Line up the Duck boats...

By scoring the first goal of their Game 7 showdown with the Vancouver Canucks, and then adding three more markers for  good measure, the Boston Bruins secured their passage on the famed Boston Duck boats, taking game seven of the Stanley Cup Final with a definitive 4-0 victory.

And while Patrice Bergeron an and Brad Marchand  took care of the scoring, it was once again,  as he had for most of the seven game series Tim Thomas who became the story.  Turning aside a frantic Canuck attack in the early going, which combined with a fair bit of luck in the form of near misses by the Canucks served to settle down his team.

The play of the Bruins goaltender was the admission fare for the parade to come,  allowing them to score the goals that propelled the Bruins once again to the ranks of the Celtics, Red Sox and Patriots as champions, delivering yet another title to a city that has become rather spoiled by its pro teams.

The Canucks gave their final shot at Stanley Cup glory a good run, but between the remarkable talents of Thomas in the Bruins net and the shutdown defensive plays of the Bruins defence, the Canucks from their top line down to the fourth found frustration a frequent companion while in the Boston end.

Much has already been discussed about the goals from game seven,  some point the finger at Roberto Luongo, the goaltender who has had more than his shares of hits and misses in the Stanley Cup playoff run, but in game 7 he really only could wear the horns on the third goal, where a less than strong block allowed Patrice Bergeron and the puck to slide into the Canucks goal, boosting the lead for a team that has played some of the stingiest hockey seen in this series.

That third goal was a pivotal moment in the game no doubt, the sag on the Vancouver bench grew deeper, while further down the boards the Bruins confidence level was at its peak, the Bruins feeling that the Stanley Cup just within reach.

The more disconcerting statistic for Canucks fans in game seven, wasn't perhaps Luongo's Goals Against Average, but the combined minus eight between the two offensive stars of the team, the Sedin brothers.

They were on the ice for each and every goal of game seven,  perhaps not unexpected when the Canucks needed  their offensive skills, the plus minus numbers are a fact that was only overshadowed by the continuing bad luck they suffered in the offensive zone, where their goal scoring drought continued,  and while they came close, the puck never found the back of the twine when it was needed most.

That's not to dismiss their efforts or point a finger there for that matter, in fact, a bounce here or a wink from the hockey Gods there and either Daniel or Henrik very well could have been the heroes of a magical game seven, but the bounces went against them and when the puck seemed destined for the net, there was Tim Thomas.

His was the dream run of every kid that has been put in the nets from road hockey to timbits and beyond, he was the wall that held back the Canucks, providing some of the most inspiring and remarkable goaltending in recent NHL history.

He too struggled through the playoffs, there were games early on in the Bruins run where Thomas was not the machine that he became, his legend not yet recorded,  yet after those games he dusted himself off and went back to work,  providing the required response in the net that allowed his team mates to regain their composure and their momentum.

Thomas was one of the most deserving of Conn Smythe Trophy winners we've seen in a long time, if not for their goaltender these Bruins would not have been on the Rogers Arena ice on Wednesday night accepting their Stanley Cup.

The Stanley Cup final had some great moments of drama and others that left us wondering for the future of the game, in the end though, as it always is the team that worked hardest, when it was needed most, was the one carrying off Lord Stanley's trophy.

In Vancouver they probably don't want to hear much about how great a year their team had this year, how strong their lineup is and what it may portend for the future.

Boston came into their rink and took the trophy that the Canucks had dedicated their work towards all year, when the Bruins clamber aboard those Duck Boats on Saturday the place of honour will belong to Thomas, for as he went, so went the Bruins and as we all saw, he and they went very far.

You can review the Final series and the entire playoffs from our archive pages, a game by game trip down the season that was.

Extra, Extra read all about it, from the benches to the reaches...

The media histrionics in this series haven't exactly provided for journalism's greatest hours, objectivity it seems is a byproduct of a different era in this time of the blast oven of all access coverage.


Whether it has been the observations of a Mike Milbury or Don Cherry, or the team coverage of the competing newspapers of Vancouver and Boston,  the concept of a balanced approach to coverage just hasn't been on in this Stanley Cup final.

Rumours and spin have taken the place of cold facts in many a report, the stoking of allegiances seemingly the new basis of the style guides of many of the newspapers and electronic media covering the Stanley Cup Finals.

The varying degrees of observation and perception did not escape the eye of Cam Cole of the Vancouver Sun, who penned this column on the growing cacophony of noise, an increasingly bombastic sideshow of this Stanley Cup Final.

For Game seven tonight, the broadsides of the journalistic guns of late,  leave us to almost expect CNN to reunite Bernard Shaw and Peter Arnett, placing them atop the roof of the Hotel Vancouver reporting on the bomb blasts off in the Surrey distance making their way downtown towards the Rogers Arena.
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This could be the first sports series in history, where the reporters aren’t observers, but embedded participants in the daily battles.

Perhaps no better examples of such can be found than in this Vancouver Sun article of this week, where the cause of the quest Stanley Cup has provided for parallels of a war time footing. Or in the spirit of equal time, this suggestion from the Boston Herald that it's now time to put Vancouver out its misery.

We could go on, but game time is fast approaching, so there's not near enough time to catalogue the vast archive of us -- agin' them.

There have of course been more than a few solid pieces of reporting, leaving behind the bias of attachment to the home side to reflect on the game as a whole sample, but they have been the exception as opposed to the rule. Harder to find than a power play goal by either of the teams on the ice tonight.

When the game ends, the players perhaps in this case grudgingly, will meet at centre ice to shake hands and bring to an end the NHL season.

Having spent the last two weeks reading the dispatches from the correspondents and commentators, we suspect that may not be happening, grudgingly or not, up in the press box anytime soon.

Winner take all

And there's winners and there's losers
But they ain't no big deal...
(Pink Houses, John Mellencamp)

Ah, but John, with apologies, it is a big deal, a very big deal.

The Chase for Lord Stanley's Mug comes to an end tonight on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, a trans continental journey that brings the Bruins and the hometown Canucks to the culmination of a trek that started in September at training camp and wound its way through a far too long regular season and three gruelling rounds of playoff hockey.

Mind you this seven game race to the trophy presentation hasn't particularly shone the best light on the sport we all revere, there's been slights and fights and yes even bites.

Injured players have left the ice not destined to return until next September at the earliest, we've seen a suspension and questions as to why not more punishment from the offices of the NHL was not meted out.

Both sides have pointed fingers (sometimes with less than happy consequences), skilled players have been chopped down and punched around, leaving cause to wonder if perhaps Brian Burke wasn't wrong oh so long ago when he wondered aloud as to how Sedin wasn't Swedish for "punch me in the face", after Game six we're still looking in our English/Swedish dictionary cause surely that entry is in there someplace.

There have been cheap shots, hacks, punches, slashes, trash talks and mock walks, all in all, a seven game race to some of the worst of behaviour that the sport can offer.

If you were a parent and you decided to use this series as the template to introduce your child into the world of hockey, well, we suspect that Family Services already has the paperwork prepared to remove your child from the house.

There can't be many parents in the world that would wish some of the nastiness in this series on their children, or even those children of a rival team.

It has just all in all be an ugly series, there's no way to sugar coat that.

These of course are not children, they are men, all have played this sport for years with the understanding that it's a physical, at times violent sport, but at far too many points that aspect has threatened to, if not outright stepped over the line (of course the line seemingly an arbitrary and frequently moving marker up at the NHL head office).

Somewhere in the midst of it all there's been some entertaining hockey, goaltender duels and some implosions (three too many for Canuck fans) breathtaking rushes compete with some of the worst of clutch and grab, though to be honest the breathtaking has been overcome at times from the kind of play that leaves you looking away, fearful of what may come next, a series that has had little cadence other than a drum beat of rising anticipation.

The league can take a good share of the responsibility for the tone of the series, it seemed to get off the path early on, the officiating has been questionable at times, the control of the flow of play on the ice at times abandoned completely.

It points to a chronic problem with the NHL these days of mixed messages, there has been no continuity in the discipline of the series, leaving it seems the players sort it all out amongst themselves, the officials suddenly relegated to just fishing the puck out of the net and dropping it at centre ice whenever the two teams tired of the extra curricular crap.

The league fell down on the job of presenting an atmosphere for a series worthy of a championship, in the end it seems that it's as though Boxing rules have taken over, last man standing wins.

As they say on the NHL commercials, History will be made, we're just not sure what kind of history lesson we've been provided with in this final semester. The final exam if you will, our final glimpse of a series that has run all the emotional ranges, with anger and unchecked rage at times threatening to over take all.

It's been a throwback kind of series to an era of the game many thought was well past, for some it's a celebration of the game's ages old intensity and purpose, for others it's offered up many of the complaints and concerns about the sport that drift back to the seventies.

Perhaps, in closing we'll turn to another great American songsmith, with what could be the defining mission statement of tonight's game 7 showdown.

Down here it's just winners and losers 
and don't get caught on the wrong side of that line
(Atlantic City, Bruce Springsteen)

Sums it all up nicely and sometime this evening two teams will straddle opposite sides of that line.

One hopes that by the end of this game seven, the sport isn't the one on the wrong side of that line as well.

As always, a full review of this series and the preview of Game 7 can be found here.

Advantage Luongo, Advantage Vancouver!

The countdown has begun in Boston, the 8 pm (Eastern, 5 PM on the Pacific coast) start time a call to action for the home sides team, seeking to stave off the end of their season for another day and deliver  one final chance to capture Lord Stanley's Cup.

Game Six finds the pressure squarely on the shoulders of the Boston Bruins and their goaltender Tim Thomas, something that they aren't unfamiliar with, but in this instance, more than ever the consequences of a loss loom final.

The Canucks can take the NHL's Silver collection home with them with a win tonight, a task that has been problematic in their two most recent appearances, but one which doesn't seem to be weighing too heavy on their thoughts heading into the potentially clinching game.

With a Game 5 victory that saw Roberto Luongo return to the kind of form that has caught the imagination of hockey fans through the last few years, the Canucks enter game six with a clean slate from games three and four, games which saw them shellacked in a most determined fashion, but now count as but just two losses on the trail of the Cup, a trail which sees Vancouver ahead 3 games to 2,  one win away from the realization of not only the dream of this season, but for a good number of the players in the lineup a dream that has been held since the days of road hockey and timbits hockey at the local rink.

The job ahead of course won't be easy, the Bruins resilient as ever will no doubt offer up maximum resistance, they've been backed into corners before and battled their way out of them in the past, the Canucks shouldn't have any illusions that tonight won't offer up much of the same.

However, it's still a new start to a new game, the clock will start to tick at puck drop, counting down the minutes to zero, whether in regulation or overtime. If they provide the kind of attack that they showcased in Vancouver on Friday then the desired result is within their reach, a game where not only did their goaltender rise to the occasion with a masterful shutout of the Bruins, but one which featured solid defensive play and more than enough chances to pad the 1-0 victory if not for the ongoing display of goal tending skill from the Bruins Thomas.

The Bruins goaltender has been more than impressive throughout the playoffs, though you have to wonder if eventually the law of averages isn't destined to arrive, in far too many games through the playoffs Thomas has been the only reason the Bruins have survived to play in this game six, the Bruins and their fans must surely be hoping that he has at least two more spectacular performances to give.

Friday night provided the Canucks with the advantage into game six, and despite the much documented troubles of the first two games in Boston, they hold that advantage going into tonight's game.

The atmosphere will be electric in the TD Garden as puck drop nears, the anxiety level perhaps at a near record pitch and for the first time in a long time in this series, that anxiety won't belong to the team in the White and Blue sweaters.

Pressure for them was a needed bounce back game that didn't come in game four and a then pivotal game five that lived up to its billing as the most important game of the team's history.

The Canucks can finish off that history exam with a win tonight, the Bruins on the other hand may have plans to give the Canucks a reason to study harder for a make up exam on Wednesday, regardless it would seem that Monday's game provides the platform for a remarkable night of hockey.

All that remains to be seen now is if it will be the last night of hockey this year.

You can review all of the pre game debates and discussions from our Stanley Cup archive page, which you can find here.

In Ottawa, they look at the farm and the bounty that could come

For Ottawa Senator fans, this has been a spring (and now almost summer) that hasn't resonated much, the home team never even made it to the first round of this Stanley Cup tournament, a woeful season confirming that there is much work to be done to return to the top echelon of the NHL standings.

Adding on to the concerns of their place in this years pecking order, word came out this week that Daniel Alfredsson, the teams captain and its heart and soul, is set for back surgery and while it's considered a relatively normal procedure, the concern for his health is on the minds of Sens fans.

The only consolation for a season of woe it seems was to be the annual amateur draft, where perhaps the Senators might unearth the hidden gem of a star of the future, though as history has shown, the draft in most years is but a roll of the dice at the gaming tables.

However, there is some hope it seems on the horizon after all, the players that are just bubbling under the radar of the NHL have shown that the future may not be as bleak as the last season suggested.

The Binghamton Senators, the farm club of the Kanata based head office battled back in their Calder Cup championship final to defeat the Houston Aeros 4 games to 2, laying claim to bragging rights in the AHL and serving notice to the Senators management that there may be some talent ready for their next step in their hockey careers.

Of particular interest to fans at the home office will be the success of the Baby Sens rookie goaltender Robin Lehner, who had a remarkable Calder Cup run. As Sens fans through the decades since the return to the NHL can attest to, goal tending has always been an Achilles heel for the team, perhaps that destiny may soon be about to change.

The AHL championship is as gruelling a tournament as the Stanley Cup is, in fact for many a player a spot on a Calder Cup champion could be the heads up required to gain some interest from the 30 NHL teams looking for the character of a champion.

The reviews of the Baby Sens success has provided for something for Senators fans to study, a collection of signs that perhaps augur for a future that they hope is brighter than the season just past.

Ottawa Citizen-- Despite impressive play Lehner expected to play most of next year in Binghamton
Ottawa Citizen-- Binghamton's AHL success delays Sens' coaching search 
Ottawa Citizen-- Binghamton's Senators win AHL championship
Ottawa Sun-- Baby Sens' success credit to Murrays
Ottawa Sun-- Bingo! Baby Sens win Calder Cup 
Ottawa Sun-- Greening, Baby Sens look to rekindle offence

Canucks seek to change their history with Game 5

Fans of the Vancouver Canucks can recite with passion their past glances at Lord Stanley's Cup, from their earliest quest against a much superior New York Islander team to the seven game showdown with the Rangers, which for the sake of a different bounce or two would have brought a parade to the West coast.

So, with the Canucks returning from Boston with a good portion of deflated hubris as baggage, the time to get back to what took them through the season is at hand.

There is obviously no room for error anymore, that was used up in games three and four, this Stanley Cup final is now a best of three tournament, as they say a brand new series, but one that suddenly casts the Bruins as the team in a more confident spot.

The Vancouver papers have been fixing their gaze and prose on what the Province calls a watershed in Canucks history, a healthy boost for the province's pulp and paper industry and perhaps providing a spike in appointments with Psychologists across the province.

Canuck fans have been living and on many nights dying with their team for forty years now, this season as it progressed gave every indication that it was perhaps finally "the year", where the ghosts of the past were put to rest for good.

For some, that faith has been shaken after the eastern excursion, making game 5 and whatever comes after it a little more nerve wracking than originally anticipated.

There's not much that they can do now but to sit back and hope for the best, hopeful, that history isn't about to replay itself, anxious for the home side to prevail against obstacles of their own creation.

There's a video making the rounds on You Tube that celebrates this current run for the Cup, while looking back at the past,  for Canuck fans it sums up 40 years in less than a minute and a half.

Which judging by the growing unease in Canuckland of late, may be about as much drama as a Canuck fan can take at one sitting.

Mr. Balsillie, it's some fellow called Bettman on line one!

We imagine this perhaps qualifies as something that belongs in the Book of Revelation, Gary Bettman seemingly has discovered that there may be gold in them thar hills north of the 49th.

Forbes magazine is reporting that the NHL Commissioner has apparently whispered in Jim Balsillie's ear that if he makes nice and doesn't cause any embarrassments, then his quest for an NHL franchise may yet come to fruition.

Perhaps awed by the fact that  Canadian hockey fans will actually purchase season tickets in numbers that require more than two hands to count, speculation is rising that the Commissioner of the NHL may just soften on the idea of further delivery of hockey teams to the Great White North.

The Balsillie is back in the game theme of course raised much interest in Canada when word of it broke on Thursday, as Southern Ontario hockey fans in particular started dreaming the dream that Winnipeg just had come true, that being the repatriation of the national game back to the land of its roots.

TSN-- Bettman tells Balsillie he could still get a team
CHCH-- Balsillie may still get an NHL franchise
The Score-- Report: Balsillie will get a team if he "behaves"
Hamilton Spectator--  Balsillie in the picture again for an NHL team

Eager it seems to throw cold water on the wild speculation as fast it broke, the NHL dispatched Bill Daly to offer up the always popular denial that any such arrangement has been brokered.

Then again, they said much the same about any Winnipeg relocation, up until the day that the Commissioner flew into Winnipeg for a press conference, so don't expect the story to fade away any time soon.

And while the NHL might prefer that Mr. Balsillie stay close to the ground and not "embarrass" them, one has to wonder if two things will work against the Commissioners wish to control the agenda.

Mr. Balsillie has more than enough money for a team and there certainly seems like there is no shortage of franchises in the NHL that are struggling at the moment and perhaps receptive to a relocation offer.

Thus, it would be safe to say, that sooner rather than later Mr. Balsillie will be getting a phone call, but it won't necessarily be Mr. Bettman on that phone at that time, but rather an anxious vendor looking to sell.

What Mr. Bettman does after that call is made will dictate whether there will be any future embarrassments or spectacles along the way.

From the meandering mind of Mike Milbury

Mount Milbury erupted again this week, as commentator Mike Milbury provided yet another stellar observation for the folks at Versus (an organization not seemingly inclined to grab resumes from  Mensa we imagine, judging from the comments of late of Mr. Milbury and his echo chamber compatriot Pierre McGuire).

Milbury, who is perhaps the one man on earth that can make Don Cherry sound erudite and deserving of a Rhodes Scholarship, weighed in with his observations on the skills and competitiveness of Vancouver's Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

Going to some length to draw a comparison to the main characters of the movie Thelma and Louise, a rather strange bit of analogy that speaks we think, more to Milbury than it does to the players in question.

Not that anyone takes what Mike Milbury has to say seriously anymore anyways, considering his considerable skills at player evaluation, one would take his guidance on player personnel issues with a keg of salt perhaps.

Ask the folks on Long Island about his hockey acumen, this being a fellow that suggests that the blockbuster trade that involved among others, Zdeno Chara for Alexi Yashin  was a good one (however did all that turn out anyways).

The only qualifying factor for that stellar decision, is that he can point to the fellow in Ottawa (Hello John Muckler) who let Chara get away from the Senators as perhaps someone who would make Milbury the smartest guy in a room of two.

Islander fans who have fond memories of their own possession of Lord Stanley's Mug, of late can only sit back and wonder whatever happened to their proud franchise, the foundation of ineptitude it seems was in part put in place during the Milbury era, where it's safe to say no miracles took place.

We'll leave it to the Canucks back up goaltender Cory Schneider (it must be all the time they have to watch the game that makes goalies so astute) to offer up the defining commentary on the latest  deliberations of Mr. Milbury.

Now it's been a while since we've seen the movie in question that spurred on Mr. Milbury's night at the improv, but perhaps he needs a refresher on the plot line of the movie here, because, if we remember correctly and as you can see for yourself here,  things didn't end up too well for the guy with the big mouth and obnoxious attitude.

Now with that visual in your mind, how do you think the Bruins feel about Motormouth Mike providing the Canucks with a bit of motivation through his never ending fountain of wit and widsom, I'm thinking they're not calling him a genius in the Boston room right now!

Momentum shift

The totals weren't quite as dramatic, but the net result certainly was, with their 4-0 victory on Wednesday night the Boston Bruins have turned the momentum around in this Stanley Cup Final.  Sewing, no make that pounding in the seeds of doubt, into a Canuck lineup that but four days ago perhaps thought destiny was on their side.

In two periods of hockey on Causeway street, the home side was good for 12 goals, surrendering but 1. About the only good thing that the Canucks can take home with them from their trip to New England is that the NHL playoffs are based on the ability to gain four wins out of seven and not by aggregate goals scored over the course of those seven games.

Despite firing more shots at the spectacular Tim Thomas (who could very well be our Conn Smythe winner now, win or lose) than the Bruins directed at Roberto Luongo and then Cory Schneider, the Bruins goaltender held perfect, snatching shots out of thin air, flopping to cover the rebound and clearing in front of his own net with a handy slash that would make Ron Hextall or Billy Smith stand up and applaud.

Thomas has done it all for the Bruins in all four games thus far, the better of the goaltenders in this series, the motivational force for his team mates to take advantage of their opportunities (at times to ridiculous totals).

The Canucks as they returned to Vancouver stress that they'll be putting those two games in Boston behind them and focusing on the future, and with good reason, for they certainly played some disappointing hockey during their stay, turning into roadkill along the Mass turnpike as it were.

In Vancouver, where the bandwagon ebbs and flows with wins and losses, the first strains of panic have started to seep into the faithful, more than a few suggesting that Roberto Luongo should give way  to Cory Schneider, forgetful it seems that while there have been a fair number of goals against,  any number of breakdowns bear responsibility, not just the fellow between the pipes.

The defense has struggled since the injury to Dan Hamhius, Kevin Bieksa in particular seems to have suffered the most from his partner's absence, the bingo balls bouncing in and out through the last two games to try and find a partner to make him comfortable.

Keith Ballards return to the line up was not the success he may have wished for, he struggled quite a bit through game four, the lack of playoff playing time taking its toll at times, leaving him on more than one occasion to be a step behind, out of position and suffering the attack of the Bruins.

He wasn't alone by any stretch however, back checkers neglected their assignments throughout the game, and once again, in what is becoming a regular nightmare for the Canucks, a second period collapse gave the Bruins their momentum which they never surrendered.

A power play, power outage has told the tale thus far for the Canucks, while the Bruins take penalties there seemingly is no cost for their transgressions, the Canucks with the extra attacker making far too many pretty passes and surrendering the puck too much, the shots they do manage to get through on Thomas, for the most part have been easily turned aside.

The perfect conditions for the Bruins to have fought back from their Vancouver setbacks, taking what the Canucks have provided to them and turning it into two convincing wins, with a very real belief now that two more is within their grasp.

In the end, a victory is a victory, each one worth but one game towards the goal of four, the Canucks have three more chances to gain the two that they require if they're to bring the final chapter of their Stanley Cup run to an end, the way the Bruins are playing at the moment, a rewrite to the concluding paragraph isn't out of the question.

As always, you can review the vast collection of offerings on this Stanley Cup final from our archive post, which you can find here.

When it comes to NHL discipline, it's wait, what?

Norm MacDonald, the host of the newly arrived "Sports Show" on The Comedy Network (Comedy Central in the USA) has developed an ongoing feature and catch phrase called Wait, What?

A section where he does a double take on some of the hot issues of the day or more unusual of developments in sports, a place where there clearly is no shortage of material.

In fact, if Mr. MacDonald were to take the pronouncements  of hockey discipline as an example (though we imagine a good portion of the US viewing audience would be a tad baffled at such behaviour) he probably could fill up an entire show a night.

The NHL ruled on Tuesday in the matter of Rome v Horton, the stand in sheriff Mike Murphy sitting in for Colin Campbell, the father of Gregory of the Bruins who has recused himself from further disciplinarian calls for this series, and as it turns out for the future as well, having resigned his position prior to the start of the Finals.

Murphy is like a visiting judge for these playoffs, the conduit between the Campbell era and that of Brendan Shanahan, who takes on the duties of Justice Minister in Gary Bettman's cabinet in September.

Though considering the pressure of the job at hand and the lack of clear directives from the NHL board, perhaps he may wish to reconsider that which he is getting himself into.


In a now famous soap commercial, Shanahan declares that he's comfortable in his own skin, good thing, cause he's going to need to be not only comfortable, but leather tough in it for what his new job will require.

Murphy's ruling of Tuesday specified a four game suspension for Aaron Rome, the price he will pay for his open ice hit at the Canuck blue line which has sent Horton to the sidelines, according to the Bruins for the remainder of the playoff season and perhaps for training camp as well.

The nature of the hit, which as we outlined in our previous post on Tuesday nights game, has been the subject of much debate over the last 12 hours and will continue to fuel the discussion we imagine well beyond this playoff season.

The suspension of Rome for the four games, which will cover the remainder of the playoffs will be judged as correct, at least in the context of the need to send a message to the players that hits that lead to injury must be rooted out of the game.

Still, considering the number of similar incidents in the very recent past, one wonders if there is not a question of consistency of punishment that needs to be addressed.

Ask Brent Seabrook in Chicago, the victim of a Raffi Torres hit earlier in this playoff year, he might ask, as McDonald does on his show Wait, What? 

Seeking out an answer as to why there was no punishment for this incident.
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Ask Max Pacioretty in Montreal, the victim of a Zdeno Chara hit into a stanchion in Montreal in March, he too could declare Wait, What? 

Asking the question, how come no lengthy suspension for that offence
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Go back as far as the game that gained the largest viewership of the regular season, the New Years Winter Classic between Pittsburgh and Washington, when the league's marquee player Sidney Crosby suffered the first of a pair of hits in January that eventually forced him to the injury list, a place he has rested since that time, having yet to be declared fully fit to play hockey.
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He too could ask Wait, What?

Wondering aloud if the NHL is really inclined to protect its players at all times and not just when the glare of the national media is on the Stanley Cup Finals.

There are any number of other incidents this past season and from the ones that went before which could garner the same question,  the only common theme an inconsistent application of punishment, an inconsistent nature of guidelines, a situation that perhaps led to the moment that may very well taint this Stanley Cup playoff.

Had players been provided with a better template as to what is, and what is not acceptable, then perhaps Zdeno Chara turns aside from the boards in March, Raffi Torres takes a pass on the obvious hit in May and Aaron Rome lets the moment pass in Boston on Monday night.

Hockey is a fast game, a game of controlled violence at times, that on occasion steps across the line, the problem is, that line seems to move from game to game, leaving us in the place we find ourselves at today.

Fast, Furious, Victorious

Monday night, the Boston Bruins delivered a dandy of a birthday present for Cam Neely.

The Bruins President celebrating his 46th birthday was feted by the crowd as he unfurled the huge Bruins banner for delivery around the TD Gardens and then through sixty minutes of hockey the Bruins delivered the best of all presents, a solid 8-1 thumping of the Vancouver Canucks.

On the very same day that he was traded to the Bruins 25 years ago (a day that will live in infamy in British Columbia) the Bruins found their scoring touch and showed goaltender Tim Thomas that his hard work in games one and two of this series and throughout the series was not in vain.

Seemingly infected by the need to provide gifts to the Bruins President, the Canucks also added to the Bruins goal totals, coughing up  short handed goals, as well as an own goal off the stick of Ryan Kesler, overall a wholly unforgettable night of hockey for the visiting squad.

The game of course was overshadowed by a horrifying incident in the early portion of the first period, the now much replayed hit by the Canucks' Aaron Rome on the Bruins Nathan Horton, a collision that left the Bruin player laying on the ice, contorted in a position that would make even the most enthusiastic proponent of physical hockey turn away.

Much has been said of the hit at the Canucks blue line, some pointing towards it being a hit of the most dirty nature, others suggesting that if it had been delivered a millisecond earlier it would have been the thing of a Rock em', Sock em video.

Of the myriad of debate on the incident, Bob McKenzie, perhaps with a bit of distance from that of those that cover the two teams, seems to have outlined the most knowledgeable review of the situation, though it would seem that he was a minority opinion on Monday night.

Rome, who has no particular record of dirty play, seemingly wanted to deliver the kind of check that we have seen through the ages, a stand them up at the blue line hit that would set the tone for the remainder of the game.  His hit however, came late, of that there is no doubt, Horton no longer in possession of the puck, was in what hockey folk call a vulnerable position, the hit it would seem knocked him out on his feet and with that his head hit the ice, accentuating the dangerous nature of the incident.

Taken from the ice on a stretcher, Horton was transported to a Boston hospital where he remained overnight for observation, the prognosis of Tuesday morning providing the news that he will miss the remainder of the playoffs with a severe concussion, with some suggestions that even his training camp next September may be in peril.

The NHL met in conclave on Tuesday morning as well, delivering the ruling that for his hit Rome will be suspended for four games, effectively taking him out of the playoffs and removing what obviously could have been the kindling for even more trouble to come.

The ruling, in the era of more pro-active discipline, would seem to be the correct one, especially with the knowledge that Horton will not play for the rest of the playoff run. It  provides guidance that player safety still resonates with the league office, even if they don't always seem to offer up that guidance on a consistent basis.

Bruins' supporters, who justifiably are concerned for their player and having seen this movie in the past, none the less must keep in mind that they have been on the other side of this discussion.  It wasn't too short a period of time ago (March) that we could have replaced the name of Horton with Pacioretty, casting the villains cape to Chara, instead of Rome.

The hits while both violent in nature do have their differences, the Rome hit was to be an open ice hit, while the Chara hit was one which directed a player into a stanchion,  the result was much the same however, with injury and fear for a players health.

The Bruins defenseman however was back in the line up with nary even a one game suspension, the message at that time from the NHL that the hit in question was a hockey play  was clear as mud when it comes to defining player safety.

The league made their thoughts a little more instructive today, its a lesson that the players need to understand, though in a game where speeds at time appear to reach dizzying accelerations, unless the game become no contact hockey, collisions are going to continue to be a part of the game, the difference between the highlight reel one from the dirty listed in the milliseconds and in the nebulous world of intent.

The remainder of the game's fifty five minutes at times hearkened back to the era of the seventies, there would be no shying away from further body contact, the stick work at times seemed to be on the verge of getting out of hand and the yapping post whistle continued on, with the Bruins seeming to take up the charge with both Mark Recchi and Milan Lucic clearly  disregarding the pre game lecturing of their own coach regarding taunting and such.

As for the actual scoring on the ice, Game three was all Bruins, who finally found reward for the frustrations of games one and two.  The Canucks on this night were the team that provided the turnovers that the Bruins exploited to much success, from exploding sticks to deflections into their own net, the Canucks never seemed to get their cadence in place.

The Bruins for the most part delivered and finished their checks, knocking the Canucks off their game, so enthused with the physical play of the boyos in the B sweaters, even Tim Thomas was caught up in the physicality of the game, delivering a check to Henrik Sedin in front of the Bruin net.

The 8-1 washout at the hands of the Bruins was probably not as bad as it looks in print, by the third and with a depleted bench the Canucks seemed to be merely trying to survive the third to play another day, leaving their goaltender to suffer the onslaught, a team that was hardly skating, seldom clearing, certainly not in any danger of scoring.

The debate post game being whether Alain Vigneault should have removed his goaltender from further trouble in that third period (Luongo apparently advising his coach to leave him in the game, advice that perhaps Vigneault should have graciously turned down), a debate that in consensus, offers up that Cory Schneider should have been thrown to the wolves in the third frame.

As history has shown,  this is not the first time that the Canucks have been aired out in this Stanley Cup playoff year. Vancouver seems to suffer at least one blow out per series (with both Chicago and San Jose finding their range earlier on in this playoff year, while Nashville would have needed some offence to provide that in their series) each time they have managed to correct the course and find success.

For Vancouver fans the past could be their guide and in fact for some the prospect of a game five on home ice, with its potential for a Stanley Cup clinching game is about the only positive they can take from the Game three meltdown in Massachusetts.

Of course to get to that game five, they still have to go through a game four, a game which we imagine will offer much of the same intensity as the previous three, another pivotal game in a series where every game seems to be offering a defining moment.

As usual, the full review of Game three from a variety of sources can be found in our Stanley Cup archives, which you can view here.

Did it in some Manitoba minutes

The NHL may very well in some southern circles be viewing the idea of coming back to Winnipeg with tempered enthusiasm (if not resigned horror), the southern branch of the firm featuring a sense that the prairie city isn't quite the big time of the southern footprint.

But for those below the 49th that have (should be had by now) their doubts, the fans, those that pay the price for a sport that rewards its players handsomely, have spoken loud and clear, and in Winnipeg money talks in volume it seems.

Challenged to a degree by a Commissioner who despite his talking points of last week as to options,  has seemingly run out of viable relocation sites in the US, the Winnipeg fan base rose as one (well less the scalper, er secondary market as they now prefer to be called, see here and here)  and secured their 13,000 reserved spots at the MTS Centre in record time.

With the Moose ticket holders of the AHL allowed their first picks to a total of some 8,000 plus, the remainder of the available seats were opened up to the general public on Saturday, an opening which took all of two minutes to fill and fifteen minutes to process before the Sorry Sold Out sign was ready for installation.

An indication as to the hunger of the Manitoba sports fan to welcome home the NHL to their city, and to just reinforce the point for the Commissioner and the southern shareholders, another 8,000 paid fifty dollars and put their name on the list for any openings that may come down the line in the future.

We're not sure what the "official" number of season ticket holders was last season in Atlanta, but on those rare occasions when a Thrashers highlight was shown on television, it seemed that there was a much greater number of fans that seemingly were disguised as empty seats in Phillips Arena.

The best response however to the outpouring of support that the Winnipeg team has received thus far goes to an anonymous poster on the Winnipeg free Press site over the weekend, with but a simple statement that more than outlines the gulf in interest between Winnipeg and a good number of American cities when it comes to off ice success.

His/Her question, simply asked was, how's the season ticket campaign going in Phoenix today... silence as they say is golden and on that file the NHL is mysteriously quiet.

With Saturday's success, when it comes to the concerns over the Winnipeg file the case  is now closed, the defence rests...


Winnipeg Free Press-- Season ticket list capped at 8,00 following 17 minute sellout
Winnipeg Free Press-- Gone in 17 minutes
Winnipeg Sun-- We've proven city belongs in big leagues
Winnipeg Sun-- NHL the hottest ticket in town
Winnipeg Sun-- Winnipeg hockey sell out a slam dunk
Winnipeg Sun-- Tickets will be hard to come by 
Globe and Mail-- Winnipeg hockey fans buy up 13,000 season seats
Globe and Mail-- Ticket drive means big money for NHL in Winnipeg
National Post-- Winnipeg's NHL return a boon for the secondary market
CBC-- Scalpers hawk Winnipeg tickets

For Winnipeg's owners it seems so much more than just a game, more than a business proposition

The Globe and Mail's Stephen Brunt once again has provided for a tour de force on this fascination of Canadians with the game of hockey, Mr. Brunt in an article posted to the Globe on Sunday outlines the way that the game has resonated with David Thomson the co-owner, with Mark Chipman of Winnipeg's returned child of the NHL.

In the type of prose that we have come to regularly expect from Mr. Brunt, (one of our favourite writers) on all things sporting and Canadianna, he truly seems to have captured the driving force of Mr. Thomson's involvement in this grand Manitoba adventure with Mr. Chipman.

Providing poetry to the cold hard world of the business decisions of a sport, one that seems to attract more than it's fair share of owners with a slightly different agenda than that expressed by the 17th richest person in the world.

Upon reading of the catharsis that led to the partnership between Mr. Thomson and Mr. Chipman, we soon come to learn that they seem to be cut of slightly different cloth than the likes of the cast of the Usual Suspects of the recent past of the NHL, names such as Boots Del Biaggio,  John Rigas and even the likeable, if long since tainted Bruce McNall.

It makes you almost fear for the Manitoba pair as they prepare to take their place at the table with a good number of the other 30 members of the lodge, already without even one meeting under their belt, you would have to say they will be the smartest men in the room by a Manitoba mile.

And as glowing a testimony to the game as Mr. Brunt has provided, he is not alone in his account of the return of this game Canadians love to the land of its roots.

As though to reinforce their belief in the prospect of success for Winnipeg in the NHL, even the world's paper of record the New York Times seems to understand that hockey belongs in Canada, belongs in Winnipeg.

You can read the excellent Brunt piece here, the equally rewarding George Vescey article from the Time here.

Perhaps the best explanations in recent times as to how much the game matters in Canada and why it belongs in a place where the passion for it seemingly will never be extinguished.

Now, if  you will  excuse me, having read the two items, I'm just a little verklempt...

Shipping Up to Boston!

With a 2-0 Stanley Cup final lead in hand, and two gut wrenching losses administered to the visiting Bruins, the Vancouver Canucks have shipped up to Bruins territory, eager to continue on with their momentum and bring the Cup back with them.

Game two, like game one ended in crushing style for the spoked B's, having the game go into over time only to lose in less time than Norm at Cheers could quaff an ale.

In the blink of an eye, Alex Burrows (most likely public enemy number one in Boston these days) had flashed past a sprwaling Tim Thomas and out hustled, and out muscled Zdeno Chara, pushing the puck into the gaping front of the Bruins net, a 3-2 victory secured and delirium to be released on Vancouver's streets on Saturday night.

The Bruins, who perhaps had thoughts of taking a win back home through game two, had played a fairly good second period, out playing the Canucks, taking advantage of chances and even miracle, of miracle, scoring a power play goal.

It was their best period collectively of the six and a bit played through the first two games, but in the end, it was as though it didn't matter.  As the Canucks seemingly have been able to do when required most, they collected themselves heading into the third period and battled back, first with the Sedin's line which collected the tying goal on a picture perfect play, adding to the pressure of the third, shaking the confidence of the Bruins when it needed to be steeled the most.

The Bruins held off the attack to full time, but then, with the overtime just underway a turnover to Alex Edler was pushed up to Daniel Sedin, who deflected the pass up to Burrows who was into the Bruins zone and off and away to the Canucks history books once again.



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It was the second big play goal scored by Burrows in this years Stanley Cup playoffs, larger even than his pivotal goal against the Hawks in the first round...
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Saturday's marker steeped in the controversy of the last few days a dagger like  score, one that will be food for thought for whatever amount of games remain in this Stanley Cup Final.

In fact, Burrows who clearly has gotten into the psyche of the Bruins (and we imagine as he will learn into that of their fans as well), has also staked out some ground in the minds of those that cover the game.

Frankly we're not sure if we really need to hear any more about "the bite" from the talking class of Pierre McGuire, Mike Milbury and Don Cherry, all of whom have, er, um, feasted if you will, on the discussion points of the previous 48 hours to Saturday's puck drop.

Messrs. McGuire and Milbury in particular have been a little over the top with their high moral ground, making the Bruins sound as though they play for Mother Teresa Academy, not at all familiar with the historical stories of the team that once was known as the "BIG BAD BRUINS"

Mr. Milbury, who should perhaps wear a Bruins sweater to the NBC booth, has ratcheted up the outrage to bellicose levels, a tad cartoonish really, considering this is a fellow that once climbed far into the stands at Madison Square Garden to beat a fan on the head with his own shoe, a technique that he made famous long before it was fashionable in such places as Iraq and Egypt.
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While we don't condone mis-behaviour of any kind on or off the ice and find that the Burrows incident certainly detracts from his skill set of actual playing time on the ice, at least he managed to keep his emotions limited to the ice surface, so lessons of behaviour from Mr. Milbury perhaps don't quite have the cache that he might believe they do.

And really, if the talking heads wish to get to the root cause of the Bruins difficulties thus far in this series, rather than focus on the short period of the Burrows/Begeron incident, perhaps a further examination of the growing volume of turnovers by Bruins whether forward or defense might best shine a light on the Bruins troubles after two games.

Missed assignments, badly constructed passes and giveaways have plagued the Bruins through the bulk of games one and two,  that combined with an inability to take advantage of the stellar work of Tim Thomas in the nets, those are the main contributing factors to the two losses and unless some form of reversal of those problems isn't put in place, then we suspect turnovers and sloppy play will contribute to the final two victories that the Canucks seek.

It's one thing to lose game one with but eighteen seconds to go, one that their goaltender all but stole for them, but to lose the second in OT in such a heart wrenching fashion, well that can be the old spike through the heart.

The Bruins can talk all they want and whistle past the graveyard as they have, but the Canucks can taste it now (ooops my bad, don't mean to dwell on past events), their confidence level going into the TD Gardens will be high, their momentum a motivating factor if ever there was. Their past slips in the previous series a helpful reminder as to the need for focus on just taking things one period at a time, making the adjustments as they have in the past has proven to be the key to their success and there seems little doubt that they will find a need to change that strategy from here on in.

To the credit of the Bruins coaching staff and their players they aren't conjuring up excuses, taking responsibility for their losses in Vancouver and vowing to redress their troubles and start the quest anew at home.

It's what you would expect from a proud team with a proud history, but you have to wonder if there's not a smidgeon of doubt creeping into their thoughts, despite those brave faces of resolve that boarded the plane back home on Sunday.

Game three has always been a pivotal game in the Stanley Cup playoffs and Monday night will be no different, a Canucks win would be a devastating blow to the Bruins chances, a scenario we imagine that should make for a rollicking good time in the historic old seaside town on the New England coast, a town that has hosted its share of hockey history through the decades.


If ever a game required an appropriate soundtrack this would be the one, and some of New England's favourite sons and a group rather fond of their B's have just the song, so it seems appropriate that at playoff time, we throw the scene setter to the Dropkick Murphy's.




The only question remains is if the Canucks will be the team that the song resonates for more by the time Monday's game comes to an end.

Reviews of the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals can be found on our archive page.

Solving Thomas in the dying seconds, Canucks take game one

Vancouver's dreams of a Stanley Cup parade took one step forward on Wednesday night as the hometown side grabbed a 1-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals, thanks to a dying second goal from Raffi Torres.

Game One which provided more than enough talking points to cover off the two day gap between games one and two started out with a flurry in the Boston end of the rink, a span of five minutes or so that seemed to foreshadow what was to come over the next 55 minutes.

The Bruins were quickly put on their heels as the game got underway, the Canucks clearly seeking to make a  knockout blow early on in the action peppered goaltender Tim Thomas with a variety of shots from any  number of angles and positions, putting the Bruins goaltender to the test in quick order.

It was a test that the veteran Bruin tender passed with flying colours, setting the stage for the goal tending duel that followed as he and the Canucks Roberto Luongo put on a goal tending clinic that bodes well for entertainment in this years Stanley Cup final.

If not for Thomas holding the fort in that early first period and again throughout the third when the Canucks truly caught fire, the Bruins could possibly have suffered a loss of epic proportions.

Once the Bruins weathered that early storm, the play settled down to a more familiar pattern, a fair amount of clutching and grabbing after the whistle, as well as a parade to the penalty box. There were heavy hits and some controversial plays (hello Mr. Burrows and a wandering Tim Thomas) which provided the underlying themes for a good portion of the game.

In fact, the latter stages of the first and most of the second period never really seemed to pick up a cadence, the penalties interrupting any sense of flow and offering up more opportunities to examine the teams power play troubles while showcasing the penalty kills, which as events proved out were quite effective.

With Thomas and Luongo matching the shots save for save and time moving into the latter stages of the third period the prospect of an Overtime session (or maybe two or three) seemed to be more than likely. Luongo showcasing the kind of play that has propelled the Canucks towards the Stanley Cup since the Chicago series, while Thomas once again provided evidence of his importance to this years Bruins collective, keeping his team in the game as the Canuck pressure began to mount.

While the first two periods seemed to suggest stalemate, the third seemed to offer up the thought that it was only a matter of time before the Canucks solved the riddle of Thomas.  Vancouver had any number of great opportunities through that third period taking control of the play, while the Bruins suddenly prone to making mistakes in their own end seemed to be just trying to hold on for the OT option, the Canucks more than anxious to try and take advantage of the changing slant of the ice.

A sure fire goal from Alex Edler rattled off the cross bar, Jannik Hansen on a breakaway surely thought he was going to be the hero of the night, those two highlight reel efforts and a handful of other opportunities increasing the pressure, but each time it was Thomas that stemmed the rising tide of attack from the Canucks.

As the game moved towards the last thirty seconds play in regulation, the Canucks launched one final push, Ryan Kesler, author of many a big play this playoff year once again was central to a key moment.

Taking a Kevin Bieksa pass at the blue line, while managing to stay onside with a nifty straddle (we're thinking his groin injury is fine now judging by the acrobatics at the blue line) he shuffled the puck over to Jannik Hansen, who then pushed it under a sprawling Zdeno Chara, finding the stick of Raffi Torres who quickly rifled the puck past Tim Thomas as the clock registered 18.5 seconds, securing victory for the Canucks and launching street parties across the province..

It was a sudden change of fortune for the Bruins that may be hard to shake off in this final, the key to victory in a seven game series such as the Stanley Cup is the ability to take advantage of opportunity, the Bruins had the chance to steal a game and couldn't, while the Canucks voided an outstanding performance from Thomas, a confidence building experience that could very well pay dividends within a short number of days.

As Stanley Cup battles go Game 1 had a number of highlights, a few sideshows and the promise of more  drama to come, not a bad way to kick off the championship round.

You can track the latest news from the Stanley Cup final from our series archive page, we update it daily with observations from around the hockey world.

HockeyNation Headlines June 2011

June 30-- Ehrhoff gets 10-year deal
June 29-- HBO cameras to focus on Tortorella, Bryzgalov
June 28-- Hulsizer reportedly pulls Coyotes bid
June 27-- Bieksa signs deal with Canucks
June 26-- Rising NHL salary cap spurs trading frenzy
June 25-- WHL on top again on Day 2 of NHL draft
June 24-- Nugent-Hopkins follows Hall onto Oilers stage
June 23-- Richards, Carter traded; Bryzgalov signed
June 22-- Star studded night, Canucks rule, a photo first
June 21-- NHL board of governors approves Atlanta sale to Winnipeg
June 20-- Nicklas Lidtsrom to return to Red Wings with 1 year deal
June 19-- Colin Campbell glad to be out of NHL firing line
June 18-- Bruins Rally a million-hit parade
June 17-- Hockey Canada invites 46 players to junior development camp
June 16-- Bruins won't be dismantled by the cap
June 15-- Raise the Cup
June 14-- Luongo key to Canucks' success, or failure, in Game 7
June 13-- Choice matchup
June 12-- Canucks' Rome apologetic, but has no regrets
June 11-- Luongo silences critics once again
June 10-- More than 100,000 hit the streets after Canucks beat...
June 9-- Game 5 marks watershed in Canucks history
June 8-- Bruins flatten Canucks to tie series
June 7-- NHL suspends Rome four games for hit on Horton
June 6-- Bruins 8, Canucks 1
June 5-- Canucks cling to Cup final momentum 
June 4-- Devastated Bruins left to pick up the pieces
June 3-- A visit from the NHL's goon squad
June 2-- Canucks muzzle Bruins 1-0 to take Game 1
June 1-- 'The biggest game you can play'

B's and V's if you please

So here we are, nine months since training camps opened have passed by, each and every one of them leading up to this next two week period, the highest of Holy Days for NHL fans, potentially seven games of drama leading to the deliverance of Lord Stanley's Cup.

There are three cities full of excitement these days, Winnipeg from their return to the lodge will no doubt continue to celebrate that achievement through these Stanley Cup playoffs, no team to live and die with in the Stanley Cup final, but their days filled with the prospect of September of 2011 when the next season begins anew.

The more direct excitement of course, will be felt in Boston and Vancouver, where last night the Canucks played host to their first Stanley Cup final game since their long march into spring back in the nineties and a heartbreaking loss at the hands of the New York Rangers.

The Bruins with their own playoff ghosts to ponder, likewise are anxious to return Stanley to a place it once dwelled.

The match up this year takes your humble blogger back to the days of youth, growing up in south end Ottawa back in the day gave us no "home" team to follow, the divisions of loyalty as disperse as the make up of the neighbourhood, one which consisted mainly of Irish, Italian and French Canadian puck heads.

There were the usual divisions among the Leafs and the Habs, but in the era of the time, beingthe late sixties there was a smattering of other original six teams, with the Bruins grabbing my attention based mainly on the exploits of one Robert Gordon Orr.

Through the late sixties and into the early seventies it was a Boston Bruin sweater that was pulled on for road hockey games or twirls around the neighbourhood outdoor rink, the number 4 haphazardly stitched on the back and while the will to be like Orr may have been there, the skill level was a tad below the bar as you might say.

Still, Number Fawh was the player and the Bruins the team for me at the time, others in the neighbourhood could wear their Red Wings and Black Hawks finery (we imagine guys named Howe and Hull had something to do with that) and since it was a slightly more intimidating neighbourhood than most, the odd Flyer uniform began to appear with expansion (owing we suspect in part to the Flyers using Ottawa as a training camp base) , but I stayed true to B untl that fateful day when the Bruins and Bobby parted ways.

They lost a star player that day and I never went back to cheering on a Bruins team and even if the years that have passed we can perhaps point the finger of blame more correctly towards a certain player agent who will remain nameless, think birds if you will.  The fact that the Bruins let Orr go to another team (though perhaps it could have been helpful if he had been provided with all the details eh) was the first sign that hockey was starting to change.

Where loyalty was not to be honoured or to be compensated and the business of the game began to overshadow the beauty of the action, hard lessons for a youngster but then again we all have to learn about the mean old world them sometimes.

So with my own self declared fan free agency at hand, I began to cast about for a new team to support, with the idea of joining the Leafs and Habs supporters clearly not on (a proud Ottawan steeped in love of the CFL Riders, cheering anything Montreal or Toronto (except for the Expos) wasn't to be considered)  the newly arrived Vancouver Canucks began to hold some appeal.

The exotic distance was one temptation and frankly the sweaters just looked neat, the blue and green on the white, a classic uniform that still looks pretty sharp today (best move ever was going back to that traditional colour scheme).  The hockey rink (or was it a puck? as the question was in the day) with the stick in the middle a simple declaration of the sport.

And while we never quite declared totally fealty to all things Canuck, we watched with far more than a interest as they moved through their 40 years of NHL transit, along the way we found time to cheer on an amazing and confident Quebec Nordiques team if for no other reason that it annoyed the Habs fans so much, their day of departure for Colorado still a black mark of injustice on our historical calendar.

Likewise, having spent a few years in Manitoba and making the pilgrimage to salute the Queen's portrait at the Winnipeg Arena a  few times, where we chanted Go Jets Go with the rest of the crowd the loss of the Jets providing another shake to our NHL foundation for a while.

The return of Ottawa to the league gave us cause to salute a new flag and gain a little hope that the hockey universe was beginning to right itself, a rooting interest for the old home town back where it once ruled oh so long ago, and even if we'll probably never make it back to see a home game, we've taken them as our team, good years and bad (and man was this year the bad).

The exit of the 2007 Stanley Cup final still a bitter pill to swallow, with so many expectations, and with the vision that of all teams, it was the Anaheim Ducks carrying the Cup around could have put a waver  into many a fan, but hope springs eternal and we're always suggesting that next season could be the season.

In fact, despite evidence to the contrary, we had kind of hoped that this years Stanley Cup Final would feature the Sens and the Canucks, a prognostication that proved only fifty percent correct, a wish that perhaps may have been guided by rose coloured glasses or  perhaps clinical delusion, who knows for sure.

Since their return, the Sens have been the focus of our hockey attentions, though successive decades in British Columbia have reminded us of our early fascination of those that sport Green and Blue on the Canucks, and while not quite as attached as the many uniform clad and flag flying residents of the province currently in rapture, we have developed a rather healthy respect of and rooting interest for these Canucks.

Still, 50 per cent is better than nothing, and since our outpost among the blogging portals is from this west coast of Canada,  this series offers up a welcome change from the recent Stanley Cup finals.

Where in the past we've watched with interest but with little emotional attachment to the outcome, this year is a little bit different, as there's an actual team to cheer on and celebrate for their achievements.

That Bruins sweater long ago faded into our history, the only the memory of that era  the remarkable time when Bobby Orr ruled the ice. While we are sure the current roster is fine, outstanding young men, there's nothing there now for us to hitch our hopes to, no real emotional pull to the Black and Gold.

While we still await the day for the inscription of the Ottawa Senators name again to Lord Stanley's Cup, we're hopeful that this year at least will belong to the Vancouver Canucks, the anticipation in this province of that hopeful day later this month  is being felt from Rockies to Vancouver Island, from the American line to the south to beyond the Yukon border in the North.

With one game in the books, that path to the Stanley Cup, which has its roots with a team called the Millionaires from the last century, seems closer than ever.

Some remarkable hockey is yet to come, more memories yet to be made and somewhere in this province and perhaps in towns and cities across this country we imagine, someone is pulling on a hockey jersey for the first time in a Stanley Cup run.

Like those that have done such through the decades before, ready to live the dream with each game and each goal.

Their faith to be rewarded in but a few short days, whether it be for years of support, or recent conversion to the cause, the celebration we imagine will be much the same.