Win Game Six, Win in Seven??

The old adage in some sports is that if you don't win Game Six, odds are you won't win Game Seven. In some cases that is true and many teams do try to close it out in Game Sixes. Yet, since the seven-game series format has come to the NHL in the 1939 Stanley Cup finals, that hasn't always been the case.

It should be noted that I hate research and often have issues with it-- so when you get the misinformation in this and want to correct it, the comments section is the place to do it. If anything else, I'll chalk it up to tiredness and not wanting to be thorough.

Since that, there has been 15 series' that have gone the full seven games and in seven of those series have the team that has won Game Six went onto win the Series: 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1950 Detroit Red Wings, 1964 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1971 Montreal Canadiens, 2001 Colorado Avalanche, 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning, and 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins.

Of the eight teams that didn't win a Game Seven after a Game Six win, only the 1994 Canucks scored more than a goal in their Game Seven loss. The rest of the teams got shutout or only put up one goal in the final game.

So, with about 47% winning a Game Seven after winning a Game Six, then only 20% of teams winning a Game Seven on the Road; the odds are slightly in favor of the Canucks and could prove that home-ice advantage is nothing to laugh at, especially with the home team winning the six previous games in this series and in 41 of the previous 82 playoff games this year, excluding the Finals games.

Good news for the Canucks though-- only the 1945 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1971 Montreal Canadiens, and 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins have won Game Seven on the road.

Advantage No More

While many are saying that what the Chicago Blackhawks have done by going into San Jose and taking two games, but in a season where nothing is of the ordinary; it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Granted, there's only been one "upset" in the West, but the Red Wings taking out the Coyotes in the first round; it's hard to say it's not uncommon for the home ice advantage to be something of a deterrent.

Since the Lockout and through the 2010 Conference Semis, there has been 57 series and 27 of them have been won by the lower seeded teams. That's just under 50% of all series have been taken by the team who started out on the road. Of those 27 series, the road team took at least one of the two road games to start off with 23 times, took both games nine times, and lost both games only four times in that span (Oilers in 2006, Penguins twice in 2009, Flyers in 2010).

But what's the cause of this all?? Many teams fight to get into the home-ice advantage, but it doesn't seem to be all too efficient with it's said and done. There has been 17 Game Sevens in the time span with the road team winning 10 times, with a perfect 4-for-4 in the 2010 Playoffs. There's not much to be said for getting that home ice for that crucial Game Seven, as it doesn't seem to do much for helping the home team winning it.

Plus, it's not like the Blackhawks were that far behind the Sharks in the standings (only one point), while winning three out of four in the season series. Even so, it's hard to win on the road despite the numbers showing somewhat to the contrary. It's quite the feat for the Hawks to go into the playoffs this deal and just outshining the Sharks in front of their fans.

Stage Set for the Sevens

It's a good day, gentlemen. It's a good day to think about responsibility. It's a good day to ask yourself a couple of questions. It's a good day, gentlemen, to ask yourselves if, on a personal level, you're willin' to accept that. If you're willin' to accept the responsibility you have to protect this team, this school, and this town. And make no mistake about it gentlemen, we are in the business of winning. We are in the business of protectin' this town. The expectations couldn't be any higher: We will win State. This is real sincere warfare. Can you be perfect??

~Coach Gary Gaines, "Friday Night Lights"

This is the gist of what the coaches speeches should be to the four teams going into the Game Sevens of the first round. Starting tonight, it's going to be a make or break time for these teams, especially those who are at home and how Game Six's outcome was. The mindset couldn't be any more focused and the questions are going to be abound, for sure.

You have to wonder what kind of momentum each side has. Especially since the situations in each side are a bit different. For the Coyotes/Wing series, the series has been very tight and each team holding a lead at some point of the series. The Coyotes are back at home and will have the support and momentum after winning Game Six. The Red Wings couldn't finish it out at home and now have to deal with the Coyotes, who have been somewhat decent at home, even though they've lost two games already on the road. It's going to be whether or not the Wings offense can show up and if Jimmy Howard can come up big in the biggest game of his life to this point. The Coyotes are going to have to show up big, with or without Shane Doan-- as he is a game-time decision. It should be an even more tense game than any other games in this series.

The Caps/Habs series should have a different vibe to it. The Caps had control of this series, up 3-1 in the series, and then got stoned by the returning Jaroslav Halak, only getting two goals on 92 shots against. Even though the Caps are back at home, you have to wonder if the history of series past are going to haunt them. They need to be better than their 1-for-30 power play and actually find holes in Halak rather than thinking he's invincible, because they did run him before. The Habs have to keep the pressure up. But at the same time, they've been in the elimination side of it twice already; just have to wonder if they can keep up the desperate play and actually think they're down still. The Habs came out strong in the first ten minutes of Game Five and Six, which really set the tone for the rest of the game; both of which they won.

It's the most exciting thing in any sporting event and also a game fans love and hate. They love the fact they can actually have maybe one more game, but hate the fact it could be the last of the season. There are no more shades of gray, just black and white. You win, you move on-- you lose, you're cleaning out your locker room the next day. Tension is high, cliches are even higher, and I have nothing more to say about that-- enjoy the games.

Two Stars, One Series, One Golden Age

When this whole thing started, the hype was all about the two faces of the league going against each other in a way that the league could branch out to a more mainstream audience and bring some people in who may have not been on board before.

After tonight, after the seventh game of this grueling series, after the last buzzer sounds, the last goal is scored-- it's easy to say this is when the hype wasn't enough to show how amazing this series has been between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins.

And it's not just the stars, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby going head-to-head-- it's been a team effort through and through. Albeit, Ovie and Crosby have been the focal points and have yet to disappoint this series, the team dynamic has ruled over the mainstream match-up. You've had heroes like Kris Letang and David Steckel take over the headlines for their game winners, you've had stellar performances from Marc-Andre Fleury and Simeon Varlamov, but when all is said and done-- it's been about Crosby and Ovechkin.

The question that is posed now is whether or not one game or even one series can determine who is better between the two of them. Can you really measure the greatness between the two of them when they have been so close in everything when it comes to this series?? Sure, it'd be easy to say one was better than the other if the series was a blow out or if one star took control like noone's business; but these games have been close (five of the six being decided by one goal) and the stats of Crosby and Ovechkin have been mirror of each other for the most part. Is it fair to judge who is better than who because of this??

Personally, I don't think you can. Sure, the odds of this hype being big as this year should these teams meet again in a playoff down the road is unlikely, but the fact remains that one match-up does not a rivalry determine. Sure, you can debate the rivalry of the Penguins and Capitals as one way or another, but to say that this one singular match-up in the playoffs between Ovechkin and Crosby is going to be a precursor to their future match-ups and the future outcome is rather absurded to put it nicely. Both of these guys were under the microscope, both of them had the hype machine behind them, both of them have yet to disappoint. No matter who comes out on top, they should have bragging right for a while, but the debate will continue on. That's the thing with Ovechkin vs. Crosby-- you'll always have one side that going to be homer over another or love one player or hate one player; but the respect value should be there for both players. Sure, this is a very Kofi Annan thing do to, but the debate is great, but the heated hatred over one from another get a bit ridiculous, especially during the playoffs.

We have to admit that we're in a golden age of hockey stars. It seems every year, there's a new phenom just making hockey fans' jaws drop, making people take notice. That will continue with John Tavares next season and will probably get better if Taylor Hall can keep up his pace in the OHL for the 2010 Draft. It's hard to say that one player is better than another unless it's absolutely one-sided, which in most cases it never is. This second round has shown more stars break out of the mold and display their own skills, own personality, own way of play.

The thing is as a collective we need to do is let the petty squabling die down for just a minute, sit back, and take in the fact that this is something we may never see again in our lifetimes where there are so many great players in one league at one time. Enjoy it, folks-- because it's going to be a great ride for the next decade or so watching these rookies turn into royalty.

Game Seven Drama Begins

If the playoffs in the NHL weren't dramatic enough, tonight's games feature two Game Sevens and potentially two upsets. Last night's Game Seven between Montreal and Boston was anticlimactic with a 5-0 Montreal blow out, but tonight's games should bring a little more drama and little better action.

In the East, the "Cinderella" Washington Capitals will try to see if they can ride the momentum of a big win in Philadelphia Monday night and if the result of the 1988 Patrick Division Semi-Finals can repeat itself. For the Flyers, they hope they can regain their winning ways and not have a 3-1 lead slip away. It's been quite a turnaround for the Flyers this year too, going from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to one win away from advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

Out West, the Calgary Flames look to make it to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2004, but will have to deal with the San Jose Sharks' home crowd. For the Flames to be successful, they will need to get everyone on the roster to contribute in one way or another. For the Sharks, the thought of playoff failure of recent past is haunting them, which could lead to a big change if they can't get out of the first round this season.

The drama of a Game Seven, even in the first round, is something that puts me on the edge of my seat. Two of the past three Stanley Cup finals have gone to a Game Seven, which puts even more drama into the spotlight. There's just something about the game that makes me want to cheer, boo, and maybe throw something at the TV. Don't lie, we all do it. For me, I get up in arms when a regular season game is on, much less a Game Seven playoff game.

Personally, tonight could see two of the teams I'm pulling for either move on or eliminated. Granted, there could be a split, but I'm thinking it's all or nothing for me. I've already got one team out, so it would be horrible for me to lose anymore. Let's just hope my armchair GM/Coaching doesn't get too out of hand tonight.