Brophy on Cup final: One for the ages

It’s official.

This is the best Stanley Cup final since the last time the Vancouver Canucks were in it. That would be in 1994 when the final, just like this year’s, stretched to the limit – seven games. The New York Rangers snapped a 54-year drought that season, winning it at home after very nearly blowing a 3-1 series lead.

If you had the good fortune to be inside Madison Square Garden back in ’94, then you know the true meaning of excitement. Of course you didn’t have to actually be there to understand how thrilling a best-of-seven NHL final can be.

However, since then, nothing has come close. Not until this year, that is.

Thanks to the Boston Bruins third straight convincing win on home ice, the final has been transferred back to Vancouver where fans probably didn’t sleep a wink following Game 6. A little four-goal outburst in the opening period by the Bruins took care of that.

Since 1993-94, the final has gone to the limit five times. Two of those series involved the New Jersey Devils during the dead-puck era and were clutch-and-grad defensive struggles which had all the excitement of watching grass grow. Those were tough series to watch. In 2003-04, Tampa Bay beat Calgary in seven and it was a close series to be sure, but again, it was before the crackdown in obstruction so other than the closeness of the event, the games were on the dull side.

The last final to go seven games was in 2008-09 when Pittsburgh defeated Detroit. It was a good series, but it did not generate the drama this year’s event has. Sorry Red Wings and Penguins fans; it just didn’t.

Based on the script that has been written thus far, you’d have to think the series is Vancouver’s to lose. The Canucks, who won the President’s Trophy as the NHL’s best regular-season team, are unbeaten at home in the final. Hosting a Game 7 is what winning the regular season was all about.

“At the end of the day, they won (Game 6) and we’re going back home in front of our fans,” Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault said. “One game showdown to win the Cup. That’s it.”

And for all the analyzing of this series that will be done between now and the start of Game 7, it really is that simple. One game – winner take all.

The question that will be asked most often is, can the Bruins win on the road? This is a series that has had wild momentum shifts and that, more than anything else, is what has made it so compelling. Vancouver was full value in winning the first two games at home, albeit by one-goal margins, but few expected the Bruins to explode for 12 goals in the next two games to even the score.

Then, in Game 5, it was back to tight defensive hockey – with plenty of scoring chances – as the Canucks pulled to within a game of winning it all with a 1-0 victory.

Again, the Bruins exploded on offence with four first period goals in Game 6 en route to a 5-2 victory. You would be inclined to think the Bruins have the Canucks exactly where they want them, down and out heading home with their tails between their legs.

Don’t count on it. Roberto Luongo will start for Vancouver in Game 7, despite having been pulled twice in the series, and there’s a very good chance he’ll rebound with a stellar effort. It’s just what he does. The Sedins, Daniel and Henrik, have struggled throughout the final, but there’s every chance in the world they could snap out of it in an instant and win it for their team. It’s what they do.

If you perhaps thought the Canucks might pull a fast one and start Cory Schneider in Game 7, forget about it. Vignuealt left no doubt as to who his starter would be when he said, “I don’t have to say anything to (Luongo). He’s a professional. His preparation is beyond reproach and he’s going to be ready for Game 7.”

Luongo has been the hardest individuals to figure out in this year’s final. He has been perfectly dreadful on the road, but has shutouts in two of three home starts.

The Bruins have been the better road team in the final, coming close in all three games, but have nothing to show for it. Their fans will keep their fingers and toes crossed hoping the team can find a way to find its offence away from home. Boston has scored 17 goals at home in the final, but has just three goals in Vancouver.

No matter which team wins it all this year, the 2011 Stanley Cup final is one for the ages.