I remember that B.S. goal like it was yesterday. I was 13 watching with tons of family and friend and when that puck went in....just silence. Heartbreak yet again. And it would last years and years and years. Playoff loss after loss after loss. Cant blame him for leaving. Mike Keenan was a toolbag. Goal from almost the blue line. God. Drives me nuts to this day.
I hear you. As a Rangers fan that Yzermen BS goal reminds me of the Ron Francis goal in game 4, 1992 playoffs Rangers vs Penguins. Without that fluke goal Rangers win the Cup earlier more than likely. But at least we won in 1994, with Mike Keenan ironically enough.
@@LEETCH_2 Yeah for sure I remember that too lol. Just crushing. That 94 Rangers team was fantastic. Adam Graves had like 60 goals or some sh*t lol. Edit: Had to look it up...so it was 52 lol.
I hear ya, but not only was that a rocket off Yzerman's stick, but Jon Casey played PHENOMINAL in net that day. Neither team had any chemistry that game. In the first period alone, I don't think either team controlled possession beyond 1-pass. 2- passes, for SURE 3 and the puck was turned over. I thought maybe its from Keenan having so much turnover with him constantly playing fantasy league hockey with our franchise and not allowing enough time to build chemistry. But...Detroit had the same issues that day. As far as Kennan's turnover rate...i collect and have every Blues media guide since 1986-87. Each season has a page with each player listed along with player stats. Once I looked at the the Keenan era where he was coach AND GM, the daggum FONT had to be smaller to FIT all the names on the damn sheet !!! Man, winning a cup, then handed the keys to BOTH jobs...whole thing went to his head ! Glad to see he is back on Earth these days. I always joke and say "I was SO happy to see him COME to STL...but even HAPPIER to see him LEAVE. I had admired him in Chicago n Philadelphia, but man did he change. Wayne has been my favorite NHLer since I was a 6-year old in 1980-81 here in STL. It was my dream for him to be a Blue. I have his debut and home debut on VHS, then copied it onto DVD. The lead up to puck drop at Kiel Centre was absolutely off the charts. The ovation he received...the national anthem...whole thing was plum NUTS !!!!!!!💙
I was at the game in Winnipeg, too! It was the one and only time I saw Gretzky play in person. I remember being so nervous leading up to the game because the trade rumours were flying, and I thought LA may hold him out of the lineup that night. When I spotted him one the ice at warm up, I was so thrilled! The next day, Wayne was traded to the Blues.
I love Wayner but he didn't play here long enough. We traded 5 players to get him he played for a short time, got hurt, end of story. You could tell that after that concussion Gretzsky was never the same after. And now hate Keenan even more because HE was the reason we lost Gretzsky. OMG all of these years I've been so frustrated the Yzerman got that winning goal when he shot it from a great distance, it hit a chunk of ice and deflected up and over Jon Casey. It was probably the toughest loss we ever had. But I am in shock now because I never knew it was the Great One who lost the puck to Yzerman. Holy moly. Gretzsky looked devastated after realizing that it was his play that cost us everything. He also looked like he was really out of his mind from that concussion and probably shouldn't have been cleared to play anyway.
Yzerman beat a lot of goalies with lasers like that. There was many backup goalies that wouldn't have stopped that. Gretzky was led the team in points in the playoffs, so I don't know where the "he was never the same after the injury" talk is coming from. Without Gretzky, there would have never been a Game 7 of that series. And no way was that the toughest loss the Blues have ever endured. That team had a losing record. Stuck playing a backup goalie. Let's not pretend they were some juggernaut. The President's Trophy team that choked to the Sharks was a much more difficult loss.
Yeah, Keenan basically tried to reinvent the Edmonton Oilers of the 80s... Glen Anderson, Essa Tikkanen, Grant Fuhr, Wayne Gretzky, Charlie Huddy, Craig McTavish... too bad all these guys were past their primes... Keenan had way too much power, and should've never been allowed to make trades
I love me some Gretzky...but as someone who was actively watching at the time, 95-96 was not the Dead Puck era. Just look at the scoring leaders that year. Really started coming down the following year and subsequent years after that.
@gilmeza I was also watching at the time and the crazy hooking and holding and defencemen draping themselves all over players was definitely going on. Appreciate your perspective though.
@@mathewlabelle8835 yeah. Look at the scoring leaders in 95-96 and then the following year. We went from 12 players with 100 points or more to 2 in 96-97. But sure Bud, your eye test is the ultimate judgement call 🤣🤣🤣
Quinn’s reasoning was complete bullshit. The Kiel Partners just wanted to sell out the arena the rest of the year and make money on that ridiculous pay per view crap they did in the playoffs. Quinn was just following his marching orders. What a terrible executive he was for not only Gretzky, but the Scott Stevens debacle as well.
