June 19, 2006

Congrats 'Canes fans. That was a pretty fucking good hockey game. (Special props to NoMich, you got screwed over for the tickets, but that's a helluva value-add)

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 10:18 PM on June 19, 2006

Congrats to the Hurricanes for winning the Stanley Cup. They were the better team in the regular season and the better team in game 7. Now, I'm going to say something that will probably get my Canadian passport revoked: I switched over to the NBC broadcast of the game just before the end of the first period because I got sick and tired of the mindless ramblings of Cole and Neale on Hockey Night in Canada. CBC has got to get rid of "Ol' and Feeble". I don't know how people can stand listening to them say the wrong names, make the wrong calls and miss the right calls. The only thing that makes HNIC tolerable is Ron MacLean, Kelly Hrudey and the 2nd intermission "Hot Stove" segment (but only if Al Strachan isn't one of the talking heads). I hope the American hockey fans realize what a treat it is to have John Davidson as a colour man for the game.

posted by grum@work at 10:24 PM on June 19, 2006

Greatest finals I've ever seen. Too bad Edmonton couldn't take it, but it was still a great series.

posted by mkn at 10:35 PM on June 19, 2006

Grum: you said it about J.D. I hope we've all appreciated what we've had. Its probable that he's headed to ST. Louis to be the G.M of the Blues. I've been joining you watching NBC and only muting when Pierre McGuire babbles something from "inside the glass".

posted by tommybiden at 10:40 PM on June 19, 2006

Two of the smallest markets put on ONE HELLUVA show! Most hockey fans point to ex-players from their favorite teams, but who had as many exes as Blues fans? Rod Brin, Prongs, Hedican, "Dead" Weigt, Stillman...eight in all, I think. Somehow, the NHL's worst repped two of "the best". Congrats to ALL, on a monster 'Cup!!!

posted by wolfdad at 10:44 PM on June 19, 2006

Heartfelt congratulations to Hurricanes fans everywhere! It was an awesome game seven. Edmonton made it a tremendous series and you have to give them so much credit for taking a number-eight seed to game seven. Both teams played with lots of heart and the 'Canes took their "Whatever It Takes" theme seriously, sacrificing the body to stop some solid Edmonton shots! MAN, I LOVE THIS GAME!!!!

posted by pullthegoalie at 10:47 PM on June 19, 2006

It was an awfully good and pretty compelling finals. People will kvetch about ratings, but -- and this is the only important point -- no one who watched a game of this series was turned off the sport. (Say that about the NFL or NBA playoffs with a straight face. Come on, try.) Every single pair of those eyeballs will come back next year. The quality of play was that high, the energy in both cities was huge, the play was way more equal than anyone could have expected (especially after Roloson went down), and everyone played and acted with grace and class from first puck-drop to the handshakes after the final horn. The fans in both places rocked. This was a good season, a good series, and it bodes very well for next year.

posted by chicobangs at 10:57 PM on June 19, 2006

(Special props to NoMich, you got screwed over for the tickets, but that's a helluva value-add) Yay NoMich!!! I'm happy for ya man. Party hard and call off work tomorrow. NBC post-game coverage was non existent. Please tell me me you took some pics and fer godssakes post them.

posted by MrFrisby at 10:59 PM on June 19, 2006

The reason I think the handshake is so great is good sportsmanship. All these guys on both teams lay it all on the line. After a Saturday ball game, or football in the fall, or hockey in the winter, I try to make a point of shaking hands with all the guys I played with that day, on both teams. Its just a sign of respect, of hey, if something was said or done in the heat of battle, it's over now. Before anyone thinks i'm comparing myself to a pro athelete. No. FAR from it. REAL far. However, the same concept applies in my book.

posted by tommybiden at 11:07 PM on June 19, 2006

Considering he's been in that lineup twice, and both times was congratulating the other team, I can understand why he'd be bitter... Touche, grum! It would suck to be on the losing end of the line. I can understand, too. But I hope they never get rid of it. It really brings class to the sport.

posted by pullthegoalie at 11:18 PM on June 19, 2006

FWIW, I like the handshake, especially in a series as hardfought as this one. It's humiliating for a team to get swept or get beat 1-4, but, as I said earlier, the Oilers should be proud. As an aside: Am I wrong or did Pronger play the entire last ten minutes? All of the Oilers seemed to spend some extra time to congratulate Erik Cole on coming back from his neck injury. That was nice. Yeah it was, and it was great to see Erik come back in game six, but fuck if he didn't screw my fantasy team over.

posted by Ufez Jones at 11:26 PM on June 19, 2006

I have seen Super Bowl Post games longer than what NBC showed for coverage,awful. I'm not sure what you expected NBC to do? They have a TV schedule to maintain, the game was over, they got some interviews, showed the cup ceremony. If the game went into overtime, it's not like they'd have left before it was done. mindless ramblings of Cole and Neale ??? doc and jd were not much better though i can't compare because I don't have CBC So you DO compare, even though you can't? You aren't really supporting your position about JD's quality. I am sure they were as Pro oilers as jd and Doc were pro carolina , whatever happened to fair broadcasting, a lost art. I thought there was equal amount of praise/criticism given to both teams, except when Carolina won the Stanley Cup. At that time, you probably should have more praise for the winner. Rod B could not wait for Betteman to be done with his speech before picking it up how Rude and Selfish is that. I thought the exact opposite: just shut up Bettman, and let Brind'Amour pick up the cup. never a 40 goal season never a 100 point season, how awful it was to see his ugly mug kiss the cup I thought I was going to Hurl! Then you probably would have needed to go to ICU for gastro-intestinal distress if Edmonton won since not a single player on their team has ever scored 40 goals or 100 pts in one NHL season.

posted by grum@work at 12:17 AM on June 20, 2006

Congrats to Carolina, as a team they deserved it. As a city, and as fans, I hope they grow to deserve it. They had a kickass team all year and stayed away in droves. Do they "get it" or will they be seen as fairweather fans? I suspect the latter, unfortunately, unless they get a dynasty. They have an obligation now to step up and support their team, game in, game out, good years and bad. Hopefully they will do that, or Carolina on the Stanley Cup is going to look as odd in a few years as Birmingham on the Grey Cup looks now.

posted by rumple at 12:54 AM on June 20, 2006

Hah--amen to that rumple! Maybe Noronen should get a shot. Maybe the 'Nucks can remember that they're SUPPOSED to MAKE the playoffs. Give Noronen the starting nod! (Hey Edmonton--can you spare one of your goalies?)

posted by curtangle at 02:11 AM on June 20, 2006

Has the Stanley Cup ever been to the Sultanate of Brunei? As most of us know (one would hope) , each player gets the cup for 24 hrs. Craig Adams was born there, it'd be cool to take it home i'm sure. It probably takes about 24 hrs to fly there from North America!

posted by tommybiden at 07:04 AM on June 20, 2006

That arena was rocking all night long. Did the fans ever sit down? I hope the American hockey fans realize what a treat it is to have John Davidson as a colour man for the game. No kidding. His coverage was excellent, especially of the goal controversy at the end of the first period. What was the deal with the number of people let on the ice at the end? The Stanley Cup champs normally get a chance to skate around with it. In Carolina, there were so many people clogging the ice they could only do one push up and lingering tongue kiss. The network that broadcasts the Cup ceremony should be obligated to extend the telecast to another network. I loved the interminable ceremony when Dallas one, and I'd imagine that some Canes fans at home felt shorted by this year's.

posted by rcade at 07:15 AM on June 20, 2006

Count me in on the swarm of people who think that Bob Cole needs to retire. He can't follow the play anymore and can't shut up. Harry Neale is okay when paired with Jim Hughson (I wish the CBC had him - he's the best play-by-play guy in hockey) or Chris Cutworth, but Bob Cole can't let him operate. This should be his last finals. Good series - but no one will remember these second place Oilers. That's just the way it is, and that is too bad considering how heroic they were. I can't remember ever seeing a team play so much better than they should. That was no 8th seed by the implied meaning.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:48 AM on June 20, 2006

The fans in both places rocked. No kidding! Awesome... Just awesome energy in both buildings.

posted by 86 at 07:54 AM on June 20, 2006

I loved Bettman's intro to the cup (best trophy ever!) presentation - "Peter Karmanos had a dream, he thought he could make more money by moving his team out of Hartford. He was right!" Ok, Bettman said the dream was to make hockey work in North Carolina. That third period was great action. Very few stoppages. A credit to "the new NHL". Great to watch. Too bad the Oilers couldn't do more with their chances. Game 7, on the road, shoot the puck! A couple of times they did that one extra pass that stifled a rush. Or got in a shooting position and missed the net (at least not making Ward save it/have to control a rebound). TBH: Markkanen certainly did his job, I wouldn't say the Oilers lost because they didn't get the goaltending. But he looked lost, often. I haven't seen him play much before but wow, it must be hard to be a defender in front of him the number of times (once or twice per game it seemed) when he would do something like look the opposite direction that the rebound went.

posted by gspm at 08:13 AM on June 20, 2006

As a city, and as fans, I hope they grow to deserve it. They had a kickass team all year and stayed away in droves. Well, to be fair, we did jump from 29th in the league in 2004 to 21st this year, "a near league-high 28 percent" increase. I'd hardly call that "staying away in droves." Brind'Amour has the right philosophical take, I think: "There's only a few markets in the NHL - Canada, maybe Philadelphia and New York - where they can be bad and still sell out. Everywhere else, it's about winning," captain Rod Brind'Amour said last week. "That's our main objective, to get the people back, and we were able to do that." I'm guilty of fair-weather playoffs fandom myself, not being much for pro sports generally (plus, there's no way I could afford to go to any regular season games), but after walking around cheering Raleigh-ites building bonfires in the street last night while cops on horses patrolled, I think this area is going to keep surprising the NHL with its enthusiasm. And the good news is that there's lots of room for growth in the state's fanbase, which is still very new to hockey; as that third link notes, Charlotte has barely been tapped at all.

posted by mediareport at 08:46 AM on June 20, 2006

the play was ruled dead BEFORE the puck got in the crease because an Oiler player touched it But isn't that the mistake? Does touching the puck like that really count as possession? None of the announcers seemed to think so during the break and no one challenged that VP of officiating on the point directly.

posted by mediareport at 08:57 AM on June 20, 2006

A game like last night should be watched by all sports fans.It could really help put hockey on the sports map.It would have been a crime if that game was on OLN!!!

posted by RHAMBLIN at 09:50 AM on June 20, 2006

I actually thought that Brind A'mour should have won the Conn Smythe. Ward was good - and certainly was a huge story being a rookie and all, but Rod scored more goals than any other 'Cane, played more minutes (which is unheard of for a forward), led the penalty kill that was just stiffling and generally played out of his mind. Goalies are getting it too much these days because they're obviously the most important player on the ice, but I didn't think Ward was as good as Giguerre in 2003, or was Pat Roy circa 1986. And certainly I thought Brind A'mour was a stand-out. Given the defencemen on that team it makes it even more impressive to me. Minor gripe to be sure.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 10:59 AM on June 20, 2006

But they were good this year, all year, and ranked 21st in attendance. Ok, thats bottom third-ile (?!) so not outrageously poor. Thanks for the update. Regarding the hand-on-puck, I am sure I heard the explanation as including Staios touching the puck with his hand while the puck was in the air, therefore it was not a penalty shot. And yes, this happened 20 minutes after the fact. Harry Neale was funny about 15 years ago when he actually had wit and had been in the game recently, now he is a tired, sad, know-nothing old fart going through the motions with his blind buddy bob who is always three passes behind the play, thinks when Vancouver plays there are two Sundins on the ice (quit drinking bob) and with all other teams it is The Edmonton Player coughed it up to the Carolina Player and shot it on the Edmonton Goalkeeper. Fucking prat. The hockey equivalent of deadwood tenured university faculty. Brindamour was good. I think goalies tend to get more credit than they used to, and more than they are due, because so much relates to what their defence is doing, and the Carolina defence was blocking half the shots. So, with a, say, .920 save %, and 25 shots per game, then Ward could have faced another 12 or 15 shots that the D blocked and with his save % it would have been another goal a game against. The same was hapening the other end, of course, but this is why goalies often look so good in the playoffs and why previous unknowns can shine -- they have an unsustainably fearless defence in front of them.

posted by rumple at 11:19 AM on June 20, 2006

Rod B could not wait for Betteman to be done with his speech before picking it up how Rude and Selfish is that. never a 40 goal season never a 100 point season, how awful it was to see his ugly mug kiss the cup I thought I was going to Hurl This comment makes me want to hurl. After 17 seasons of being one of the most unselfish players in the NHL, you want to call him rude and selfish now? As a long time Flyers fan I was delighted to see Rod pick up the Cup 1st. He has made an excellent captain, and 1 of the best 2 way players in the game. After 17 years of trying, Bettmen would have been leveled with an open ice hit on my way to pick it up. How "rude and selfish" do you think that would have been? I actually thought that Brind A'mour should have won the Conn Smythe. I couldn't agree more.

posted by Bishop at 11:51 AM on June 20, 2006

Harry Neale is marginally better on the local Leaf telecasts, but that might be because Joe Bowen (whom I love doing play-by-play) spends a certain amount of every period mocking him, and every once in a while Harry wakes up and takes offence. It's a good formula. But yeah, Cole got old at some point in the last few years, and it's time to put him in an emeritus type role like they did with Howie Meeker. (Hey, maybe they could put the two of them on the road, like a hockey-buddy version of Charles Kuralt! I would so watch that.)

posted by chicobangs at 11:53 AM on June 20, 2006

I enjoy when the Leafs go on the road and Neale and Cole are drinking in the booth. Its like they've been let out of the ACC for good behavior.

posted by garfield at 12:03 PM on June 20, 2006

Cam Ward actually was the starter in October, but was supplanted by Gerber early in November. Only because Gerber was injured and once he came back, Cam Ward was #2. I know this well cause I had him in the fantasy league EARLY, but after Gerber came back and he wasn't playing, I dropped him.

posted by mkn at 12:27 PM on June 20, 2006

Yesterday afternoon, before my friends came to pick me up for the parking lot festivities, I was looking at camera, thinking that taking some pictures would be a good idea. I ended deciding against it, and frankly, I'm glad I decided against. I'm sure I would've lost it somewhere along last night's journey. The game was amazing. I didn't sit the whole time. I'm glad Cam got the Conn Smythe, but I think that the War Chief should've gotten it. But hey, it's all good. Nobody has been talking about him, but I think Andrew Ladd is going to be great in this league. He was hitting pretty big and absorbing their best shots (especially LaRaque's cheap shot in game 2) with a smile on his face the whole time. Think about this, he's only 19 freaking years old. Crazy. I have no voice right now, which is really bad because I'm the tech support guy at work. I think I'm still a little tipsy from last night. We went straight from the game to the beer showers at the Rockford (a hipster hangout) on Glenwood St. Saw some fires being set out in the street. Drank with a guy in a Whalers sweater; he was pretty delirious. Saw another guy burn his Whalers t-shirt. Saw boobies. Everywhere. Partied like Jeff O'Neill, if you catch my snowdrift. Still feel like an ass for doing so though. I was drunk and elated. I'm just happy nobody passed an orange sunshine to me. I'd be naked, in a field, and with the Cup, I'm sure. Went downtown and found that it is one gigantic construction site at 2AM. I remembered that I didn't have any dinner, so we went to a Chinese restaurant and all the workers cheered when we walked in (we were still wearing our Canes sweaters). That was kind of surreal. Finally got to bed at 4, but was too wired to sleep. I think I eventually drifted away around 6. I still feel elated. Oh yeah, at the end of the second period, we were all screaming and jumping up n down and my shorts fell down to my feet. That was pretty fucking funny. Nobody busted me on it though.

posted by NoMich at 12:51 PM on June 20, 2006

Ray Whitney drops an F-bomb (youtube) on national TV. Good for you, Ray.

posted by NoMich at 01:51 PM on June 20, 2006

$325K, but that's only if somebody complains.

posted by NoMich at 02:19 PM on June 20, 2006

Congrats to the Canes... I agree that Brindamour should have gotten the Conn Smythe, Ward had some great saves in the losses, but Brindamour was the key to his team's wins. Can't say enough for both teams and what a great series it was. The speed was incredible, and both teams fought hard. Good to see Hockey is back.

posted by LostInDaJungle at 02:38 PM on June 20, 2006

I must say that I was rooting for Edmonton, but I am glad NoMich got to enjoy the moment. What I found interesting throughout the NHL playoffs is that Detroit is Hockeytown but once Edmonton was moving on to the next town, most people couldn't have told you who they were playing in the second round. The newspaper coverage was there, but no where near as informative as the championships in other sports. Of course, at least they had game recaps unlike the paper after game five, which had to run a shitty article about Pat Riley since the game went to late (just like the previous four).

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 03:28 PM on June 20, 2006

Yeah I know you weren't MrFrisby because you secretly hate hockey don't you?

posted by skydivemom at 04:10 PM on June 20, 2006

It would have been a crime if that game was on OLN!!! WHY? AT LEAST THEY PICKED UP THE NHL CONTRACT AFTER ESPN LOW BALLED THE NHL AND I BELIEVE OLN'S COVERAGE WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER !!"the only thing that i am going to fault carolina fans about is the fact that i never heard "we want the cup". THEY DONT'T HAVE THAT WORD IN THIER MIND! OR KNOW WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT!! THAT'S WHY YOU DID NOT HEAR THEM SAY THAT THANK YOU CAROLINA FANS FOR SHOWING YOUR TRUE IGGNORANCE OF THE GAME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

posted by DADSQUEST at 06:56 PM on June 20, 2006

Dadsquest, please take it easy on the caps. Another abusive vote and you'll be in the penalty box.

posted by justgary at 07:42 PM on June 20, 2006

Count me in for another abusive vote. The game's intro on NBC had fans outside all chanting We Want the Cup, actually, DQ. That's a pretty stupid way to judge a fan base... it's not even a good cheer. Both arenas were rocking. What I want to know is what the hell Kid Rock and Cuba Gooding Jr. were doing on the ice and in the locker room celebrating... what's their connection? I thought the series was great in all aspects. Crowds were good, level of play was good, officiating was good for the most part (aside from screwing up the end of the 1st period, and letting a blatant and vicious check from behind by Pronger on Cole in the 1st go), announcing was good (I wish Emrick would stop calling every shot a DRIIIIIVE, but his point about the left wing lock in 7 and the difference in travel between east and western conferences in 6 were insightful), and the intensity, especially for the first period of game 7, was through the roof. Nothing beats a hockey game 7. Edmonton really came on in the third, I was expecting them to tie it up, their legs were just better late in the game after Carolina had been taking it to them early. Ward's stop with just under 4 to go was outstanding. Wonder what those Oswego hockey coaches did when they heard their names randomly mentioned by JD after the game... gotta admit, that was pretty cool. Imagine sitting on your couch at home and hearing your name mentioned on NBC...

posted by Bernreuther at 09:20 PM on June 20, 2006

Props to Cam Ward. I think that if you looked in the dictionary under "humble," you'd see his picture. Mullet-Man was singing Ward's praises and talking him up, but he just would not give any credit to himself. What a series, what a game!

posted by wingnut4life at 09:41 PM on June 20, 2006

tks B !, yes that was great hockey back in 87! again sorry if i offended anyone early ! ward and pronger or pisani dual conn smythe or brindy and pronger conn smyhte would have been great also. i heard rumblings that cleveland might be getting another hockey franchise in a couple years , any thoughts, wow ?

posted by DADSQUEST at 11:03 PM on June 20, 2006

There has been a rumor floating about that Sneaky Pete Karmanos is courting Kid Rock as a possible investor in the team. It is just a rumor, so take it with a giant grain of salt. For the record, though, Kid Rock has been to more than one playoff game in Raleigh this season. Tonight's parade was a lot of fun. Lots of people there. Cullen and Whitney shaved their beards, but left porn mustaches on. Commodore still has his 'fro and his beard going on. He's our beer drinker's hero. Frankie Kaberle has the hottest ladyfriend in the world. They make 'em a bit better in the Czech Republic I guess. Glen Wesley got to parade the Cup around. Cam Ward was taking much pride in his Conn Smyth trophy. Eric Staal, Cam Ward and Andrew Ladd look about 12 years old without their beards. We met a very cool guy from Calgary who is a part of a crew that is making a documentary about the fans of the NHL this playoff year. He is taking still photos and has been flown all over the continent during this year's playoffs, taking thousands of photos. Oh yeah, Rod Brind'Amour wore an NC State hat.

posted by NoMich at 11:54 PM on June 20, 2006

If I remember correctly, Commodore did the same thing last year, Fris. Helluva nice thing to do. It's always good to see or hear about people doing such wonderful things.

posted by wingnut4life at 06:03 AM on June 21, 2006

Edmonton put up a lot more fight than I anticipated. This season is in no way a failure for the Oilers and I think they'll be back with a vengence next year. Brindy totally deserved the Conn Smythe this year. He excelled in all aspects of the game of hockey. He played almost half of each game night in and night out. He rarely lost a faceoff, shadowed the top line and played against Chris Pronger and still found a way to score. Ward played well and I will admit I never really took him seriously but the kid's got game (I've never seen anyone besides Marty make saves through traffic like Ward does) This is going to be the last hockey thread for a while. That makes me a lot sadder than I expected.

posted by HATER 187 at 12:15 PM on June 21, 2006

That's a super-juicy rumor.

posted by garfield at 12:56 PM on June 21, 2006

Great series, great game 7. Greatest finals I've ever seen? No way. I had at least as much fun just two years ago. The series that will save hockey? Come on, we're just a little bit more enthusiastic because we were in withdrawal. I still think Eric Staal is the most underrated player in the NHL. His name wasn't even mentioned once in any Conn Smythe discussion I've heard or read.

posted by qbert72 at 06:39 PM on June 21, 2006