1993 Clarence Campbell Conference Finals

This was the first conference final for both teams since the playoffs went to a conference format starting in 1982. Toronto last played a semifinal series in 1978; they were swept by Montreal. Los Angeles last played in such a series in 1969; they were swept by St. Louis. For the first time since 1982, this series did not have either the Calgary Flames or the Edmonton Oilers representing the Smythe Division, and it was the only one between then and 1994 not to feature a team from Western Canada. This was the first playoff series between the teams since the 1978 Preliminary Round.
During game one, Los Angeles defenceman Marty McSorley delivered a serious, open-ice hit on Toronto's Doug Gilmour. Leafs captain Wendel Clark took exception to the hit and went after McSorley for striking their star player. Toronto head coach Pat Burns tried scaling the bench to confront Los Angeles head coach Barry Melrose. After the game, McSorley claimed in the interviews he received dozens of threats on his hotel phone from angry fans. For their part, the Kings believed Gilmour had attempted to head-butt McSorley in retaliation, which would have made Gilmour subject to a game misconduct and a five-minute major penalty, had the butt been called. However, referee Don Koharski declined to do so.
The bad blood between the Kings and Gilmour traced back to the game of November 22, 1992, when Gilmour broke the left arm of Kings forward Tomas Sandstrom with a slash, drawing an eight-day suspension and sidelining Sandstrom for over a month. The fires of the feud were fanned by Hockey Night in Canada commentator Don Cherry, who heaped abuse on Melrose throughout the telecast, criticizing everything from his playing style to his haircut, and claimed Sandstrom had "deserved" to have his arm broken, for being a "ChickenSwede". Later, in a post-game interview, Cherry kissed Gilmour, further angering the Kings.
Toronto took a 3–2 series lead heading into game six in Los Angeles. With the game tied at four in overtime, Wayne Gretzky high-sticked Gilmour in the face, cutting his chin open. As with the alleged head-butt in Game 1, high sticking penalties that resulted in a cut at that time resulted in a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct on the play. However, Gretzky was not penalized by referee Kerry Fraser and went on to score the winning goal moments later evening the series at three games each.
In game seven, Gretzky scored a hat-trick and added an assist to give the Kings another 5–4 win and the first Stanley Cup Finals berth in team history. Gretzky later called Game 7 of the 1993 Campbell Conference Finals the greatest game he had ever played. As of the end of the 2020 playoffs, this remains the closest the Maple Leafs have come to winning a Stanley Cup (five wins away) since their last title in 1967.
Category:1993 in hockey
Category:1993 Stanley Cup playoffs
Category:Campbell Conference Finals
Category:Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup playoffs series
Category:Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup playoffs series
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Los Angeles
Category:1993 playoff series