NHL: Six hours of 7th heaven

Here I am, the hockey novice, the scribe without savvy.

Just because I've been writing about the NBA playoffs does not mean that I haven't been watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs (or enjoying them), and to a much greater degree at that.

The second round of the chase for Lord Stanley's piece of hardware has given the American sporting public--all 1,023 viewers on cable television outside of home-team markets--some of the richest, most emotional, most incredible storylines that make sports the unscripted and breathtaking human drama it is.

IN THIS CORNER, AT 7PM EASTERN ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT... The #1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the New Jersey Devils, have been taken to the brink by the sticky, scratchy 7 seed, the Toronto Maple Leafs. The defending cup champions have been mauled by a goalie named CuJo, psyched out by the mighty (Leaf coach Pat) Quinn, and taken off their game--Tied up in anger, if you will--by Leaf defenseman Tie Domi's cheap shot on New Jersey's Scott Niedermayer at the end of game 4. Down three games to two entering game 6 in Toronto, the Devils staved off elimination to get this particularly emotional battle to the ultimately emotional stage, a game 7. After overcoming a three games to one deficit in last year's Eastern Conference Finals against Philadelphia, the Devils will try to complete another comeback against a confident Toronto team that has carried the play for most of the series, particularly in the Meadowlands.

After a succession of remarkable twists and turns, a game 7 will provide an appropriately explosive and stomach-churning conclusion to a classic champion-underdog donnybrook. And as though that weren't enough, this series carries even more significance because the Leafs are Canada's only remaining team left in the playoffs. Ah, yes, even nationalism enters into this beautifully bizarre battle.

AND IN THE OTHER CORNER, AT 10PM EASTERN ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT... The #1 seed in the Western Conference has also gotten a seventh game from a seventh seed. The Colorado Avalanche, the winners of the President's Trophy and the bearers of a heckuva lotta talent, have been improbably taken to the limit by Felix "the Cat" Potvin and the plucky Los Angeles Kings. The boys from L.A. are truly the comeback Kings in these playoffs. Down two games to one against Detroit and down 3-0 with 6:30 left in game 4, the Kings erased those three goals, won in overtime, and proceeded to win games 5 and 6 to take the series, four games to two. In this series, the Kings, down three games to one, simply shut out the likes of Peter Forsberg, Chris Drury, Milan Hejduk, Ray Bourque, and Rob Blake (and an injured Joe Sakic, whose limitations have clearly hurt his club)... for more than eight consecutive periods, or more than 160 minutes of hockey.

Potvin's success story mirrors the one being fashioned by his club. The once-successful goalie for the Maple Leafs during runs to the conference finals in 1993 and 1994 then fell off the map in Vancouver. After being picked up by the Kings in midseason, however, the Cat has bounced--make that pounced--back, and given the Kings the goaltending they've long needed over the years. After two straight 1-0 victories over the legendary Patrick Roy, can Felix get out of one more fix and reach into his back of tricks in a game 7 situation? If he does, there won't be much laughter in Denver, where the Avalanche organization and the entire community expect nothing less than a cup championship.

The Devils against the wall. The Leafs bearing the burden of a nation. The Avalanche feeling the heat. The comeback Kings chasing a big bowl named after a Lord.

If you like sports, or if you simply like human drama at its passionate, unscripted best, you will want to sit down for six hours of game seven heaven Wednesday night on the ESPN family of networks. Sit back and relax--only the fans of each of the four teams will sweat it out.

And hey, with the way these series have been going, why not add a little overtime to the mix, maybe even a lot? Those six hours of game seven heaven might apply to just one of the games, not two.