Game 7!
82 games.
300 days a year, it’s gruelling , painful. As if that’s not enough, the playoffs arrive and hold much less of a relaxed feel. Especially now, when two teams are so evenly matched, they force a game 7!
In the Quarter finals alone, two series are headed to this gut wrenching contest. First Colorado will try to use their home ice advantage against a Minnesota squad hungry for another road win. In the other matchup, LA fought back from a 0-3 deficit to tie up their best of 7 with the San Jose Sharks.
An aging group of players and a coaching staff with little, if any, major accomplishments to date, San Jose is in desperate need of a hero, that means Super Joe to the rescue!
Blue tights and red drawers better be hidden underneath his jersey as the veteran leader has been held pointless in his last 3 games. Combine that with his -4 rating and you have an immensely frustrated athlete. If The Sharks have any chance at regaining composure in this series, it has to originate from their core group, Starting with Thornton.
That task won’t be easy, as the Kings have managed to crawl back from the jaws of defeat to even up the odds. Relying heavily on the talents of 2012 Conn Smythe winner , Jonathan Quick, Who has stopped 54 of the last 55 shots, Los Angeles is hoping for a breakout performance from one of their many high calibre forwards. Let’s not forget about Drew Doughty either, as the 24 year old has 6 pts in 6 games so far this spring, meanwhile averaging just over 25 mins a game.
Any way you look at it, this series is going to come down to a few factors. Either Thornton and Company reestablish the passion and fire they played with for the first three games, or Quick and his boys hold them off the score sheet once again.
In the other series we have a Minnesota team who has played dark horse for most of the year, pitted against one of the hottest young clubs this league has seen in awhile.
Exchanging back and forth wins, these two combatants will meet again once more to decide who will play the rested Chicago Blackhawks, who have been through to the second round for days.
Led by first year coach, Patrick Roy.
The Avalanche are hoping phenom Nathan Mackinnon can keep up his spectacular play in his rookie season. After being nominated for the Calder trophy, The 18-year-old from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, broke records with 7 pts in the first 2 games. He is now tied only with Zack Parise for first in scoring with 10 pts.
On the flip side of the coin, The Wild need to endure the tough crowd in Denver, as The home team has won every game in the series. A strong output is once again needed from captain Parise and all-star Defenceman Ryan Suter. With a rookie backstop in Darcy Kuemper, they need to be firing on all cylinders in hopes of derailing Colorado’s Stanley cup dream.
Emotions will be high, fans will be rabid, and When all is said and done, two teams will advance to the next round and two teams will be left scratching their heads, pondering what they could have done differently to continue their season.
