Home ice not on Penguins' side in Game 7s

PITTSBURGH — A Game 7 in a playoff series can be filled with excitement and high energy, but the high-stakes nature of the deciding game also makes for high anxiety.

Even if a team is favored to win, a Game 7 can often be decided by a bounce, a penalty, or in some cases, an improbable goal from an unlikely hero.

For those reasons, picking a winner in a Game 7 is in some ways a flip of the coin.

Even for a team lucky enough to have earned home ice advantage, playing at home in the final game of the series doesn't translate to a "sure win."

The reality is, there are no assurances in a Game 7.

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The Penguins are 9-7 all-time in such pivotal games, but they've only won three of the 10 they have played in Pittsburgh.

Last May, their win over Tampa Bay in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final snapped a three-game home Game 7 losing streak.

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Perhaps their most crushing loss in a Game 7 came in the second round in 1993, when David Volek's overtime goal stunned the Civic Arena crowd, and ended the Penguins' bid for a third consecutive Stanley Cup.

Their greatest Game 7 triumph came in June of 2009, when they beat the Red Wings to bring the Stanley Cup back to Pittsburgh for a third time. That cup-clinching win came on the road.

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Hosting a Game 7 has its advantages, but it also comes with pressure, and one glance at the Pens' Game 7 record at home will provide proof that home ice is never a guarantee of victory.

Cox Media Group