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Boston Bruins Blogger •
FINALS FACTS
* For the fourth consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, the home team has held serve to open the series, winning both games 1 and 2.
* In those 8 total games from 2006-2009, the home team has outscored their opponents 27-8.
* The last time a road team took either of the first two matchups was on May 25, 2004, when the Calgary Flames won game one 4-1 in Tampa.
* The last team to come back after dropping both games 1 and 2 on the road to win the series was the Canadiens in 1971. Montreal lost the first two matchups, and both teams won every home game until the Habs took game 7 in Chicago to win the cup.
* Two teams in this decade alone have dropped games 1 and 2 on the road in the finals, and then forced a game 7: the '06 Oilers and the '03 Ducks. The Hurricanes defeated that Oilers team 3-1 in game 7 while the Devils defeated the Ducks 3-0 in the decisive game.
* Evgeni Malkin already has 30 points in just 19 playoff games this year (with Sidney Crosby's 28 points not far behind). The last player to top the 30 point mark in the postseason? Joe Sakic in 1996. The long tenured Avalanche captain had 34 points in 22 games, en route to a finals victory over the Florida Panthers.
* Only 5 players in NHL history have won the Conn Smythe after losing in the finals:
1966 - Roger Crozier (Red Wings)
1968 - Glenn Hall (Blues)
1976 - Reggie Leach (Flyers)
1987 - Ron Hextall (Flyers)
2003 - Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Mighty Ducks)
Malkin and Crosby would have a great shot at adding their names to that list if it weren't for.......
* Chris Osgood and his 1.95 GAA. The veteran netminder has to be considered the favorite for the trophy, should Detroit prevail. Osgood was even more brilliant last spring, when he posted a 1.55 GAA in the playoffs. But Henrik Zetterberg, who tied with Crosby for the league lead in points with 27, took home the hardware.
* Crozier and Mike Vernon (1997) are the only other Red Wings' goaltenders to win the trophy. In '97, Vernon went 16-4 with a 1.76 GAA en route to Detroit's first Cup since 1955.
* With the possibility of a sweep still in play, we could be on the verge of seeing the first four-game finals since 1998, when the Wings swept the Capitals. That year marked the fourth consecutive season that the cup finals ended in anticlimactic sweeps.
1995 - New Jersey swept Detroit
1996 - Colorado swept Florida
1997 - Detroit swept Philadelphia
1998 - Detroit swept Washington
* 13 of the last 40 finals have ended in sweeps, dating back to 1968. That year was the first of three consecutive seasons that Scotty Bowman's St. Louis Blues would lose in the finals, getting swept every time (by the Habs in 1968 and 1969, and the Bruins in 1970 thanks to Bobby Orr's memorable GWG).
* Ironically enough, Bowman was involved in 9 of those 13 finals sweeps. He was the winning coach on five occasions, winning twice with Montreal (1976, 1977), once with Pittsburgh (1992) and twice with Detroit (1997, 1998). His other loss came in the '95 finals when the Devils beat the Wings.
JC
Shameless Twitter Self-Promotion:
* For the fourth consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, the home team has held serve to open the series, winning both games 1 and 2.
* In those 8 total games from 2006-2009, the home team has outscored their opponents 27-8.
* The last time a road team took either of the first two matchups was on May 25, 2004, when the Calgary Flames won game one 4-1 in Tampa.
* The last team to come back after dropping both games 1 and 2 on the road to win the series was the Canadiens in 1971. Montreal lost the first two matchups, and both teams won every home game until the Habs took game 7 in Chicago to win the cup.
* Two teams in this decade alone have dropped games 1 and 2 on the road in the finals, and then forced a game 7: the '06 Oilers and the '03 Ducks. The Hurricanes defeated that Oilers team 3-1 in game 7 while the Devils defeated the Ducks 3-0 in the decisive game.
* Evgeni Malkin already has 30 points in just 19 playoff games this year (with Sidney Crosby's 28 points not far behind). The last player to top the 30 point mark in the postseason? Joe Sakic in 1996. The long tenured Avalanche captain had 34 points in 22 games, en route to a finals victory over the Florida Panthers.
* Only 5 players in NHL history have won the Conn Smythe after losing in the finals:
1966 - Roger Crozier (Red Wings)
1968 - Glenn Hall (Blues)
1976 - Reggie Leach (Flyers)
1987 - Ron Hextall (Flyers)
2003 - Jean-Sebastien Giguere (Mighty Ducks)
Malkin and Crosby would have a great shot at adding their names to that list if it weren't for.......
* Chris Osgood and his 1.95 GAA. The veteran netminder has to be considered the favorite for the trophy, should Detroit prevail. Osgood was even more brilliant last spring, when he posted a 1.55 GAA in the playoffs. But Henrik Zetterberg, who tied with Crosby for the league lead in points with 27, took home the hardware.
* Crozier and Mike Vernon (1997) are the only other Red Wings' goaltenders to win the trophy. In '97, Vernon went 16-4 with a 1.76 GAA en route to Detroit's first Cup since 1955.
* With the possibility of a sweep still in play, we could be on the verge of seeing the first four-game finals since 1998, when the Wings swept the Capitals. That year marked the fourth consecutive season that the cup finals ended in anticlimactic sweeps.
1995 - New Jersey swept Detroit
1996 - Colorado swept Florida
1997 - Detroit swept Philadelphia
1998 - Detroit swept Washington
* 13 of the last 40 finals have ended in sweeps, dating back to 1968. That year was the first of three consecutive seasons that Scotty Bowman's St. Louis Blues would lose in the finals, getting swept every time (by the Habs in 1968 and 1969, and the Bruins in 1970 thanks to Bobby Orr's memorable GWG).
* Ironically enough, Bowman was involved in 9 of those 13 finals sweeps. He was the winning coach on five occasions, winning twice with Montreal (1976, 1977), once with Pittsburgh (1992) and twice with Detroit (1997, 1998). His other loss came in the '95 finals when the Devils beat the Wings.
JC
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