It appears that 17 years is long enough for a city to forget, and 4 losses are simply too many to forgive.
Despite what you may see or read in the news today, however, there was a hockey game last night and a series was decided. The Vancouver Canucks hosted Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, defending home ice against the Boston Bruins inside of Rogers Arena on Wednesday evening. Every home game in this series saw the home team win, and every game in Rogers Arena had been close.
Boston's hunger for glory certainly snapped those two patterns in half. With a push befitting a true champion, the Bruins dominated the aimless Canucks all over the ice. They didn't even need a barrage of shots, as Boston's shot total was only 20. That was still good enough to beat "Marquee" goaltender Roberto Luongo 3 times and pocket an empty-netter as the Bruins defeated the Canucks 4-0 to earn their first Stanley Cup since 1972.
Tim Thomas, Boston's netminder, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. He was praised as Boston's most consistent performer on the ice, and many agreed there was no one else who deserved it more.
Some may be wondering when I'm going to go in depth about the subsequent riots that broke out in the streets of Vancouver, but I'm going to admit right now that I'm not going to. That is exactly what the rioters want: attention. So yes, there were riots after the game: people were drunk, were high, were completely moronic, and now have cast a blight on the city that hosted the Olympics which will be a long time going away. Enjoy that. Moving on!
It is being reported that NBC got huge ratings for this game, which is good to hear. I enjoy hearing US TV bringing in good hockey ratings, because it's expected here in Canada, especially when A Canadian team is playing for the Cup. Boston is the 3rd Original Six team to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup in the last 4 years, next to the most recent Chicago Blackhawks last year, as well as our very own Detroit Red Wings in 2008. Congratulations to the Bruins for their victory!
Now, the wait for October is on...
