For the first time in many decades, hockey fans were treated to a wonderful double bill of Game 7 contests – usually the fiercest and fastest hockey there is, due to the win-or-go-home nature – to decide the two combatants for the 2015 NHL Stanley Cup final.
It wouldn’t be NHL playoffs without a little drama, and both games had more than enough to keep people’s eyes glued to their televisions.
In the east, the New York Rangers had home-ice advantage and appeared to have at least a modicum of momentum on their side after a strong Game 6 performance against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Out west, the Anaheim Ducks, many people’s pick to hoist Lord Stanley, welcomed the Chicago Blackhawks to town.
Could the Rangers return to the Stanley Cup final for the second year running? Would Tampa be able to score on New York’s Henrik Lundqvist, a noted Game 7 performer? Would Anaheim finally shed the ‘choker’ tag by winning a home Game 7? Could the Blackhawks continue their impressive playoff run, and move on to play for Lord Stanley yet again?
As rare as it was to have both conference finals heading to a winner-take-all contest, it was stranger still that both teams with home ice, and therefore slightly favoured, lost in front of their legions of supporters.
Teams claw and scratch for 82 regular-season games in an effort to secure home ice advantage for situations exactly like these: Game 7s, when you need every single fan you can possibly cram into your home arena going off like a hyena, making it a truly hostile environment.
To be fair, fans at both Madison Square Garden and the Honda Centre were loud and passionate, but it wasn’t enough. On Friday, the Rangers lost in rather embarrassing fashion, hanging Lundqvist out to dry one too many times. Or should we say twice too many, for the Lightning scored two crucial goals on Lundqvist, and New York’s offense – which includes the likes of superstars Rick Nash and Martin St Louis, and rising stars Carl Hagelin and Chris Kreider – completely failed to fire. Tampa goalie Ben Bishop didn’t need to do much, but he made a few key saves to preserve a shut-out.
For Ranger fans, like yours truly, it was a supremely frustrating few hours. The Blueshirts had power play opportunities. They had even strength opportunities. Pretty sure they even had a good short-handed look at one stage. Yet, after 60 minutes, the big board over centre ice inside the Garden showed donuts, and not in a good way.
The key elements of New York’s impressive Game 6 win were as non-existent as snowfalls on a Sydney summer day, and, once more, a promising run, which included winning the President’s Trophy (awarded to the team who finishes atop the point standings in the regular season), fizzled out in the worst way possible. They could not have picked a worse time to go offensively dormant.
Nor could the Anaheim Ducks, who were soundly defeated 5-2 by a Chicago Blackhawks squad that returns to the Stanley Cup final in search of their third championship since 2010. Much has been written of Anaheim’s inability to win Game 7 contests at home (they’ve lost the last three) and of Bruce Boudreau-coached teams to get over the hump and into the final (this was his first trip to a conference final, and he presided over many good Washington teams who failed to fire in the playoffs).
Anaheim were outplayed by a supremely better team, and it was Chicago’s star players who helped oust the Ducks: Jonathan Toews scored two first-period goals to really get the Blackhawks show on the road, and Patrick Kane had three assists. When those two fire, Chicago are nigh on unstoppable.
Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen just couldn’t stop the rot, and despite Anaheim having a 38-26 advantage in shots on goal, the Ducks’ offence, for the most part, were unable to solve Chicago’s net-minder, Corey Crawford.
Midway through the third, a 4-0 lead became 4-2 and the Ducks fans sensed a possible comeback, but a bad hooking call on Cam Fowler led to a power play tally for the ‘Hawks and that was that.
Chicago played pretty much the perfect game. Their experience in big games will have them in good stead against a Tampa Bay team who, while talented, isn’t exactly overflowing with guys who know how to get it done in Stanley Cup final contests.
Friday and Saturday proved that home ice advantage really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and now a fresh set of questions are going to be asked: how do Tampa stop Toews and Kane? Can the Lightning stars score on Crawford? Will Chicago’s experience be the ultimate difference between these two teams? How many goals are we going to see? Will it be Kane or Toews or Steven Stamkos winning the Conn Smythe Trophy – or a goalie?
The Stanley Cup final begins on Thursday morning AEST at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay. It promises to be an epic series.
For the record, I have the Blackhawks in six. Watch out for my full preview later this week!
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