“FEBRUARY” tag's highlights of related matches, posts & more...

1969: Wilt vs Philadelphia 76ers (VERY RARE FOOTAGE)

This game for Wilt Chamberlain playing against his former team Philadelphia 76ers would take place on February 7, 1969.

NHL '94 "Game of the Night" Redwings @ Sabres The Alex Mogilny Story Александр Геннадиевич Могильный

Alexander Gennadevich Mogilny (Russian: Александр Геннадиевич Могильный; born February 18, 1969) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player and the current president of Amur Khabarovsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He was the first National Hockey League (NHL) draftee to defect from the Soviet Union in order to play in North America. During his NHL career, Mogilny played for the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils. He tied for the NHL lead in goals in the 1992–93 season with 76, and became a member of the Triple Gold Club by winning the Stanley Cup in 2000 with New Jersey. Growing up in the Soviet Union, Mogilny was recruited at a young age to join CSKA Moscow, commonly referred to as the "Red Army Team". As the CSKA organization was a functioning division of the Soviet Army, it was able to draft the best young hockey players in the Soviet Union onto the team. In 1986, Mogilny was made a full-time player of CSKA Moscow. He finished his first year with 15 goals and 16 points in 28 games. At only 17 years old, Mogilny and Sergei Fedorov were the youngest members on the team. Still, team officials anticipated that the duo, along with the looming arrival of Pavel Bure, would succeed the top line of Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov. Mogilny's first major appearance for the Soviet Union on the international stage was at the 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He finished the tournament with 3 goals and 2 assists in 6 games. However, his team was ejected from the tournament during its last game as a result of the brawl between the Soviet Union players and Team Canada known as the "Punch-up in Piestany". The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) suspended all the players involved in that game from competing in international events for 18 months. The penalty was eventually reduced to six months, which allowed Mogilny to compete in the 1988 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He finished the tournament with 9 goals and 18 points in 7 games en route to a silver medal finish and winning the Top Forward award. He also played with the senior team at the 1988 Winter Olympics, where he won a gold medal as the team's youngest player. The next year, at the 1989 World Junior Championships, he served as team captain and was a part of the commanding Bure-Fedorov-Mogilny line which led their team to a gold medal. Mogilny finished that tournament with 7 goals and 12 points in 7 games. He went on to win his first World Championships when the Soviet Union won the 1989 World Ice Hockey Championships. Despite his success with the Soviet National team, and his growing importance on CSKA Moscow, Mogilny yearned for a life in the NHL and decided to join the Buffalo Sabres, the NHL team that had drafted him 89th overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft. He boarded a plane in Stockholm at the conclusion of the 1989 World Championships and defected to North America. Prior to the start of his rookie season, Mogilny was given the number 89 by team management in recognition of both the year he arrived and his place in the draft. He subsequently wore #89 for his entire playing career. He made his NHL debut on October 5, 1989 against the Québec Nordiques during the 1989–90 season and scored his first NHL goal just 20 seconds into his first shift at age 20. (Coincidentally, the Sabres were celebrating their 20th season in the NHL.) After the perfect start to his new life, the rest of Mogilny's first season was middling. He was considered by some to be one of the best players outside the NHL prior to his defection, but it took time for him to adjust to a new country and culture. He finished his first NHL season with 43 points in 65 games and improved to 30 goals and 64 points during his sophomore season. He continued his ascension with 39 goals and 84 points in only 67 games the next year and broke out as an NHL superstar in his fourth season. On December 21, 1991, in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mogilny scored five seconds into the game to tie the NHL record for fastest goal scored to start a game. In the 1991–92 season, the Buffalo Sabres acquired future captain Pat Lafontaine from the New York Islanders. Lafontaine developed an instant chemistry playing with Mogilny and two players elevated their games to new heights by maximizing their speed and skill. The 1992–93 season was a banner year for Mogilny, as he scored an astonishing 76 goals and 127 points in 77 games.

Scrap-dog

Isiah Thomas (1986) Full Highlights vs. Sixers (34 points, 16 assists, 6 steals)

February 15, 1986 - Playing in front of what was, at the time, the largest crowd in NBA history, Detroit Pistons guard Isiah Thomas ...

Philadelphia 76ers - Detroit Pistons
Ryan Van Dusen

Dikembe Mutombo’s Return to Denver (VERY RARE FOOTAGE)

This return game for Dikembe Mutombo playing against his former team Denver Nuggets would take place on February 2, 1997.

Denver Nuggets - Atlanta Hawks
Rare NBA Footage

NHL '94 The New York Rangers Win the "1994 Stanley Cup Final" in Double OT

The 1993–94 New York Rangers season was the franchise's 68th season. The highlight of the season was winning the Stanley Cup and hosting the NHL All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers clinched their second Presidents' Trophy and sixth division title by finishing with the best record in the NHL at 52–24–8, setting a then-franchise record with 112 points. This marked the last season in which the Rangers were under the control of Paramount Communications. Toward the end of the season, Paramount was taken over by Viacom. Shortly thereafter, Viacom divested itself of all of Paramount's interests in Madison Square Garden, including the Rangers, and sold them to ITT Corporation and Cablevision. A couple of years later, ITT would sell their share to Cablevision, who owned the Rangers until 2010, when the MSG properties became their own company. As of 2024 this remains the most recent season the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. On April 17, 1993, the New York Rangers named Mike Keenan as their head coach. Keenan was hired to replace Ron Smith, who the team decided not to retain after he coached the second half of the season in place of the fired Roger Neilson. Keenan had taken the 1992–93 season off after spending four years as the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, where he led the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in his last year. The 1993–94 season was a magical one for Rangers fans, as head coach Mike Keenan led the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years. Two years prior, they acquired center Mark Messier, who was an integral part of the Edmonton Oilers' Cup-winning teams. Adam Graves, who also defected from the Oilers, joined the Rangers as well. Other ex-Oilers on the Blueshirts included trade deadline acquisitions Craig MacTavish and Glenn Anderson. Brian Leetch and Sergei Zubov were a solid "1–2 punch" on defense. In fact, Zubov led the team in scoring that season with 89 points, and continued to be an All-Star defenseman throughout his career. Graves would set a team record with 52 goals, breaking the old record of 50 held by Vic Hadfield. This record would later be broken by Jaromir Jagr on April 8, 2006, against the Boston Bruins. New York was not shut-out in any of their 84 regular-season games.[1] The Rangers led the NHL in wins (52), points (112) and power-play goals (96, tied with the Buffalo Sabres) and power play percentage (23.02%). They also allowed the fewest shorthanded goals (5) of all 26 teams. On February 21, 1994, Tony Amonte scored just eight seconds into the overtime period to win the game to give the Rangers a 4–3 home win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. It would prove to be the fastest overtime goal scored during the 1993–94 regular season. Eastern Conference Quarterfinals In the opening round, the Rangers faced their crosstown rivals the New York Islanders, this series would turn out to be an extremely one sided affair as the Rangers outscored their rivals 22–3 in a four-game sweep. Eastern Conference Semi-finals Next, the Rangers faced the Washington Capitals who were coming off a shocking six game win over the second seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. The Rangers appeared to have the series in hand after they won the first three games, although the Capitals avoided the sweep with a Game 4 win, the Rangers got back in control and won the series in five games. Eastern Conference Finals After going down in the Eastern Conference Finals 3–2 to the New Jersey Devils, Rangers' captain Mark Messier made one of the most famous guarantees in sports history, saying the Rangers would win Game 6 in New Jersey to tie the series 3–3. Not only did the Rangers back up Messier's guarantee, Messier scored a hat-trick in the Rangers' 4–2 win, sending the game back to New York for Game 7. In Game 7, the Rangers held a 1–0 lead after a second period goal by Brian Leetch. The lead would hold up until 7.7 seconds remaining, when Valeri Zelepukin was able to beat Mike Richter to send the game to overtime. In double overtime, Stephane Matteau scored his second overtime goal of the series to send the Rangers to the Finals. The series-winning goal prompted the famous call of "Matteau, Matteau, Matteau!" by Rangers radio announcer Howie Rose. Stanley Cup Finals The Rangers won their first Stanley Cup in 54 years, dating back to 1940, beating the Vancouver Canucks in seven games. MSG Network broadcaster Al Trautwig said that this Stanley Cup win by the Rangers was seen as the coming of age of the NHL's influence in Europe. It marked the first time that the Russians got their names on the Stanley Cup and there were four who got that honor – Alexander Karpovtsev, Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Nemchinov and Sergei Zubov—giving a huge European television audience, including those watching on the brand-new television screens across the former Soviet Union, a Stanley Cup story to remember.