Today’s the day. This is the final chapter.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have one final chance to beat the New York Rangers and move on to the Stanley Cup Final. Likewise, the Rangers have one opportunity to do to the same to Tampa Bay. Tonight, at Madison Square Garden, there will be Game Seven hockey between the two Eastern Conference finalists.
While fans on both sides have likely grown a few grey hairs thanks to the roller coaster ride that this series has been, it’s hard to disagree with the notion that this matchup has been great for the sport of hockey. This has been on-the-edge-of-your-seat entertainment for everyone without a stake in the game. For fans and players, however, it’s been an agonizing up-and-down battle. It all comes down to tonight.
After dropping Game Six in disappointing fashion, it would have been easy for the Bolts to feel sorry for themselves in advance of this seventh game. Instead, they’ve presented themselves as an optimistic bunch. They have the right attitude heading into this one:
Stamkos: "You're one game away from the Stanley Cup Final. Just saying that puts a smile on my face."
— Joe Smith (@TBTimes_JSmith) May 28, 2015Of course, that’s not to say that this is going to be an easy win. The opposite is true. There are no guarantees. If Ben Bishop plays like he did in Game Six, they won’t have a chance. If the skaters play like they did in their last third period, this game is already over. We know they can be better. The question now is whether or not they will be better. Based on everything they did in the regular season and even in these playoffs with their backs up against the wall, it’s hard to bet against them responding well.
One thing aiding their planned response is the fact that the Bolts are relatively healthy:
Cooper: "Going into tomorrow we're going to be as healthy as we can be at this time of year." #TBLightning
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) May 28, 2015Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention New York’s stellar Game Seven record at Madison Square Garden. They’ve built up a bit of a reputation as the most ‘clutch’ team in hockey. Alternatively, though, you could choose to view the situation and say that they’re due to lose one eventually. No winning streak lasts forever. Tampa could very well be the team that unseats the Rangers from that seventh game throne.
It doesn't sound like Tampa's players are buying the narrative, either. Lightning forward Brian Boyle had an interesting take on the whole ‘mystique’ surrounding the Rangers’ Game Seven history:
Boyle on if he buys the Rangers' Game 7 home mystique: "What am I doing here? I'm not going to fly up from Florida if I bought it."
— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) May 28, 2015Even without me going into further detail, you all know how important tonight’s game is. Unless you’re totally new to hockey (and sport, for that matter), you know that Game Seven is a win-or-go-home proposition. A win pushes Tampa Bay into the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2004, the year in which they won the whole thing. A loss will bring back feelings from 2011’s Eastern Conference Final Game Seven loss to the Boston Bruins.
Listen, I’m really interested in taking a trip down memory lane; I’d just prefer that we take a left at the fork in the road and go back to 2004 rather than 2011. Hopefully the guys in the room make that happen!
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.