Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Ready For Game 7

05/24/2017 at 9:13pm EDT

from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,

Guy Boucher remembers. “It still hurts, I’ll be honest with you,” he says 2,188 days after the fact. “That’s the non-excitement part of it.”

Game 7. Sixty minutes, and perhaps a few more, to decide who plays for the Stanley Cup.

There’s magic built into that equation because every single person with a stake in the outcome has literally spent time in a driveway or basement dreaming about a chance like this, and now it’s at hand. But … there is also a but.

“I look back, you know, it was the Boston Bruins back then,” said Boucher, the Ottawa Senators coach, of his previous dance across a tight-rope with no safety net. “It was a tough game. It was 0-0 with seven minutes left in the game. It was quite a game and a lot of pressure. What I remember most is the excitement of an opportunity that very few people get in their lives, and I’m part of that.

“I can’t be blessed more than that.”

That’s how the Senators felt coming into Pittsburgh for one last shot at the defending champs. Blessed. They have had a crazy season – one marked by personal torment and collective triumph – and it’s all on the line Thursday at PPG Paints Arena.

continued

added 9:22pm, from Kevin Allen of USA TODAY,

Here are the five factors that dictate who will win when the puck drops in Game 7:

1. Who dictates the tempo: The Penguins want to play fast and furious. Their speed and ability to make plays while jetting up ice are what carried them to the Stanley Cup championship last season.

The Senators are a defensive team, wanting to create congestion in the neutral zone and make the Penguins feel like they are fighting heavy traffic. They aim to slow the pace, create turnovers and turn those turnovers into scoring chances.

2. Craig Anderson vs. Matt Murray: It’s hard to say whether a goalie battle favors one team or another. But Anderson played a major role in forcing Game 7 by making 45 saves in Ottawa’s 2-1 win in Game 6.

Anderson, 36, has given up only one goal against the Penguins in four of the six games in this series, stopping 167 of 178 shots (.938 save percentage).

Murray, meanwhile, only regained the starter’s job three games ago. In his three starts, Murray has given up four goals, stopping 77 of 81 shots (.951). Murray was the starting goalie during last year's run to the title.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

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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