Game seven. Those two words are all but guaranteed to get a hockey fan's blood boiling. There's something almost poetic about a hard-fought series ending with one winner-takes-all game. And when that game seven comes in the Stanley Cup final, the drama can be almost unbearable. With the Cup in the building and up for grabs, every play is crucial and every player knows he has a chance to create his legacy.
For a long time, a game seven in the final was one of the rarest sights in hockey. The best-of-seven format was adopted in 1939, but only eight series went the distance over the next forty-eight years. More recently, though, fans have been spoiled. If you only started watching hockey in 1987, you've been lucky enough to see a seventh and deciding game in the Stanley Cup final eight different times.
Let's take a look back at the past twenty-five years' worth of game-seven drama.
1987: Edmonton Oilers 3, Philadelphia Flyers 1
The memorable moment: Glenn Anderson scores the insurance goal on a long slap shot, proving the old hockey adage that you can't win the Cup without contributions from your sixth or seventh best future hall-of-famer.
The hero: Losing goaltender Ron Hextall was the obvious choice in voting for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, according to a dazed NHL official crumpled on the floor with a broken goal stick near his head.
The legacy: After losing the Stanley Cup final despite an excellent goaltending performance, the Flyers' front office vows never to make that mistake again.
1994: New York Rangers 3, Vancouver Canucks 2
The memorable moment: A generation of Canuck fans learn that LaFayette is a French name deriving from la meaning “the,” and fayette meaning “puck just hit the post oh my lord what did we ever do to make the hockey gods hate us so much?”
The hero: Mark Messier scored the winning goal, creating the last known instance in his career of him having an impact in a game involving the Vancouver Canucks.
The legacy: The game would go down in history as one of the most watched in NHL history with over five million viewers, and that's just from the one hundred people at a time who tune in whenever it gets replayed on the NHL Network.
2001: Colorado Avalanche 3, New Jersey Devils 1
The memorable moment: Fans around the world tuned into the game to see legendary defenseman Ray Bourque win his first Stanley Cup, since they figured that even if the Devils were winning he'd just request a trade to them instead.
The hero: Alex Tanguay records three points and later credits injured teammate Peter Forsberg for inspiring him, although he'll admit that next time he could probably do with a simple motivational speech instead of that whole “leave your ruptured spleen on the top shelf of my locker” thing.
The legacy: This would be the final Stanley Cup win of Patrick Roy's career. Since Roy had previously claimed to have the first few championship rings in his ears, Jeremy Roenick was happy to suggest an alternate location where he could stick this one.
2003: New Jersey Devils 3, Anaheim Mighty Ducks 0
The memorable moment: Paul Kariya's shocking return to the ice after a devastating hit from Scott Stevens was so dramatic and memorable that hockey fans around the world agreed to forget it actually happened in game six instead of in this excruciatingly boring game.
The hero: Despite the Ducks losing the series, the Conn Smythe was unanimously awarded to the larger-than-life star of the playoffs that loomed over everything, Jean-Sebastien Giguere's shoulder pads.
The legacy: While he admired their skill and didn't doubt that they could be back in the final someday, Scott Niedermayer couldn't help but wonder why all the Anaheim players in the handshake line kept pressing dollar bills into his palm and winking at him.
2004: Tampa Bay Lightning 2, Calgary Flames 1
The memorable moment: As jubilant Tampa Bay players vow to be right back in the final next year, Gary Bettman is heard mumbling, “You mean in 2005? Yeah, don't get your hopes up.”
The hero: Ruslan Fedotenko's second goal gives the Lightning their fourth game-winning goal of the Stanley Cup final, tying a record set most recently by the Flames in game six.
The legacy: Disappointed Flames fans console themselves that at least they got to game seven of the final, which is further than those losers in Edmonton will ever get.
2006: Carolina Hurricanes 3, Edmonton Oilers 1
The hero: Cam Ward is the first rookie in twenty years to win the Conn Smythe and instantly becomes the most recognizable hockey player in Carolina history, according to one guy who kind of squints at him the next day before shrugging and walking away.
The memorable moment: Gary Bettman's press conference extolling the virtues of the new salary cap and its benefits for small-market teams is cut short when he's chased out of the building by torch- and pitchfork-wielding TV executives.
The legacy: Despite many so-called experts trying to write off their playoff run as a fluke, Chris Pronger assures Oilers fans that he has every intention of being right back in the final next year.
2009: Pittsburgh Penguins 2, Detroit Red Wings 1
The memorable moment: The Penguins finally clinch their first championship of the Sidney Crosby era, when Nicklas Lidstrom's last-second scoring chance is thwarted on a spectacular diving goalmouth save by Gary Bettman.
The hero: Unheralded grinder Maxime Talbot comes out of nowhere to score both Pittsburgh goals, leading fans around the world to remark that they'd never noticed how much he looks like Penguins owner Mario Lemieux wearing a fake moustache and glasses.
The legacy: Everyone agrees that the Penguins are going to win a ton of Stanley Cups as long as this Sidney Crosby kid stays healthy.
2011: Boston Bruins 4, Vancouver Canucks 0
The memorable moment: With the Vancouver net vacant in favor of an extra attacker, Brad Marchand clinches the win with an empty-net goal, which Canucks fans unanimously agree Roberto Luongo should have had.
The hero: Bruins coaches inspire Tim Thomas to a spectacular shutout performance by filling the net behind him with baby bald eagles swaddled in the original copy of the Constitution of the United States.
The legacy: Hockey fans everywhere are reminded once again of three age-old truths: Goaltending wins championships, team toughness is crucial in the playoffs, and it's a really bad idea to tag yourself in riot photos on Facebook.