The Top 10 DEFINING MOMENTS of 2016-17

THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN some down notes to 2016-17, from the NHL’s falling out with the Olympics to the maddening offside replay rule, but let’s not forget just how good the highs were. This season ushered in the arrival of an incredible next wave of talents, treating us to the first full seasons of Connor McDavid and Matt Murray and the debuts of Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine and Zach Werenski. Heck, imagine if Team North America reunited now and took on the best in the world. With those happier thoughts in mind, let’s take a look back at the 10 defining moments of 2016-17. 1PENGUINS WIN STANLEY CUP Though Nashville gave them all they could handle, the Pittsburgh Penguins emerged victorious in the Stanley Cup final with a six-game conquest over the Predators. The…

COMIC RELIEF, SERIOUSLY GOOD

FOR UP-TO-THE-MINUTE COVERAGE, VISIT THN.COM IT WAS THE night of Jan. 14, a chilly evening following a day game against Nashville, when the rookie stood to speak. In Boulder, Colo., a slow, cool wind swept outside a steakhouse in the mountains. Hours after yet another loss in what would be a year full of them, the Colorado Avalanche had taken over the restaurant for the team’s annual rookie party. As part of the gathering, Colorado’s newest players were tasked with treating its veterans to fine cuts of meat and finer bottles of wine. But there was also entertainment on the agenda. After the meal, it was the duty of the Avalanche rookies to stand in front of the team and offer a show of comedy. Mikko Rantanen rose, uneasy. The Finnish left winger…

GAME 2

YOU COULD MAKE the case that without Marc-Andre Fleury stepping into the breach and carrying the Penguins into the third round of the playoffs, they aren’t even in the Stanley Cup final. But Matt Murray, healthy and back as Pittsburgh’s starting goalie, was a major difference maker early and late in the final. To be blunt, Murray was as brilliant as Pekka Rinne was terrible at the other end of the ice in the first two games. Rinne was again uncharacteristically shaky in Game 2, surrendering four goals on 25 shots and getting pulled after the Penguins broke a 1-1 deadlock with three goals in the first 3:28 of the third period. His save percentage after the first Pittsburgh leg of the Cup final: .778. For the Pens to be able…

STANLEY CUP FINAL 2017