Detroit @ San Jose: Game Seven Preview

You have to be kidding me, Blogger.  It's pretty difficult to update a daily blog when Blogger is "unavailable" for an entire day.  Well, here was the game seven preview I had prepared for last night's Detroit vs. San Jose game, but never had the chance to post thanks to Blogger.  I'm not sure it makes much sense to post it at this point, and clearly my bold prediction was wrong, but it is what it is.  Sorry for the interruption of posts.

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What do the years 1942, 1775 and 2010 all have in common?  These years represent the only three times in NHL history that a team has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.  The Toronto Maple Leafs did it in 1942 against the Detroit Red Wings, the New York Islanders did it in 1975 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and, of course, the Philadelphia Flyers did it last year against the Boston Bruins.

According to NHL.com:

Completing the comeback is an extreme rarity in the NHL -- the three successful clubs represent just 1.8% of the 167 clubs that have attempted it -- as well as in the other major professional sports leagues. Just one club in the history of Major League Baseball has done it, the Boston Red Sox in 2004 against the New York Yankees, and no club in the National Basketball Association has accomplished the feat.

Clearly, the odds are not in favor of the Detroit Red Wings in tonight's game.

When asked by a reporter after Detroit's game six victory, "How special would it be to see this team comeback from a 3-0 hole and finish them off?" Gordie Howe responded with "Expect it."

I am most certainly in no position to argue with Gordie Howe, one of the greatest hockey players of all time, so I'm going to have to agree with him on this one.  I'm going to take the 1.8% odds and say that Detroit wins game seven tonight.  It doesn't help that they're going to have to do it on the road at the Shark Tank, but if Philadelphia could do it last year, I don't see why the Red Wings can't do it this year.  The Detroit roster is stacked with players who have game seven experience.  A staggering 22 players on Detroit have played in a game seven, compared to only 11 players on San Jose with game seven experience.