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Mark Recchi’s Game 2 goal made him the oldest goal scorer in Stanley Cup finals history

Mark Recchi, Patrice Bergeron

Boston Bruins’ Mark Recchi, left, is congratulated by teammate Patrice Bergeron after Recchi scored during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

AP

One of the great themes of the 2010-11 season was seemingly over-the-hill players showing that they still belonged in the NHL. Some weren’t all that far from their prime-years production, such as Nicklas Lidstrom and Teemu Selanne; others clearly lost a few steps but weren’t just on the ice because of their reputations.

Boston Bruins veteran Mark Recchi isn’t going to threaten many of his own career highs, but he’s still a valuable forward for the B’s. He scored a solid 48 points in 81 games in 2010-11 and is averaging more than 16 minutes per game in this year’s playoffs.

That being said, he wasn’t getting a whole lot done on the power play, something that fueled his critics. Recchi finally found the back of the net on the man advantage in Game 2 on Saturday, breaking an amusing Stanley Cup finals record in the process. The 43-year-old winger became the oldest player in Cup finals history to score a goal, breaking Igor Larionov’s that mark. (Larionov scored three goals in the 2002 finals for the Detroit Red Wings against the Carolina Hurricanes at the age of 41.)

Recchi also ranks among the oldest players to score at least one goal in the playoffs, in general. It’s pretty tough to imagine him surpassing the all-time legend who owns the highest mark, though.

oldestplayoffgoalscorers

(click to enlarge)

That list points out just how impressive Recchi’s playoff production in 2010 was as well. Scoring 10 points in 13 games at his advanced age was quite the achievement.

Recchi can bask in these accomplishments (and many others) once his career is over, though. If the Bruins want to win, they might need a slightly older version of Recchi to score more goals next week.