Alright, folks, here’s how we finished up:
| Doogie | Hoop | Matt | Gerard | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|
|
|
| 4-1 | 4-1 | 4-2 | 4-1 | 4-2 |
| 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | W-L |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | GO |
| 8-7 | 11-4 | 7-8 | 8-7 | W-L |
| 36 | 28 | 35 | 36 | GO |
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | PS |
You may notice the extra row at the end. Because Gerard and I perfectly tied, the second tiebreaker had to come out, and I arbitrarily selected perfect series. Not because it gave me second place (that was a happy accident), but because it was the only damned thing I had left that I’d tracked.
That sixth game was an absolute classic. It’s a bit of a shame, in a way, that the final goal was a touch anticlimactic, with the delayed reaction of everyone in the building not named Patrick Kane. Then again, there’s something pure and enjoyable about Kane’s whoop of joy being the only sign that the ‘Hawks had just won the Cup for damned near five seconds. Still, the game itself was entertaining pretty much from start to finish: even when the ‘Hawks tried to sit on their lead in the third, they got a few quality chances, and did more by sound positioning than they did by playing that Godforsaken dump and chase that most teams do when they defend a late lead.
The goaltending was awful, sure (neither ‘keeper had a SV% over .900, and the series was the third-highest scoring Final of all-time), but overall, I can’t complain one bit about the quality of the series. What many in the hockey world –including three of us — expected to be a coronation turned out to be a heck of a series with a number of lead changes, history in the making (Briere’s 12 points, one off Gretzky’s record, and 30 points on the playoffs, besting Brian Propp for the Flyers record), and defining moments, the kind of series that wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago (remember the slogfests of the early aughts?). Plus, Game 6 was apparently the highest-rated NHL game since the mid-70s. It did the unthinkable and outdid the NHL’s dream matchups of the last two years in pretty much every way. It’s too bad the salary cap is going to ravage this Chicago team over the summer: I’d love to see more of this next year.
