June 3, 1993: "Stickgate" In the Stanley Cup Finals

June 3, 1993: The Los Angeles Kings lead the Montreal Canadiens 2-1, late in the 3rd period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, at the Montreal Forum. The Kings, in the Finals for the 1st time in their 26-year history, are mere minutes away from taking a 2-games-to-0 lead back to Los Angeles (well, Inglewood, to their own Forum). And they are doing so on the home ice of the greatest franchise in hockey, playing in their 34th Stanley Cup Finals -- having already won a record 23.

But Jacques Demers, head coach of the Canadiens, notices something. During a break in the action, with 1:45 left in regulation, he asks to speak to the referee. He asks them to measure the curve of the stick used by Kings defenseman Marty McSorley.

In the 1960s, players such as Bobby Hull used what became known as the "banana blade," a stick whose blade curved by up to 3 inches. These curves made the puck faster and more erratic. Since most goaltenders didn't yet use facemasks, this scared them. By 1967, most were using masks, but shots off the banana blade were still dangerous. So the NHL made a rule, limiting stick blade curves to 3/4 of an inch.

McSorley was a part of the Edmonton Oilers' dynasty of the 1980s, led by Wayne Gretzky. At this point, Gretzky was leading the Kings. In addition to McSorley, he was joined by fellow ex-Oilers Jari Kurri and Paul Coffey.

McSorley's stick is measured, and is found to have too great a curve. He is given a 2-minut minor penalty for "unsportsmanlike conduct." The Canadiens will have a power play for the rest of regulation. So Demers pulls goalie Patrick Roy, to give the Habs a 6-on-4 advantage.

And defenseman Eric Desjardins, who had already scored, scores again, to force overtime. And just 51 seconds into overtime, Desjardins scores again, to give the Canadiens a 3-2 win. This made him the 1st defenseman ever to score a hat trick in a Stanley Cup Finals game. He remains the only one.

It was all Canadiens from that point on. They blew a 3-0 lead in Game 3, but won on an overtime goal by John LeClair. Game 4 was similar: Montreal blew a 2-0 lead, but LeClair won it with another overtime goal. Game 5 was back in Montreal, and this one did not go to overtime: The Canadiens won 4-1, and clinched their 24th Stanley Cup on home ice.

If McSorley had simply obeyed the rules, the Kings would have been up 2-0 and been in great position to win the Cup. He blew it for them. They didn't win the franchise's 1st Cup until 2012.

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June 3, 1993 was a Thursday. Football was out of season, but the NBA Playoffs were in the Conference Finals. Game 6 was played in the West, and the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Phoenix Suns, 118-102 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. But the Suns won Game 7 in Phoenix, 2 days later. On the day in between, the Chicago Bulls won the East, beating the New York Knicks in Game 6. The Bulls won the title, beating the Suns in 6.

There were 6 Major League Baseball games played that day. Neither of the New York teams was involved:

* The Montreal Expos beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves, 12-4 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Tony Gwynn went 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Fred McGriff and Phil Plantier hit home runs.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-5 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. A month later, on July 2, it was renamed Kauffman Stadium, for founding owner Ewing Kauffman. Each in their final season, the Brewers' Robin Yount went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and the Royals' George Brett did not play.

* And the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Francisco Giants, 2-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Barry Bonds, who had spurned the Pirates for the Giants' free-agent dollars, went 0-for-3.