Florida wins
HodgePodge By Charlie Hodge
The really nasty, sad, heart-tugging problem with sports is that while someone gets to win – someone else has to lose. Winning is fun – losing sucks!
This morning, no one can explain that harsh reality better than the Edmonton Oilers, as they reflect on last night’s game seven Stanley Cup final. I’m sure the long return flight home from Florida to Edmonton was not the joyful return trip many players and club members had hope for after losing 2-1 in Florida,
Overall, it was a sound and exciting game of quality NHL playoff action; fast paced though not rocket juice level. Play seemed tight from the first face off, both clubs making brilliant plays as well as blunders. With so much on the line players avoided fights or any major penalties.
Friends Don and Donna Burnett joined us (Tez, Scaredy Cat and our moody often malfunctioning Bud Light machine) which made suffering the loss that much more palatable. Great fun, great people.
I actually did not care which team won the Cup final as my heart went out the window when the Canucks and Leafs were eliminated in earlier rounds. I was a tad torn on which of the two finalists I wanted to see win the day.
Part of me supported Edmonton to see a Canadian team grab the cup – something we have not done since Montreal in 1993. I do particularly admire Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman. I’d hoped they would win the Cup so I’d no longer feel the need to cheer for them again in the finals as there are other teams I cheer for more than Edmonton. McDavid won the Conn Smythe trophy emblematic of being the playoff’s most valuable player. It’s the first time since 2003 that a player has won the Smythe while on the losing team. McDavid also led all players in playoff scoring racking up 42 points. Zach Hyman led goal scorers in the playoffs with 16. Draisaitl played junior here.
Florida on the other hand had never won a Stanley Cup and battled all the way to the finals last year only to lose the seventh game. Never is an awful long time Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was brilliant particularly in the first three games before Edmonton got on his case for the next three games. Many felt he should have won the Smythe trophy.
Last but not least, popular Panther coach Paul Maurice crowns his long 26 seasons as an NHL coach with the big cherry on top! His win Monday also marks the fifth time he has won game sevens. That’s impressive. Maurice is one of the ‘good guys’ in the league, respected for both his skill and knowledge as a coach, and quality and class as a person. He is a gem for media folks to interview before or after games, rarely rude, often hilarious and usually poignant. His words after winning the cup regarding a desire for the Winnipeg Jets to now win the cup because of the ‘quality owners’ there and how ‘Winnipeg deserves it’ are a prime example of Maurice’s character.
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Happy birthday to the finest fellow I know – Curtis Tulman. Curtis turns 69 today and I know no finer human being to wish a wonderful day to. It has been my honour and pleasure to know Curtis for almost 50 years and can honestly say I’ve learned to love him more and more each day. With some folks the shine wears off but not with Curtis. The star he is – shines brighter every day. I have watched this gem of a man grow and go through so much over the years and can only marvel at his personality, his gentleness yet strength, his wit, and his wisdom yet childlike wonderment and joy with life. It is such a pleasure to share a part of my world with him. Happy birthday kid.
