Coming in at # 10 in our Top 10 Moments in New York Sports History countdown is the New York Islanders dramatic series victory over the heavily favored Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1993 Patrick Division Finals.

The Pittsburgh Penguins came into the series having beaten the New Jersey Devils 4-1 in their best-of-seven Patrick Division Semifinals series. They were also the twice defending Stanley Cup Champions and stormed through the regular season with 119 points. They had a roster full of stars in Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, Rick Tocchet, Kevin Stevens, and Jaromir Jagr. Lemieux and Stevens combined for 124 goals that season. They had Tom Barrasso (43 wins that season) between the pipes and legendary coach Scotty Bowman behind bench.

The Islanders had a rebrith in the 1992-1993 season as they eclipsed 80 points for the first time in six years under new GM Don Maloney and coach Al Arbour. They were lead by scrappy players like Ray Ferraro, Steve Thomas and their top-line center Pierre Turgeon (58 goals). In the first round of the playoffs the Isles faced the Washington Capitals and after losing Game 1 they went on to win the next three games and eventually won the series in six. However, they lost their leading scorer in Turgeon when Dale Hunter gave him a cheap shot into the boards after he scored the series clinching goal. Without Turgeon most experts predicted the Isles would be swept by Pittsburgh in the next round.

The Islanders shocked the hockey world when they won Game 1 3-2 behind the gutsy performance of goaltender Glenn Healy. However, Pittsburgh’s firepower proved to be too much as they won the next two games by a combined score of 6-1. The Isles responded by winning Game 4 at Nassau Coliseum 6-5 to even the series at 2-2. With the series shifting back to Pittsburgh the Penguins answered the bell and seemingly wrapped it up with a 6-3 victory and a 3-2 series lead. However, like they did all season, the Islanders defied the experts and won a memorable Game 6 on The Island, 7-5. By forcing a Game 7 the Isles had really done the impossible — but they weren’t satisfied with merely taking the twice-defending champions to the brink, they wanted to finish them off.

And finish them off they did in one of the most exciting playoff games in recent memory. The Penguins rallied late to tie the game at 3-3 and force overtime. However, David Volek — the game’s unsung hero — scored 5:16 into overtime completing one of the most improbable upsets in NHL history as the Islanders won the series 4-3.