Game 7 is a fitting end to classic West series
CHICAGO — No matter how Game 7 plays out tonight, Joel Quenneville will at least appreciate the show the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings have put on the Western Conference finals.
For pure theater, it’s hard to match this one.
A wild series between the past two Stanley Cup champions will come to a close in Chicago to decide who will advance to the Cup finals against the New York Rangers.
“The quality of the hockey has been fun to watch,” said Quenneville, the Blackhawks’ coach, “and (it has) been fun to be a part of it at the same time.”
The Blackhawks won a double-overtime thriller at home and took Game 6 on Friday night in Los Angeles 4-3 to wipe out a 3-1 series deficit, sending the series back home.
Now, it’s win-or-go home for both teams.
The Kings, who dropped the first three games against San Jose in the opening round and went the distance with Anaheim, hope to become the first team to win three Game 7s on the way to the Stanley Cup finals.
“We’re using all our lifelines so far, and we plan on getting the job done yet again,” right wing Justin Williams said.
If the Blackhawks win tonight, it will be the second straight year they advanced after falling behind 3-1 in a series.
Last year, they dropped three of the first four against Detroit in the conference semifinals before
Stanley Cup
Daily line
taking Game 7 in overtime. Chicago took out Los Angeles in the conference finals before defeating Boston for its second Stanley Cup in four years.
The Blackhawks looked like they were just about out of it after dropping Game 4. Instead, they jumped back into it with two thrilling victories, pushing the series to the limit.
“I really think this series deserves a Game 7, and I think the crowd deserves it, too,” Chicago defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said. “I think it’s going to be a great finish to a great series.”
Entering the final game, both teams can lay claim to having excelled in similar situations.
The Kings are 6-0 in elimination games this year. The Blackhawks have won nine of their past 11 elimination games.
“We know we have some guys that can make plays and have some ability to score,” Quenneville said. “We’re playing a real good team that has a lot of similar attributes as we do, but we have to give our guys (credit for) what they’ve done, what they’ve accomplished and how they handle these situations.”
It’s coming down to one game after Chicago pulled out two nail-biters.
There was a double-overtime victory in Game 5 at home with Michal Handzus scoring the winner, and Game 6 was about as tense. The Blackhawks prevailed behind a late surge after the Kings took a 3-2 lead, with Patrick Kane setting up Duncan Keith for the tying goal and then scoring in the winner with 3:45 left.
“We know that we can still beat this Chicago Blackhawks team,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said, “but we also know it’s not going to be easy. They’re going to have their best game in this Game 7, especially in their home rink.”