Fansided

Luckiest jerseys in the NHL’s long and storied history

By Bruin Belisle

DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 9: Ray Bourque #77 of the Colorado Avalanche lifts the cup with Joe Sakic #19 after the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1 in game seven of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche take the series 4-3. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - JUNE 9: Ray Bourque #77 of the Colorado Avalanche lifts the cup with Joe Sakic #19 after the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1 in game seven of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche take the series 4-3. (Photo by B Bennett/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO – JUNE 28: Michal Handzus, forward for the Chicago Blackhawks, raises the Stanley Cup Trophy during the Chicago Blackhawks’ 2013 Stanley Cup Championship rally at Hutchinson Field in Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois on JUNE 28, 2013. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
CHICAGO – JUNE 28: Michal Handzus, forward for the Chicago Blackhawks, raises the Stanley Cup Trophy during the Chicago Blackhawks’ 2013 Stanley Cup Championship rally at Hutchinson Field in Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois on JUNE 28, 2013. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images) /

14. Chicago Blackhawks

There isn’t much luck required in being one of the greatest franchises in NHL history and the Blackhawks are just that. The Blackhawks have enjoyed plenty of success recently, with Cups coming in 2010, 2013 and 2015. The luck came for them when they beat the Boston Bruins in the 2013 Stanley Cup finals.

Sure, maybe I’m saying they were lucky because I’m still bitter about that game, but they way the series ended ha to be the luckiest thing I can think of about these Blackhawks teams. The Bruins were enjoying what looked like another great playoff run, much like they had two seasons before in 2011. The season may have been shortened by a lockout, but that just meant that each of these teams were peaking in the Cup finals.

The Bruins were winning Game 6 by a score of 2-1 with a minute and a half left in the third period. They had all the momentum going into game 7, in Chicago, much like they had two seasons prior in Vancouver. No problem, we’ve been here before. Then, it all went horribly wrong.

Jonathan Toews set up Bryan Bickell for the first goal and the stadium went quiet. Okay, no problem, let’s get ready for overtime, right? Wrong. Dave Bolland scored the second goal in 17 seconds on the luckiest bounce of all time and won the series and the Cup for the Blackhawks. Watch that bounce off the post again – insane.

This ending is likely what still haunts Tuukka Rask to this day. Any Bruins fan that claims Rask isn’t “clutch” or “good in big games” started believing that after this game. Rask has the second best save percentage in NHL history – second only to Dominik Hasek – yet people claim he isn’t a true starter.

The Blackhawks won this series because they were a great hockey team. That being said, luck was on their side in scoring two goals in 17 seconds, crushing an entire fan base and ruining a star goalie for half of the fans that should be cheering for him.

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