Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/3f2c58de-4ce6-4694-b4fb-9b66fb02b66a.jpeg] Michael Karas/NorthJersey.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC Of all the sportscasters I have known over the years, the man who calls the Rangers play-by-play for MSG Networks and splendidly does NHL for TNT, is the one you are most likely to call your best friend if you ever got to know him. That's a handsome double-dip; being the best in the business and just about the nicest guy in a tough-tough industry. At the moment you must know that Sir Kenny Albert is busy at work covering one of the most gripping Stanley Cup playoffs of this or any other era dating back to the NHL's birth in 1917. Play on the ice will dictate how far the rest of this series will go. But play has been so gripping that all certified hockey nuts are rooting for Golden Knights and Hurricanes to push this tourney to a Game Seven. Not surprisingly Pal Kenny is among those who savor a Game Seven as much as any savant from here to the Aleutian Islands. "Game Seven," says Albert, "are the greatest two words in sports because everything is on the line. You can feel the tension through the entire arena. Every shift matters." Over the years Kenny has had the great, good fortune to have worked 26 NHL Game Sevens either on the tv or radio side -- including seven that required overtime. Albert: "The most memorable happened to have been the first I ever did, 1994, when the Rangers won their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. That one I did for NHL Radio." Other Albert favorites: 1. Alex Martinez scoring in overtime to beat Chicago in the 2014 West Final; 2. Derek Stepan in 2015 and Artemi Panarin 2022, Game Seven OT winners at The Garden. "Then," notes Albert, "there was Pat Maroon sending his hometown Blues to the West Final in double OT in Game Seven against Dallas in 2019 and Game Seven in Winnipeg in 2025. The hometown Jets trailed St.Louis by two goals with under two minutes remaining in regulation. "The crowd exploded when Adam Lowry deflected the series-winner past Jordan Binnington in double overtime." Asked to pick one of the most exhilarating days of his career, Albert recalls that time in the Edmonton bubble in 2020 when he had the opportunity to call not one but two Game Sevens in the same day! "It was Dallas vs. Colorado and Vegas vs. Vancouver. In the Stars-Avs match Joel Kiviranta completed the Seventh game seven hat trick in NHL history with the overtime game-winning goal!" Who knows? With the Canes-Vegas Final tied at two games apiece, we just could be heading for a Game Seven finale of all finales!
