LightningStorm
Lightning/Mets/Vikings
I was just thinking how in this decade, it's been common in the NHL as well as the NBA and MLB for the road team to win a 7th game of the finals. When I first started watching sports in the 90's, this was unheard of. I found the comparison for the 10's to the 90's and 00's interesting.
For those only interested in the NHL, here's the game 7's those last 3 decades. Home winners in bold.
1994: Rangers beat Canucks
2001: Avalanche beat Devils
2003: Devils beat Ducks
2004: Lightning beat Flames
2006: Hurricanes beat Oilers
2009: Penguins beat Red Wings
2011: Bruins beat Canucks
2019: Blues beat Bruins
As you can see, the home team won the first 5, but the Penguins in 2009 started the current 3 game winning streak the road team has in SCF game 7's. Funny how the latter 2 were the Bruins winning on the road then losing at home.
But it wasn't only the NHL that started the pattern of road teams having success in finals game 7's following the Penguins win that year. Teams in the NBA and MLB started having better success in road game 7's after that too. Here's the comparison of the same time period with the other two leagues added in, before and after the 2009 SCF, with home winners again in bold.
Before
1991 World Series: Twins beat Braves
1994 Stanley Cup Finals: Rangers beat Canucks
1994 NBA Finals: Rockets beat Knicks
1997 WS: Marlins beat Indians
2001 SCF: Avalanche defeat Devils
2oo1 WS: Diamondbacks defeat Yankees
2002 WS: Angels defeat Giants
2003 SCF: Devils defeat Ducks
2004 SCF: Lightning defeat Flames
2005 NBA Finals: Spurs defeat Pistons
2006 SCF: Hurricanes defeat Oilers
So far, the home team is 11-0. But the pattern is about to reverse starting with the 2009 SCF.
2009 SCF: Penguins defeat Red Wings
2010 NBA Finals: Lakers defeat Celtics
2011 SCF: Bruins defeat Penguins
2011 WS: Cardinals defeat Rangers
2013 NBA Finals: Heat defeat Spurs
2014 WS: Giants defeat Royals
2016 NBA Finals: Cavaliers defeat Warriors
2016 WS: Cubs defeat Indians
2017 WS: Astros defeat Dodgers
2019 SCF: Blues defeat Bruins
Starting with the 2009 SCF, the road team now has a 7-3 edge, including a current 5 game winning streak. It was as if the Pens winning that game in the final year of the 2000's, after not having a road winner in any sport in the 90's and 00's up to that point, was an ominous sign of things to come for this decade. All in all I found this pattern fascinating, even being purely coincidental.
For those only interested in the NHL, here's the game 7's those last 3 decades. Home winners in bold.
1994: Rangers beat Canucks
2001: Avalanche beat Devils
2003: Devils beat Ducks
2004: Lightning beat Flames
2006: Hurricanes beat Oilers
2009: Penguins beat Red Wings
2011: Bruins beat Canucks
2019: Blues beat Bruins
As you can see, the home team won the first 5, but the Penguins in 2009 started the current 3 game winning streak the road team has in SCF game 7's. Funny how the latter 2 were the Bruins winning on the road then losing at home.
But it wasn't only the NHL that started the pattern of road teams having success in finals game 7's following the Penguins win that year. Teams in the NBA and MLB started having better success in road game 7's after that too. Here's the comparison of the same time period with the other two leagues added in, before and after the 2009 SCF, with home winners again in bold.
Before
1991 World Series: Twins beat Braves
1994 Stanley Cup Finals: Rangers beat Canucks
1994 NBA Finals: Rockets beat Knicks
1997 WS: Marlins beat Indians
2001 SCF: Avalanche defeat Devils
2oo1 WS: Diamondbacks defeat Yankees
2002 WS: Angels defeat Giants
2003 SCF: Devils defeat Ducks
2004 SCF: Lightning defeat Flames
2005 NBA Finals: Spurs defeat Pistons
2006 SCF: Hurricanes defeat Oilers
So far, the home team is 11-0. But the pattern is about to reverse starting with the 2009 SCF.
2009 SCF: Penguins defeat Red Wings
2010 NBA Finals: Lakers defeat Celtics
2011 SCF: Bruins defeat Penguins
2011 WS: Cardinals defeat Rangers
2013 NBA Finals: Heat defeat Spurs
2014 WS: Giants defeat Royals
2016 NBA Finals: Cavaliers defeat Warriors
2016 WS: Cubs defeat Indians
2017 WS: Astros defeat Dodgers
2019 SCF: Blues defeat Bruins
Starting with the 2009 SCF, the road team now has a 7-3 edge, including a current 5 game winning streak. It was as if the Pens winning that game in the final year of the 2000's, after not having a road winner in any sport in the 90's and 00's up to that point, was an ominous sign of things to come for this decade. All in all I found this pattern fascinating, even being purely coincidental.
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