Not much can beat a Game 7 in a sports final series. And today we are so treated, with the Stanley Cup on the line.
I won’t mention my rooting preference, given that I have good friends in both Vancouver and Boston.1 Both cities are hungry for a championship.
It has been a strange series. More like two series in one. The Bruins have massively outscored the Canucks throughout the first six games, yet have not led at any point in the series. The games in Vancouver have been decided by one goal, the games in Boston have not been close at all.
The home team has won every game. If that pattern continues, there will be some happy Canadian hockey fans. Moreover, the home team has won 12 of 15 seventh games in the finals over the years.2 That is a much larger advantage than we have seen in baseball’s World Series. In fact, World Series Games 7 have seen the home team win just under half the time. (Small sample sizes, due to the unfortunate infrequency of series going the distance, aside) I wonder why the difference across these sports.
