Orr’s 1970 Cup-winning goal remains top moment

Growing up in Brantford, Wayne Gretzky always heard his father, Walter, wax poetic about Bill Barilko’s 1951 Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs. “We didn’t really even have TV back then and there was kind of clips of it, there was kind of pictures of it — moments of it, so to speak,” Gretzky said. At age nine, Gretzky watched in the same kind of awe as Bobby Orr scored in overtime to win the Cup in 1970 for the Boston Bruins. Orr beat St. Louis Blues goaltender Glenn Hall, leaping through the air to celebrate what has become one of the most iconic goals in National Hockey League history. “People from the ’50s and ’60s remember the Barilko goal and then the new generation of kids who got to see the goal like myself could relate to what our parents and grandparents were talking about,” Gretzky said. “Time sort of stopped in a moment that you could compare something so unique.” “The Great One” downplays his own accomplishments but considers Orr’s goal an unforgettable moment in hockey history. As the NHL celebrates its 100th anniversary, Orr’s goal is so important that it reached the finals of the “Greatest Moments” bracket 47 years after it happened. While Barilko’s goal inspired the Tragically Hip song “Fifty Mission Cap,” Orr’s has inspired decades of highlights and conversation. Almost 50 years later, the goal is still revered and remembered, from Ray Lussier’s timeless photo to Dan Kelly’s play-by-play call of Orr’s give-and-go with Derek Sanderson to complete the Boston sweep. Orr’s goal was voted one of the two most memorable moments in NHL history finishing behind only Mario Lemieux scoring goals five different ways in one game in 1988.