The Stanley Cup Finals. I Love This Game.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Finals in particular, are simply tremendous to watch. Even if you are not a fan of the participating teams, or a huge hockey fan, you cannot help but get caught up in the excitement. Game 5 of the finals between Edmonton and Carolina represented all that is good in sports. Here are some examples:

• Hockey players are tougher than overcooked cow tongue. If Ben Roethlisberger were a hockey player, he would have walked away from his motorcycle accident this week. If Chuck Norris played a sport, it would be hockey. You get my point. That truism was on vivid display last night. Aaron Ward of the Hurricanes left the ice with what seemed like a fairly serious upper body injury, only to return a period later and ignite his team with his toughness. Doug Weight left with a nasty shoulder injury (I would guess separated shoulder), and he also was back on the bench ready to rumble, only to be held back by his coach.
• This game featured just non-stop end to end action. Add to that the fact that once we hit the third period and the score was tied, it became fairly evident that any goal would be the game winner, whether it came in regulation or overtime. These guys went all out knowing that any mistake could either decide the series or potentially send it to a 6th and maybe a 7th game. I am not a fan of either team, and I found myself unable to flip the channel because I did not want to miss a thing. It had the intensity of Jack Bauer going after a bunch of bad guys. Great stuff.
• One of the main themes of the Finals has been that Edmonton has not been able to score on the power play (1-for-25 going into the game) while Carolina has been unstoppable (5 goals in 4 games going into last night). That theme continued, as Edmonton went something like 1-for-8 with the extra man while Carolina scored all their goals on the power play. So when Carolina went on the power play in overtime, how could anybody believe that the series would survive the next two minutes. Devastating to Edmonton, right? Wrong. Edmonton then proceeded to intercept a pass and score, winning the game in the blink of an eye (that is why you can’t change channels!). Now they go back home for Game 6, and who knows…..
• I cannot write about hockey without mentioning Chris Pronger. This dude might be in better shape than Lance Armstrong during his heyday. I mean, every game, he plays 20% more than any other player on any other team, and has played over 50% of the ice time in the playoffs. That is unheard of. Last night he played over 33 minutes of hockey (8 minutes more than any other player on either team), scored two assists, and in general kept his team alive. He plays at even strength, plays the point on the power play, and plays shorthanded. You get the feeling that he is as important to his team as any other player is to his team in any sport, including hockey goalies, quarterbacks, pitchers, Dwyane Wade, anyone. He represents all that is good about sports…..

I am still rooting for Carolina to win the Cup, so my man Brind A’Mour (and other ex-Flyers Recchi and Justin Williams) can drink from it, but I am officially rooting for Edmonton to win Game 6 so we can see two more awesome games, and have the whole enchilada come down to 60 minutes of breathless hockey….unless, of course, 60 is not enough and we get some overtime.

Note: picture courtesy of nhl.com