This Day in Hockey History – May 21, 1993 – Kurri and the Kings

May 21, 2019

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Even with his outstanding career, Jari Kurri often has been overlooked because of his teammate, Wayne “The Great One” Gretzky. The two played on the same line for the Edmonton Oilers and then reunited when playing for the Los Angeles Kings. On May 21, 1993, Kurri became only the second – after Gretzky – to score 100 career playoff goals.

Right winger Kurri had honed his two-way skills playing for a professional team in Helsinki before joining the Oilers following the 1980 NHL Draft. Although he did not plan to remain in the NHL long, Kurri later said, “But just being around those guys [it] began to feel like home. The game was so fun to play, we had so much talent and so many great players to play with.” The player he had the most connection with was Gretzky. They assisted each other more than any other player. Gretzky said, “We figured we could score nine out of 10 times. No matter where I put the puck, on Jari’s stick, in his feet … he’d snap it.” After 10 seasons with the Oilers, Kurri chose to sign with an Italian team for a season and then joined the Kings in 1991.

In their 26th season, the Kings made it to the conference finals for the first time. Having eliminated the Calgary Flames (4-2) and the Vancouver Canucks (4-2), they took on the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Campbell Conference finals. Kings coach Bary Melrose commented, “We’ve played maybe the three biggest teams in the league in the playoffs (Calgary, Vancouver and now Toronto). But we haven’t backed down.”

“Now, to look up in the stands and see everyone having such a great time . . . it’s really fun for me. It’s taken a lot of years for us to get to this point,” remarked veteran Dave Taylor. “There were a lot of years when I had my doubts. But this year, I have to say I was confident in this team. And now this club is very confident in itself. With each game and each (playoff) round, it kind of snowballs. We’re really feeling good about ourselves.”

The series was tied 1-1 after the two games at Toronto. Game 3 took place at the Forum in Inglewood, California for a crowd of 16,005. A banner honoring the Kings as the Smythe Division champions was unveiled to start things off. Los Angeles led the scoring with a goal in the first period followed by Kurri’s goal in the second.

During a penalty kill, Kings defenseman Marty McSorley “sent a pass from the right side to a wide-open Kurri.” At 9:26, Kurri’s shot passed Felix Potvin on the left side. The shorthanded goal was Kurri’s 100th playoff goal. As Taylor noted, “Shorthanded goals are pretty rare. It certainly took a little wind out of their sails.”

After Kurri’s milestone goal, Toronto came back to tie up the game. Shortly before the period ended, the Kings made good on a power play. Finally, at 1:26 of the third period, Taylor scored the other Kings shortie. He commented, “After so many lean years in L.A., it feels really great to help us get to this point.”

Thanks in part to Kurri, the Kings won 4-2. Although they lost the next two games, they came back to win the final two and the series. After Game 3, Toronto coach Pat Burns admitted, “You have to give credit to the Kings. They outmuscled us, outskated us and outscored us. Right now they’ve proven they’re better than us in certain situations.”

The Kings had made it to Stanley Cup finals for first time. After winning Game 1, they lost the following four and the Cup to the Montreal Canadiens. Even so, Kurri said, “It’s a dream to face the Canadiens. When I was a child in Finland, I dreamed of playing in the [Montreal] Forum in the finals.”

Throughout the playoffs, Kurri racked up 17 points (9G, 8A). He ranked fourth of the Kings’ scorers. “Playing your best games in the playoffs, that was a big thing personally for me,” said Kurri. “We loved [big games]. I don’t think we saw it as pressure or being nervous. It was more that we enjoyed it. This is what it’s all about.”

Having played 17 seasons in the NHL, the same number as his jersey, Kurri retired in 1998. At the time, his 601 goals, 797 assists, and 1,398 points made him the most prolific European scorer in the NHL. Although those records have since been surpassed, Kurri was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.