Is there anything more exciting in sports then a game 7? One game for the chance to advance or win a championship–very few events live up to the hype like a game 7. The NHL playoffs are considered some of the most intense sporting events around and a game 7 only make them that more crazy.

After four pivotal game 7’s in last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, this year, there is the possibility of 3 in the opening round alone (Devils v Panthers pending). With the excitement and energy of these must-win games also comes a heavy price tag. Last year, the average price of the four game 7’s was $302.50, with the Vancouver vs. Chicago series commanding the highest average price at $430 per seat . This season, the price tag for the two already scheduled game 7’s is even higher with an average ticket price of $365.67, 20.88% higher than in 2011. This is mainly driven by the sky-high average ticket price for the Sens @ Rangers game at Madison Square Garden, which is currently $575.

So the next time you think of how cool it would be to see a Game 7 played, remember the effect that decisive match up will have on your wallet. Still, with all the drama involved who could blame a fan for spending the big bucks for such a big game. If you would like to attend any of this week’s game 7’s, click on the ticket link below:

The Stanley Cup playoffs are well underway, so we at TiqIQ wanted to take the temperature of the country and see which team’s tickets are the hottest. To get a better view of things we put together this ticket price heat index graphic.

As you can see above, the dark red, or hottest regions, are found in New York, Vancouver, and Pittsburgh. Rangers fans are paying $361 to see the top seeded Eastern Conference team take on the Senators, while the top seed in the West, the Canucks, are getting an average of $287 per seat for their so far very disappointing 1st round series against the Kings. In Pittsburgh, the fans are forking over $266 to watch their interstate rivalry series with the Flyers. So far the high price of these tickets hasn’t guaranteed a happy day at the rink, as both the Canucks and Penguins dropped their first two games at home, and the Rangers were only able to head to Ottawa with a split.

Unlike those three powerhouses, fans in Los Angeles have gotten the biggest bang for their buck. Kings fans, treated to a surprising game 3 win over the Canucks last night to move to just one game away from knocking off the President’s Trophy winners, are only paying an average of $199 to watch their Kings take the ice at Staples Center. The Kings share the red zone with Washington and Chicago, where the home crowds await pivotal game threes as both series change venues with the two teams splitting the first two games.

On the bottom end of the spectrum, in the yellow zone, are the Panthers, Devils and Red Wings, with tickets for all three teams’ home games selling for under $125.

Besides the teams in the hot zone, there are plenty of deals still available for this year’s Stanley Cup quarterfinal round. If you’d like tickets to any remaining first round game, click on the ticket button below.

Here at TiqIQ we use our proprietary data to come up with interesting trends and predictions within the secondary ticket market. With the news recently that the Atlanta Thrashers would be moving to Winnipeg, we thought it would be interesting to try and predict the impact on the secondary that another team would have on Canada. We were able to determine an estimate for the average ticket price on the secondary market for the Winnipeg hockey team during the 2011-12 regular season. Click here to see the breakdown of the numbers and how we came up with the figures.

This move of hockey back to Winnipeg has sparked great interest in tickets. Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press describes how the season ticket process worked:

“Tickets are available exclusively on the website www.driveto13.com and fans were being asked to make three, four or five-year commitments by putting down deposits of $500 to $1,000. True North implemented the drive to provide the organization with a degree of financial certainty and as evidence of the market strength when the NHL’s board of governors gather to approve the sale of the team from the Atlanta Spirit group to True North later this month.”

If you were one of the fans in Winnipeg that was unable to secure season tickets, you will still have a chance to scoop them up on the secondary market, but it will cost you. In an article in the Winnipeg Sun, author Ross Romaniuk writes that there is a perception that some people might buy Winnipeg tickets to try and turn a profit. The author quotes Jim Ludlow, President of True North (the group who owns the franchise) as saying:

“We don’t condone unsanctioned secondary markets…We are uncomfortable with a secondary market out there, because it’s not regulated. We don’t sanction it. People do that at their own risk.”

From any angle you look at it, Winnipeg hockey tickets will be very in demand next season. Although some are skeptical of the secondary ticket market up north, it the end it might be the only avenue fans in Winnipeg have to see professional hockey that has been absent for 15 years.

This season the Bruins have reached the Finals for the first time since 1990 and the 1220% Finals premium for this series proves that Boston fans are ready for a Stanley Cup title. From another perspective, fan frustration from 38-year drought has increased the series premium at a rate of 32% per annum (or an alarming 58% annually since their last finals appearance). Almost 40 years in the making, this premium trumps the 418% Finals premium for the Celtics/Lakers series last year. In recent years, the city of Boston has been no stranger to Championship teams and the city’s notoriously rabid fans have been more than willing to pay a steep premium to see their teams compete for titles. The Patriots had their improbable march to Super Bowl XXXVI in their first of 3 titles; the Red Sox finally “reversed the curse” with their scintillating playoff run in 2004 and added another World Championship in ‘07 for good measure. However, the Boston franchises with a prouder tradition of championships–the Celtics & Bruins–had fallen on hard times until Danny Ainge assembled “The Big Three” and the Celtics took the 2008 NBA title–their 17th. The Bruins themselves own 5 Stanley Cups, but its been since ‘71-’72 (38 years!) since Bobby Orr and Co. hoisted the Cup in Boston.

For tickets to this year’s Stanley Cup Finals, click here.

Tonight’s Sharks/Red Wings Game 7 represents the fifth NHL series to go the distance so far this playoff season; and it appears it’s the game 7 fans are most excited about. While only the 3rd highest in terms of price ($268/ticket), it is the highest premium compared to the regular season average price at HP Pavilion ($80), at 235%, narrowly beating out Montreal/Boston Quarterfinals game 7. Based on the data, it looks like fans in Silicon Valley are willing to pay more than they’re used to to see if the Sharks can overcome their perennial playoff doldrums, hold off a surging Red Wings team, and get to Western Conference Finals for the 3rd time in franchise history.

For tickets to this game, and any other Stanley Cup playoff games, click here.

Even though no one really thought it would come to this, game 7 of the Vancouver-Chicago series is the most expensive game 7 ticket in the NHL Quarterfianls, with an average of $418. Despite the morbid turn this series has taken for Canucks fans, the average price has dropped just 5%, compared to 23% for other game 7s.  If the Hawks can pull out a win, Canucks fans would be witness only the 4th time an NHL team has overcome a 0-3 deficit to win a series.

As for the Flyers-Sabres, it’s a series teeming with storylines. From the photos that surfaced of Sabres coach Lindy Ruff’s daughter wearing a Flyers lid (via Crossing Broad), to the Philly’s revolving door between the pipes,  this series has had drama befitting of a 7-gamer.  At an average price of $237/ea, the game is acutally down 14% over the last week but still 21.5% more expensive than the three previous Flyers’ home games.

As for the Penguins-Lightening, the Crosby-less Pens, who have lost the last two, limp back to Consol Enengy Center and can take small solace in the fact that local favorite Jeff Jimerson will sing the national anthem (via Pens Blog) Despite the two consecutive losses, tickets at Consol, as always, are in high demand. The avg price of $228 is the least expensive of all game 7s, but with only 500 tickets available, it is also the game with the least available inventory.

In the last of the game 6’s, the Habs and Bruins matchup tonight in Montreal. If Bruins can’t take care of business on the road Tuesday, this “Original Six” matchup will head back to TD Garden for a game 7 that still boasts a steep $301 avg price despite being down almost 35% this week.

For tickets to these game 7s, or any other Stanley Cup playoff games, click here.

After the Rangers’ dramatic win Sunday, Game 4 of the Rangers-Caps series on Wednesday night has become a very hot ticket in NYC. Over the last 72 hours, prices are up almost 90%. which says that either Rangers fans are excited about the prospects of a win, or they’re thinking this might be their last chance to see the 2010-11 edition of their beloved Blue Shirts. As for game 6, with ticket prices holding strong, fans seem cautiously optimistic that the Rangers will win one of the next two and bring the series back to New York.

For tickets to either of these games, click here.