The 2011 Stanley Cup Final is going the distance -- and that's something that's been happening a lot lately.
Should the Bruins win Game 7 of the Final on Wednesday night in Vancouver (8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS), they would become the first team in NHL history to win three Game 7s in one postseason en route to the Stanley Cup.
Yet that just points to a bigger trend where the Stanley Cup Final, specifically, has been stretched to the limit.
There have been 15 Stanley Cup Finals that have been determined by a Game 7, with five of them occurring since 2001.
In addition, this is the third time since 2003 that a Game 7 has been set up by home teams winning each of the first six games.
The last two times that has occurred, the results have varied.
In 2003 the New Jersey Devils won their fourth-straight home game to defeat the Ducks, 4-3, for the Stanley Cup. Yet in 2009, Pittsburgh finally found a way to win at Joe Louis Arena -- right when it mattered the most. The Penguins won their first road game of the series against Detroit in Game 7 to capture the Cup.
The Bruins will look to follow the footsteps of the Penguins and disappoint the expected sell-out Rogers Arena crowd Wednesday night.
The Canucks, meanwhile, will look to emulate the Devils of 2003, as there are a couple similarities between the two teams.
In Game 6 of 2003, New Jersey franchise goalie Martin Brodeur was pulled against Anaheim in an eventual 5-2 win by the Ducks. Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo was pulled in Game 6 Monday night -- after allowing 3 goals before the 10 minute mark -- in what was an eventual 5-2 win by the Bruins.
Brodeur and Luongo have been teammates on the Canadian Olympic team, with Luongo taking over the reins during a 2010 run to the gold medal.
In 2003, Brodeur rebounded from his Game 6 performance by recording his third home shutout of the series in Game 7 to lead the Devils to the Stanley Cup.
Luongo already has two home shutouts in the 2011 Final. Can he follow Brodeur and make it three?
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