There are goals. And then there are goals.

There are celebrations. And then there are celebrations.

Not just the kind that erupt when a team wins a game, a playoff series or even a championship.

But the kind that blend both the joy of accomplishment and the zeal of the moment, with a dash or two of theatric extravagance thrown in for good measure.

Being the fools for the dramatic that we are, the B/R hockey writing types gathered to critique some of the NHL's all-time-great goal celebrations—or cellys, as they're commonly known—and put together a list of 10 of the most memorable, based on their significance, spontaneity and overall artistic impression.

Click through to take a look at what we came up with, and drop a comment or two with your favorites.

Honorable Mention: Eruzione's Miracle

OK, we're blurring the lines here.

The purists in the crowd will be quick to note that Mike Eruzione never played a minute in the NHL and, in fact, never got closer to the top tier than a six-game stint with the AHL's Philadelphia Firebirds in 1978-79.

But in honor of the Winter Olympics in February and the NHL's green light to make its players available to compete, it seems an appropriate time to celebrate the goal that made the Miracle on Ice a thing.

Eruzione's snap shot from the top of the slot beat Soviet goaltender Vladimir Myshkin, gave the U.S. a 4-3 lead with 10 minutes to go in their medal-round matchup at the 1980 Games and sent the team captain into an arm-pumping, knee-lifting frenzy that lasted until he was mobbed by teammates along the boards.

For fans of a certain age, it remains a guaranteed pulse-quickener.

10. Can You Ear Me Now?

Great games create great atmospheres. Which then create great celebrations.

The Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews and Chicago Blackhawks' Patrick Kane had a hand in one of the recent best on October 7, 2018, in the Windy City as part of a classic early-season duel.

First, Matthews snapped home a wrister from the slot that gave Toronto a 6-5 lead with 62 seconds left in regulation. It was an important goal, and the Toronto sniper reacted by cupping his left hand to his ear to the stunned United Center crowd.

Not to be outdone, though, Kane and his teammates responded, and the veteran star upped the ante after tying the score with a one-time slapper from inside the right point that beat goalie Garret Sparks.

Kane pumped his fist and immediately cupped his hand to his ear, drawing a huge roar from the fans and even eliciting a smile from Matthews on the opposing bench.

The visitors got the last laugh a few minutes later thanks to Morgan Reilly's overtime winner, but it didn't detract from the high-level skill and gamesmanship.

9. Gretzky Gets the Record

There have been greater celebrations.

But never a greater player creating one.

Wayne Gretzky already had a truckload of NHL records before March 23, 1994, but his tally that night for the Los Angeles Kings against the Vancouver Canucks was particularly special.

It gave him 802 NHL goals, passing Gordie Howe's long-standing mark of 801.

And it came, fittingly, on assists from teammates Jari Kurri and Marty McSorley, with whom he had won championships in Edmonton before making the jump to Southern California in 1988.

As for the aftermath, it was the classic No. 99 with arms aloft and a little enthusiastic on-ice running to note the significance of the moment.

Understated greatness.

8. Kovalev Channels Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson. NHL hockey.

It's not often that they are mentioned in the same sentence.

Thanks to well-traveled winger Alexei Kovalev, though, the gloved one lives on in hockey highlights.

Kovalev played in 1,316 games for five teams across parts of 19 seasons from 1992 to 2013, including a 23-goal season with the Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers in 1993-94.

But he's frequently spotted in highlights thanks to his unique goal celebrations, in which he would perform a Moonwalk on ice as the red light beamed from behind the net.

The highlight here included came from a February 7, 2001, game against the Philadelphia Flyers in which Kovalev, then playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, scored three goals and had five points for the first time in his career in a 9-4 win.

Thriller, indeed.

7. Avery Hits the Deck

Sean Avery was a memorable NHL player for a lot of reasons.

But he makes this list for the display he put on after capping the Los Angeles Kings' 6-4 defeat of the Nashville Panthers, one of his 35 tallies for the team during a run that covered parts of four seasons.

Avery charged into the Nashville zone on the left wing and flipped a shot that was steered away alongside the net by goaltender Tomas Vokoun. Avery pounced on the rebound, though, and directed it back toward the net, where it deflected off Vokoun and across the red line with a little under six minutes to play.

The wing curled back into the left corner and dropped to the ice, using his stick as a foundation as he ripped off three quality pushups as teammates stood by and waited to congratulate him.

A noteworthy performance by a noteworthy character.

6. Hejduk Takes a Dive

Score one for spontaneity.

Literally.

When second-year winger Milan Hejduk snapped a shot off the post and past Dallas goaltender Ed Belfour in overtime, it gave the Colorado Avalanche a 2-1 victory in a late-season game.

And rather than following through on a presentation he had choreographed in advance, the then-24-year-old let his emotions run wild.

He wriggled his way through a brief post-goal dance in the corner, crossed back toward center ice and executed a perfect 10 of a dive on to the ice before swimming a few strokes to celebrate the game-winner.

"I don't know, it was nothing that I really planned," he said, per Jeremy Lambert of Mile High Sticking. "I scored an overtime goal and started swimming out of pure joy and happiness. It was just a reaction. It might happen again, you never know, but I never plan anything like that."

5. Tiger Takes a Ride

Nothing like an old-school stick ride.

Though he's known primarily as the NHL's all-time leader in penalty minutes with 3,971—the equivalent of a tick more than 66 full games—Dave "Tiger" Williams was a pretty fair goal-scorer too.

And an even better goal-scoring celebrant.

A burly left winger, Williams spent his first five NHL seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs before a deal sent him to Vancouver during the 1979-80 season. He didn't return to Maple Leaf Gardens with the Canucks until the following season, and he marked the return with a goal and two assists.

The emotional goal was followed by a charge to center ice, where Williams giddily stuck his stick between his legs and proceeded to ride it like a hobby horse while pumping his fist toward the fans, toward the Toronto bench and presumably toward the team brass who had engineered his trade.

The goal was just one of his career-high 35 that season but easily the most memorable.

4. Benn Snaps His Stick

Some cellys are theatrical.

And some are simply gangster.

Jamie Benn's reaction to a game-winner in overtime against the St. Louis Blues in 2018 was the latter.

The Dallas Stars captain took a feed in the high slot from teammate Tyler Seguin and beat goalie Carter Hutton with a high-caliber wrist shot and then coolly slid over to the corner and snapped his stick over his left knee as his teammates gathered and the crowd went berserk.

It had been exactly one month and 11 games since Benn's most recent goal.

And it was something of a streak-starter too.

He went on to score 14 more in the final 17 games of the season to wind up with 36 for the season, the second-highest total of a now-12-year career.

3. Ovechkin Gets Hot

Some celebrations are reserved for the elite class.

Such was the case with Alexander Ovechkin in 2009.

The Washington Capitals winger scored his 50th goal of the 2008-09 season when he snapped a laser beam of a wrist shot past Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Mike McKenna in a game on March 19, 2009.

It was his third time reaching 50 in just his fourth NHL season, and he greeted the milestone by skating to the left corner, dropping his stick to the ice and leaning over to warm his hands above it as if it were a burning log in a fireplace.

It was an instant classic, but not everyone was on board.

"How would you like to be playing for Tampa?" analyst Don Cherry lamented that night on Hockey Night in Canada. "They've gone through a nightmare season. It's in their building. They're being beat 5-1, and you score on a rookie goalie. Imagine how that rookie feels. You can't do stuff like that and not make people feel bad. You're above stuff like that."

2. Fleury Fans the Flames

If you were watching, you'll never forget it. Particularly if you're an Edmonton Oilers fan.

When Hall of Fame forward Mark Messier's risky pass across center ice was picked off by Calgary's Theo Fleury, it was bad. When Fleury skated in on Grant Fuhr and beat him with a quick snap shot to win Game 6 of the 1991 Smythe Division semifinals in overtime, it was worse.

And when Fleury dropped to his knees on the Northlands Coliseum ice, skidded past the Oilers logo and further down the rink in fist-pumping, barrel-rolling ecstasy, it was a full-on nightmare.

It's since become one of the most-watched celebrations in history, and it came at the expense of the then-defending Stanley Cup champions.

The only solace for Edmonton supporters? The Oilers won Game 7—again in OT—two nights later in Calgary.

The Battle of Alberta rivals have not met in the playoffs since.

1. Selanne Scores... and Shoots

Nearly 30 years later, the numbers remain mind-boggling.

Winnipeg Jets winger Teemu Selanne burst on to the NHL scene in record-breaking style, establishing high-water marks for first-year players with 76 goals and 132 points for the high-flying Jets.

But it was the actual record-breaking tally, on March 2, 1993, against the Quebec Nordiques, that transcends all the statistical accolades.

Selanne streaked in on goal and flicked a one-handed shot past goalie Stephane Fiset, giving the Jets a 4-3 third-period lead in a game they lost 7-4. It was his third of the game and 54th of the season, eclipsing the rookie record established by Mike Bossy in 1977-78.

The Finnish superstar marked the achievement by flicking his right glove into the air and taking aim with his stick, pumping it shotgun-style several times as teammates gathered and fans exulted.

"That caught everybody off guard," teammate Keith Tkachuk told NHL.com. "But it was a great celebration."

The greatest, in fact, of all time.