Stanley Cup Final: Game 7 by the numbers

By Adam GretzJun 12, 2019, 1:11 PM EDT

It all comes down to one game.

Somebody is going to win the Stanley Cup on Wednesday night in Boston when the St. Louis Blues visit the Bruins in a winner-take-all Game 7 (8 p.m. ET, NBC; Live Stream) that will either produce a historic night for St. Louis (first Stanley Cup) or be a continuation of Boston’s recent professional sports dominance.

Here are some numbers and facts to help get you ready for the big night.

Game 7 Historical Numbers

• This will be the first Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final since the Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks during the 2010-11 postseason. It is only the fourth Game 7 in the salary cap era (starting with the 2005-06 season) and will join 2006 in Carolina, 2009 in Detroit, and 2011. The road team has won two of the previous three games. This will be the 17th Game 7 in Stanley Cup Final history. The home team has a 12-4 record in the previous 16 games.

• Wednesday’s game will be the first time the Bruins have ever hosted Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, and it is one of the most expensive tickets the city has ever seen for a sporting event.

• This is the sixth Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, making it the seventh time that the NHL has had that many Game 7s in a single year.

• This will be the second time the Bruins have had to play at least two Game 7s in a single postseason, joining their 2011 championship season when they played in — and won — three different Game 7s.

• Bruins captain Zdeno Chara will set an NHL record on Wednesday by playing in his 14th career Game 7, snapping a tie between him, Scott Stevens, and Patrick Roy.

• Of the previous 16 Game 7s in Stanley Cup Final history, only two of them have required overtime. Pete Babando scored for the Detroit Red Wings to lift them over the New York Rangers in 1950. Four years later Tony Leswick scored again for the Red Wings to beat the Montreal Canadiens.

• This will be the 28th Game 7 in Bruins history (most all time) where they own a 15-12 record. The Blues will be playing in their 18th Game 7 and are 9-8 in their previous games.

[NBC 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

How They Got Here This Postseason

• If the Blues are going to win the Stanley Cup they are going to have to win another game on the road, something they have been great at this postseason. So great, in fact, that they have been better on the road than they have at home. They enter Wednesday’s game with a 9-3 away record. They finished the postseason with a losing record (6-7) on home ice.

• The biggest key for the Blues will be maintaining their discipline and staying out of the penalty box due to the strength of the Bruins’ power play. Boston enters Game 7 having converted on 32.9 percent of its power plays this postseason. No team in NHL history with a minimum of 20 playoff games has ever had a higher power play percentage in a single postseason. The next best team was the 2017-18 Washington Capitals who finished at 29.3 percent. After them no other team has had a mark higher than 27 percent.

• One of the biggest factors in that power play success: Patrice Bergeron and his seven power play goals. Before this season he had scored just six postseason power play goals in his entire career.

• Among goalies with at least 20 games played in a single postseason, Tuukka Rask‘s .938 save percentage is currently the sixth highest of all time. Jordan Binnington‘s mark of .912 is 44th.

• With one point in Game 7 Ryan O'Reilly will set a new franchise record for most points in a single postseason. He enters the game tied with Bernie Federko, Doug Gilmour, and Brett Hull at the top of the list.

• If Binnington and the Blues get the win on Wednesday he will become the first rookie goalie to ever win 16 games in a single postseason. He is currently tied with Patrick Roy, Cam Ward, Ron Hextall, and Matt Murray with 15 wins. Three of the other four (Roy, Ward, Murray) won the Stanley Cup in their seasons.

• During 5-on-5 play the series has been mostly even, with the two teams separated by just a single goal. The Blues still have a slight edge in the shot attempts and scoring chance metrics, but it is very fitting that this series has required seven games given that the Blues and Bruins were two of the NHL’s best teams since the beginning of January. Since Jan. 1 they were second and third in points percentage (both trailing only the Tampa Bay Lightning) and were both in the top-seven in shot attempt differential and scoring chance differential.

More Blues-Bruins Game 7
• Blues vs. Bruins: Three keys for Game 7
• The Wraparound: It is all on line for Blues-Bruins
• Which Blues, Bruins player will get Stanley Cup handoff?
• Conn Smythe watch
• Stanley Cup roundtable discussion

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

Devils defeat Senators 5-3, clinch playoff berth

Associated PressMar 26, 2023, 12:09 AM EDT

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

NEWARK, N.J. — Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist, Mackenzie Blackwood had 25 saves and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-3 and clinched a playoff berth on Saturday night.

“It means everything to the group. I went into the dressing room after the game and just said that I was proud of the work that was put in, proud of where we got to clinch tonight to be one of three teams that have an X next to their name,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “All the work that’s been put in, the adversity they face during the year. The adversity they face right at the start of the season to where we’ve got to now.”

New Jersey could have clinched its first postseason berth since 2018 with a win, but it happened before their first intermission when the Florida Panthers lost to the New York Rangers in regulation.

“I had a lesser role then,” said Jesper Bratt, who was a rookie for the Devils in 2017-18. “I would say at a younger age, it’s kind of like you think that just because it happened your first year that it might happen every year. And then it goes pretty fast with reality that was not the case and you got to work extremely hard for it.

“It’s a really tough league. So this feels really good. It’s been a lot of years with struggle, not winning, and it’s just awesome coming out now playing these kinds of games and getting that.”

Bratt, Dawson Mercer and Dougie Hamilton scored for the Devils and Tomas Tatar scored an empty netter with 42.3 seconds left to put things away.

Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot and Mark Kastelic scored for the Senators and Dylan Ferguson had 30 saves.

Tkachuk scored his 33rd goal of the season to give the Senators the 1-0 lead 3:14 into the first period. The Devils responded midway through the first period with Hughes’ 40th goal of the season on a breakaway, going five-hole to tie it.

Nick Holden gave the puck away and Bratt scored his 31st goal of the season on the breakaway 2:24 into the second period to give New Jersey the 2-1 lead. Mercer’s 23rd of the season came just over a minute later.

The Senators answered midway through the second period when Thomas Chabot scored his 11th goal of the year to cut the deficit to 3-2. They knotted things up 16:03 into the second when Kastelic scored his fifth of the season.

“We were confident going into the third period. We felt like the game was there for our taking,” Travis Hamonic said. “They score on their chance, and that’s game.”

Hamilton scored 3:34 into the third period to give the Devils the lead. His 19th goal breaks the franchise record for goals in a season by a defenseman, surpassing Scott Stevens – the Devils great whose number is hanging in the rafters – record of 18 in 1993-94.

NOTES: This was the first game for the Devils backup Blackwood since Feb. 19. … Nico Hischier has a six-game point streak after recording two assists.

UP NEXT

Senators: Host the Florida Panthers on Monday night.

Devils: Play at New York Islanders on Monday night. —

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Kings tie franchise mark with point in 11th straight game

Associated PressMar 25, 2023, 11:36 PM EDT

Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES — Viktor Arvidsson had two goals and the Los Angeles Kings matched their longest point streak in franchise history with a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon.

Drew Doughty had a goal and an assist and Alex Iafallo netted a power-play goal for Los Angeles, which has earned points in 11 straight games for the fourth time. The last occurrence was 2013-14, when the Kings won their second Stanley Cup championship.

Joonas Korpisalo stopped 25 shots for Los Angeles.

Pierre-Luc Dubois scored for Winnipeg and Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves.

Arvidsson – who has 22 goals on the season – has four in the last four games while Doughty has found the net four times in the last five games.

Arvidsson’s first goal came 82 seconds into the game. Trevor Moore won the faceoff in the offensive zone and made a backhand pass to Arvidsson, who snapped it into the net from the back of the left faceoff circle.

He also had an empty-net goal late in the third period.

The Kings extended their lead to 2-0 five minutes into the second period on the power play. Phillip Danault made a great pass between Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon and Hellebuyck as Iafallo buried it into the short side of the net.

Doughty extended the lead to 3-1 27 seconds into the third period with a wrist shot from outside the right faceoff circle near the boards after Anze Kopitar won the faceoff.

POWERING UP

Winnipeg got its first power-play goal in seven games with 1:23 remaining in the second period when Dubois took a cross-ice pass from Kyle Connor and scored from the left faceoff circle to get the Jets within 2-1.

The Jets got a five-minute power play after Los Angeles’ Blake Lizotte received a five-minute match penalty for a vicious cross-check to Josh Morrissey’s face. The goal came with 33 seconds left in the man advantage.

NOTES: Danault picked up his 300th career point and 200th assist. … Winnipeg’s Connor set a career high for most assists in a season when he got his 47th on Dubois’ goal.

UP NEXT

Jets: Travel to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

Kings: Host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

Coyotes minority owner suspended by NHL following arrest

Associated PressMar 25, 2023, 1:45 AM EDT

Donald Page/Getty Images

NEW YORK — Arizona Coyotes minority owner Andrew Barroway was suspended indefinitely by the NHL on Friday following his arrest for domestic violence in Colorado.

Online court records show Barroway was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of second-degree assault strangulation, a felony, and third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. He appeared in court Friday to be advised of the possible charges he is facing and is scheduled to back in court on April 3.

Barroway spent Thursday night in Pitkin County Jail after police arrested him at an Aspen hotel, according to a police report obtained by the Aspen Daily News.

“The National Hockey League is aware of the arrest of Arizona Coyotes’ minority owner Andrew Barroway,” the NHL said in a statement. “Pending further information, he has been suspended indefinitely.”

The 57-year-old Barroway was arrested after a verbal altercation with his wife turned physical, according to the police report. He is prohibited from having contact with his wife, except when it involves their children, and can’t consume alcohol under a court order.

A prominent hedge fund manager, Barroway owns 5% of the Coyotes.

“We are aware of the allegation regarding Mr. Barroway and we are working with the League to gather more information,” the Coyotes said in a statement. “When we have enough information, we will have an appropriate response. Until the investigation is complete, we will have no further comment.”

Blue Jackets’ Patrik Laine out 2-4 weeks with triceps injury

Associated PressMar 24, 2023, 1:12 PM EDT

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine is out 2-4 weeks after straining a triceps muscle in practice, yet another blow to the last-place team in the NHL that has been hampered by injuries all season.

The Blue Jackets announced Laine’s absence before their home game against the New York Islanders.

They already have 454 man-games lost to injury, one of the highest numbers in the league, and have a record of 22-41-7.

Laine missed two separate stints with elbow and ankle injuries in the fall. The 24-year-old Finn is the team’s second-leading scorer with 52 points in 55 games.

Columbus has been top defenseman Zach Werenski since November because of a torn labrum and separated shoulder. Forward Sean Kuraly recently went on injured reserve with a strained left oblique muscle but is set to return Friday.