The Dallas Stars went down in Stanley Cup Playoffs history Wednesday night. Unfortunately, it was for all the wrong reasons.
The Stars lost Game 7 to the Blues by a decisive 6-1 score. Starting goalie Kari Lehtonen allowed three goals in the first period, forcing coach Lindy Ruff to turn to Antti Niemi at the start of the second period and actually pulling his goalie with around six minutes to go in regulation.
So it was a nightmare Game 7 for the Stars, but where does it rank among the all-time worst Game 7s for a home team? Our friends at Sportsnet Stats have found the worst three Game 7s ever for the home side — a mark the Stars tied with their loss.
MINNESOTA NORTH STARS BEAT LOS ANGELES KINGS 9-4 – 1968 QUARTERFINAL
This was the first Stanley Cup Playoffs of the post-expansion era and right away it was historically bad for the Kings.
Amazingly, the home team had won every game of this series heading into Game 7. The Kings took a 2-0 series lead with 2-1 and 2-0 wins, but the North Stars scored a total of 10 goals over the next two games to even it up. In the first six games, Minnesota had scored 14 goals at home and just three on the road.
But you know what they say about Game 7 — anything can happen. In this case, the North Stars rolled over the Kings with a 9-4 win on April 18, 1968. Minnesota got two goals each from Parker MacDonald, Bill Goldsworthy, and Milan Marcetta. The score was actually 3-2 at one point, but the North Stars took an 8-3 lead into the third period after scoring five times in the second frame.
In goal for the Kings that night? Terry Sawchuk.
DETROIT RED WINGS BEAT PHOENIX COYOTES 6-1 – 2010 WEST QUARTERFINAL
In 2010, the Wings and Coyotes met in the first round of the playoffs, with the Coyotes holding home-ice advantage as the No. 4 seed in the West. Phoenix held series leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but lost two in a row, forcing them to win a huge game at Joe Louis Arena in Game 6. The Coyotes won that game 5-2.
So you’d think they’d have all the momentum heading home for Game 7, right? Not so much.
The teams took a 0-0 tie into the first intermission, but Detroit scored four times in the second period and added another two in the third for a runaway 6-1 win. Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom both scored twice and the Wings outshot the home Coyotes 50-33.
NEW YORK RANGERS BEAT WASHINGTON CAPITALS 5-0 – 2013 EAST QUARTERFINAL
This is another one where the home team had won every game heading into Game 7. In this lockout-shortened season, one point separated the Rangers and Capitals in the standings, but Washington earned the No. 3 seed in the East and the Rangers were sixth.
The Capitals won Game 5 at home in overtime, but were shutout in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden to force a Game 7. It was the second season in a row these two teams went the distance in a playoff series, but this one ended terribly for the Capitals.
New York got one goal in the first period from Arron Asham, and scored two more times in both the second and third periods to pull away with a blowout 5-0 win. The Capitals actually outshot the Rangers 35-27, but Henrik Lundqvist outplayed Braden Holtby.
Naturally, you’re probably wondering how Alex Ovechkin did. He recorded one shot on net an 13 hits in 19:08 of ice time.
So the Stars’ 6-1 loss goes down as one of the worst home losses in Game 7 history. But it’s not the worst Game 7 loss ever. There have been a few worse losses by road teams in the decisive game:
2002: Red Wings beat Avalanche 7-0 in Western Conference Final
1993: Maple Leafs beat Blues 6-0 in 1993 Norris Division Final
