New York Rangers: Crazy Game Seven is why we all love hockey

There is no doubt that some New York Rangers fans would have been watching the madness unfold in San Jose on Tuesday night with an envious glance.

No matter the team we pledge our allegiance to, whether it is the New York Rangers or the Ottawa Senators, we all love a Game Seven and we were treated to a tilt for the ages last night.

Ecstasy, agony, pure joy, disbelief, anger, frustration, we saw all of those emotions and more on show when the San Jose Sharks came back from the dead to snatch Game Seven from the jaws of defeat and absolutely stun the Vegas Golden Knights.

Being a hockey nut in England, it is hard and very tiring to catch live Stanley Cup games but I set an early alarm and put the coffee machine into overdrive to ensure I could watch at least some of the Sharks versus Vegas match-up.

And boy, I’m glad I did.

It was exhilarating, it was shambolic, it was sublime, it was just a momentous occasion that will fuel sport talk shows and fill column inches for days to come.

It was a blockbuster ending that not even Hollywood executives could have dreamed up.

If the effects of my three cups of coffee were wearing off by the midway point of the third period, then I needn’t have worried.

Cody Eakin‘s cross check on Joe Pavelski – which controversially resulted in a five-minute major and a game misconduct call – sparked a truly bonkers end to the game which will go down in folklore.

The Sharks, who were down 3-0, resembled a badly beaten up boxer who had been pinned up against the ropes all night and eaten a hell of a lot of heavy haymakers.

But, as they had done all series long (they were 3-1 down at one point), the Sharks dragged themselves off the canvas bloodied, exhausted but not beaten and came out swinging.

Say what you like about Eakin’s punishment, and there has and will be plenty of debate around that particular flashpoint, you have to give San Jose a ton of credit for carving out a comeback fit for the ages.

Scoring four times on the ensuring power play – an NHL record – set the SAP Center into pure pandemonium.

There was still time for one more pendulum swing, however, as Vegas scored with just 47 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

But on a night where the unbelievable morphed into reality and we were once again reminded of just how powerful a tool sports can be, the Sharks still had one knockout blow left in their armory to move on to the Second Round and seal one of the greatest and unforgettable comebacks, not just in hockey, but in all of sports.

It was a transcendent, frantic and implausible emotional night in California and it was a Game Seven that will be now be forever deeply woven in hockey’s thick, rich tapestry.

How is this relevant to the New York Rangers, do I hear you ask?

Well, I mentioned in a previous piece how highlights of Wayne Gretzky and a random Rangers game on ESPN in 2008 stole my heart and drew me to the sport of hockey.

And I had those exact same feelings watching the game last night. Hockey is simply the best sport on the planet and the NHL do playoffs like nobody else.

It was absolutely awesome to watch and one of those insane, bat-crazy slugfests that will just be ingrained in your mind for a long time to come.

It was hockey summed up at its best in one big ball of chaotic madness and that’s why we love the sport.

Hockey fans all over America and Canada would have been glued to their screens last night wishing it was their team throwing their equipment in the air and embracing in one big scrum of pure, unbridled ecstasy.

It is why we sweat blood and tears for our chosen teams, they have the unique, unmatched power to drive us to utter despair before sending us to a place of pure joy we’ve never been to before moments later.

Game Sevens in hockey represents sports at the very peak of its powers and every New York Rangers fan would have been watching last night hoping that one day soon the Blueshirts can become Game Seven heroes in their own right.

That early alarm and gallon of coffee was worth it after all.

Well worth it.