The following is a guest post from Dave MacKenzie who currently plays college club hockey. Originally from Massachusetts, Dave has played hockey since age two, and has won state and national championships. To submit your own guest post, visit our contact page.
Tonight when the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks play game three of the Stanley Cup Finals, it will be the equivalent of game four.
Thus far the two teams have only played two games, officially. Game one, however, went into triple overtime and ended shortly after the 10 minute mark. Game two went into overtime as well and ended almost 14 minutes into that period. By my calculations, that means the two teams have time wise played over three games.
Before the puck drops on game three, it will be more like game four. The teams are tied at one a piece for the series and are both hungry to have their names etched into the holy grail of hockey. If the first two games are any indication of this series, then as hockey fans we will be seeing a long, hard fought, exciting series that has potential to go longer than seven games, if you go by the numbers.
The starting goalies are the top two goalies in these NHL playoffs. Both coming off a strong regular season, the two have continued their year of dominance in the playoffs. With Corey Crawford owning the NHL’s best GAA and Tuukka Rask owning the NHL’s best save percentage, it makes sense that these games are taking so long to decide. Even with two teams that have strong offensive power, a hot goalie can lead to straight to the promised land (ask the Montreal Canadiens about Ken Dryden).
Neither team is a stranger to long series, since both had to go to a game 7 earlier this playoff season. Both teams are recent cup winners, so they know what it takes to win. That being said, if this season goes to game seven and I had to pick a winner, I’d say the Bruins. The majority of this years B’s club was on the roster in 2011 when they won their proud franchises’ first cup in 39 years. That team needed three game 7 victories to secure the cup, the first team in NHL history to do so.
However this series shakes out, as a fan of hockey, you are in for a serious treat. If you are a fan of Chicago or Boston, well then good luck to you and I hope your heart doesn’t stop from all the crazy back and forth action.