The Blackhawk's Cup Clincher, in Perspective

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Last night's Stanley Cup Final Game 6 will almost certainly go down as having one of the most memorable in Cup history. But how does the Blackhawks' comeback measure up against history? As you might guess, their game tying goal with 1:16 left in the 3^rd period is the latest GTG to come in a Stanley Cup clinching game. Their game winning goal with :59 remaining is the latest Stanley Cup winning goal to come before overtime. Here's the list of the latest Cup clinching goals:

Year	Game	Cup winner	Opponent	Period	Time of GWG
1999	6	Stars	Sabres	3OT	14:51
1996	4	Avalanche	Panthers	3OT	4:31
1934	4	Blackhawks	Red Wings	2OT	10:05
1944	4	Canadiens	Blackhawks	OT	9:12
1950	7	Red Wings	Rangers	2OT	8:31
2000	6	Devils	Stars	2OT	8:20
1933	4	Rangers	Maple Leafs	OT	7:34
1980	6	Islanders	Flyers	OT	7:11
1977	4	Canadiens	Bruins	OT	4:32
1954	7	Red Wings	Canadiens	OT	4:29
2010	6	Blackhawks	Flyers	OT	4:06
1951	5	Maple Leafs	Canadiens	OT	2:53
1966	6	Canadiens	Red Wings	OT	2:20
1940	6	Rangers	Maple Leafs	OT	2:07
1953	5	Canadiens	Bruins	OT	1:22
1970	4	Bruins	Blues	OT	0:40
2013	6	Blackhawks	Bruins	3	19:01
1947	6	Maple Leafs	Canadiens	3	14:39
1976	4	Canadiens	Flyers	3	14:18
1962	6	Maple Leafs	Blackhawks	3	14:14
1963	5	Maple Leafs	Red Wings	3	13:28
1945	7	Maple Leafs	Red Wings	3	12:14
1968	4	Canadiens	Blues	3	11:40
1946	5	Canadiens	Bruins	3	11:06
1989	6	Flames	Canadiens	3	11:02
1986	5	Canadiens	Flames	3	10:30

As you can see, last night's goal was the first time that a team scored the Cup winning goal in the last 5 minutes of regulation. If we narrow the list to include only Finals series that ended in game 6 or 7, we see that last night was the 9^th latest Cup winning goal since the modern Finals began in 1927.

Year	Game	Cup winner	Opponent	Period	Time of GWG
1999	6	Stars	Sabres	3OT	14:51
1950	7	Red Wings	Rangers	2OT	8:31
2000	6	Devils	Stars	2OT	8:20
1980	6	Islanders	Flyers	OT	7:11
1954	7	Red Wings	Canadiens	OT	4:29
2010	6	Blackhawks	Flyers	OT	4:06
1966	6	Canadiens	Red Wings	OT	2:20
1940	6	Rangers	Maple Leafs	OT	2:07
2013	6	Blackhawks	Bruins	3	19:01

Certainly the most impressive aspect of last night's game was that, not only did the Blackhawks win the game late, they tied it late also. It's difficult to track down full box scores of games pre-1980s, so it's hard to me to evaluate where that accomplishment fits in with history. But suffice it to say, the Blackhawk's night last night will be remembered as one of the craziest endings to a Stanley Cup Finals of all time.