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Syl Apps of the Toronto Maple Leafs after Game 7 of the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals

A game seven is the final game of a best of seven series. This game can occur in the postseasons for Major League Baseball (MLB) (League Championship Series and World Series), the National Basketball Association (NBA) (all rounds of the NBA playoffs), and the National Hockey League (NHL) (all rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs). The game is generally played at the site of the team holding the home advantage across the series.

The nature of a best-of-seven series requires that the series be tied 3–3 going into game seven, such that either team can take the series (advancing further in the playoffs or winning the championship) by winning the game. Because of this decisive nature, game sevens add an element of drama to their sports. Aside from North American sports leagues, game sevens are also a fixture in many other sports around the world, mostly in baseball, basketball, and ice hockey leagues. Most codes of football do not employ a best-of-seven series (or any best-of-x series in general), hence game sevens are not played in those leagues. Some playoff rounds (such as MLB's current Division Series) are played in a best of five format, such that game 5 has similar qualities to those described above, though the suspense and drama have less time to build in a shorter series. Furthermore, the World Series of 1903, 1919, 1920, and 1921 were played in a best of nine format, though none of the four went to a decisive game 9.

The game seven is comparable to a final or to a single game in a single-elimination tournament or to a one-game playoff. A championship series' game seven is equivalent to the Super Bowl game in the National Football League in that the game's winner is the league's champion for the season.

Examples[]

Ice hockey[]

Kontinental Hockey League[]

In the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) playoffs, game seven can occur in all playoff series. The KHL playoffs' final series, the Gagarin Cup Final, has seen five series decided in game seven.[1]

The game sevens where the Gagarin Cup was awarded are:

Year Winning team Losing team Score Site Notes
2009[1] Ak Bars Kazan Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1–0 TatNeft Arena, Kazan Inaugural season for the Kontinental Hockey League after it was reorganized from the former Russian Superleague.
2010[1] Ak Bars Kazan HC MVD 0–2 Balashikha Arena, Balashikha
2012[1] HC Dynamo Moscow Avangard Omsk 0–1 Arena Omsk, Omsk
2014[1] Metallurg Magnitogorsk HC Lev Praha 7–4 Arena Metallurg, Magnitogorsk
2016[2] HC CSKA Moscow 1–3 CSKA Arena, Moscow

Liiga[]

In Liiga (or Finnish Elite League) playoffs, game seven can occur in all playoff series except the wild-card rounds. The Liiga playoffs' final series has seen several series decided in game seven.

The game sevens where Liiga awarded gold medals and the Kanada-malja include:

Year Winning team Losing team Score Site Notes
2014 Oulun Kärpät Tappara 1–0 (OT) Oulun Energia Areena, Oulu [3]
2015 Oulun Kärpät Tappara 2–1 (2OT) Oulun Energia Areena, Oulu [4]
2019 HPK Oulun Kärpät 2–1 (OT) Oulun Energia Areena, Oulu [5]

National Hockey League[]

In the National Hockey League's (NHL) Stanley Cup playoffs, game seven can occur in all playoff series.[6] The Stanley Cup became the NHL's de facto championship trophy in 1926, and the league instituted the best-of-seven series starting in the 1938–39 season. No Stanley Cup Finals game seven has ever ended with a 1–0 score.

The game sevens where the Stanley Cup was awarded are:

Year Winning team Losing team Score Site Notes
1942[7] Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings 3–1 Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario Toronto came back down 0–3 in the series to win the Stanley Cup. The Leafs were the first team in North American professional sports to win a playoff series after trailing 0–3.[8] It remains the only time in the Stanley Cup Finals where a team won a championship series after trailing 0–3.
1945[9] Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings 2–1 Olympia Stadium, Detroit Detroit was down 0–3 in the series and rallied to force game seven before losing.
1950[10] Detroit Red Wings New York Rangers 4–3 (2OT) Olympia Stadium, Detroit Longest game seven in a Stanley Cup Finals.
1954[11] Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens 2–1 (OT) Olympia Stadium, Detroit Most recent Stanley Cup Finals game seven to be decided in overtime.
1955[12] Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens 3–1 Olympia Stadium, Detroit Red Wings' last Stanley Cup victory until 1997. The home team won all games of the series.
1964[13] Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings 4–0 Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario First game seven that ended in a shutout.
1965[14] Montreal Canadiens Chicago Black Hawks 4–0 Montreal Forum, Montreal The home team won all games of the series.
1971[15] Montreal Canadiens Chicago Black Hawks 3–2 Chicago Stadium, Chicago The home team won all games of the series except for game 7. Chicago led 2–0 in the deciding game at home before allowing three unanswered goals and losing the game.
1987[16] Edmonton Oilers Philadelphia Flyers 3–1 Northlands Coliseum, Edmonton, Alberta Flyers rallied from a 3–1 series deficit to force a decisive game, but lost.
1994[17] New York Rangers Vancouver Canucks 3–2 Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, New York City Canucks represented Canada's last Stanley Cup Finals appearance until 2004 Calgary Flames. Rangers won their first Stanley Cup since 1940.
2001[18] Colorado Avalanche New Jersey Devils 3–1 Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado Long-time Boston Bruins captain Ray Bourque won the Stanley Cup in the last of his 22 seasons in the NHL.
2003[19] New Jersey Devils Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 3–0 Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey The home team won all games of the series. This was Ken Daneyko's final playing season with New Jersey, as he retired after the Devils' Cup win.
2004[20] Tampa Bay Lightning Calgary Flames 2–1 St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk won his Stanley Cup after 22 seasons.
2006[21] Carolina Hurricanes Edmonton Oilers 3–1 RBC Center, Raleigh, North Carolina First Stanley Cup Finals featuring two former World Hockey Association teams. The Hurricanes became the first Stanley Cup champion to miss the playoffs in the previous season and the following season. Most recent game 7 to be won by the home team. This was Rod Brind'Amour's first and only Stanley Cup in his 21-year playing career.
2009[22] Pittsburgh Penguins Detroit Red Wings 2–1 Joe Louis Arena, Detroit The home team won all games of the series, except for game 7. First time the away team won game seven of a championship round, in any major professional sport, since the 1979 World Series.
2011[23] Boston Bruins Vancouver Canucks 4–0 Rogers Arena, Vancouver The home team won all games of the series, except for game 7. Not only does Boston became the first city to win all four major sports championships in the 21st century, but also Vancouver failed to become the third city to win the Stanley Cup after hosting the Olympic Games the previous year.
2019[24] St. Louis Blues Boston Bruins 4–1 TD Garden, Boston St. Louis becomes the last of the five surviving teams from the 1967 NHL expansion to win the Stanley Cup. Jordan Binnington becomes the first rookie goaltender to register 16 postseason wins in NHL history. The road team won five of the seven games of the series, except for games 1 and 4. This is also the first championship for a team based in St. Louis since 2011.

Comebacks[]

This table below lists teams that, after being down three games to none, have forced a seventh game.

Further information: List of teams to overcome 3–0 series deficits

More common, and not enumerated here, are teams that have forced and won a seventh game after being down three games to one.

Further information: List of teams to overcome 3–1 series deficits

Successful[]

In only ten instances (five in major North American sports leagues) has a team been able to come back from being down 0–3 to win a series:

Series Winning team Losing team Sports league
1942 Stanley Cup Finals Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings NHL
1975 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals New York Islanders Pittsburgh Penguins NHL
2010 Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Semifinals Philadelphia Flyers Boston Bruins NHL
2012 Liiga Quarter-finals Espoo Blues KalPa Liiga
2014 Stanley Cup Western Conference Quarterfinals Los Angeles Kings San Jose Sharks NHL
2015 Gagarin Cup Western Conference Finals SKA St. Petersburg CSKA Moscow Kontinental Hockey League

Mike Richards and Jeff Carter are the only players to have been a part of two comebacks from being down 0–3, having played for both the 2009–10 Philadelphia Flyers and the 2013–14 Los Angeles Kings.

Unsuccessful[]

In the following twelve instances, teams were able to force a seventh game in a series after being down 0–3, but lost the final game:

Series Winning team Losing team Sports league
1939 Stanley Cup Semifinals Boston Bruins New York Rangers NHL
1945 Stanley Cup Finals Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings NHL
1975 Stanley Cup Semifinals Philadelphia Flyers New York Islanders NHL
2011 Stanley Cup Western Conference Quarterfinals Vancouver Canucks Chicago Blackhawks NHL
2011 Stanley Cup Western Conference Semifinals San Jose Sharks Detroit Red Wings NHL
2014 Liiga Quarterfinals SaiPa JYP Liiga
2015 Kelly Cup Eastern Conference Finals South Carolina Stingrays Toledo Walleye ECHL (ice hockey)
2024 Liiga Quarterfinals Pelicans HIFK Liiga

The New York Islanders are the only team to have twice fallen behind 0–3 and then forced a game seven in the same postseason; in the 1975 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals (which they won) and then the 1975 Stanley Cup Semifinals (which they lost).[citation needed]

Major sports leagues[]

This table summarizes the above results for the three major sports leagues in North America that play seven-game series:

Sports league Game 7 forced
after down 0–3
Wins Losses Notes
NHL 9 4 5 Has occurred twice in the Stanley Cup Finals (1–1)

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The final showdown. Game 7 look back. Kontinental Hockey League (18 April 2016).
  2. Fox, Luke (19 April 2016). Alex Semin, Metallurg win KHL championship in thrilling Game 7. Sportsnet. Rogers Digital Media.
  3. Otteluohjelma 2013–2014 (Finnish). Liiga.
  4. Otteluseuranta (Finnish). Liiga.
  5. Otteluohjelma 2018–2019 (Finnish). Liiga.
  6. Kreiser, John. "Game 7 of Final: The ultimate all-or-nothing contest", National Hockey League, June 14, 2011. 
  7. 1942 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  8. Islanders Relive Two Comebacks From 0-3 Deficits. The New York Times (22 October 2004).
  9. 1945 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  10. 1950 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  11. 1954 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  12. 1955 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  13. 1964 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  14. 1965 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  15. 1971 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  16. 1987 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  17. 1994 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  18. 2001 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  19. 2003 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  20. 2004 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  21. 2006 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  22. 2009 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  23. 2011 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.
  24. 2019 NHL Playoffs Summary. Sports Reference LLC.


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