Courtesy of tbo.com
TAMPA - Raymond Bourque - at long last - raising the Stanley Cup.
Luis Gonzalez, jumping in glee, watching his bloop single fall in safely, knowing that a boyhood fantasy had been fulfilled.
Willis Reed, hobbling into Madison Square Garden, inspiring a championship effort simply with his presence.
That's Game 7.
Mark Messier, willing the New York Rangers to a title and the shattering of a 54-year jinx.
Bill Mazeroski, striking a dramatic blow for the Pittsburgh Pirates - and immortality.
The Boston Celtics - especially center Bill Russell - coming up big in the clutch.
That's Game 7.
It's the stuff of dreams and legends. It's opportunity and pressure. It's nine months of season, ultimately reduced to one game. Usually, it's unforgettable.
That's what the Lightning forged with their Saturday night victory in the Stanley Cup finals. Now it's down to three periods (or more?) on Monday night in Tampa. The Lightning vs. the Calgary Flames in Game 7.
For the 13th time in NHL history, the final series has come down to a do-or-die game.
Arguably, the most memorable NHL Game 7 occurred on May 18, 1971, when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 at Chicago Stadium.
The Blackhawks led 2-0 and seemed on the verge of putting it away when Bobby Hull's shot struck the crossbar. The game turned when Montreal's Jacques Lemaire fired a shot from center ice that slipped past Chicago goaltender Tony Esposito.
Henri Richard, who had been benched earlier in the series, scored two goals to provide the victory. The real hero, though, might have been Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ken Dryden, the Montreal goaltender who stopped a point- blank shot by Chicago's Jim Pappin.
The top snapshot? The most hair-raising moment?
For sentimental NHL fans, it was 2001, when the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1. Bourque had spent most of his career - 1,518 games from 1979 to 2000 - in championship frustration with the Boston Bruins. He was traded to the Avalanche. And in 2001, he finally got his Stanley Cup.
It was the hockey version of Ernie Banks winning the World Series, Dan Marino capturing the Super Bowl or John Stockton emerging victorious in the NBA finals.
And maybe another version of that moment will unfold Monday night.
Tampa Bay's Dave Andreychuk has played in 1,597 regular-season games, the most ever without a Stanley Cup championship. Monday night will be his 162nd NHL playoff game.
``People root for teams, of course, but they also gravitate to stories like Raymond Bourque,'' ABC-TV play-by-play broadcaster Gary Thorne said. ``Those are moments that make things so memorable and special. That image [of Bourque bench-pressing the Stanley Cup with glee] is one you'll never forget.''
Gonzalez, the former Jefferson High player who plays left field for the Arizona Diamondbacks, knows he never will forget his moment in the 2001 World Series.
The Diamondbacks had just tied the New York Yankees in the ninth inning of Game 7. The bases were loaded. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera was on the mound. Up stepped Gonzalez, who had always dreamed of being in such a situation.
In those dreams, he always hit a home run. This time, it was a bloop single.
``There's no feeling like it,'' Gonzalez would say later. ``Everyone should experience something like that once in their life.''
Mazeroski knows the feeling, too. At the 1960 World Series, his ninth-inning homer lifted the Pirates past the Yankees 10-9 in Game 7. He was one of the best second baseman of his generation. He had 2,016 career hits. He was an eight-time All-Star. In 2001, he was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame.
Still, if you mention Bill Mazeroski, one thing always comes to mind.
The home run in Game 7.
``At that moment, I thought I had hit a home run to win a game and end the World Series,'' Mazeroski once said. ``I had no idea it was something people would still be talking about years and years later. No idea.''
Game 7.
Ask Messier how he's greeted in New York, after leading the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup since 1940. Ask Reed, too, if a day goes by when somebody doesn't remind him of 1970, when he played hurt and scored two quick buckets to ignite the Knicks past the Los Angeles Lakers.
That's Game 7. Memories and moments.
Monday night, the Lightning and Flames will experience it firsthand.
TAMPA - Raymond Bourque - at long last - raising the Stanley Cup.
Luis Gonzalez, jumping in glee, watching his bloop single fall in safely, knowing that a boyhood fantasy had been fulfilled.
Willis Reed, hobbling into Madison Square Garden, inspiring a championship effort simply with his presence.
That's Game 7.
Mark Messier, willing the New York Rangers to a title and the shattering of a 54-year jinx.
Bill Mazeroski, striking a dramatic blow for the Pittsburgh Pirates - and immortality.
The Boston Celtics - especially center Bill Russell - coming up big in the clutch.
That's Game 7.
It's the stuff of dreams and legends. It's opportunity and pressure. It's nine months of season, ultimately reduced to one game. Usually, it's unforgettable.
That's what the Lightning forged with their Saturday night victory in the Stanley Cup finals. Now it's down to three periods (or more?) on Monday night in Tampa. The Lightning vs. the Calgary Flames in Game 7.
For the 13th time in NHL history, the final series has come down to a do-or-die game.
Arguably, the most memorable NHL Game 7 occurred on May 18, 1971, when the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 at Chicago Stadium.
The Blackhawks led 2-0 and seemed on the verge of putting it away when Bobby Hull's shot struck the crossbar. The game turned when Montreal's Jacques Lemaire fired a shot from center ice that slipped past Chicago goaltender Tony Esposito.
Henri Richard, who had been benched earlier in the series, scored two goals to provide the victory. The real hero, though, might have been Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ken Dryden, the Montreal goaltender who stopped a point- blank shot by Chicago's Jim Pappin.
The top snapshot? The most hair-raising moment?
For sentimental NHL fans, it was 2001, when the Colorado Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-1. Bourque had spent most of his career - 1,518 games from 1979 to 2000 - in championship frustration with the Boston Bruins. He was traded to the Avalanche. And in 2001, he finally got his Stanley Cup.
It was the hockey version of Ernie Banks winning the World Series, Dan Marino capturing the Super Bowl or John Stockton emerging victorious in the NBA finals.
And maybe another version of that moment will unfold Monday night.
Tampa Bay's Dave Andreychuk has played in 1,597 regular-season games, the most ever without a Stanley Cup championship. Monday night will be his 162nd NHL playoff game.
``People root for teams, of course, but they also gravitate to stories like Raymond Bourque,'' ABC-TV play-by-play broadcaster Gary Thorne said. ``Those are moments that make things so memorable and special. That image [of Bourque bench-pressing the Stanley Cup with glee] is one you'll never forget.''
Gonzalez, the former Jefferson High player who plays left field for the Arizona Diamondbacks, knows he never will forget his moment in the 2001 World Series.
The Diamondbacks had just tied the New York Yankees in the ninth inning of Game 7. The bases were loaded. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera was on the mound. Up stepped Gonzalez, who had always dreamed of being in such a situation.
In those dreams, he always hit a home run. This time, it was a bloop single.
``There's no feeling like it,'' Gonzalez would say later. ``Everyone should experience something like that once in their life.''
Mazeroski knows the feeling, too. At the 1960 World Series, his ninth-inning homer lifted the Pirates past the Yankees 10-9 in Game 7. He was one of the best second baseman of his generation. He had 2,016 career hits. He was an eight-time All-Star. In 2001, he was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame.
Still, if you mention Bill Mazeroski, one thing always comes to mind.
The home run in Game 7.
``At that moment, I thought I had hit a home run to win a game and end the World Series,'' Mazeroski once said. ``I had no idea it was something people would still be talking about years and years later. No idea.''
Game 7.
Ask Messier how he's greeted in New York, after leading the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup since 1940. Ask Reed, too, if a day goes by when somebody doesn't remind him of 1970, when he played hurt and scored two quick buckets to ignite the Knicks past the Los Angeles Lakers.
That's Game 7. Memories and moments.
Monday night, the Lightning and Flames will experience it firsthand.
