When members of the 1993 Montreal Canadiens gathered for a reunion to commemorate 30 years since they won the Stanley Cup, they told stories and reminisced about the championship run. Vincent Damphousse, their leading scorer that postseason, had plenty to share but also had forgotten so much. It has, after all, been three decades since he and his teammates defeated Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings to lift the Cup for the franchise's NHL-record 24th time.
Not only has Montreal not won it again since, but neither has any other team based in Canada — a drought the at 31 years by winning Game 7 at the Florida Panthers on Monday night. “It’s our sport and it’s important for a Canadian team to do well,” Damphousse told The Associated Press by phone over the weekend. “Look at the city, look at the country.
Everybody’s watching, and it keeps everybody engaged and watching games." This is by far the longest stretch between Canadian Cup wins. Before this, it was a six-year span between the Montreal Maroons in 1935 and the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942, who the Oilers are looking to follow as the only teams in a final and come all the way back.
“This series has been great for hockey,” said Brian Bellows, who was tied as Montreal's third-leading scorer with 15 points in 20 games during the ‘93 playoffs. “Everyone loves a Game 7.” The 1972 Miami Dolphins, as the only NFL team to complete a perfect season and win it all, have a tradition of popping bottles of s.
