On April 28, 1993, the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders did battle in Game 6 of the 1993 Patrick Division Semifinals. The Caps ultimately fell 5-3 in the elimination game at Nassau Coliseum, failing to avenge the Easter Epic series loss from six years prior.
While the Islanders captured their first series win en route to an appearance in the Prince of Wales Conference Finals, it was a late hit by Capitals centerman Dale Hunter on Islanders centerman Pierre Turgeon that drew more headlines than anything else.
Turgeon had just beaten Capitals goalie Don Beaupre for the Isles’ fifth goal with 8:31 remaining in the third period and was celebrating with a raised fist as he skated towards fans at the near side glass. Instead of completing his celebration, Turgeon was thrown off balance by a high, hard hit from Hunter.
The Quebec-born forward hit the ice hard, separating his shoulder, prompting a tussle between the players on the ice. Hunter was handed a 21-game suspension from the league as a result, which at the time was the longest for an on-ice incident in NHL history.
“I knew right away, I got up, I fell on my shoulder, it was just not attached,” Turgeon recalled on an episode of the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast released on August 12. He said he was surprised by Hunter’s aggression because he hadn’t had any problems or altercations with him earlier in the series, revealing Hunter called him three days later to apologize.
“I never had any situation before [with him], anything,” Turgeon continued. “And he calls me three days after, he said he didn’t even see that I scored.”
Turgeon missed Games 1-6 of New York’s second-round series with the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins but insisted he return to the bench for the deciding Game 7, even if he didn’t play.
“I asked [head coach] Al Arbour to dress [me] on Game 7 and he said, ‘Are you good to play?’ I said, ‘No, but I just want to be on the bench, some guys are not playing anyways,'” he recounted on the podcast. “So, it goes to overtime – the second overtime – and he comes to me and he push me, he goes, ‘Can you have a shift? Do you have a shift in you?’ I said, ‘Yeah,’ and right after, David Volek scored.”
The dramatic double-overtime series clincher sent the Isles to the Prince of Wales Conference Finals against the Montreal Canadiens. While New York fell in five games to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, Turgeon successfully returned to the ice in Game 2 and recorded five points (2g, 3a) in the series.
“I would’ve gone with one shoulder, I was going,” Turgeon said of his determination to continue playing despite his injury.
Shortly after receiving the news of his 21-game suspension, Hunter expressed his disappointment over the “unwarranted” punishment to the press.
“It’s more than what was done in the past,” he told The Hockey News’ Dave Sell then. “It’s a different era, I guess.”
Alan May, Hunter’s Capitals teammate at the time and now a studio analyst for Monumental Sports Network, was also skeptical of the league’s heavy-handed discipline.
“I thought it was kind of harsh, but I guess the league is trying to clean its image,” he told Sell in 1993.
Turgeon never held a grudge against Hunter for the incident despite the controversy. When the Caps hired Hunter as their head coach in 2011, Turgeon told the Washington Times’ Stephen Whyno that he had long moved on from that episode.
“That situation could’ve been a little different, but those things happen, and it happened. Then you move on. There’s no grudge. I’m not holding anything against Dale,” Turgeon said. “The only thing I could say is I wish him the best with Washington.”
