Flames embracing pressure ahead of Game 7 showdown

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Much to the chagrin of Calgary fans, Milan Lucic’s first hockey memories of an NHL Game 7 are from the 1994 series when his hometown Vancouver Canucks defeated the Flames on a Pavel Bure overtime goal.

“Sorry to bring that one up,” he laughed.

“You think of all the Game 7s, like Ray Bourque’s Game 7 win in 2001 with Colorado to win the Stanley Cup there, and then Marty Gelinas scoring the Game 7 OT winner in Vancouver in 2004, just big Game 7 moments…sometimes it’s somebody completely different who steps up, like Mike Rupp scoring the game winner Game 7 goal in 2003 for New Jersey to win the Stanley Cup, so there’s obviously some memories as a kid and teenager watching hockey growing up.”

Ahead of the biggest game for the Flames franchise since Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final, the team is embracing the opportunity to write its own story. 

“You just get in the moment and in some ways enjoy it and in other ways, step up,” head coach Darryl Sutter said. “Pressure is a good thing. In the long run, that’s what separates you. I’ve been through several of those Game 7s and that’s in the end what separates you from where you stand in the league.”

When the Flames take the ice on Sunday, Sutter will have coached more Game 7s (11) than any other coach in NHL history. He has won seven of them, also a league record. 

“I think they take on lives of their own,” he said on Saturday. “After games during a series, that’s when a series gets a life of its own too. So, you’re going to take Game 7 tomorrow and evaluate it as a life of its own too. I’ve been through a lot of them. I’ve been through them here, right? If you think about it, the last time this team went to the Stanley Cup Finals, we lost in Game 7, but to