This Day in Hockey History – April 27, 1994 – All Hail Hasek

There are games where it seems everyone scores, and then there are games where no one scores—the goaltenders seemingly involved in their own private duel 200 feet apart from each other. It was just such a game where neither goalie had allowed a puck past him in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal between the Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils in 1994.

Going into the game, which took place at the Buffalo Auditorium on April 27, 1994, the New Jersey Devils carried a slim 3-2 game advantage, and were looking to send the Sabres packing while they moved on to the semifinal. That may have been the plan, but it didn’t quite go that way that night—in large part because apparently the Sabres netminder, Dominik Hasek, didn’t get the memo that he was supposed to want to have his season end.

Hasek already had one shutout in the series in Game 1 which took place at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

“Hasek, whose 1.95 goals-against average this past season was the best in the NHL since Bernie Parent had a 1.89 in the mid-1970s, was the difference, particularly in the second period when the Devils outshot the Buffalo 13-5,” reported The Monitor.

In total that first game, Hasek denied 30 shots put on net by the Devils, and those in front of him got a four-on-three power play goal late in the first and an empty-netter late in the third for a 2-0 victory in that game.

As regulation came to an end in Game 6, those in attendance had yet to see a goal scored. Both Hasek and Martin Brodeur seemed to be nothing but big brick walls, with Hasek having stopped 31 shots, while Brodeur had denied 29.

“Both goaltenders — Dominic <sic> Hasek for the Sabres and rookie Martin Brodeur for the Devils — turned in brilliant performances,” reported the Times Colonist.

In true Stanley Cup Playoffs action, the two teams began sudden death full 20-minute periods until someone found a missing brick in one of the goaltending walls.  The teams continued to play through three full overtime periods—in essence a complete game within the overtime—and were into the fourth overtime period as the game continued. Those at Buffalo Auditorium were certainly getting their money’s worth at least in length of game if not in goals scored.

A chink in the brick was finally discovered when Sabre Dave Hannan managed to score at 5:43 of the fourth overtime. By that time the Devils had outshot the Sabres 39-20 throughout the extra innings, including having taken the first four shots on Hasek in the fourth overtime.

“The Sabres’ first overtime win of the season after four losses came at a most opportune time, tying the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series 3-3,” reported the Tucson Citizen.

As described on NHL.com, “Hannan [took] a pass from Jason Dawe and [lifted] a backhander through traffic that [went] past Brodeur’s glove.”

“Buffalo goaltender Dominik Hasek prolonged the game with 70 saves and New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur got the loss despite stopping 49 shots,” stated the Tucson Citizen.

Game 6 between the Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils, at a total of 125:43 total playing time, remains 11th in the list of longest overtimes in playoffs.

Unfortunately, the Sabres only bought themselves one more game. They were eliminated in Game 7, 2-1, by the Devils on April 29.

Hasek’s career-long save percentage of .922 remains the best among retired goaltenders, and from 1993 through 1999 he led the NHL in highest save percentage. The Czech native won the first of his six Vezina trophies in June of 1974.

In 2002 he became only the second goaltender to have both a Stanley Cup (which he won with the Red Wings in 2002) and an Olympic gold medal (winning with the Czech Republic at the 1998 Nagano Olympics). His dueling partner on that six-hour marathon Game 6, Brodeur, was the other goaltender to have such honors, having just won gold with Team Canada in February of 2002 at the Salt Lake City Olympics (already with two Stanley Cup wins with the Devils at that time in 1995 and 2000).

Hasek was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014.

Additional Sources

• “Dallas, New York open with success,” The Monitor (McAllen, Texas), Monday, April 18, 1994, p. 2B.
• “Bruins force series showdown,” Times Colonist (Victoria, British Columbia), Thursday, April 28, 1994, p. B4.
• “Capitals advance; Sabres win a doozy,” Tucson Citizen (Tucson, Arizona), Thursday, April 28, 1994, p. 4D.