And then there were two.
With the San Jose Sharks falling in seven games to the Los Angeles Kings, S Graham's hopes of a third Steinley Cup title came to an abrupt end.
With a quartet of potent Sharks on his Steinley roster, Graham's fate hung in the balance when the two teams took to the ice on Tuesday night. A San Jose win, along with a decent offensive output would have put him right back in the mix at the top of the standings.
But it was not to be.
The likes of Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture and Dan Boyle couldn't overcome the defending Stanley Cup Champs in Game Seven, and now Graham will look ahead to the third round of the playoffs with a lone King in his lineup, and a triumvirate of Blackhawks.
The Hawks themselves will play a seventh and deciding game in their Western Conference Semi-final versus Detroit tonight, with MacMillan and Lowe watching closely to see which way their fortunes will turn. A Hawks win makes it advantage Lowe. If Chicago goes down, it might all but seal the deal for Ange.
Ahead of Tuesday's action, the two finalists both commented on their chances.
"Congratulations Lowe" said MacMillian in a brief e-mail message to Steinley nation. "Enjoy your 2013 Steinley crown. Red Wings suck!"
Lowe quickly replied with a similarly humble sentiment.
"I was going to say the same to Graham and yourself (MacMillan)" said Lowe. "Enjoy the semi-final battle between San Jose and Detroit. The Steinley winner will be determined from the result of this series. There is always next year for me. Long live the Cup."
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