FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – There was a time when effective hockey coaching meant keeping the score low. Approaches like the left-wing lock, influenced by European styles and coaches such as Jacques Lemaire and Darryl Sutter, seemed to drain the offensive life and goal-scoring excitement from the game.
This era, known as the Dead Puck Era, saw goaltender equipment grow significantly, resulting in reduced scoring. Notably, across the five seasons from 2000 to 2004, three of the five Art Ross Trophy winners, awarded to the league`s top scorer, did not even reach the 100-point mark.
In contrast, this wide-open Stanley Cup Final feels like a symbolic farewell to that defensive-minded period.
One could see it as a commemoration, celebrating a time in the NHL when scoring just two goals might be enough to secure a victory, and goalies like Jean-Sebastien Giguere could win the Conn Smythe Trophy with an impressive .945 save percentage. In the 2003 playoffs, Martin Brodeur`s save percentage during his Cup-winning run was .934, noticeably lower than Giguere`s that same spring.
Fast forward to today, Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky currently leads the playoffs with a .912 save percentage. Just two games into the current Stanley Cup Final, the Edmonton Oilers have already scored eight goals against him.
Oilers forward Adam Henrique, a former player for the Ducks, reflected on Giguere`s remarkable playoff performance. “You think back to Giguere, his playoff run… how good he was,” Henrique said, adding, “It feels like those days are a little behind us.”
According to some experienced observers, the initial two games of this Final have been the most action-packed and thrilling opening contests in the history of the Stanley Cup.
The first period of Friday`s game in Edmonton, featuring five goals scored within a span of just over 10 minutes (between the 2:07 and 12:37 marks), included that masterful play from Connor McDavid setting up Leon Draisaitl, a moment destined for highlight reels for decades.
