Being a hardcore Bruins fan, I can say that I have never wanted to beat a team as much as I want our B's to beat the Vancouver Canucks in these Stanley Cup Finals. And if you've watched the series, you know I'm serious when I tell you that the reasons go far beyond the proximity of that big silver mug that is on the line in this matchup.
Who saw it coming? The Canucks are quickly proving the Chicago, Nashville, and San Jose fans and writers to be correct. I hadn't noticed that Vancouver had a roster full of cheating, diving, crying, biting, dirty scumbags until this series got underway. Now I get what the fuss was all about in some of these other cities. I used to respect Vancouver, because I was under the impression that they just went about their business, operated like a machine, and churned out winning efforts. I stand humbly corrected as we prepare for game four of the finals.
This series has stirred up so much emotion in me that I have no idea where to begin. I'll start with the brutal mess that the NHL has left itself with. Prior to game four, the league has made a few statements. First off, they said that both teams needed to cut out the "crap" that has been going on. Additionally, they said that the next player who waves his fingers in another player's face will get a two minute penalty and a ten minute misconduct. They want the biting incident to be a thing of the past.
Wait. Hold on. The same incident you took no action against? You ruled it was clean, that there was no evidence that Burrows intentionally bit Bergeron? The same unpunished action that saw Burrows allowed back into the lineup the following game, where he created all three goals in a 3-2 overtime win for his Canucks? Oh, yeah, of course! Your decision to let the incident go unpunished didn't blow everything out of proportion or anything. You guys clearly know what you're doing. We shall obey.
The biting incident has been behind me since game one ended, to be honest. And I wasn't ready to judge an entire Canuck team based on the foolish and savage action of one scummy forward. But then the rest fell into place. The Sedins mocked the bite, saying that Burrows was a "vegetarian." Max Lapierre went on to mock the incident the following game, sticking his fingers in Patrice Bergeron's face and laughing with that dirty, arrogant smile in an eventual overtime win for Vancouver. And even though the Bruins laid a beating on the Canucks in game three, their dirtiness delivered a crushing blow to Bruins forward Nathan Horton, who was blasted with a late hit to the head that gave him a severe concussion. When the guilty party -- defenseman Aaron Rome -- was suspended for the remainder of the series, the classless bunch of players and coaches from Vancouver displayed their disgrace once again. Not only did they stick up for Rome and publicly disagree with the league's ruling, but they actually placed the blame on Nathan Horton for watching his pass. Let me repeat that last part. They placed the blame on Nathan Horton. For basically getting killed by a dirty hit. Sometimes I wonder if people are serious.
The craziest part, though, is that plenty of impartial analysts keep bringing up the fact that Horton was watching his pass. It's driving me crazy, so I need to speak my mind. Being a hockey player, I keep trying to understand the rationale behind this argument. Ultimately, I realized there is no rationale. If a player doesn't have the puck (Horton did not have the puck) where is he supposed to be looking? Into the stands? At his own skates? Straight ahead? No.... he's supposed to be looking for the damn puck, looking for open space, and a combination thereof. There is nothing wrong with watching your pass. Had he not watched his pass, he wouldn't have known if Lucic received it. He doesn't know where to go if he doesn't know what Lucic is doing with the puck in that situation. If he dumps it, Horton has a different responsibility than if he tries to drive wide. Christ Almighty -- he's supposed to be watching the puck! That's what hockey players do! Read and react! When you don't have the puck, you don't need to worry about defensemen stepping up and blasting you with a shoulder to the head. There are no two ways about it. The hit was dirty, the NHL got it right (for once), and the Canucks are just a bunch of gutless pieces of scum who defend and condone all the cheap and classless "crap" that has gone on throughout the series.
I could keep ranting, but I just want to watch these games. Tyler Seguin will be called upon once again to step in for an injured contributor. Ryder or Peverley will likely step into Horton's slot on Boston's top line. And the Bruins have a chance to even up the series and take another step toward the ultimate goal. Losing tonight puts them in a 3-1 hole heading back above the border. And if that happens, that shameful group of Canucks would be one win away from tarnishing the surface of Lord Stanley's Cup with each and every one of their names. For America and for the NHL -- please get the job done, Bruins. We're counting on you for the grace of the game.
