Seventh Heaven

It really doesn’t get any better than this. Tomorrow night the Pittsburgh Penguins will square off with the defending champion Detroit Red Wings in the Motor City in a winner-take-all showdown for the most coveted prize in hockey. To the victor go the spoils. To the loser go – well not much. Not much except the extremely bitter taste of defeat coupled with the knowledge that after a lengthy 82-game season, four gruelling playoff series and 15 Stanley Cup playoff victories, you fell one miserable win shy of your ultimate goal: The Stanley Cup.

“This is a tough one. Getting this close and not winning the Cup. But I know it’ll make our team even stronger. I never want to be in this photograph again.” These are the words of Sidney Crosby in an NHL ad where he is surrounded by dejected teammates after losing out in Game Six of last year’s finals.

Well Sid, come tomorrow night, your nightmare might once again become a reality. Except this time, you’ll be one game closer, making it that much tougher for you to swallow.

Or perhaps it will be the Red Wings in a picture of their own. How cruel would it be for Marian Hossa, who jumped ship from Pittsburgh to Detroit figuring playing for the Red Wings would increase his chances of hoisting the Stanley Cup? It would indeed be a harsh reality to be on the losing side of the fence two years in a row – especially with the knowledge that it didn’t have to be so if he just would have stood pat with the Penguins.

But anyway, regardless of how it all pans out, we’re hopefully in store for one heck of a game. And if Game Six was any indication, ladies and gentleman, buckle up.

So in honour of tomorrow’s Game Seven to decide Lord Stanley’s Cup, here’s a brief look at a few of the more memorable Game Seven showdowns since the turn of the century.

5) April 27, 2008 – Lovin’ Lupul

In one of the most exciting series of the 2008 playoffs, the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers found themselves in a Game Seven situation at the Verizon Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With the game tied 2-2 after the second, a scoreless third period meant overtime was looming. Four minutes into the extra fame, Capital Tom Poti was sent off for tripping. In the dying seconds of the man-advantage, Joffrey Lupul banged the puck past Cristobal Huet, sending the home crowd into a frenzy and the Capitals home with a very bitter taste in their mouths.

4) May 14, 2009 – Rock You Like a Hurricane

Behind an impressive first round sweep of the Canadiens, the No. 1-seeded Boston Bruins were the favourites going into their second-round matchup with No. 6-seeded Carolina. After finding themselves down 3-1 in the series, the almighty Bruins battled back to force Game Seven. In a game that could have easily gone either way, Boston and Carolina found themselves deadlocked at twos after three periods of play. Following almost 19 minutes of see-saw overtime, Hurricane Scott Walker chipped the puck past Bruins’ goaltender Tim Thomas to secure the win for Carolina.

3) June 7, 2004 – Lightning Strikes Twice

After defeating Philadelphia in seven games in the Eastern Conference Final, the Tampa Bay Lightning found themselves once again rolling the dice in a Game Seven – this time against Calgary for the Stanley Cup. Two goals by Ruslan Fedotenko saw the Lightning jump to a 2-0 lead, but Craig Conroy put the Flames on the board, pulling his team within one. In the third period, Calgary threw everything but the kitchen sink at Tampa netminder Nikolai Khabibulin, but “The Bulin Wall” stood tall, stopping 16 shots fired at him in the frame. Two Game Seven victories in a row saw the Tampa Bay Lightning hoist the first ever Stanley Cup in the history of the franchise.

2) April 28, 2009 – Cardiac Canes

After alternating victories through six games, the Devils and Hurricanes found themselves in Game Seven in New Jersey. Up by a score of 3-2 late in the third, the Devils were a mere 80 seconds away from moving on to the second round. Carolina however, had other plans. Jussi Jokinen netted the equalizer to seemingly send the game to overtime. Right? Wrong. Forty-eight seconds later, with a mere 32 ticks left on the clock, Eric Staal put the entire Prudential Center into a state of shock by slipping the puck past Martin Brodeur and devastating the city of New Jersey with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory.

1) April 19, 2004 – Here We Go Again

For the third time in a row, the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks met in a first-round series that went the distance. Coming off a triple-overtime marathon just two days prior, the two Northwest Division rivals locked horns for another classic battle that did not disappoint. With the Flames clinging to a 2-1 lead late in the game, a Vancouver rush in the dying seconds of the third saw Canuck Matt Cooke pot his second goal of the game with a mere five seconds to play in regulation. So, for the second game in a row, the series was headed to overtime. It didn’t take Calgary long to respond however, as 1:25 of extra time was all that was needed for Martin Gelinas to bank the game-winner, eliminating the Canucks and sending the Flames to round two – and subsequently the Stanley Cup Finals.