The 1970 Stanley Cup Final 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...

 championship series was contested by the Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

 and the St. Louis Blues, appearing in their third straight finals. The Bruins were making their first appearance in the Final since . The Bruins would win the series 4–0, their first Stanley Cup

Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...

 victory in 29 years. Bobby Orr

Bobby Orr

Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr, OC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Orr played in the National Hockey League for his entire career, the first ten seasons with the Boston Bruins, joining the Chicago Black Hawks for two more. Orr is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest...

 scored the Cup-winning goal on Glenn Hall

Glenn Hall

Glenn Henry "Mr. Goalie" Hall is a former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, and St. Louis Blues, Hall seldom missed a game and was a consistent performer, winning the Vezina Trophy three times, and the...

, with an assist from Derek Sanderson

Derek Sanderson

Derek Michael Sanderson, nicknamed "Turk", , is a former Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is now a bank executive and restaurateur....

, at forty seconds of overtime, and the subsequent image of Orr flying through the air, his arms raised in victory — he had been tripped by Blues' defenceman Noel Picard

Noel Picard

Jean Noel Picard is a retired Canadian ice hockey defenceman.Picard started his National Hockey League career with the Montreal Canadiens in 1965. He would also play for the St. Louis Blues and Atlanta Flames. He would retire after the 1973 season. He would win one Stanley Cup with Montreal in...

 at the moment of shooting — is arguably the most famous and recognized hockey image of all time.

Paths to the Final

Boston defeated 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...

 4–2 and the Chicago Black Hawks

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...

 4–0 to advance to the final.

St. Louis defeated the Minnesota North Stars

Minnesota North Stars

The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white...

 4–2 and 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...

 4–2.

The series

At 3:57 of the first period, a hard shot from Fred Stanfield

Fred Stanfield

Frederic William Stanfield is a former professional ice hockey left winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1964 until 1978.Stanfield played 914 career NHL games, scoring 211 goals and 405 assists for 616 points...

 was deflected and struck Jacques Plante

Jacques Plante

Joseph Jacques Omer Plante was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947–1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey...

 in the forehead of his face mask, splitting the mask in half and injuring Plante. Plante was finished for the series. Doctors later said if he hadn't been wearing the mask, he surely would have been killed. Ernie Wakely

Ernie Wakely

Ernest Alfred Linton Wakely is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Wakely was a goaltender in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues...

 took over in goal but only held off the Bruins for a few minutes before becoming a rather easy mark for Bruins sharpshooters.

Quotes

Boston Bruins 1970 Stanley Cup champions

Stanley Cup engravings

• Tom Johnson's name was engraved T. Johnson TR by mistake. Johnson was actually the assistant manager, not the trainer. The mistake was not corrected on the Replica Stanley Cup created in 1992–93.
• Ted Green received a head injury in a pre-season game. He missed the entire season, but his name was still engraved on the Stanley Cup. John Adams (goal) and Ivan Boldirev (forward) had their names engraved on the Cup before they played their first NHL game. Boldirev played his first NHL game during 1970–71 season, Adams played his first NHL game for Boston during in the 1972–73 season. Dan Schock played in the minors, but was called up to play one playoff game, earning a spot on the Stanley Cup.