The decade is coming to a close and what a 10 years it has been in the hockey world. Memories were made that will stand the test of time and teams that will never be forgotten captured our attention. There were stories around every corner and trophies placed in cabinets acro s the globe. With all of the eventsover the course of the last 10 years, it's hard to settle on just 10 to look back on but we did it anyway. Here's Sporting News' top 10 hockey storiesof the 201s. Honorable mentions John Carlson nets overtime winner as USA stuns Canada for gold at 2010 World Junior Championship. On home soil, Canada captures its first gold since 2012 at the 2015 World Juniors. Vancouver erupts in riotsfollowing Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final. plays on " Montrezl Harrell Jersey Hockey Fights Cancer"night and scores. Boston Bruins and BuffaloSabres play following the tragic events at theBoston marathon. NHL and hockey fans around the globe pay tribute following . Former NHLer Craig Cunningham following a heart attack and leg amputation. 10. Gritty is born Every once in a while, a superstar bursts onto the scene putting the hockey world on notice.After all,Auston Matthews . Arguably, though, nothing comes close to the entrance made by the NHL's newest team mascot Gritty. , the orange fluffball creature quickly caught the eyes of fans and critics alike; however, once thecharacter started to develop, theirnumber of fans went through the roof. Now a cultural icon, Gritty brings laughter and cheers to not only Philadelphia Flyers fans but hockey fans alike. Unle s, of course, you are a sociated with the Pittsburgh Penguins: lol ok Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) , , and are just a few examples of the glory that is Gritty. All-Decade Teams: | | | | | | 9. Over 105 thousandattend 2014 Winter Cla sic The Winter Cla sic has been an NHL tradition since 2008, played in 11 different outdoor stadiums and featuring 11 of the league's most storied franchises. On New Year's Day 2014, "The Big House" at the University of Michigan set an NHL record with an attendance of105,491. The last time the was played on a college campus... NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) , the 2014 Winter Cla sic featured the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs the first time a Canadian team participated. The two teams were set to face-off in 2013 but the event was canceled due to the league's lockout. Regardle s, fans poured into Ann Arbor, Mich. for the big game that saw the Leafs win 3-2 in a shootout. 8. Jets move back to Winnipeg The Winnipeg Jets are currently one of the top powerhouses in the NHL but from 1996-2010, they technically did not exist. History le son: the Jets were established in 1972 and played in Winnipeg through the 1995-96 season before relocating to Phoenix and becoming today's Arizona Coyotes. Then, in 2011, the Atlanta Thrashers, who were a mightily-struggling franchise at the time, moved to Winnipeg and reignited the hockey fanbase that already existed just north of the border. The reception was fantastic. In fact, the team sold out every game in the regular season and playoffs, . Not only were the fans back influx, but the traditional "whiteout" for home playoffs games made its return as well. The history of the ... Courtesy of . Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) Since heading north, the teamhas made the playoffs three times in eightseasons including bids in each of the last two. MORE: 7. T.J. 'Sochie' dominates Olympic shootout The last time the Winter Olympics included NHL players was in Sochiin 2014. It was then that American T.J. Oshie put on a show against the host nation, Ru sia, in an eight-round shootout that still resonates to this day. In round one, Oshie went five-hole on Ru sian goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, giving the U.S the upper-hand. After the first three rounds, Oshie and Ru sia's Ilya Kovalchuk were the only ones to score, thus sending the shootout to extras. In Olympic competition, at the start of extra rounds, the team that shot first now shoots second. Also,teams are allowed to send out repeat shooters a strategy both teams took full Talen Horton-Tucker Jersey advantage of. On this day, 4 years ago, we witne sed one of the greatest Olympic hockey moments of all-time. LIVE coverage continues TONIGHT on NBC at 8 PM ET / 5PM PT #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) In the fourth round, Oshie had Bobrovsky sprawled out but sailed the puck high. Then, Jonathan Quick gave up a trickler of a shot to Pavel Datsyukbefore Oshie, using a little luck to regather the puck after losing control,slidit between the Ru sian's legs once again. Kovalchuk netted his second of the shootout with an off-speed shot in front of the hometown fans; but of course, Oshie scored yet again in the sixth when the puck ricocheted off the cro sbar andthe back of Bobrovsky before making its wayacro s the line. Round seven featured mi sesfrom Datsyuk and Oshie before the American finished it off in the eighth when he blasted one straight to the back of the net. Victory for the USA. 6. Vegas' inaugural season On June 22, 2016, the NHL announced Las Vegas would be home to the league's 31st franchise. Vegas put together the strongest opening season for an expansion team in the history of North American profe sional sports. The squad of "misfits" made it to the Stanley Cup Finaland fell just short, losing to the Washington Capitals in a five Marc Gasol Jersey -game series. At one point, of winning the Cup before going on to win the Western Conference. WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPS Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) Part of the Vegas Golden Knights story that season took place justdays prior to opening night.Ama s shooting in Las Vegas took the lives of 58 individuals and injured hundreds more. The hashtag, #VegasStrong, quickly became the battle cry of the NHL's newest franchise. before puck drop in the home opener and no player has, or ever will, wear No. 58 for the Golden Knights. 5. Caps get their first Cup Alex Ovechkin has consistently been one of the top players in the NHL over his 10-plus yearsin the league and in 2018, Ovi got his Cup. Joining the league in 1974, the Capitals had just one previous Stanley Cup Final appearance in 1998 when they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings. Then, they were in it againin 2018 and weren't going to let the opportunity pa s them by. Alex Ovechkin did a keg stand out of the Stanley Cup (via ) Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) Washington, D.C., has had quite a decade but it was the Capitals who opened the run of championshipsas theNationals (MLB) and the Mystics (WNBA) both won titles in 2019. After the Caps took the series against the Vegas Golden Knights, the summer of Ovechkin officially began. From drinking to sleeping, :Stanley. The 2010s: | 4. USA Womendefeat Canada to win gold The 2018 Winter Olympics did not seeNHL players participate, but there was still plenty of high-intensity hockey. A rivalry etched in history once again found itself at the biggest stage, as the United States and Canada went head-to-head in the gold-medal game at the Pyeongchang Olympics. It marked the fifth time in the last six Olympicsthat these two nations met in the championship;in 2006, Canada defeated Sweden. However, the rivalry had been dominated by Canada for much of the previous two decades. Since the U.S. won gold at the inaugural event in 1998, Canada had won four straight (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) but 2018's match went in America's favor in the most improbable of fashions. The U.S. scored first on a power-play goal with le s than 30 seconds left in the first period. Two minutes into the second, Canada tied the game on a batted puck and about five minutes later Canada took its first lead on a shot from the point. The Wilt Chamberlain Jersey United States tied the game on a breakaway with just over six minutesleft in regulation thatkept the dream alive. Then, the dream came to fruition. In the sixth round of the shootout,Team USA's Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson deked Canada's goalie out of her skates, putting the puck softly into the back of the net. Maddie Rooney then sealed the deal with a save at the other end, and in the early hours, the USA was finally golden again. 3. Kane'sOT winner in 2010 Stanley Cup Final The puck officially went mi sing twice. On the first occasion, only one player knew where the puck was and his name was Patrick Kane. When the Blackhawks winger took the short-angle shot againstMichael Leighton, only Kane reacted. In fact, the referee and the clock operator had lost sight of the rubber disk as Kane began celebrating in traditional Stanley Cup-winning fashion: with gloves and sticks thrown into the air. Chicago's Stanley Cup drought officially ended at 49 years and they would go on to win two more over the course of the decade; the first was definitely the most memorable. Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) So how did the puck go mi sing a second time? Following the triumphant celebration, one question remained: where is the puck? It was officially seen in the back of the net but from then on, it's been a mystery that has been investigated but has no end in sight.Where is the puck?Who has the puck?Why can no one find the puck? These are valid questions but ones with no answer, . From Raptors in 6 to The Golden Goal: The referenced media source is mi sing and needs to be re-embedded. 2. No longerBluein St. Louis Arguably the most impre sive Cinderella story in the history of the NHL came le s than a year ago. On Jan. 3, 2019, the St Louis Blues stood last in the NHL standings. On June 12, . A miracle run led by then-interim head coach Craig Berube and rookie goalie Jordan Binnington, St. Louis finished the season on a 30-10-5 run and made the playoffs as the third seed in the Central Division. Six games against the Winnipeg Jets, and another six-game series win over the San Jose Sharks put the Blues in the Stanley Cup Final. They then went ahead and gave St. Louis itsfirst-ever Stanley Cup championship. History made. St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) A major part of the beautiful story was the motivation the team received from a courageous girl by the name of Laila Anderson. Lailasuffers from hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)and in December, . She built a special relationship with the team and she partook in all the celebrations with them, . 1. "The Next One" netsthe "Golden Goal" Feb. 28, 2010. It seems almost unfair that the top event of the decade took place only 59 days into it but there's no doubt that Sidney Crosby's overtime-game winner in the gold-medal game of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics against the United States deserves the top spot on this list. Crosby took a pa s from Jarome Iginla and put it in the back of the net, providing Canada and thehockey world with a moment no one will forget. With his golden moment, Crosby who had already tasted succe s in 2009 with the Pittsburgh Penguins further cemented his status as a superstar. On this day, 9 years ago: Jared Dudley Jersey Sidney Crosby scores the Golden Goal Gino Hard (@Ginohard_)