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Best Mike Emrick Calls Part 4

When an entertaining Mike Emrick announced his retirement on Oct 19, I felt shocked and sad at the same time. You think about how throughout 50 years, he made watching hockey on TV entertaining. You remember watching your favorite team on NBC or NBC Sports and listening to Doc commentate throughout the game. His traditional witty marks and words like “Drive” stay in your mind forever. So, what better way to remember his career is by looking over the most entertaining calls of all time. It is now the last part of a four-part article series involving these entertaining calls. However, there will be limitations, as not every team had a game on NBC networks that featured Doc.

5 Best Mike Emrick Calls

Boston Bruins vs. St. Louis Blues: “WHAT A REMARKABLE PLAY BY BINNINGTON"

It was no secret the St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup run in 2018 is probably the best of the more recent Stanley Cup runs. Blues fans will remember single highlight from their run will be remembered forever; it is that special. But perhaps the best highlight of that run was Game 7 against the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final.

With the Bruins looking to get on the board in the 3rd period, rookie goalie Jordan Binnington knew he had to keep fighting to keep the Bruins scoreless. Then Binnington made a remarkable save off of Joakim Nordstrom that sent shockwaves around TD Garden and had Emrick shocked when announcing the play. Emrick"s call was really entertaining too. The Blues went on to win 4-0 and won their first-ever Stanley Cup.

Dallas Stars vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: “MY GOODNESS, RIGHT OUT OF A STORYBOOK"

Steven Stamkos is arguably one of the greatest players in Tampa Bay Lightning history. But Stamkos missed some time due to a lower-body injury back in February. A few months later, people, we"re thrilled for his return to help the Lightning in the 2020 Stanley Cup Final. When he returned in Game 3, no one knew what Stamkos was about to do and how he could help the Lightning pretty quickly.

After the Lightning we"re up 1-0 in the game against the Stars, Stamkos added himself into the game with a goal attempting to make some impact in the game. The Lightning would eventually go on to win the Stanley Cup that year. Emrick describes the goal as something right out of a storybook, and in this situation, you can see why it made for an entertaining call.

Boston Bruins vs. Vancouver Canucks: “CHASED THE LOOSE PUCK HE SCOORRRESSS!!"

While no Canadian team has ever reached the final since 2011, Canucks fans should still feel proud they are the only team that has done it for that time. When the 2010-11 Canucks went on their run, one entertaining key contributor was Alexandre Burrows. Burrows helped upset the Chicago Blackhawks in round 1 with an overtime goal, but that isn"t the only primary overtime goal he scored in the 2011 playoffs.

In overtime of game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Bruins, Burrows quickly ended it 11 seconds into overtime. Burrows found the puck on a wraparound chance behind Tim Thomas and managed to score to win the game. While Emrick"s call may have been loud in the booth, we can only imagine the entertaining crowd inside Rogers Arena that night.

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado Avalanche: “TUCH!!!! AND VEGAS GETS THE FIRST SEED"

While the Vegas Golden Knights are still a young franchise, they seemed to become a powerhouse franchise, never missing the playoffs once. During the 2020 season, the Vegas Golden Knights played well, so well they ended up winning the first seed in the playoffs in the round-robin. But it all had to come down to one final game for the Knights against an outstanding and entertaining Colorado Avalanche team.

When that game went into overtime tied up at 3, the Knights needed to strongly finish the game if they wanted that no.1 seed. Alex Tuch would win the game with dramatics, as Tuch scored on a two on one play with just 16 seconds left into overtime. While there may have been no fans at that game, Emrick still provided a great and entertaining call, even if fans were there to witness it live.

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Washington Capitals: IT DIDN"T GO!!!! IT WAS TUCH WITH A WIDE-OPEN NET!!!

Speaking of the Golden Knights and Alex Tuch, let"s flash back to the Knights" first-ever Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2018. With the Capitals up 3-2 in game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, Braden Holtby made one of the most incredible and entertaining saves in Stanley Cup Final history.

In an attempt to tie the game at 3, Holtby stretched his body out to save a Tuch goal set up by Cody Eakin. The save not only shocked Emrick, but it also surprised everyone that night in T-Mobile Arena. Just the call itself was memorable at this moment. The save would become one of the many plays to help the Capitals win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Conclusion

Many hockey broadcasters like Gary Thorne, Chris Cuthbert, and Jim Hughson are entertaining. But no one will be able to live up to Mike Emrick"s status as a hockey broadcaster. He is one of those famous broadcasters that everyone has heard at least once in their lives. He"s always going to get remembered for all of the calls in this series, as well as many others. These are just five calls in Emrick"s 40-year career announcing NHL games.

As a New Jersey Devils fan like myself, I"m glad to know we picked a guy in our franchise that everyone loves hockey. If I get kids in the future, I want to show them the experience of listening to past calls like these, to show how great a treasure Mike Emrick was. Good luck with your retirement, “Doc" we"ll all miss you so much.

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