GAME 7: WHERE LEGENDS ARE BORN

AAHHHH GAME 7, for all the marbles, the do or die moment, the must win situation, putting everything on the line with your backs against the wall. A game where legends are born but then again, where dreams are squandered. Where heroes come to the forefront and victors are crowned. This is the game that youngsters back in pee wee hockey dream about and would love to be apart of. Detroit vs Chicago, one last dance in the Western Conference to decide who plays the LA Kings on Friday.

Lets face it, Detroit had 2 chances to close them out and now we have put ourselves in this position. This is our final opportunity to get rid of these Hawks and must play with our backs against the wall with 110% desperation which we lacked in Games 5 and 6.

“They’re a good team; let’s get the facts straight,” Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard said. “They weren’t going to go away quietly. But now it’s down to one game. Game 7, you dream about winning these when you’re a kid.”


Detroit's general Mike Babcock once said that if you told us that we'd be playing in Game 7 at the start of this series, you would take that. Very true, but we also didn't know we'd have a commanding 3-1 series lead after Game 4. This is the NHL playoffs and teams go on runs and win games in spurts and now it comes down to basically a coin flip of a game.


UPSIDE:

Wings were in a much worse situation just last round being down 3-2 against the second seeded Anaheim ducks. And with our backs against the walls at the Honda Center in Anaheim no less, we came out and played like a Detroit team that never quits and won Game 7 on the road!!

Detroit seems to always play better with a chip on their shoulder and when the going gets tough.

 Yeah, you might say that this season for Detroit has been a success given our injuries, lack of depth, and young inexperienced rookies. But as you play, win and experience success through the playoffs, you must adapt and reevaluate where the Red Wings are NOW!! We are ONE WIN away from going to the Conference Finals but most of all, ONE WIN away from forcing Chicago into the past. A past that includes a mere 2 Stanley Cups since 1960 and 2 Conference Championships all-time! (Detroit will always win that one)

This is it, time to see who can be a better team in a game with such significance. Who will play harder, stronger, faster, more confident, with mistake free hockey? Because the team that puts those factors on display tonight will have a great chance of winning no matter what history says. Victories in hockey can be determined by an unlucky bounce, a boneheaded mistake or even a bad call by a ref, but in the end it's all about which team can decrease the chances of those events happening and maximize scoring opportunities!

Game 7 tonight in Chicago will be the last battle in this long, endured war that dates back to the Original Six days as Western Conference foes. Game 7 will bring certain players to the top of the NHL mountain yet put a few six feet deep. This particular game in my mind and the millions watching around the world, will be remembered FOREVER!!


GO OUT AND WIN TONIGHT BOYS!!!


LETS GO RED WINGS!!!


For you statisticians out there, here is some great historical data on Game 7's...

• Of the 144 Game 7s, 24 times a team trailing their series 3-1 won Game 7 and 3 times a team down 3-0 in their series won Game 7.
• Of the 591 best-of-seven NHL playoff series played, 144 (24%) have resulted in a Game 7 with the home team holding a healthy 91-53 (63%) edge.
• Detroit is tied with with Montreal with most Game 7 victories all-time with 13 and a record of (13-9).
• Chicago near the middle with 10 game 7 victories all-time and a record of (5-5).