Best of the best: Top 3 Stanley Cup Playoff Games in 2023

By Sam Nestler

Modified Jun 18, 2023 18:16 GMT

The 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs were an incredible ride. In the end, the Vegas Golden Knights upended the Florida Panthers in only five games to win their first Stanley Cup.

Now that we have moved on to the summer and offseason, let's take a look back at the top three games from the 2023 playoffs.

#3 Dallas Stars vs Vegas Golden Knights Game 4

The Dallas Stars were on the ropes, down 3-0 in the Western Conference finals. In Game 4, Vegas once again got out to a 1-0 lead just four minutes in.

But the Stars would not go down without a fight. Even after the Golden Knights took a 2-1 lead midway through the second period, Dallas found a way to fight back. With only a few minutes remaining in the period, Jason Robertson tucked home his second goal of the game, tying things at two.

The third period saw no scoring but when Dallas was handed a power play early in overtime, veteran Joe Pavelski kept the Stars' season alive.

#2 Carolina Hurricanes vs Florida Panthers Game 1

The Eastern Conference finals started out with a massive bang. Carolina entered the series as heavy favorites, and after taking a 1-0 lead, it looked to be on its way.

But after just a few minutes of the second, Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe put Florida up 2-1. In the third, Carolina tied the game and overtime began to loom. But nobody, nobody knew the type of marathon that was ahead.

After an overturned goal in the first overtime, the game went on and on until the crowd was seconds away from a seventh intermission break and the beginning of a fifth overtime. But in the final seconds, Matthew Tkachuk put an end to the third-longest game in NHL history.

Stanley Cup Finals provide the best game of 2023 playoffs

#1 Florida Panthers vs Vegas Golden Knights Game 3

The Vegas Golden Knights jumped out to a 2-0 series lead and had the chance of putting a stranglehold on Florida in the Stanley Cup Finals. On the other side, the Panthers knew everything was on the line.

However, the Cats put themselves in a hole in Game 3.

Taking penalty after penalty, Florida allowed two powerplay goals and trailed 2-1 late in the third period. But guess who? Matthew Tkachuk. With under three minutes in the third, Tkachuk found a loose puck and slammed home the rebound to tie the game at two.

In overtime, Carter Verhaeghe threw a wrister past a screened Adin Hill and put Florida right back in the Stanley Cup Finals.