The most bizarre moments in NHL playoff history

Before Brad Marchand, one of the NHL's most notable pests was Sean Avery, who took things to such an extreme that he once made the NHL change one of its rules in the middle of a playoff series. It was the 2008 first round between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, and during a first-period power play early in the series Avery, then playing for the Rangers, attempted to screen Devils goalie Martin Brodeur by turning his back to the play and waving his arms and hands in Brodeur's face. Naturally, Brodeur and the Devils were not amused. They even less amused on the Rangers' next rush into the zone on that same power play when Avery actually scored a power play goal. Forget waiting until the offseason, it didn't even take 12 hours for the NHL to issue a new interpretation of its unsportsmanlike conduct rule to cover actions like Avery's.

Marty McSorley's illegal stick

McSorley is one of the NHL's most infamous players that is known mostly for being an enforcer and for his on-ice attack on Donald Brashear that not only resulted in him ending his own career, but also being convicted for assault and being sentenced to 18 months probation. Before all of that, he was at the center of one of the most infamous incidents in Stanley Cup Final history when as a member of the Los Angeles Kings he was penalized for using an illegal stick in Game 2 of the 1993 Stanley Cup Final against the Montreal Canadiens. With the Kings already owning a 1-0 series lead and clinging to a 2-1 lead in the final minutes of the third period, the Canadiens challenged McSorley's stick for having an illegal curve. After measurement, it was determined that his stick was, in fact, illegal, giving the Canadiens a late power play. Eric Desjardins scored the game-tying goal on the ensuing power play and then scored the winner in overtime to give the Canadiens a 3-2 win to even the series. The Kings would not win another game in the series. 

The 'Have another donut' series 

The 1988 Wales Conference Final between the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils is perhaps best known for an incident involving referee Don Koharski and then-Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld. Following the Devils' Game 3 loss, Schoenfeld and Koharski were involved in a confrontation in the tunnel leading to the locker rooms resulting in Koharski tripping and falling. Believing he was pushed by Schoenfeld the two screamed at each other with the Devils coach calling Koharski a "fat pig" and repeatedly telling him to "have another donut." The NHL had attempted to suspend Schoenfeld for Game 4 of the series only to have the Devils challenge the ruling and get a temporary restraining order, allowing Schoenfeld to continue to coach. Upon learning of this, the on-ice officials refused to work in protest, delaying the start of the game. This resulted in the league having to find replacement officials, basically pulling the off-ice officials out of the press box and giving them makeshift uniforms to call the game. Schoenfeld was eventually suspended for Game 5 of the series with the regular on-ice officials returning to call the games.  

The 1988 Fog Game

The Schoenfeld-Koharski showdown was not the only bizarre moment for the Bruins during their 1988 playoff run. After getting through the Devils they had to meet the Edmonton Oilers dynasty in the Stanley Cup Final. With the Oilers in complete control of the series heading into Game 4, holding a 3-0 series lead, Glenn Anderson set a Stanley Cup Final record by scoring a goal just 10 seconds into the game. After that, things managed to get weird. The game itself was played in fog due to the heat outside in Boston and a lack of air conditioning in the old Boston Garden, and then midway through the second period a power outage resulted in the game being called with score tied, 3-3. All of the individual stats and records remained in place, but Game 4 was rescheduled for Edmonton where the Oilers would go on to win their fourth Stanley Cup.

The 1975 Fog Game 

We have to specify which fog game we are talking about because there were two notable fog games in the Stanley Cup Final. Before the 1988 game, there was the 1975 game in Buffalo between the Flyers and Sabres that was played under similar circumstances: Hot temperatures outside and a lack of air conditioning in the Buffalo Auditorium. There were two big differences between this one and the 1988 game in Boston. First, the fog in Buffalo was significantly worse and prevent many fans in the building from actually seeing the game. And second? This game also featured the death of an animal when a wayward bat that had been disrupting the players was killed by Sabres forward Jim Lorentz when he swatted it out of mid-air with his stick. Also unlike the 1988 game this one would end up being completed with the Sabres winning in overtime, 5-4. They would not, however, go on to win the series. 

The Toronto Curfew. One of the great things about the Stanley Cup Playoffs is the potential for a marathon overtime game that goes until all hours of the morning. But what if the game was being played in a city that had a curfew that prohibited sporting events from going beyond midnight? Well, then you're just totally out of luck, and that used to happen in the city of Toronto. The last such incident occurred during Game 2 of the 1951 semifinals between the Bruins and Maple Leafs. After taking Game 1 in Toronto, the Bruins entered the game with the series lead and were involved in a nail-biter in Game 2 with the game going to overtime even, 1-1. But when it became clear the game was going to go on past midnight, it had to be called due to the laws of the city. That was it. It ended in a 1-1 tie. The two teams played in Boston the next night starting a new game that would see the Maple Leafs roll to a 3-0 win. They would then go on to win four games in a row by a combined score of 16-2 following the tie game, and then defeat the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final in five games. All of which went to overtime. None of which were impacted by Toronto's curfew. 

Lester Patrick goes from behind the bench to the crease. The 1928 Stanley Cup Final between the New York Rangers and Montreal Maroons had its share of weirdness. For one, the entire series had to be played in Montreal at the Forum because Madison Square Garden was playing host to the circus (a regular occurrence that would impact Rangers playoff games). Then in Game 2 the Rangers lost their starting goalie, Lorne Chabot, to an eye injury and left them without a goalie because teams did not typically dress a backup goalie in the early days of the league. The Rangers did have two spare goalies sitting in the stands but the Maroons refused to allow the team to use either one of them. That meant Rangers coach Lester Patrick, who was 44 years old at the time and had no goaltending experience in the NHL (he only played one game, as a 43-year-old the previous season) would enter the game to play goal. He allowed just one goal in 35 minutes of action and helped backstop the Rangers to a 2-1 overtime win. They would go on to win the Stanley Cup in five games. Imagine having every game of the Stanley Cup Final in your building, then getting to play against a 44-year-old guy that had never played goalie in the NHL, and still losing the series.