Serge Savard, general manager [The stick rack] was leaning against the wall of the Canadiens dressing room. I can guarantee you that nobody measured it. But everybody saw it. Like they could look at ours as well.

Gary Leeman, winger We should let it remain a mystery, just like the Franco Harris catch or non-catch [the Immaculate Reception]. It’s got to remain a mystery because I can’t talk about something I’m not 100 per cent sure about, but if you’re leaving your sticks in the view of the opposition, it’s just natural guys are going to look at them.

Demers When the Kings went to the [2012] final I got calls from reporters in L.A. and Sports Illustrated, I told them we never cheated and I’ll die with that.

Carbonneau They have to find a reason, and that’s OK, but I know for a fact we didn’t measure their sticks.

Damphousse You talk to Melrose and [McSorley], they’re still sour about that call. They kind of said that’s the way we won, but that’s not the whole story, we were able to beat them three other games as well.

Melrose It was a desperate move by a desperate club. They weren’t going to win that game and they had to try something, and that’s what they tried. I coached two years of junior, three years in the American League and four years in the NHL and I never called it once, so I would never call that.

Schneider It was desperate times and desperate measures, no pun intended.

Demers I know some people said it was cheap, but a lot of people in the hockey world — especially GMs — said if my coach knew and didn’t call it, he may not be coaching for me next year.

Farber The stick measurement is a big part of the story, but a defenceman has a hat trick and they’ve won another overtime game? It was all part of it. We don’t know for sure. Nobody has come out and said, “I measured those sticks.” It’s a fascinating story, it’s part of hockey lore.

Having dodged a massive bullet in Game 2, the Habs headed west for Los Angeles to resume what was now a best-of-five series. The Kings were in familiar territory, while Montreal was riding high from its comeback win.

Schneider That whole thing [in Game 2] and the emotion involved, you just can’t describe what it does for the team. I can’t imagine what it would have been like if we were down two games going there.

Melrose We felt we should have easily been going back 2–0, so 1–1 is fine. We’ll go back and take care of business at home. Every series we’d played was 1–1 after two games, so it was certainly nothing new to us.

Carbonneau They had a lot of character sticking in there. I’m sure they were mad, they were pissed, but they didn’t give up.

Demers My mentality was always, don’t fool around with Gretzky, because I’d seen him too much. All those years in the Norris Division [coaching in St. Louis and Detroit], we used to play out west. He wanted to win so bad for Los Angeles.

Damphousse They put us in a great hotel. Usually you’re by the airport. We were by the beach and it was really a calm setting, away from the media.

With L.A.’s “Fabulous Forum” buzzing from hosting its first Cup Final game and the likes of Ronald Reagan, Mick Jagger and Magic Johnson looking on, the Canadiens quickly stole the show, building a 3–0 lead by the early minutes of the second period. The Kings only woke from their lethargy when defenceman Mark Hardy, pinching in at the blue line, laid a spectacular bodycheck on Mike Keane that shook loose a pane of glass. The gritty Habs forward bounced back up, but the hit swung the game’s momentum.

Damphousse The crowd went crazy and [the Kings] fed off that, they were able to battle back.

31 Thoughts: The Podcast Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman talk to a lot of people around the hockey world, and then they tell listeners all about what they’ve heard and what they think about it.

Schneider The mentality you get into [when leading] and your human instinct is just really to sit back, especially in hockey where coaches and players are so conservative. It’s almost like, once they tie it, it’s a relief and you can play again.

Carbonneau You have to give them credit, they didn’t quit.

The Kings clawed to within a goal, then pulled even late in the second when a slapshot from Gretzky eluded Roy’s glove. No. 99 was also on the ice in the game’s dying seconds, when L.A. was pressing for the game-winner. Kings winger Tomas Sandstrom attempted a wraparound and the puck slid under Carbonneau, who’d been cross-checked to the ice. The Kings argued the Canadiens captain illegally covered it with his hand. Referee Terry Gregson disagreed and L.A. was never awarded the penalty shot it was after.

Gretzky, after the game I learned a new rule tonight. If you shoot the puck into a guy and he’s in the crease, it’s not a penalty shot.

Carbonneau I understood the rule and I made sure my hand was not over the puck.

For the second straight game, Montreal earned an overtime victory before the extra period was a minute old. This time, it took 34 seconds to notch the winner, as LeClair made good on his third attempt around the Kings net after linemate Brian Bellows cleared space by tying up three defenders. The Canadiens’ ninth consecutive overtime win established a new NHL mark.

Hrudey I felt great going into overtime because they had that long streak and I thought the odds had to be in our favour because they had to lose one. I thought it was perfect, they just can’t win every single overtime game.

Muller Bellows did such a great job of driving the net and taking guys with him. That’s what Brian was good at.

Demers When John scored in overtime on the first night [in L.A.], you start to believe it’s your year. You don’t get overconfident, you don’t get overly cocky, but you start saying, “A lot of things are going our way.”

Things continued to go Montreal’s way at the start of Game 4, when the Habs once again jumped out in front, this time building a 2–0 advantage. But following the template established in Game 3, the Kings fought back, squaring the game 2–2 when McSorley connected from the slot with 4.6 seconds left in the second period. In the intermission before the third, Roy — ultra-confident, but often quiet — stood up and declared he wouldn’t be allowing another goal. If the Habs could squeeze out one, they were going to win.

Patrick Roy, goalie We came back in the room and we were — not upset, but we were not happy about the fact we let them back in the game. We were [louder than usual]. I said, “OK guys. Let’s relax. They’re not going to get one by me. Just get one, take the time you need.”

Brisebois “Score me one goal, and we’re going to be OK.” I never, never heard that in my entire career. Can you imagine his confidence? It’s sick.

Demers When Patrick talked, people listened, including the coach, because there was a lot of respect. The one thing about Patrick, he could back it up.

Melrose It wasn’t like he was beating us 1–0; we were getting three goals and two goals. He was just making unbelievable saves at unbelievable times, especially in overtime.

Carbonneau We used to live in the same neighbourhood, so we would travel to every game together. I’ve never met anybody who wanted to win more than him.

In a moment that symbolizes the confidence he showed throughout his career, Roy — after stuffing Sandstrom a few times in the overtime period — gave a wink to the Kings winger that was captured perfectly by one of the TV cameras.

Roy I have no idea [why I winked]. I was playing well, they were starting to hit me more and more, and getting in the crease. That’s the sign, you know you’re in their head. I never thought someone could catch that [on camera]. All of sudden Sandstrom was pushing and he [skated past the crease] and I was like, “No, you’re not scoring here tonight.” It was just a reflex. Nobody thought it would become a big deal. A lot of people were saying I was cocky. It was not totally the opposite, but it was different [than cockiness]. There’s nothing worse, in my opinion, than if you’re the goaltender [and] you have your head between your legs. Everybody sees it and it makes everybody nervous. It was important to me to have my teammates saying, “OK, we’re fine: he’s there.” A big part of the position is to show your teammates you’re under control, show your teammates you’re very confident and they don’t have to worry about you.

True to his word, Roy held the Kings off the scoresheet in the third period. Little-used Jimmy Carson nearly made a liar out of him in overtime, however, ringing one off the crossbar. In a playoff run that had already produced more than its share of unlikely moments, LeClair added another when he scored an overtime winner off a goalmouth scramble for the second consecutive game. LeClair, then 23, was just beginning to scratch the surface of the potential his coach and some teammates — but very few people in the broader hockey world — saw in his six-foot-three frame.

Schneider I did a big interview with [longtime Montreal beat writer] Red Fisher and I said to Red, “Johnny should be a player like Eric Lindros. The way he skates, the way he shoots, he could be a player on a level with Eric Lindros.” Red kind of laughed at me at the time, but he did a big piece on Johnny and how his potential was so great.