Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

04/30/2014 at 10:33am EDT

TRIO OF GAME 7s HIGHLIGHT FINAL NIGHT OF FIRST ROUND
The First Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs concludes Wednesday with a trio of Game 7s, marking the fifth time in NHL history and first time since April 22, 2003, that three or more Game 7s will be contested on the same day. In 2003, the Flyers defeated the Maple Leafs 6-1, the Wild defeated the Avalanche 3-2 (OT) and the Canucks defeated the Blues 4-1, with home teams going 2-1.

* The opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs now has yielded three or more Game 7s in four consecutive postseasons:

2014: 3, TBD
2013: 3, Home Teams: 1-2
2012: 3, Home Teams: 1-2
2011: 4, Home Teams: 3-1

* Since 2003-04, there have been a total of 22 Game 7s in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Home teams are 10-12 in those contests.

* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, home teams are 90-59 (.604) all-time in Game 7s contested in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* Elias also says that the team that scores first in a Game 7 holds a 111-38 (.745) all-time record.

* Thirty-seven of the 149 all-time Game 7s have required overtime. Home teams are 19-18 (.514) in those contests.

KINGS TRY TO COMPLETE RALLY FROM 3-0 DEFICIT AGAINST SHARKS
The Kings will try to become the fourth team in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit when they face the Sharks at SAP Center. The last team to accomplish that feat was the 2010 Flyers (which featured current Kings Jeff Carter and Mike Richards), who erased a 3-0 series deficit to defeat the Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Kings and Sharks are meeting in Game 7 for the second consecutive year. In 2013, the Kings had home-ice advantage and edged the Sharks 2-1 to advance to the Western Conference Final. The Pacific Division archrivals will be contesting their 41st game over the past four seasons (21 regular season, 20 playoff), the most matchups between any two NHL clubs in that span.

TEAMS DOWN 3-0 TO FORCE GAME 7, NHL HISTORY
2014 Kings (R1 vs. SJ)
2011 Red Wings (CSF vs. SJ)
2011 Blackhawks (CQF vs. VAN)
2010 Flyers (CSF vs. BOS)*
1975 Islanders (SF vs. PHI)
1975 Islanders (QF vs. PIT)*
1945 Red Wings (F vs. TOR)
1942 Maple Leafs (F vs. DET)*
1939 Rangers (SF vs. BOS)
* Came back to win series in seven games

All-Time Team Records in Game 7

San Jose Sharks (5-3)
5/28/13, Western Conference SF vs. Los Angeles (SJ 1 at LA 2)
5/12/11, Western Conference SF vs. Detroit (DET 2 at SJ 3)
4/22/08, Western Conference QF vs. Calgary (CGY 3 at SJ 5)
5/15/02, Western Conference SF vs. Colorado (SJ 0 at COL 1)
4/25/00, Western Conference QF vs. St. Louis (SJ 3 at STL 1)
5/19/95, Western Conference QF vs. Calgary (SJ 5 at CGY 4, 2OT)
5/14/94, Western Conference SF vs. Toronto (SJ 2 at TOR 4)
4/30/94, Western Conference QF vs. Detroit (SJ 3 at DET 2)

Los Angeles Kings (4-4)
5/28/13, Western Conference SF vs. San Jose (SJ 1 at L.A. 2)
4/29/02, Western Conference QF vs. Colorado (LA 0 at COL 4)
5/9/01, Western Conference SF vs. Colorado (LA 1 at COL 5)
5/29/93, Western Conference Final vs. Toronto (LA 5 at TOR 4)
4/15/89, Smythe Division SF vs. Edmonton (EDM 3 at LA 6)
4/25/76, Quarterfinals vs. Boston (LA 0 at BOS 3)
4/13/69, Quarterfinals vs. Oakland (LA 5 at OAK 3)
4/18/68, Quarterfinals vs. Minnesota (MIN 9 at LA 4)

AVALANCHE, WILD FACE OFF IN SECOND HEAD-TO-HEAD GAME 7
The Avalanche and Wild face off at Pepsi Center in the second Game 7 between these clubs in their three all-time playoff matchups. They last met in a Game 7 in the 2003 Western Conference Quarterfinals, won by the Wild on an overtime goal by Andrew Brunette against current Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy in his final NHL game as a player. Four of the six games in this series have been decided by one goal, including three in overtime. The clubs have contested 13 one-goal games in their 19 all-time playoff meetings, including 12 of their last 15 matchups (eight of which have required extra time). The head coaches for the Avalanche and Wild, Roy and Mike Yeo, will be making their Game 7 debuts behind the bench. Roy appeared in 13 Game 7s over the course of his Hall-of-Fame playing career, tied with defenseman Scott Stevens for the most in NHL history.

All-Time Team Records in Game 7

Colorado Avalanche* (6-6)
4/22/03, Western Conference QF vs. Minnesota (MIN 3 at COL 2, OT)
5/31/02, Western Conference Final vs. Detroit (COL 0 at DET 7)
5/15/02, Western Conference SF vs. San Jose (SJ 0 at COL 1)
4/29/02, Western Conference QF vs. Los Angeles (LA 0 at COL 4)
6/9/01, Stanley Cup Final (NJ 1 at COL 3)
5/9/01, Western Conference SF vs. Los Angeles (LA 1 at COL 5)
5/27/00, Western Conference Final vs. Dallas (COL 2 at DAL 3)
6/4/99, Western Conference Final vs. Dallas (COL 1 at DAL 4)
5/4/98, Western Conference QF vs. Edmonton (EDM 4 at COL 0)
5/2/87, Adams Division Final vs. Montreal (QUE 3 at MTL 5)
5/2/85, Adams Division Final vs. Montreal (QUE 3 at MTL 2, OT)
4/25/82, Adams Division Final vs. Boston (QUE 2 at BOS 1)
* Franchise moved from Quebec to Colorado in 1995-96

Minnesota Wild (2-0)
5/8/03, Western Conference SF vs. Vancouver (MIN 4 at VAN 2)
4/22/03, Western Conference QF vs. Colorado (MIN 3 at COL 2, OT)

RANGERS, FLYERS MEET IN GAME 7 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1974
The Rangers play host to the Flyers at Madison Square Garden in the second all-time Game 7 between these clubs and first since the 1974 Semifinals, which the Flyers won 4-3 en route to capturing their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Four of the Rangers’ last six playoff series have gone to a Game 7; they are 6-5 all-time in Game 7s, including a 5-0 mark at Madison Square Garden. The Flyers, meanwhile, are 9-6 all-time in Game 7s – including wins in four of their last five dating to the 2003 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals – and are looking to come back from a 3-2 series deficit for just the fourth time in franchise history.

All-Time Team Records in Game 7

New York Rangers (6-5)
5/13/13, Eastern Conference QF vs. Washington (NYR 5 at WSH 0)
5/12/12, Eastern Conference SF vs. Washington (WSH 1 at NYR 2)
4/26/12, Eastern Conference QF vs. Ottawa (OTT 1 at NYR 2)
4/28/09, Eastern Conference QF vs. Washington (NYR 1 at WSH 2)
6/14/94, Stanley Cup Final vs. Vancouver (VAN 2 at NYR 3)
5/27/94, Eastern Conference Final vs. New Jersey (NJ 1 at NYR 2, 2OT)
5/1/92, Patrick Division SF vs. New Jersey (NJ 4 at NYR 8)
5/5/74, Semifinals vs. Philadelphia (NYR 3 at PHI 4)
5/2/71, Semifinals vs. Chicago (NYR 2 at CHI 4)
4/23/50, Stanley Cup Final vs. Detroit (NYR 3 at DET 4, 2OT)
4/2/39, Semifinals vs. Boston (NYR 1 at BOS 2, 3OT)

Philadelphia Flyers (9-6)
4/26/11, Eastern Conference QF vs. Buffalo (BUF 2 at PHI 5)
5/14/10, Eastern Conference SF vs. Boston (PHI 4 at BOS 3)
4/22/08, Eastern Conference QF vs. Washington (PHI 3 at WSH 2, OT)
5/22/04, Eastern Conference Final vs. Tampa Bay (PHI 1 at TB 2)
4/22/03, Eastern Conference QF vs. Toronto (TOR 1 at PHI 6)
5/26/00, Eastern Conference Final vs. New Jersey (NJ 2 at PHI 1)
4/29/89, Patrick Division Final vs. Pittsburgh (PHI 4 at PIT 1)
4/16/88, Patrick Division SF vs. Washington (PHI 4 at WSH 5, OT)
5/31/87, Stanley Cup Final vs. Edmonton (PHI 1 at EDM 3)
5/2/87, Patrick Division Final vs. NY Islanders (NYI 1 at PHI 5)
4/26/81, Quarterfinals vs. Calgary (CGY 4 at PHI 1)
4/25/76, Quarterfinals vs. Toronto (TOR 3 at PHI 7)
5/13/75, Semifinals vs. NY Islanders (NYI 1 at PHI 4)
5/5/74, Semifinals vs. NY Rangers (NYR 3 at PHI 4)
4/18/68, Quarterfinals vs. St. Louis (STL 3 at PHI 1)

2014 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS BRACKET CHALLENGE
Among the more than half-million entries for the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge powered by Can-Am Spyder on NHL.com, there only is one remaining perfect bracket.

SECOND ROUND SET TO BEGIN THURSDAY
The NHL announced that the Second Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin Thursday, May 1, with Game 1 of the Bruins-Canadiens series. The starting time for Game 1 will be 7:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden in Boston. The game will be seen exclusively on NBCSN in the U.S. and CBC and RDS in Canada.

TUESDAY’S RESULT
(Home Team in Caps)
PHILADELPHIA 5, NY Rangers 2 – series tied 3-3

SIMMONDS’ HAT TRICK HELPS FLYERS FORCE GAME 7
Wayne Simmonds recorded his first career playoff hat trick to help the Flyers force a Game 7 versus the Rangers.

* The Flyers and Rangers now have alternated wins in each of the first six games of this series.

* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Simmonds became the first player to post a hat trick in a game in which his team faced elimination since April 18, 2012, when Penguins forward Jordan Staal scored three goals in a 10-3 victory over the Flyers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

* Elias also says that Simmonds became the fifth player in Flyers history to register a hat trick in a game in which the team faced elimination, following Rosaire Paiement (1968), Rick MacLeish (1975), Brian Propp (1981) and Peter Zezel (1986).

* Simmonds has recorded one hat trick in the regular season: April 20, 2013 at CAR (3-1—4). He now has 8-9—17 in 29 career playoff games, including 4-1—5 this year.

* Steve Mason made 34 saves to improve to 6-2-1 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .931 save percentage in 11 career appearances versus the Rangers (regular season and playoffs).

* Claude Giroux posted 1-2—3, matching his total output from the first five games of the series. He now has 23-38—61 in 56 career postseason games.

* Making his first appearance of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Erik Gustafsson recorded his second career game-winning goal (regular season and playoffs). He now has 2-1—3 in eight career postseason contests.

* The Flyers went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and now have killed off 20 consecutive shorthanded situations dating to Game 2.

* The Flyers won Game 6 when facing elimination for the eighth time in franchise history (8-10). They have rallied from a 3-2 series deficit three previous times: 1989 DF vs. PIT (trailed 3-2), 2010 CSF vs. BOS (trailed 3-0) and 2011 CQF vs. BUF (trailed 3-2).

LOOSE PUCKS
With the Flyers’ victory, home teams facing elimination (at any point in a series) improved to 32-16 (.667) since 2011 . . . The Rangers now have dropped 12 consecutive games in which they have held a series lead. They have not won a series in fewer than seven games since the 2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals (4-1 vs. NJ) . . . Defenseman Dan Girardi played in 70th career postseason game, all with the Rangers, to tie Mark Messier and Jeff Beukeboom for sixth on the franchise’s all-time list . . . Rangers goaltender Cam Talbot stopped all five shots he faced in relief of Henrik Lundqvist in his playoff debut.

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Philadelphia @ NY Rangers, series tied 3-3, 7:00 p.m., NBCSN, TSN2, RDS, CSN-PH, MSG
Minnesota @ Colorado, series tied 3-3, 9:30 p.m., CNBC, TSN2, RDS, FS-N, ALT
Los Angeles @ San Jose, series tied 3-3, 10:00 p.m., NBCSN, CBC, RDS2, PRIME, CSN-CA

thanks to the NHL PR department for the above information

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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