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5 best NHL Stanley Cup Playoff game sevens of the 2010s

By Griffin Youngs

BOSTON, MA - MAY 13: Members of the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs shake hands following the Bruins overtime win in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 13, 2013 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MAY 13: Members of the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs shake hands following the Bruins overtime win in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 13, 2013 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) /
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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 23: Barclay Goodrow #23 of the San Jose Sharks is congratulated by teammates as Brayden McNabb #3 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates off the ice after he scored the game winning goal in overtime in Game Seven of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 23, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 23: Barclay Goodrow #23 of the San Jose Sharks is congratulated by teammates as Brayden McNabb #3 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates off the ice after he scored the game winning goal in overtime in Game Seven of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 23, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

San Jose Sharks vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 2019 First Round

Hockey is a heartbreaking sport, and its rite of passage for every true hockey fan to suffer through heartbreaking defeats before they can call themselves a hardcore fan. The Vegas Golden Knights got that in spades in the second year of their existence, as the San Jose Sharks pulled off one of the most electric single game comebacks in NHL history in Game 7 of their first round series.

The meeting between San Jose and Vegas was their second consecutive meeting in the playoffs, with the Golden Knights winning their second round series from last season in six games before advancing to the Stanley Cup Final.

Though San Jose finished the season with eight more points than Vegas in the regular season, the Golden Knights dominated most of the early portion of the series to take a 3-1 series lead, capped off with a dominant 5-0 win in Game 4. The Sharks were finally able to find a response in Game 5, then steal Game 6 in double overtime with a shorthanded goal from Tomas Hertl to force a Game 7 back in San Jose.

A Game Seven For The Ages

The first two periods of Game 7 were not much to write home about. The Golden Knights were in control again with a 2-0 lead on goals from William Karlsson and Cody Eakin, with Marc-Andre Fleury shutting down any chances that the Sharks had. Max Pacioretty snuck a bad goal through Martin Jones to make it 3-0 Vegas early in the third period, and the series looked just about over. It would take a miracle for the Sharks to even send this game to overtime.

With just under 11 minutes to go in the third period, Cody Eakin shoved Joe Pavelski out of the face-off circle, causing Pavelski to stumble into Paul Stastny while falling down. Pavelski whacked his head on the ice, knocking him briefly unconscious and opening a gash that bled onto the ice. Pavelski was helped off the ice, and Eakin was ejected with a game misconduct penalty that gave the Sharks an uninterrupted five minute power play.

Logan Couture took just six seconds to get the Sharks on the board, and the floodgates opened from there. Less than 50 seconds later, Tomas Hertl cut the lead to one and they still had over four minutes of power play time to go. The roof was ready to blow off the SAP Center, and Couture tying the game three minutes later elicited one of the loudest crowd reactions I have ever heard, shaking the cameras in the building.

Blowing a 3-0 lead on one penalty kill would have been bad enough, but unfortunately for Vegas it didn’t end there, as Kevin Labanc gave the Sharks the lead before the power play expired. It was just the second time in NHL history that a team scored four goals on a major power play in the playoffs.

That stretch alone would’ve made this game one of the greatest Game 7s of all time, but the craziness didn’t even end there. Vegas tied the game in the final minute with the goalie pulled, sending the game to overtime. Both sides had their chances, but Barclay Goodrow eventually ended the game on a breakaway to win the game and series for San Jose.

The NHL issued an apology to the Golden Knights organization after the game, citing that a five minute major on Eakin was the incorrect call. The officials who made the call on the ice were not brought back to officiate the rest of the postseason. Regardless of the call, Vegas still gave up four power play goals in four minutes, and that can’t just be blamed on officiating.

The Sharks advanced to the second round to face the Colorado Avalanche, which they won in another seven game series before bowing out to the eventual champion St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference Final.

It was only the second time in NHL history that a team came back from a three-goal deficit in the third period of a Game 7, preceded only by the next game on the list.

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