rangers
) and longest overtime deciding games in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There have been shorter and longer overtimes, but none in a circumstance where the next goal would decide the series.
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
Stanley Cup Playoff game between the New York Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
and Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
, played April 18–19, 1987, at the Capital Centre
Capital Centre
The Capital Centre was an indoor arena located in Landover, Maryland, unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland; a suburb of Washington, D.C. Completed in 1973, the arena sat 18,756 for basketball and 18,130 for hockey....
in Landover
Landover, Maryland
Landover is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, within the census-designated place of Greater Landover. The Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex is in Landover...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. It is so named because the game started on Saturday evening but did not finish until the early hours of Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
Sunday. The game was included in its entirety on the New York Islanders 10 Greatest Games DVD box set released in 2009.
The series
The 1987 Patrick Division Semifinals pitted the third place New York IslandersNew York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
against the second place Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
in a best of seven series. It was the fifth consecutive season these two teams matched up with each other; the Islanders had won three of the previous four, but looked to avenge their earliest exit ever from the playoffs at the hands of the Capitals the previous spring.
The first two games were played at the Capitals' home, Capital Centre. Washington won Game 1 4-3, and the Isles were victorious in Game 2 3-1, sending the series to Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
tied at one game apiece.
On home ice the Islanders dropped Games 3 (2–0) and 4 (4–1), falling behind in the series three games to one. No NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
team had won a series coming back from this kind of deficit in twelve years; coincidentally, it was the Islanders who performed the feat, coming from three to nothing to rally and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
in 1975. In similar comeback fashion, just two years earlier, the Islanders also became the first team to rally to win a best of five series after trailing two games to none; that series was against the same Washington Capitals.
Armed with that history, the Islanders staved off elimination, winning 4–2 in Game 5. Their momentum continued, and the New Yorkers took Game 6 on home ice, winning 5–4. This brought the Islanders and Capitals to a decisive Game 7, before a sold-out crowd on Washington's home ice.
Game 7
With national television audiences watching in both the United States on ESPNESPN National Hockey Night
ESPN National Hockey Night was ESPN's weekly television broadcasts of National Hockey League regular season games and coverage of playoff games, broadcast from 1992 to 2004...
(with Mike Emrick
Mike Emrick
Michael "Doc" Emrick, is an American sports commentator noted mostly for his work in ice hockey. Emrick is currently the lead announcer for NHL national telecasts on both NBC and Versus...
and Bill Clement on the call) and in Canada on Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
(with Bob Cole
Bob Cole (announcer)
Robert Cecil "Bob" Cole is a Canadian television announcer and former competitive curler.Cole was the primary play-by-play announcer for Hockey Night in Canada 'HNIC' on CBC, usually for Toronto Maple Leafs games, from 1980 to 2008. Aside from the Leafs broadcasts, he was also a staple for the...
and Harry Neale
Harry Neale
Harold Watson Neale is a hockey colour commentator, who currently works for the Buffalo Sabres on the Sabres Hockey Network...
on the call), Game 7 began shortly after 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
. (ESPN was blacked out in the New York City and Washington D.C. markets, to protect the Islanders and Capitals broadcast outlets.) This was the lone game of the night, because the other seven series were finished.
The first period was dominated by the Capitals, but the game was scoreless through nineteen minutes, when sniper Mike Gartner
Mike Gartner
Michael Alfred Gartner is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Phoenix Coyotes...
beat Islander goaltender Kelly Hrudey
Kelly Hrudey
Kelly Hrudey is a former NHL ice hockey goaltender and current hockey broadcaster with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. During his NHL career, Hrudey played for the New York Islanders , Los Angeles Kings , and San Jose Sharks .-Playing career:Hrudey played junior hockey for three years with...
to give the Capitals the lead after one period, 1–0.
Patrick Flatley
Patrick Flatley
Patrick Flatley is a retired professional ice hockey forward who played in the NHL for 14 seasons between 1983 and 1997 for the New York Islanders and New York Rangers.-Playing career:...
tied the score at 1 midway through the second period, but Grant Martin
Grant Martin
Grant Michael Martin is a retired Canadian ice hockey player. Drafted in 1980 by the Vancouver Canucks, Martin also played for the Washington Capitals.-External links:*...
responded for the Capitals, and after 2 periods, they led 2–1. Washington had outshot the Islanders to this point 25–10, and carried the play for most of the first forty minutes.
The game remained 2–1 through most of the third period, thanks to the strong efforts of both Hrudey and Washington netminder Bob Mason
Bob Mason
Robert Thomas Mason is a retired American ice hockey goaltender.A member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, Mason's professional career began when he was signed as a free agent by the Washington Capitals. He had two stints with the Capitals...
.
Then, with just over five minutes remaining in regulation, Islander legend Bryan Trottier
Bryan Trottier
Bryan John Trottier is a retired Canadian-American professional ice hockey centre who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins. He won four Stanley Cups with the Islanders, two with the Penguins and one as an assistant coach with the...
backhanded a shot between Mason's pads - thanks in part to a strap breaking on one of Mason's pads. A frantic final minutes produced no further scoring, and the game went into sudden death overtime. Little did anyone know that this game hadn't even reached its halfway point yet.
In the first overtime, many scoring chances were thwarted by Mason and Hrudey, and the game remained tied. Greg Smith
Greg Smith (hockey)
Gregory James Smith is a retired Canadian ice hockey player.A stay-at-home defenceman who was selected by the California Golden Seals in the 1975 NHL Draft, Smith followed the franchise when it relocated to Cleveland in 1976, and when it folded in 1978 and merged with the Minnesota North Stars,...
of the Capitals had the best chance with seconds remaining, as his long range slap shot beat Hrudey, but caught the right post and bounced away.
As the game moved on into the second overtime, the players would begin to show their fatigue. Short bursts of action were replaced by longer and longer periods of slow play. Hrudey continued to shine, stopping 17 shots in the second overtime session alone; Mason contributed nine more saves and was aided by a shot that hit the post by Randy Wood.
The scoreless second overtime set-up the first triple-overtime game since Pete Stemkowski
Pete Stemkowski
Peter David Stemkowski - is a former player in the National Hockey League. Over fifteen seasons, he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, and Los Angeles Kings...
had scored for the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
against the Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
16 years earlier.
Slowly, the Islanders began to finally take the play from the Capitals, and in the third overtime period, outshot the Capitals 11–10. They had the better chances as well, but Mason continued to shine as the game remained tied. For the first time since March 27, 1951, an NHL game was headed into the fourth overtime.
LaFontaine wins it
With both teams tired, play was choppy through the first eight minutes of the fourth overtime, the seventh period total. The Capitals had managed only one shot to the Islanders' five. Finally, with eight minutes elapsed in the fourth overtime, Ken LeiterKen Leiter
Kenneth Michael Leiter is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman who played 143 games in the National Hockey League for the New York Islanders and Minnesota North Stars.-External links:...
of the Islanders pinched in to keep the puck in the zone. He circled behind the net and fed Gord Dineen
Gord Dineen
Gordon M. Dineen is an American professional ice hockey coach. He is a former NHL defenceman.Although born in Canada, Dineen spent much of his youth in the United States, while his father Bill Dineen played and coached professionally. He returned to Canada to play major junior hockey for the...
, whose shot was blocked in front of Mason. The deflection bounced to Islander star Pat LaFontaine
Pat LaFontaine
Patrick Michael LaFontaine is an American former ice hockey center in the National Hockey League who spent his entire career playing for the league's New York-based teams; LaFontaine skated for the New York Islanders from 1983 until 1991, the Buffalo Sabres from 1991 until 1997, and the New York...
, who had gone back to the blueline to cover for Leiter. He spun and launched a slapshot toward the net. Mason, screened on the play, never saw the puck as it clanged off the post behind him, into the net for the game winner. The then-fifth-longest game in NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
history, and longest since 1943, was over after 68:47 of overtime. The Islanders, weary but jubilant, mobbed LaFontaine, and then Hrudey, having won Game 7, 3–2.
The Capitals had not trailed the series up until that point, nor had they trailed in the game. It is still the longest game in Islander history and was the longest the Capitals had ever played; the Capitals would lose a longer game (79:15 of overtime) to Pittsburgh in the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs
1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, the championship of the National Hockey League , began in April, 1996. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-7 series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships, and then the conference champions played a...
.
Boxscore
April 18, 1987New York Islanders Vs Washington Capitals
Patrick Division Semifinals, Game 7
Islanders 3, Capitals 2, 4OT
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1OT | 2OT | 3OT | 4OT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Islanders | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Washington Capitals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
First period - 1,Wash. Gartner 4 (Adams, Stevens) 19:12
Penalties - Konroyd, NYI 7:36. Kerr, NYI, Gould, Wash 19:51
Second period - 2, NYI, Flatley 3 (Konroyd, Trottier) 11:35
3, Wash, Martin 1 (Adams, Murphy) 18:45
Penalties - Boyd, NYI, Blum, Wash 3:55. Gilbert, NYI, Kastelic, Wash., 6:04
Trottier, NYI, 14:58
Third period - 4, NYI Trottier 5 (Kerr, Konroyd) 14:37
Penalties - Martin, Wash 1:31, Diduck, NYI, Franceschetti, Wash 10:21
Sutter, NYI, Jensen, Wash 19:06
First overtime - Scoring, None Penalties, None
Second overtime - Scoring, None Penalties - Kerr, NYI, Stevens, Wash, 8:46
Flatley, NYI, Duchesne, Wash, 10:49. Adams, Wash, Misconduct, 16:47
Third overtime - Scoring, None Penalties, None
Fourth overtime - 5, NYI, LaFontaine 4 (Dineen, Leiter) 8:47
Penalties - None
Shots on goal
NYI 5–5–11–11–9–11–5—57
Wash 15–10–11–11–17–10–1—75
Goaltenders, NYI Hrudey, Wash. Mason
Power plays NYI 0–1, WAS 0–2
Referee: Andy Van Hellemond
Andy Van Hellemond
Andy Van Hellemond is a former National Hockey League referee and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1999....
Linesmen: John D'Amico
John D'Amico
John David D'Amico was a National Hockey League linesman and later supervisor of officials.A native of Toronto, D'Amico's NHL career started as a referee on October 12, 1964, when he was 27 years old...
, Ron Finn
Ron Finn
Ron Finn is a retired National Hockey League linesman. His career started in 1969 and ended in 1996. During his career, he officiated 1,980 regular season games and two All-Star games as well as Rendez-vous '87....
Attendance 18,130
Epilogue
The "Epic" concluded at 1:58 a.m. local time, 6 hours and 18 minutes after the first face-off. Kelly HrudeyKelly Hrudey
Kelly Hrudey is a former NHL ice hockey goaltender and current hockey broadcaster with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. During his NHL career, Hrudey played for the New York Islanders , Los Angeles Kings , and San Jose Sharks .-Playing career:Hrudey played junior hockey for three years with...
stopped an amazing 73 shots over the 7 periods, including 50 straight from the end of the second period on. His 73 saves still stands as an NHL record; Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Jean-Sébastien Giguère
Jean-Sébastien Giguère is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League . He played major junior with the Verdun Collège Français and Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League , where he was drafted 13th...
(2003) and Roberto Luongo
Roberto Luongo
Roberto Luongo is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League . Born in Montreal, Quebec, he is of Italian and Irish ancestry. He employs the butterfly style of goaltending...
(2007) have both recorded 72-save games. Mason stopped 54 shots, including 36 from the end of regulation until LaFontaine beat him to end the marathon.
The Islanders had to regain their composure, as well as their strength, as they advanced to the Patrick Division Finals against a rested Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
squad. They once again fell behind three games to one, and once again tied the series with consecutive victories. But there was no second miracle this season, as Philadelphia won Game 7 decisively, 5–1, and won the series, before eventually bowing out in the Stanley Cup Finals
1987 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1987 Stanley Cup Final was played between the Edmonton Oilers and the Philadelphia Flyers. The Oilers would win the series 4–3, for their third Stanley Cup victory.-Paths to the Final:...
to the Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
.
The game gave the Islanders franchise the unique accomplishment of having won both the shortest (0:11 in game 3 of 1975 preliminary series vs. the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
) and longest overtime deciding games in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There have been shorter and longer overtimes, but none in a circumstance where the next goal would decide the series.
See also
- List of the longest NHL overtime games