Bruins Cup Win Hazed by Vancouver Smoke and Tear Gas

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...

One Game at a Time: Game 7 is Here

A week ago, we'd have scarce believed it.

Tonight, we face an amazing opportunity.

With a "One game at a time" philosophy, the Detroit Red Wings have erased a 3-0 series deficit to tie their matchup with the San Jose Sharks and force a deciding Game 7. Only 7 other teams have rallied to tie such a series. Only 3 of those 7 have claimed victory. This evening, Detroit gets a chance to add another piece of history to their storied collection.

The Wings have improved as the series has progressed, and my hope is that the trend will continue. All the pressure now rests on San Jose, but that is no excuse to rest on our laurels. We still play to win.

One more game to make history, and progress toward another milestone: Cup #12.

Grit your teeth and come out playing hard, my sons, your faithful are behind you!

Let's Go Red Wings!!!!!!!!

Breaking the Mold of History

Everything has looked eerily similar as far as the Red Wings' series against the San Jose Sharks goes: The team, the round, the records, the one-goal games. Things have been pretty much following the same pattern they did this time last year. If Detroit wishes to remain alive in this postseason, however, they need to break the cycle. This time last year, the Wings played their last game of the season, beaten and embarrassed, as they were tossed from the playoffs in 5 games in the Conference Semifinals.

Tonight, we of Wings Nation hope that this particular bit of history is done repeating. Tonight we hope to see a Red Wings squad, rejuvenated and refreshed by their recent victory, keep their Cup dreams alive.

Tonight, we take the reins of destiny and bend fortune to our will; otherwise, we watch the reins be taken from our hands for the last time, and the ride is over once more.

It's too early to shave, Wingnuts! Let's Go Red Wings!!!!!!!!!!

Shark Fin Soup with a Side of Sweet Revenge: Wings/Sharks Preview

Wingnuts, we find ourselves in a familiar place at a familiar time of year. That's right, we've been rewarded for the Red Wings's postseason pounding of the Coyotes/Jets/Golden Seals/whatever the hell they're going to be by next year by being given a chance to even the score with the San Jose Sharks, the team who booted the Wings from the playoffs last year.

That's right, Sharks: We're back, and this time it's personal.

San Jose battled a beleaguered Los Angeles team that was hurting for offense up front with their main man Anze Kopitar out with injury. The Red Wings, however, are getting a couple of their main men back, as Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen are reportedly going to be good to go for Game 1 which goes down tonight in San Jose.

I feel that if the Wings can remember a lot of the little things they did against Phoenix, this series with SJ will be much different than last year, but only -IF-. The young guys need to keep being beasts, Todd Bertuzzi needs to make his presence physically known, and Pavel Datsyuk should be looking to put on a show every single game. Detroit is rested and ready, and we cannot afford to blow this opportunity to come out fresh and composed against a San Jose team that really struggled with the hurting Kings, something that totally sobered me as far as the lethality of the Sharks went.

One player to watch tonight will be Zetterberg. I'm hoping that he's as raring to make an impact as I think he'll be and comes back from his injury with a big first game in this series. Franzen might also be a key factor in these first two crucial road games, as he took the Sharks apart last year by himself in Game 4 of the Semis. My final pick to watch tonight is Darren Helm. I'll be curious to see who he zones in on this time around, same way he did on Ed Jovonovski in the Phoenix series. Whoever it is that Helmer targets in teal better start praying, because it's going to be hell for them over the next set of games.

It's the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it's the Conference Semifinals, and it's on tonight, Wingnuts!

Class is dismissed.

Let's Go Red Wings!!