Top 5 Game 7's in Stanley Finals History (post '76)

With Game 7 approaching in the NHL tonight we here at the Riot! decided to do another Top 5 list.  I know we don’t normally do 2 in one week, but we felt it was necessary given the historical relevance.  The history hanging on this game is manifold. The Bruins in their storied franchise history have never played in a cup final Game 7.  Vancouver is searching for their first Cup ever. Boston hasn’t won since 1972, too long for such a great hockey town. And then there is the odd ball historical reference.  Everytime a Canadian city hosts an Olympics, that city wins the Stanley Cup the next year.  I mean the evidence is pretty clear;

-1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal; Canadiens win the cup in 76

-1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary; Flames win the cup in 89

-2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver; ???????

I know it’s only happened twice, but that’s an odd stat nonetheless. So here are the Top 5, Game 7’s in Stanley Cup Finals history post 1976. I don’t remember anything before that, I wasn’t alive.

5- 2006 Carolina Hurricanes vs. Edmonton Oilers  (3-1 Final)– This series was filled with firsts. It was the Hurricanes first appearance in cup final in franchise history.  The Oilers were the first 8 seed to make a cup final.  The ‘Canes had a stellar rookie in net (Cam Ward). It was a very tight game with fantastic goaltending throughout.  It was 2-1 late when the Oilers late press was turned aside by eventual Conn Smythe Trophy winner Cam Ward, and when Justin Williams put the puck in the empty net, it was all but over. Cam Ward became the first rookie goaltender to win the Stanley Cup since Patrick Roy in 1986 and the first rookie to win the Conn Smythe since Ron Hextall did it in 1987. Another interesting side note, defenseman Glen Wesley was still on the Canes squad in 2006 which is poetic justice because he was the last remaining Whaler from the Hartford days.  WHALERS RULE!

4- 1987 Edmonton Oilers vs. Philadelphia Flyers (3-1 Final)– This Game 7 was not as thrilling as the 3-1 final might indicate.  This game was an exercise in domination.  Domination by a thriving dynasty who might possibly be the best hockey team ever assembled.  Messier, Kurri, Fuhr, Coffey, Gretzky and the bunch fell behind 2 minutes into this game 7, and then never looked back.  Six minutes later Messier tied it up and it was over from that point on.  The Oilers went on to pepper Ron Hextall with shot after shot, and to Hextall’s credit, he stopped all but 2 of them. Forty saves in all for Hextall as the Oilers went on to outshoot the Flyers 25-8 over the last 40 minutes of the game.  It would be the Oilers 4^th Cup in 5 years thus cementing that team as one of the greatest ever.  As for Hextall, he was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy for being the sacrificial lamb of that series.

3- 2001 New Jersey Devils vs. Colorado Avalanche(3-1 Final) – For a 10 year period between 1994 and 2005, the New Jersey Devils and the Colorado Avalanche dominated the NHL.  The Devils won 2 Cups in 3 appearances while the Avs had to contend with an all-time Scotty Bowman led Red Wings squad only won one cup during that stretch.  The one cup the Avs won was the one the Devils let get away.  The Avalanche had the look of a team of destiny.  With a 40 year old Ray Bourque trying to ride off into the sunset shedding the title as best defenseman not to win it all, Joe Sakic the super captain, and Patrick Roy, arguably the greatest goalie ever, the Avs had all the answers against Brodeur and the Devils.  There were so many story line in this series,  Roy vs. Brodeur. The Avs vaunted offensive attack with Sakic, Tanguay and Forsberg vs the Devils Defensive trap and hard hitter Scott Stevens prowling the blue line.  And then the most dramatic storyline of all, Ray Bourque’s quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup.  For Bourque, who suffered through 20 ½ seasons in Boston with only one previous chance at the cup coming in 1990, it was the perfect way to end a stellar Hall of Fame career.  Patrick Roy cemented his place in history by being only the fourth player to win the Cup in 3 different decades (86 Canadiens, 93 Canadiens, 01 Avs) and also the first three time winner of the Conn Smythe award.

2- 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings (2-1 Final) – A rematch of the 2008 Stanley Cup final was a tight, hard hitting game that featured the NHL future vs. the NHL past.  The Pens had Malkin, Crosby and Fleury trying to break though against the establishment of Osgood and Lidstrom who had been to 6 Cup finals over the past 15 seasons, and won 4 of those; one of them being the first round of this battle in ’08. The game was very slow to start, but the Pens held a 2-0 lead heading into the 3^rd period on the road. Then came the Red Wings and it did feel like it was going to be another win for the establishment when the Wings cut the deficit to one with 12 minutes to go.  But Marc-Andre Fleury stopped a late barrage of shots and had some help from a goalies best friend, the post, and a miraculous play by defenseman Rob Scuderi with 30 seconds to go, to hold on for the Cup. The Pens only mustered one shot in the final period to the Wings eight.  I believe it was the first of many Cups to be hoisted by Malkin, Crosby and Fleury.

1-1994 Vancouver Canucks vs New York Rangers  (3-2 Final) – This Game was a personal pick for me, being a die-hard Ranger fan, I was on the edge of my seat hoping the curse would end that. This particular postseason was a constant hold on to your seat type of season that saw drama after drama.  The Semi-final series against the Devils has to rank as one of the greatest of all-time, which included a Game 7, double OT victory.  That would have been number one on the list if we were talking about ALL Game 7’s but we’re not, it’s Finals time and that’s why the 1994 Cup Final between the Rangers and the Canucks ranks as the best in Finals history.  You had the upstart Canucks with Pavel Bure, “The Russian Rocket” up against “The Messiah” Mark Messier and the favored Rangers.  Now the Rangers were heavily favored to win this series, but when you’re dealing with the 1940 curse, all bets are off.  And boy did that curse play with our heads as Rangers fans.  One dramatic second after another in Game 7 felt like an eternity.  Just sitting there waiting for the other shoe to drop.  The fluke goal. The phantom injury.  The major letdown.  Well it never came. Through 60 ultra-tense minutes, the Rangers held off the Canucks for a 3-2 victory.  The most excruciating moment of the Game came with 1.7 seconds left on the clock.  The Rangers had cleared the zone and began celebrating.  Confetti and paper in the air, players equipment strewn all over the ice, and players embracing each other jumping up and down; it’s over right?  Wrong. Icing.  ICING! With 1.7 seconds left a critical defensive zone face-off to win the cup.  No worries, right?  Well in the end, Messier won the face-off cleanly and in an image that will be burned into my brain for the rest of my life, Mark Messier jumping up and down like a kid on the pond, celebrating his 6^th championship as if it was his first.  And the immortal words of Sam Rosen, “54 YEARS OF WAITING” rang out as the Garden erupted with the joy or 50+ years of Rangers fans all in one night.  It was a memorable moment for sure.  So memorable that it made the top 3 moments in NY sports history. That’s why it was #1 here.