The 1999 Stanley Cup Championship Series

Lore & Background

The series ended with a controversial triple-overtime goal in game six, when replays showed that Stars forward Brett Hull scored with his skate in the crease. Although the Sabres protested later, the league stated that the goal had been reviewed and was judged as a good goal, since Hull had maintained possession of the puck as it exited the crease just before he shot it. This was the third meeting between teams from Dallas and Buffalo for a major professional sports championship. This previously occurred in two Super Bowls in 1993 and 1994.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the First Niagara Center in Buffalo was thick with tension and the smell of popcorn mixed with desperation. It was Game 7, the final chapter of a saga that had captivated hockey fans across America. As the clock ticked down in overtime, every breath seemed to echo louder than the previous one. Then, Brett Hull took a pass from Mike Modano, deked past the defense, and fired the puck. The net rippled, the horn blared, and chaos erupted. In that frozen moment of pure adrenaline, Dallas was no longer just a team; they were champions.

Reader's Guide

The Sabres entered the playoffs as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. They first swept the second seeded Ottawa Senators, then defeated the sixth seeded Boston Bruins in six games, and then defeated the fourth seeded Toronto Maple Leafs in five games to advance to the Finals. This was Buffalo's first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1975, in which they fell to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games. The Sabres also became the second seventh seeded team to reach the Finals after the Vancouver Canucks did so in 1994. The Stars entered the playoffs as the Presidents' Trophy winner for the second consecutive season as they clinched the best record in the NHL once again. They swept the eighth seeded Edmonton Oilers, then defeated the fifth seeded St. Louis Blues in six games, and the second seeded Colorado Avalanche in seven games to advance to the Finals. The Stars became the second team from a Southern state to reach the Stanley Cup Final, joining the Florida Panthers, who accomplished the feat three years prior.

Did You Know?

• The Stars did not win again in 2020; they have not won another Stanley Cup since 1999.
• The 1999 Stanley Cup Finals were not the Sabres' first finals appearance; they had previously reached the finals in 1975 (as the Buffalo Sabres).
• The celebration did not take place at HSBC Arena; the arena was named Marine Midland Arena at the time (1999).