Miracle, indeed: Martin St. Louis and the Lightning are hoping for a Hollywood ending to their Stanley Cup run. AP

TAMPA, Fla. -- The two most evocative words in sports -- Game 7 -- between the Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning comes down to this: Iggy vs. The Sunshine Boys.

Of course there will be other subplots swirling Monday night at the St. Pete Times Forum: Can Tampa Bay's 40-year-old Dave Andreychuk win a Stanley Cup after 22 seasons? Can the Lightning's four-leaf clover, Brad Richards, continue scoring and carry Tampa Bay to a 10-0 record in the playoffs when he finds the net? Can Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff rebound from a middling Game 6?

But rarely has a final been so starkly defined by one man, Calgary right wing Jarome Iginla, against an entire team. When Tampa Bay kept Iginla off the scoresheet, as it did in Games 2, 4 and 6, the Lightning won. When Iginla imposed himself on the match -- scoring a short-handed breakaway in Game 1, creating Chris Simon's ice-breaking goal and fighting Vincent Lecavalier in Game 3, having a shift of a lifetime to set up the overtime winner in Game 5 -- the Flames prevailed.

So to recap: Iginla has been spectacular in Games 1, 3 and 5, which makes him the odds-on choice (pardon the mathematical pun) for a huge Game 7.

Flames coach Darryl Sutter will play Iginla almost 30 minutes Monday, double-shifting him, moving him from line to line. While he figures to start with Craig Conroy, his regular center, Iginla also played well with No. 2 Marcus Nilson late in Game 5.

Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella has several options against Iginla. He could opt for playing strength-on-strength as he did in Calgary, when Lecavalier's line often was on against Iginla, which forces him to work harder on the defensive end. But whether it's the No. 1 line or Andreychuk's checking line, which generally has been matched against Iginla in the Tampa games, the key will be the work of the defensemen. The beleaguered Darryl Sydor (minus-4 in the finals) has drawn most of the baby-sitting chores against Iginla, competing hard, but he often has looked overwhelmed.

The first goal should be the fulcrum, not simply because the team that scores it has won each game -- remember it was the last goal in the Games 5 and 6 overtimes that was the difference-maker, not the first -- but because it dictates the style of play. Calgary tends to trap with a lead and forecheck hard when it doesn't, which makes for an eminently more watchable game. Even the firewagon Lightning play it cozier with a lead despite the sign in their dressing room that reads "Safe is Death." (Other Lightning signs include "Don't Think, Do..." and "Good is The Enemy of Great." Next season we eagerly anticipate "Love is Hate" and "Newman is the Enemy of Seinfeld.")

Iginla conceded Sunday that the Flames got a little bit ahead of themselves in anticipating a possible Game 6 clincher in Calgary, just as Tortorella suggested they would. Sutter flew in his former coach, Chicago Blackhawks general manager Bob Pulford, for the anticipated festivities, Flames scouts arrived en masse and there was the assorted retinue of relatives, more sisters and cousins and aunts than even Gilbert and Sullivan envisioned in H.M.S. Pinafore.

The Flames seem so much more comfortable away from the Saddledome. If Calgary takes Game 7, it will be an NHL-record 11th road playoff victory. Historically, home teams are 10-2 in Game 7 finals. (The last time a road team won Game 7 was in 1971 when the Canadiens shocked the Blackhawks. Current Minnesota Wild coach Jacques Lemaire beat Chicago goalie Tony Esposito with a shot from nearly center ice late in the second period, the mother of bad goals, to start the Montreal comeback.) And while Tampa Bay has occasionally looked flat at home, the Lightning employed the advantage in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final to beat Philadelphia.

With Richards using these playoffs to springboard his career to a lofty level and presumptive Hart Trophy-winner Martin St. Louis having found his game late in this series, Tampa Bay's attack is much more balanced and dangerous than the ground game of Calgary, which pretty much tries to run the puck over the goal line. If Lecavalier, who has been a pale imitation of himself since being run face-first into the boards by Ville Nieminen in Game 4, plays with passion, Tampa Bay has more than enough offense to win. Not that goalie Nikolai Khabibulin needs much. He has been the equal of Kiprusoff late in the series despite his unfortunate habit of juggling pucks and allowing unnecessary rebounds.

The only lock is the Conn Smythe Trophy. If Tampa Bay wins, the playoffs' Most Valuable Player award will go to Richards. If improbable Calgary pulls the upset, Iginla wins. I'm one of the 15 voters, so trust me on this.

Flames defenseman Robyn Regehr, suffering from a lower leg injury, missed the morning skate. His availability will be a game-time decision, but his likely replacement, Mike Commodore, did additional work with Calgary's Black Aces, a hint Regehr might be good to go. Winger Shean Donovan, who missed Game 6 with what Calgary are calling a charley horse, looked fine and should be back on a line with Nilson and Nieminen. For Tampa Bay, neither Lecavalier nor St. Louis participated in the Lightning's optional morning skate.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber covers the NHL for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com.