Hockey Goalie Leg

NHL - In a Stunning Grand Finale, the Canes Seize the Series

The Carolina Canes made an astonishing comeback during game 7 of their series against the New Jersey Devils. The series had been a close one, and the Canes needed to repeat their resounding game 6 victory to move on to the second round. With 80 seconds left on the clock, they did it; two goals later, the score leapt from 3-2, Devils, to 4-3, Canes.

Carolina changed its top line late in the series, placing Ray Whitney, Eric Staal, and Chad LaRose together on the ice. The combination brought three out of the four Carolina goals in game 6, and two of the four Carolina goals in game 7.

By the third period, however, the Devils were ahead 3-2. Both teams scored in the first period; in fact, both teams scored within the first three minutes. Just a minute after the face off, the Canes scored; Tuomo Ruutu fired off a shot from the right circle, assisted by Matt Cullen and Dennis Seidenberg.

A minute and a half later, the Devils tied the score, when Zach Parise passed the puck to New Jersey Captain Jamie Langenbrunner for a goal. Then the Devils moved ahead. Jay Pandolfo scored another goal in the first, with an excellent set up by linemates Brendan Shanahan and John Madden that allowed Pandolfo to shoot past Carolina goaltender Cam Ward.

The Canes managed to comeback briefly in the second, with Ray Whitney assisted by Eric Staal and Chad LaRose, but minutes later the Devils scored yet again on a power play. Brian Rolston’s power play goal combined with goaltender Matt Brodeur’s saves against Carolina’s power play seemed cement the Devils’ 3-2 win for the game.

But the Devils did not reckon on Jussi Jokenen and Staal. With 1:20 left in the game, Jokenen slammed home a shot from low in the right circle, sliding the puck between Brodeur’s legs. The shot tied the game. But the Canes weren’t done.

The teams seemed to face their third overtime in the series, until Staal, picking up speed along the right wing, fired the puck past Brodeur’s defense for the winning goal of the game. Staal scored with only 32 seconds left in the game, the latest game 7 goal in NHL history.

The two goals occurred within 48 seconds of each other.

The response: stunned silence.

The Devils were left trying to grasp their loss as the Canes celebrated.

"This one will definitely stick with me for a while, only because we had plenty of opportunities to put the game away and get a two-goal lead," said Devils player John Madden. "To have, in the matter of a minute and half, things turn; it's unreal. Crazy."

On the other side, Staal commiserated. "I think a lot of them were in shock, as they should be," Staal said. "I would be if it was the other way around. It was a great series. It was a battle all the way through. We fought hard, they fought hard, a couple of overtime games, a lot of one-goal games. It was a fight to the finish. Two great goalies. It was one of the best series I've ever been a part of."

This is one game 7 neither team will forget.

About the Author

Cindy Ferguson is a high-ranking sports writer, currently writing reviews on the NHL for the sports betting industry. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, making sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.

Guide to Betting NHL Hockey

The NHL Lockout during the 2004-2005 season created many rule changes above the ice and the gambler was affected by one of those changes. The elimination of ties and the new shootout format to decide games has thus ended the point spread in hockey and instead created the moneyline. Hockey is now like baseball, where you just have to win the game and do not have to worry about covering a spread.

Unlike baseball, the moneyline in dealing with Hockey Odds is based on the strength of the team in whole, and not just the strength of today's starting pitcher. But hockey is similar to baseball in that a big favorite may force you to lay 2-1 odds, instead of the traditional -110 that can be found in football and basketball. With the talent gap wide between teams in the 2005-2006 season, the favorites have risen and some have reached the -500 mark. This would mean, one would have to bet $500 on a favorite and if the team won the game, one would collect a total of $600, making a profit of just $100, or 20 percent of your investment. I would avoid laying the big of number because everybody in this league is a professional and anything can happen on a given night.

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I feel that the best way to beat hockey is to play slight favorites or underdogs. If you play underdogs, you just have to break even in the W-L column to produce a profit. An example would be playing two teams at +130, and betting $100 on each team. If you would win one game and lose one game, you would make a profit or $30.

The following is a list of key factors to look for when making a wager:

1) Who is between the pipes for the two teams playing. A goalie is the single most important player on the ice and his performance translates to the success of a team on that night. Often times favorable situations occur when a back-up goalie gets the start. I would encourage you to check local papers each day for any information about who will be starting in net.

2) Teams playing consecutive games on the road. This is one of the best spots to play a home team when the visitors played the night before in a different city. They do not often get into town until early the next morning and usually do not schedule a practice in order to keep the legs fresh. Usually the visitors come in tired and slow and it affects their performance. Go against them teams and you will earn a profit.

3) Strength vs. Finesse Teams. As in any sports, defense wins and hockey is no different. While a finesse team makes crisp passes and is fun to watch, they usually do not win games against a hard checking physical team.

About the Author

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