As Michael Rupp proved in 2003, anyone on the ice could score the winner in a Game 7.
A hero will emerge tonight, no question about it. No matter how long it takes, somebody will score the decisive goal that gives his team the Stanley Cup.
That is the beauty of a Game 7 in the final.
When you take a quick scan of both rosters, some obvious candidates emerge. If the Canucks win, surely one of the Sedin twins will notch the game-winner, right? A little Henrik behind-the-back pass to Daniel who roofs a one-timer perhaps? Or how about superpest Alex Burrows? He's been lights out in series-clinching games this season with three goals and an assist. Burrows is the perfect candidate to be the hero for the home team.
What if the Bruins become the first team to win a road game in this series? If that happens, you'd have to suspect David Krajci's fingerprints would be all over the victory. After scoring just 13 goals to go with 62 points in 75 regular season games, the Czech centre leads the playoffs in scoring with 12 goals and 23 points in 24 games. Talk about a playoff breakout! Michael Ryder also has a knack for scoring big goals in big games. He's a likely candidate, too.
The funny thing about Game 7s is, it isn't always the logical candidate that decides things.
Way back in 1950, the Detroit Red Wings found themselves trailing the New York Rangers 3-2 in the best-of-seven final, but forced a Game 7 with a 5-4 home win. The Red Wings had some young guns on the team including 24-year-old Ted Lindsay, who led the team in scoring in the regular season with 23 goals and 78 points, as well as 21-year-old Gordie Howe who chipped in 35 goals and 68 points in 70 games.
And yet it was little known Pete Babando, who had just six goals and 12 points during the season, who emerged as the hero by scoring two goals in the deciding game. It was the 24-year-old's first two goals of the playoffs. In fact, Babando played the next four years with Chicago and New York, but spent the majority of his career in the minors and never again scored a post-season goal in the NHL.
Two years ago it was Max Talbot who stole the show in Game 7. A depth player for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Talbot ensured his club would win its first Stanley Cup in the Sidney Crosby era by scoring both goals to give his club a 2-1 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. With all eyes on Sid the Kid to work his magic, it was Talbot, 24, who worked a little magic of his own. This one shouldn't have come as such a surprise, however. Although Talbot had managed just 12 goals in 75 regular season games, he did score eight in the playoffs. In other words, like Krejci, he was holding a hot hand.
When the New Jersey Devils won their third Stanley Cup in nine years in 2002-03, it was little-known Michael Rupp, a fourth-line tough guy who scored the championship goal in a 3-0 win over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. In fact, Rupp is the only player in NHL history to have his first playoff goal decide the Cup final. One probably would have put money on Joe Nieuwendyk, Patrik Elias, Jeff Friesen or Jamie Langenbrunner to win it for the Devils, but instead it was a big guy who played most of the year in the minors that slipped one past Ducks' stopper Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
The 2003-04 Stanley Cup final was a hard-fought series between the Calgary Flames and the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was the last year before the NHL lockout and the ensuing crackdown in obstruction, so if you wanted to score a goal in that series, you had to earn it. Tampa Bay had more snipers in the final - Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards for the Lightning, but the Flames also had Jarome Iginla who had scored 41 goals in 81 games during the season.
None of those players emerged as the Game 7 hero. Instead it was Ruslan Fedotenko who scored both Tampa Bay goals in a 2-1 victory. Again, this wasn't a total surprise as the burly Russian winger finished the playoffs with 12 goals having scored 17 in the regular season., He knew his way around the net even if he wasn't one of the players the Flames felt they had to keep an eye on whenever he took a shift.
So who nets the winner tonight? It could be one of the Sedins…or Burrow…or Krejci…or Ryder. But maybe you should also consider the likes of Raffi Torres, Christopher Higgins or Max Lapierre for the Canucks and Gregory Campbell, Chris Kelly or Daniel Paille for the Bruins.
You just never know.
