The names may sound alike, but the Carolina Hurricanes wouldn't give up Eric Staal. Nor will the Edmonton Oilers part with Jarret Stoll. Both have been important players in the thrilling Stanley Cup Final, which stands at 3-2 for Carolina after the Oilers' Game 5 win in overtime....
Hold it! Hold it!
Okay. I know, I know. I know next to nothing about professional hockey. I ripped off the above paragraph and header from the NHL site, shame on me. If it ain't a smiling Wayne Gretzky then I don't know who the guy in hockey gear is. But since the NHL season and playoffs run concurrent with the NBA, it only seemed sportmanslike to include something about Hockey on my blog.
But what does someone who's knowledge of Hockey begins and ends with the one Black player in the league being brutally attacked during a game? And the guy who attacked him snuck'em from behind at that? Well, now that I've gotten that off my chest, it looks like the NHL Finals won't be a walk in the park for the Carolina Hurricanes after all. Much like the NBA's Dallas Mavericks who took a 2-0 lead in the best of 7 series against the Miami Heat before losing game 3, the Carolina Hurricanes began their series 2-0 before losing game 3 to the Edmonton Oilers. Many had already put a fork in the Oilers who'd lost their star goalie Dwayne Roloson to a knee injury in the third period of game 1. Now with the Hurricanes lead cut to 3-2, the stage is set for a classic do-or-die game six for Edmonton on their home ice. If Carolina isn't careful, they may lose more than the opportunity to celebrate on their home ice. They could end up hearing that familiar Canadian National Anthem playing triumphantly at the end of game 7 on their own American ice. For those of us who remember the Toronto Blue Jays winning the World Series in the 90's, it ain't a pretty sight.
In the meantime, I guess those cold weather Canadians have their fat lady gagged and stored in the ice box while they enjoy their teams' unimagined success in these here NHL Finals.
Go Sharks!
It's good to see hockey making it into the blogosphere south of the border...
ReplyDeleteI am an oilers fan from way back, so this final is a dream come true, I just hope the clock isn't about to strike midnight on this Cinderella story.
I'm not sure which incident you are refering to concerning a black player being jumped from behind, but there are a number of black players in the NHL, three of which have played on the Oilers in the last five years.