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According to the venerable Elias Sports Bureau, the San Jose Sharks’ Western Conference semifinal victory over the Detroit Red Wings marked the first time in NHL history that six games in a playoff series were decided by one goal. They were one empty-netter in Game 6 away from it having been all seven.

So you can, in fact, quantify that the Sharks and Red Wings played one of the most thrilling semifinal series in Stanley Cup Playoff history.

Or you can simply listen to Coach Todd McLellan’s non-scientific analysis:

“Hell of a series, hell of a game.”

Coming up, a look back at seven reasons why San Jose vs. Detroit was an instant classic; from Datsyuk to Jumbo to Thursday night’s 3-2 Game 7 win for the black and teal.

Who the [expletive] is Benn Ferriero?

True story: We were at the Irish Channel in D.C. after a Washington Capitals’ home game, watching the end of the third period of Game 1. As should be the case in any quality hockey bar or pub, a pool was formed to pick the player who’d score the game-winning goal. We drafted names in several rounds until everyone had their picks and pooled their cash.

Then this happened at 7:03 of overtime:

Turned out no one actually drafted Benn Ferriero of the Sharks.

Seriously. Douglas Murray and Ruslan Salei were picked, but Ferriero wasn’t.

Refunds all around.

The Jumbo Effect

The difference for Joe Thornton in this series than in previous postseason: When he didn’t hit the score sheet, he wasn’t invisible. He made a difference on the forecheck, and especially on defense. He was a presence in a way some of his other well-known teammates (Heatley, Marleau) were not during stretches of the series.

When he did hit the score sheet, it was dramatic. His three assists in Game 3 gave Devin Setoguchi his first playoff hat trick, and Thornton made a hell of a play on the OT winner:

In Game 7, Thornton again found Setoguchi for a first-period power-play goal that gave the Sharks some vital momentum on home ice.

The level of adulation directed at Jumbo from the media and peers was palpable. He’s having an MVP-level postseason.

Game 4 and The Comeback

At the time, the Red Wings’ roller-coaster Game 4 victory was seen as a dramatic way to stave off elimination.

Perhaps, instead, it was the Hockey Gods calling their shot: If Detroit can blow a 3-0 lead in a game, San Jose can blow one in the series, too.

Read the rest…

By Greg Wyshynski aka Puck Daddy – Yahoo Sports

http://forums.sportsjabber.net/sjforums/showthread.php?t=87206