If the Red Wings hope to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, then win the darn thing, then they'd better do it without having to rely on winning an overtime game at home -- because they stink at that.
Overtime games on the road? Not so bad. But when it comes to playoff OT's as the home team, the Red Wings have been miserable, for whatever reason.
There was the goal, way back in 1964, by Toronto defenseman Bobby Baun (later a Red Wing), which broke Red Wings' fans hearts, but not before Baun broke his ankle. It came in Game 6 of the Finals, the Wings leading the series 3-2 and poised to win their first Cup since 1955.
Baun, a stay-at-home defenseman who had suffered an ankle injury so serious that it was later determined to have been broken, wristed a shot from the point that somehow slipped past Terry Sawchuck in overtime, giving the Leafs a 4-3 win and enabling them to send the series back to Toronto. The Leafs won Game 7, denying the Wings the Cup.
Two years later, in the '66 Finals, Montreal's Henri Richard and Detroit's Gary Bergman -- and the puck -- all slid ominously toward Red Wings goalie Roger Crozier in overtime of Game 6 at Olympia. The two players crashed into Crozier, and the puck dribbled into the net with them. Game, series, and Cup to the Canadiens. Till the day he died, Bergman insisted Richard illegally guided the puck into the net.
I can recall a lot more.
There were two OT losses to St. Louis at JLA in 1984 (one of which I attended). There was Eddie Olczyk keeping the underdog Leafs alive with a game-winner in 1988 (the Wings won Game 6 in Toronto). There was a Jari Kurri dagger for the Oilers in '88. The Leafs struck again in Game 7 in 1993 -- Nikolai Boreschevski. The Avalanche grabbed Game 1 of the '96 Western Finals -- Mike Keane.
Want me to go on?
Bobby Baun -- the man who started it all.
Even in 2002, when the Wings won the Cup, there were a couple more OT losses at home. The Avs got them in Game 5 of the Western Finals, and the Hurricanes stole Game 1 of the Finals on an early Ron Francis game-winner.
This year, of course, there was Scott Niedermayer's winner in Game 2 on Sunday.
My unofficial tally is something like four wins against 14 losses in playoff overtimes at home, beginning with Baun's stunner in 1964. The wins? There was a Slava Kozlov goal to oust the Blackhawks in 1995's conference final. Steve Yzerman's now classic slapper to win Game 7 of the 1996 conference semis. Kris Draper's goal to cap a thrilling comeback in Game 2 of the 1998 Cup Finals. And last year, when the Wings won Game 1 against Edmonton (I forgot who scored).
It's a miserable record, and one that I've been aware of ever since the early-1990s. There may be more losses than I can remember, but I know there aren't any more wins. That's why I'm always more confident when the Red Wings play an OT game on the road. Their record in such contests ain't too bad.
I remember Sergei Fedorov keeping the Wings alive with a winner in Game 6 against the (then) Minnesota North Stars in 1992. Vladimir Konstantinov floated one past Ed Belfour to beat the Blackhawks in Chicago in 1995. Brendan Shanahan winning a game in Anaheim in '97, and in St. Louis in '98. Fredrick Olausson beating Patty Roy to win Game 3 of the conference finals in 2002. And others, probably -- plus this year's OT triumphs in Calgary (Johan Franzen) and in San Jose (Mathieu Schneider).
So now you know -- in case you haven't been keeping track. If it seems like the Red Wings are always coming out on the losing end of OT playoff games at home, it's because they are -- about 85% of the time.
You think the league would allow the teams to switch jersey colors the next time JLA sees an OT playoff game?
No comments:
Post a Comment