seventh game

I have written before that of the four major sports, hockey is my least favorite.  However, as I have also written before,  Stanley Cup hockey is as exciting as any playoff sport.  And the seventh game of  a series in hockey is almost difficult to take.

My brother is a season ticket holder for the NY Rangers. Tonight he and his son went to the seventh game of the Ranger-Flyers series.  I made sure to get home in time to park myself in front of the tube for the game.

The Rangers went ahead 2-0 in the second period. In the third the Flyers dominated and scored a goal in the first several minutes. For the remainder of the then 2-1 contest the Flyers were carrying the puck and the Rangers were attempting to just hold on.  I was essentially holding my breath for the last twenty minutes.

I have sat with my brother for seventh games before and I know that being in the Garden for a seventh game is difficult to take. For those who have read The Madness of March you know that the epilogue is a recounting of a seventh game which the Rangers eventually won in double overtime.  I think I did that game as much justice as one could in describing it. It remains the most exciting sporting event I have ever witnessed either on tv or in person.

The Rangers prevailed tonight by the same score that they won that double overtime seventh game twenty years ago--2-1. I imagine the joy my brother and my nephew are feeling as they walk out of Madison Square Garden, and, myself, will begin now to inhale and exhale more regularly.  For those who wish to test the strength of your heart, there are two more game sevens being broadcast tonight on NBCSN.