The Stanley Cup Finals are headed to a Game 7 for just the 16th time. Here are the best five:
5. 2004 – Tampa Bay 2, Calgary 1 » The definition of a razor-thin margin. The Lightning and Flames traded victories through the first six games, including one-goal differences in Games 4, 5 and 6 — the last two in overtime. Ruslan Fedotenko scored both Tampa Bay goals in the decider.
4. 1987 – Edmonton 3, Philadelphia 1 » Meeting the Oilers for the second time in three years, the Flyers rallied from a 3-1 deficit to take it to Game 7, but the Oilers rallied from 1-0 down to win the title. Philadelphia rookie goalkeeper Ron Hextall, who had 40 saves in Game 7, earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoffs MVP.
3. 1954 – Detroit 2, Montreal 1, OT » On this list for the wrong reason, the second of only two Game 7s to go to overtime ended on an own goal past Canadiens netminder Gerry McNeil, who was so crushed by the gaff that he left the NHL for a season to coach junior hockey before later resuming his career.
2. 1994 – New York Rangers 3, Vancouver 2 » Mark Messier finally did what he came to New York to do after winning five Cups with Edmonton, scoring his fourth game-winner of the playoffs to bring the trophy back to New York for the first time in 54 years.
1. 1950 – Detroit 4, New York Rangers 3, 2OT » There’s no more dramatic hockey than overtime playoff hockey, and the first Game 7 that went into extra periods remains the longest. Pete Babando scored at 8:31 of the second overtime to clinch Detroit’s fourth Cup.
