Hickey Time: All of Thomas Hickey’s Overtime Goals

Thomas Hickey was selected no. 4 overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He played five seasons in the AHL until January 2013, when the Kings unceremoniously tossed him into the trash dumpster behind CVS. That is where Islanders GM Garth Snow found him, picked him up, washed him, clothed him, fed him, nurtured him and, ultimately, loved him.

In the 364 combined regular season + playoff games since that day, Hickey has scored 18 goals and 75 assists for 93 points. Remarkably, six of his 18 career goals have come in overtime. It is for this reason the following proposition holds true:

Overtime = Hickey Time

We know this for a fact because I have previously declared it to be so. That’s all you need nowadays, which bodes well for me. Among other dumb and ultimately pointless things I said in that post was this: “Hickey's overtime exploits deserve, and will soon receive, their own post.” This is that post. If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I almost always stick to my word.

And if there’s one thing you should know about Thomas Hickey, it’s that he scores overtime goals. And that he is, in the immortal words of Butch Goring, "like a mosquito on the ass of an elephant." You'll need volume for this clip:

Thanks, Butchie. Notice the sign the girl behind the glass, waiting for a skirmish to break out, is holding up: “Stop fighting over us!” That is an example of a funny sign. Take note, stencil guy. Take note.

With that out of the way, let us proceed. First up, I will review each of Hickey’s OT goals, one-by-one. Please note all videos in this post have sound so you can hear these great calls from the phenomenal play-by-play announcers we’ve been blessed with, Howie Rose and Brendan Burke. I will close with a compilation video of Hickey’s heroics and a poll where you can vote for your favorite Hickey overtime goal. I will treat this as a running log and will update it whenever Hickey notches his next OT winner. And away we go.

1. Islanders at Canadiens (2/21/2013)

Hickey’s first NHL goal came in his tenth career game off a beautiful tic-tac-toe setup from John Tavares and Michael Grabner. Tavares, like all great players, loves to cut into the middle of the ice when attacking on his off-side. He loses his edge while doing so here but maintains his concentration and doesn’t quit on the play. Now, I wouldn’t say something like this lightly: that little poke-pass he makes to Grabner while falling down is easily the most beautiful secondary assist I’ve ever seen.

You may have noticed a quick shot of Nabby and DiPietro gliding down the ice towards their celebratory teammates. Those two seconds don’t serve any purpose in this video, but I left them in because I liked seeing Ricky suited up and figured you might too.

This wasn't the most significant game on this list but this goal was an absolute beauty, probably the nicest of the six. Throw in the sentimental value of it being Hickey’s first NHL goal and the likelihood that your life was a little bit better back when this happened and this would certainly be a reasonable goal to vote for.

2. Islanders vs Senators (12/2/2014)

There are only two possible reasons you’d vote for this goal as your favorite. The first is something big happened to you that night. Like maybe this was the very first hockey game you attended. Maybe you became a mother or father that night. Maybe this game was playing on a TV at the underground opium den you like to frequent. Maybe you got your first hickey in a Coliseum porta-potty during second intermission. I really don't know what kind of weird shit you're into and I honestly don't want to know. But if you were getting into it when Hickey banked this game-winner off Cody Ceci’s skate, I’d totally understand casting your vote here.

The second possible reason this goal would be your favorite is you just really enjoy lame shit. I mean that’s really the only other option we got here. And you know what? That’s totally fine. Just own it. You’re lame AF and this goal is one heaping pile of rancid garbage. Own it I said.

3. Islanders at Capitals (4/5/2016)

This goal clinched a playoff spot for the Islanders and once again it was set up beautifully by Tavares. This is a play where it looks like the game slowed down for no. 91. He probably could’ve buried the rebound home himself but his decision to drop it off at the last second created a better shooting angle for Hickey while also completely fooling Caps goalie Braden Holtby. Just a fantastic play.

This is another strong choice. It was a beautiful goal scored in an important game and it came against Washington, which means it should evoke memories of the time Hickey popped that wreckingball clown Tom Wilson in his idiot face.

4. Islanders vs Panthers (Game 3) (4/17/2016)

I wrote an entire post about this goal. It involved the SUV. It involved Pierre. It involved Pierre sitting inside the SUV and helping the Isles cheat their way to playoff glory. You should check it out. Or don’t, whatever.

This was the game video coach Matt Bertani became a household name. It was the game Ryan Pulock flashed his dynamic offensive ability (1G, 1A) in spurring an Isles’ comeback. (In unrelated news, if you have any suggestions on how the Islanders can improve their woeful power play, please send those to the team’s press box, where Pulock has been seen shoving hot dogs down his gullet during the team’s first four games of this season.)

Look, I know that Josh Bailey factored into the scoring here but this goal won the Islanders a playoff game in what would be the team’s first playoff series victory in 23 years. Let’s not overthink this too much.

5. Islanders vs Flames (11/28/2016)

Another nice play by Tavares, whoopdy-doo. I don’t think anyone really cares about this wack ass goal. So let’s instead get to the question you're all probably wondering at this point: who is Thomas Hickey? What’s he all about? Let me tell you.

Thomas Hickey is the kind of guy to brag to his prison cellmate about his various acts of treason. That’s what I don’t like about him. As I always say, when you’ve plotted to assassinate George Washington while serving on his personal protection detail, it’s best to keep that to yourself.

So how is it that Hickey could go from being a convicted traitor to being named captain of team Canada at the 2009 World Junior Championship? That’s a great question. Why does Canadian money have British royalty on it? Maybe you can connect the dots.

6. Islanders at Predators (4/4/2017)

Look at the celebration here...notice how there is none. At this point, Hickey’s got that “I’m completely desensitized” look about him. This goal kept the Islanders playoff hopes alive during the stretch run. Yet he can’t even pretend to care enough to muster up one of his windmill fist-pumps, not even a half-assed one like he did against Calgary. We're so sorry to burden you, Thomas.

It also involved a goalie getting in on the action, with Jaro Halak notching the 7th point of his career. Now, I wouldn’t say something like this lightly: Jaro’s pass up to Bailey is easily the most beautiful secondary assist I’ve ever seen. Not even close.

Hickey Time: All Six of Thomas Hickey’s Overtime Goals

Well, there you have it, folks. Go ahead and cast your vote. All I kindly ask is that you please explain yourself in the comments if you voted for the Ottawa or Calgary goals.

Thanks for reading and make sure to check back next time Hickey Time strikes.