Jeff Marek of Sportsnet is always going on about how sports are never better than when you're 12. And I agree.
That said, Hockey (at least for me) was never better than in 2012, when I was absolutely not 12 years old.
The Capitals went into Boston with their third string goalie and won with an OT G7 goal. We had that insane Philly v Pittsburgh series that had everything from line brawls to blow outs and even Phoenix went on a run and knocked off the Hawks and Predators, it was so much fun.
That Pens Flyers series was peak frustration for me as a Pens fan. Maybe it would have been more fun to watch if I didn't have big expectations for that team.
I was a neutral in that fight... although as a Capitals fan I did take a fair bit of pleasure in watching two of my most hated teams spend two weeks tearing each other apart.
I don't remember the hockey being all that good, it was just an absolute spectacle of drama and anger and pettiness.
Iirc Claude Giroux knocked Crosby's glove away after an altercation and it resulted in another fight, a game misconduct to someone and the rest of that game was an absolute shit-show.
I remember this play and the entire series very well. It was the most exciting playoff series in the last decade+. However, it was Crosby knocking away Voracek's glove.
Nhl 95 for the Sega was awesome. From there until the early 2000s. Also the red wings were basically the best team there was in that stretch, which helps. The 04-05 lockout really killed hockey.
Growing up outside of the Twin Cities it would be the 1991 Stanley Cup finals. Everyone had North Star fever, even those in rural Wisconsin who hated the Twins & The Vikings. Hockey hit an all time low when only two years later #FuckNormGreen moved the North Stars south.