Just about any way you slice the numbers, history is not on the Bruins' side heading into Game 7 in Vancouver.
Consider …
- There have been 15 Game 7's in Stanley Cup Final history, and the home team has won 12 of those games (.800 winning percentage).
- The Bruins are 0-4 all time in Game 7's on the road, while the Canucks are 4-2 in Game 7's at home.
- In the last 20 championship Game 7's in the NHL, NBA and MLB, the home team is 19-1. The lone win came from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final in 2009.
- Canadian NHL teams are 4-0 at home in Game 7's of the Stanley Cup Final.
- No team has ever won three Game 7's in one postseason, and Boston has already won two.
- The EA Sports simulation machine has been ridiculous. It accurately predicted winners in 13 out of 14 series this playoffs. This series, it has correctly predicted the winner of every single game thus far, and it has Vancouver winning Game 7.
- The oddsmakers at Bodog.net have the Bruins listed as plus-120 underdogs for Game 7.
While these numbers can be a bit overwhelming, they certainly don't paint a full picture. For one, there's no way to measure what Roberto Luongo is going to do when he steps on the ice. Is he going to completely wilt under pressure again, as he did in Games 3, 4 and 6 in Boston? Historical numbers won't be helping him if he can't stop the puck.
The historical data also takes away the whole spirit of competition. Do you think the fact that the Maple Leafs won a Game 7 at home in the '60s is going to affect the way David Krejci or Zdeno Chara plays? Will Tim Thomas be distracted by the fact that the Lakers won Game 7 at home against the Celtics last year? Of course not.
History also hasn't affected this year's Bruins team much. The B's had never overcome a 2-0 series deficit until they did just that against Montreal.
So as far as the Bruins are concerned, let the numbers stack up. Once that puck drops, they all mean absolutely nothing.
