SI Flashback: Stanley Cup 1996

Colorado, a dynasty in the making, swept Florida to win the Stanley Cup

By Michael Farber

On the verge of dynasty Avalanche players shudder at being labeled a budding dynasty. O.K., let's just say that playing for the Stanley Cup is going to become an annual event in Colorado, like spring skiing and 39th birthdays. The playoff parity that has developed in the last four seasons could be blown away by the Avalanche, the NHL's next dominant team, a compelling blend of veterans and bright, brassy young talent. Four of Colorado's core players -- 22-year-old Forsberg, one of the league's most complete centers; 21-year-old Adam Deadmarsh, soon to be a premier power forward; daring 23-year-old defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh, who plays from crease to crease and often gives both teams an excellent chance to win; and hard-hitting 24-year-old defenseman Adam Foote -- are barely old enough to grow decent playoff whiskers. High-scoring center Sakic, a survivor of the Avalanche's dark days as the Quebec Nordiques, is only 26. The Colorado graybeards are Bluebeard himself, nasty right wing Claude Lemieux, and steady defenseman Krupp, both of whom are 30 but have plenty of mileage left. Even St. Patrick Roy, who drove the rats out of Miami, is just 30. "I was talking to the trainer, and we were wondering how old Ozolinsh was," said Roy, who allowed four goals in the finals. "He's 23. Twenty-three. That's scary. Deadmarsh already is a big-time player at 21. These young guys are just learning how to win. This team could be dangerous." St. Peter Anyone else doubting that [Forsberg] is indeed special need only rewind the finals tape to Peter's first-period hat trick in Game 2. Goal No. 1: rebounds his own shot off Florida defenseman Rhett Warrener's stick and nudges the puck past Vanbiesbrouck. Goal No. 2: drills heavy wrist shot from the left face-off circle and beats Vanbiesbrouck on the glove side. Goal No. 3: bats a letter-high knuckleball that has caromed off the backboards into the net with a lefthanded swing as sweet as any the Rockies' Larry Walker has taken lately. Three goals, three ways. "Good to see him shoot," teammate Mike Keane says. "He's a typical Swede in that he wants to make the nice plays all the time and sometimes overpasses." There's the weakness of Forsberg's game: altruism. "But he's also strong on his skates and the toughest European I've ever seen," adds Keane.

The clock struck at 1:05 a.m. on Tuesday for Cinderella. A shot from inside the blue line by Colorado Avalanche defenseman Uwe Krupp at 4:31 of the third overtime sneaked past Florida Panthers goalie John Vanbiesbrouck and ended the third-longest game in Stanley Cup finals history, 1-0, and the fairy-tale hopes of Florida, four games to none. Someday the Panthers might live happily ever after, but it is the Avalanche who should live well at the top of the NHL for many years to come. As the Stanley Cup was handed to Joe Sakic, the Colorado captain and playoff MVP, he pumped it over his head in ecstasy. "I never knew what this meant," Sakic said. "This is the greatest moment of my life." ...

Avalanche head coach Marc Crawford seemed to cope with the pressures of the Stanley Cup finals better than Panthers coach Doug MacLean, who, like Florida's rats-to-riches story, started to unravel even before Game 1. Three minutes before the Panthers were to take the ice at McNichols for the series opener, MacLean engaged in a screaming match via walkie-talkie with NHL senior vice president Brian Burke . Moments earlier the league's supervisor of officials, Bryan Lewis, had ordered Vanbiesbrouck to put white adhesive tape over the knob of his stick in accordance with a rule as widely unenforced as it is arcane ...

Vanbiesbrouck was miffed, but if the news rattled him, its effects were tape-delayed. He shut out Colorado for half the game before the Avalanche pumped three second-period goals past him in a stretch of 3:49 and went on to a 3-1 victory.

Tales of the tape did not catch MacLean's eye the next day as much as a column in the Denver Post that assailed the Panthers' conservative play. The article was more uninformed, cartoonish and vituperative than some of the others published in newspapers in cities around the NHL that have dumped on Florida's style -- and the timing was right -- so MacLean chose to use it as a motivational tool. He had the column photocopied and placed in every Panther's locker. Florida was so inspired by this high school psychology that the Panthers incurred a rash of bad penalties, allowed three power-play goals in the first period and absorbed an 8-1 beating, the second-worst in Stanley Cup finals history ...

Peter Forsberg had an assist in Game 3 against Florida, playing 21 minutes and dominating the 3-2 win with his all-around effort. Sakic scored the game-winner -- his record sixth decisive goal of the playoffs -- early in the second period on a two-on-one. And Colorado goaltender Patrick Roy came on strong after a shaky first period, during which he endured two rat showers provided by the Miami Arena fans ...

Roy, who was superb in making 63 saves during his 1:44:31 of shutout goaltending in Game 4, gave them no chance to celebrate on Tuesday morning.

They said it ...

Issue date: June 17, 1996