Great Start to the Cup Finals
Friday, 06.03.2011 / 4:20 PM
By Tom Callahan - Nashville Predators / Tom Callahan's Summer 2011 Blog
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Well that was quite the Game One to start what promises to be a memorable Stanley Cup Final! Both Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo had to be sharper than sharp, and each team played physical hockey looking for that little opening. I’m sure we all thought overtime would be a foregone conclusion when Raffi Torres netted the game’s only goal. Boston broke down just one time too many and Thomas couldn’t bail them out this time.
I really like that both teams are playing hard, hustling to every puck, and showing that this indeed is the pinnacle of what the NHL offers in competition. I’m not one of those people who needs seven goals in a game for it to be exciting. I just like to see battles everywhere and scoring chances littered in. Both defenses made just enough mistakes to keep it interesting – only it was Boston that was burned in the end.
Kudos to the Canucks for coming out strong after a long layoff. I remember when I was in Elmira in the UHL and we made the Colonial Cup Final, we sat for eight days waiting for the Western Conference Final to be decided. Needless to say, we fell down in an 0-2 hole before evening the series at two and eventually losing 4-2. Three of the last four games went to overtime in that series, and it was pretty exciting. But I remember how flat we were after sitting that long. It couldn’t have been easy for Vancouver so kudos to them.
I’m also wondering how Dan Hamhuis is feeling today. Sore for certain, but I can’t see much keeping a player out of the Stanley Cup Final. If for whatever strange reason Hamhuis’ “middle body” injury keeps him out of the lineup, the Canucks are down a major defensive cog. But they did well with five D over the last half of Game One, so we know it can be done. You’d just prefer not to have to burn high minutes on guys who are now playing games 110 or 120 of their season.
Don’t forget once Lord Stanley’s Cup has been handed out there’s more hardware to come. The NHL Awards show is in Las Vegas on June 22; stay tuned for more information on a Preds Watch Party here in Nashville.
That’s it for now Preds fans. Until next time, keep your stick on the ice!
I really like that both teams are playing hard, hustling to every puck, and showing that this indeed is the pinnacle of what the NHL offers in competition. I’m not one of those people who needs seven goals in a game for it to be exciting. I just like to see battles everywhere and scoring chances littered in. Both defenses made just enough mistakes to keep it interesting – only it was Boston that was burned in the end.
Kudos to the Canucks for coming out strong after a long layoff. I remember when I was in Elmira in the UHL and we made the Colonial Cup Final, we sat for eight days waiting for the Western Conference Final to be decided. Needless to say, we fell down in an 0-2 hole before evening the series at two and eventually losing 4-2. Three of the last four games went to overtime in that series, and it was pretty exciting. But I remember how flat we were after sitting that long. It couldn’t have been easy for Vancouver so kudos to them.
I’m also wondering how Dan Hamhuis is feeling today. Sore for certain, but I can’t see much keeping a player out of the Stanley Cup Final. If for whatever strange reason Hamhuis’ “middle body” injury keeps him out of the lineup, the Canucks are down a major defensive cog. But they did well with five D over the last half of Game One, so we know it can be done. You’d just prefer not to have to burn high minutes on guys who are now playing games 110 or 120 of their season.
Don’t forget once Lord Stanley’s Cup has been handed out there’s more hardware to come. The NHL Awards show is in Las Vegas on June 22; stay tuned for more information on a Preds Watch Party here in Nashville.
That’s it for now Preds fans. Until next time, keep your stick on the ice!
