That was the year that was for the NHL

Well, the Islanders finished 2010 with a bang, didn't they, beating the Red Wings, 4-3, in overtime on New Year's Eve after stopping Sidney Crosby's scoring streak at 25 games on Wednesday in a 2-1 shootout victory over the Penguins.

The most memorable N.Y. hockey moments of 2010?

1 Mark Streit's freak injury sets off a chain reaction of Islanders events. Streit is lost, likely for the season, after falling awkwardly during a training-camp scrimmage; Kyle Okposo is lost for half the season with a similar shoulder injury a week later. After a 4-1-2 start, the Isles go into a 1-17-3 free-fall, with Scott Gordon fired in the middle of the skid and fans staying away in record numbers.

2 The shootout heard 'round the world goes against the Rangers. Olli Jokinen should not have had the Rangers' 2009-10 playoff fate on his stick, but that's the wild way of the shootout. Jokinen's weak attempt on Flyers goalie Brian Boucher gave the last Eastern Conference playoff spot to Philly and left the Rangers out of the postseason for the first time since the lockout, a four-season stretch.

3 The Rangers forge a homegrown identity. Heading into 2011, the Rangers are among the top eight in the East thanks to the young talent Glen Sather refused to deal. Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Marc Staal, Dan Girardi, Derek Stepan, Michael Sauer and Henrik Lundqvist have had a big impact on the hard-working efforts of this season's team.

And the most memorable moments in the NHL (and Olympic) hockey:

1 Olympics: Canada, 3, U.S. 2 (OT), and everybody wins. A tremendous Olympic hockey tournament - the North American return of Jaromir Jagr, the round-robin heroics of Swiss goaltender Jonas Hiller and the emergence of Ryan Miller as an American star - was capped by a tremendous gold-medal game, with Zach Parise tying the score with 24.4 seconds left in regulation before Sidney Crosby lifted the host country to a dramatic win. Canada took gold, an ignored U.S. squad took silver and dreams of an international tournament in North America every couple of years took hold.

2 Blackhawks snap a 50-year Stanley Cup drought. With a team chock full of young stars that took several years to develop, the Hawks brought back memories of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita in their run to a title. Patrick Kane's overtime goal in Game 6 in Philadelphia snapped a five-decade Stanley Cup drought in Chicago; unfortunately, all those young stars couldn't fit under the salary cap, and the Hawks have struggled this season without Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd and goaltender Antti Niemi.

3 The Devils go to . . . well, you know. Lou Lamoriello's brick-by-brick foundation in Jersey brought three Stanley Cups and 13 straight playoff appearances. With their trade for and then dogged contract pursuit of Ilya Kovalchuk, the Devils stepped out of character and into a giant hole; they sit last overall heading into 2011 after hitting the turn of the calendar in first overall a year ago, and Jacques Lemaire has returned from semi-retirement to take over for John MacLean.

4 The Flyers walk a tightrope all the way to the Finals. Former Islanders coach Peter Laviolette took over in December 2009 and tried to whip his group into shape. The Flyers bested the Rangers in a shootout to reach the playoffs on the last day of the season, then joined the 1942 Leafs and 1975 Islanders as the only teams to rally from 3-0 playoff deficits in beating the Bruins in the second round.

Philly pushed the Hawks to six games in the Finals and has proved it was no fluke by hanging near the top of the Eastern Conference this season.