Copenhagen 4, Edinburgh 3 – Copenhagen wins series 4-3

It was a glorious upset win for Copenhagen and a brutal disappointment for Edinburgh. Thanks to injured Stephen Weiss, playing with what is believed to be strained knee tendons and/or ligaments, the Tridents are through to the second round of the EURO playoffs.

This is a poster from last year’s playoffs showing Stephen Weiss, the hero of Monday’s game.

The whole series was tense, from Copenhagen snaring Games 2 through 4 and wondering if a collapse was in store as Edinburgh took Games 5 and 6 and seemed to have the momentum. But when Weiss scored with 10:26 remaining in regulation,  it was purely maddening for both coaches and the nearly 15,000 fans in the Edinburgh’s arena. Until then, the game seemed to be a battle between great goal scorers. Edinburgh’s Rick Nash and Copenhagen’s Alexander Ovechkin had each scored two goals when the third period started with the scoreboard reading 3-3, and many must have wondered which giant would get his hat trick goal and win it for his team. But Weiss hobbled in front of the Capitals net, teammate Alex Goligoski passed from the point and Weiss turned and fired.  Edinburgh was able to get off 12 shots on Brian Elliott in the third period, but the former Zurich netminder who is filling the shoes of departed Roberto Luongo held firm. The key moment in the last half of the third period was when an over-aggressive Dion Phaneuf and fellow defenseman Andrej Mezsaros were called for penalties 22 seconds apart, giving Edinburgh a 5-on-3 on which they couldn’t, pardon the pun, capitalize. Brooks Laich and Boyd Gordon were the forwards on Copenhagen’s three-man penalty kill with the remaining four defensemen: Shea Weber, Goligoski, T.J. Brodie and Erik Gustaffson.

Copenhagen advances to face the top team in the league, Moscow Spartak, while Belfast will play Minsk in the other Northern Conference series.

Tonight: The German teams – Frankfurt and Berlin – meet in their own Game 7.