The Boston Bruins with President Obama
I had a co-worker a couple of years back who was one of the nicest guys you’d ever meet. Friendly, genial, helpful. And every once in a while he’d go off on a diatribe about liberals that would make anyone near him raise an eyebrow, if not two.
I have a notion that’s how it is with the Boston Bruins and their teammate Tim Thomas.
If my co-workers and I were invited to the White House, I have no doubt whatsoever that my aforementioned co-worker would decline the invitation, and none of us would be surprised. According to media reports, Bruins’ management was aware that Thomas would not attend the White House reception for the Stanley Cup champs on Jan. 23, but the players were not. But it’s almost impossible to believe that they didn’t see it coming.
Here’s the statement from Thomas:
“I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.
This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.
Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.
This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT”
and the statement from the Bruins:
“As an organization we were honored by President Obama’s invitation to the White House. It was a great day and a perfect way to cap our team’s achievement from last season. It was a day that none of us will soon forget. We are disappointed that Tim chose not to join us, and his views certainly do not reflect those of the Jacobs family or the Bruins organization. This will be the last public comment from the Bruins organization on this subject.”
Full disclosure: I am a dyed-in-the-wool liberal. And I adhere to Voltaire’s dictum: “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
That said, it was not the time nor the place for Thomas to make a political statement. An invitation to the White House is an honor that should be accepted no matter who’s in charge. We’re not talking about canoodling with Robert Mugabe or Momar Ghadafi here. This is the president of the United States – OUR United States (Tim Thomas is an American); I was no fan of George W. Bush, but I know he’s an inherently decent human being who was doing the best job he could, and if he invited me and my co-workers to visit, I’d put politics aside and visit.
(And for those who wish to point out that Theo Epstein didn’t visit when Bush was in office and the Red Sox were invited, he was wrong too.)
What really bothers me about this whole stramash, however, is not Thomas’s politics (though really, if you want to live in a country with boundless freedom and no taxation, I hear Somalia is the perfect place), it’s the fact that he called attention to himself on a day that was meant to honor and celebrate his team. That’s a selfish, self-centered act, and is absolutely contrary to what the Bruins stand for.
And for that, I’m disappointed in Tim Thomas.
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)
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Sidney Crosby arrives at the Consol Energy Center
November 21,2011 wasn’t an ordinary day in the NHL. November 21 marked the retun of the greatest player in the history of hockey – nay, the greatest player in the history of any sport! The only reason the NHL exists is to provide a platform for his awesomeness. The King has returned: Sidney Crosby.
But it’s not only for a lowly hockey goddess to remark upon the blessedness of the return of Sidney Crosby, which has saved the NHL from the End Times. There are many in the chorus of the lowly peons who are dancing in joy and weeping in ecstacy.
Versus spokeman: Of course we dumped the Bruins-Canadiens game for The Return. After all, who cares about the greatest rivalry in the history of sports when you can show The King scoring at will against the sorriest team in the NHL? It’s a no-brainer!
ESPN spokesman: Hockey? What’s that? Oh, Crosby’s back? Hey, we love hockey!
Tim Thomas: Yeah, I know Cary Price and I were both coming off shutouts, and I extended my personal shutout streak to 133 minutes in a nail-biting 1-0 win in Montreal, but Sidney Crosby is much, much more important than the defending Stanley Cup champion playing a team that had beaten them twice last month.
Anders Nilsson: I may be a 21-year-old rookie who was making my first NHL start, but I’ll put my 4.25 GAA up against anyone in the league! Oh, um, sorry. Ahem. I’m honored to have been the worthy challenger for His Majesty in his return.
Pierre McGuire: You talk about the all-around superstar that Sidney Crosby is, it’s been a Crosby-palooza tonight.*
NHL: Let’s hope every player in the league has learned an important lesson. Headshots were fine as long as the targets were guys like Marc Savard. But Sidney Crosby is our bread and butter. He and Ovechkin are the only players ESPN viewers can name. It behooves us all to pay proper tribute. All together now!
NHL players: Hail Sidney! All hail The King!
Photo by Terry Moore
]]>Sound familiar? Those were the arguments used by hockey “purists” not so many decades ago against goalie masks.
Fast forward a couple of decades, and you can trot out the same old arguments against helmets.
Fast forward a few more, and now it’s visors. Some things never change.
It took the visionary Jacques Plante to make goalie masks acceptable, and it didn’t hurt that he was one of the best at his position. It took the death of Bill Masterton – and ten long years of debate and heel-dragging - for the NHL to bow to the obvious and protect the players’ craniums. Will it take the death of another player to finally convince the league and its players to protect their eyes?
Perhaps it will, because it didn’t take this:
Manny Malhotra after being hit with a shot. He might as well have BEEN shot.
And it didn’t take this:
Johnny Boychuk’s slapshot has been clocked at 105 mph. Everyone praised Stamkos for returning to the game after the shield dug a substantial chunk out of his nose, but everyone seems to have dismissed or not even considered the very real possibility that if he had not been wearing it, the puck would have struck him right between the eyes, and it’s very likely the Lightning would have been dedicating this season to a dead teammate.
The NHL is the only hockey league in the world that does not require its players to wear visors. Rookies come into the league today having worn visors their entire lives. Thankfully, the majority of players are keeping them on – the NHLPA, according to the Associated Press, says more than 65 percent of players under 30 wear visors. But if one player is killed or disabled because he doesn’t wear a visor, that’s one too many.
Visors aren’t magic. Nobody believes that wearing one will keep a player safe from all harm. But protecting eyes, like protecting genitals, should be a no-brainer. Anyone want to suggest players forego playing with a protective cup?
And to paraphrase Mae West, macho (like goodness) has nothing to do with it. A puck, stick or skate doesn’t care who is or isn’t a tough guy. If a player wants to fight, he can take a second to flip his lid, just as he drops his stick and gloves.
The CBA is up for renewal this summer, and hopefully the leadership will take these warnings to heart and protect the players from themselves. If a few holdouts are adamant, follow the protocol established by the helmet rule and grandfather visors in. And hopefully a couple of decades from now, we can all look back and laugh at the idea of NHL players not protecting the most valuable of God’s gifts – their sight.
Photo via Getty Images
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Peter Forsberg speaks at his jersey retirement ceremony
Saturday night was one of the most moving, emotional nights for me as a hockey fan. It was the night that the jersey of one of my hockey heroes, Peter Forsberg, was retired.
Like all retirement ceremonies these days, it was more than just the raising of a banner, a nice parting gift and video montage of the player’s career. In fact, by Avalanche standards, this was exceptionally extravagant.
For the first time ever, a player actually entered from the concourse, down the arena stairs, shaking hands with fans, and entered the ice for one final victory lap while waiving to fans one final time. Pierre Lacroix was there, along with Stan Kroenke and son Josh, now owner of the Avs. By pure chance, we were sitting rinkside on the isle that Peter walked down. Both my husband and I got to shake his hand in what will be one of the most memorable moments in hockey for me.
Peter Forsberg will always hold a special place in my heart. I rediscovered hockey in 1990, after meeting my now-husband. My dad had been a Colorado Rockies season ticket holder when I was a kid, and once the team left town, I lost interest in hockey. Back then, I love Rene Robert and Lanny McDonald. As a born-again-hockey fan, I saw Wayne Gretzky in his prime and watched Jaromir Jagr and Teemu Selanne in their first years. But as a Colorado Avalanche hockey fan, I saw Peter Forsberg from the beginning of his career, day in and day out. While the Eastern Conference media personalities were shrugging their shoulders at his name, fans in Colorado and players all over the league were talking about this amazing player.
I had the opportunity to meet him once before. Cody McCormick was playing for the Avalanche and his father was in town. A family friend, he took us down to wait for Cody, and with his encouragement I asked Peter for a photo. He was friendly, smiling – not the stereotypical stoic Swede. Whether he was or not, he seemed real. For all my years as a fan, it was my first, and one of my only, pictures with a player.
Number 21 banner is raised in honor of Peter Forsberg
On Saturday night, the finality of it hit and I was overcome with emotion. To see a player begin and end his career, one that you had love to watch so much, along with the realization of how much of your own life has passed, is quite an emotional experience.
I will remember every detail of the night – the hand shake, Pierre Lacroix having to be delivered directly to his chair on the ice (does anyone know what his ailment is?), to watching Peter cry as they lifted the banner with his number to the ceiling to hang next to Joe Sakic’s and Patrick Roy’s.
While the finality of his goodbye finally hits me, perhaps I can take a bit of inspiration from a career that was too short and attempt to make my own accomplishments equally as great. Our opportunities will be gone before we know it, after all. Or maybe I just bask in the memories of watching one of the greatest players to ever play the game.
Photos: Peter Forsberg and jersey raising by Goddess Sasha. Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved.
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Army man Yashin.
Cha-ching! Yashin Back in Moscow
After a brief fall flirtation with the New York Islanders, Alexei Yashin has joined CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League. The former NHLer spent a few weeks working out with his former club, prompting speculation he might rejoin the team. The magical reunion did not happen and he signed with the venerable Russian squad known as the Red Army team. Yashin is cashing in though, as remains on the Islanders payroll through the 2014-15 season.
Kozlov Reclaims Lucky Number
Slava Kozlov suits up for Dynamo.
When Slava Kozlov signed up to play in the KHL, he seemed to have resigned his signature No. 13, opting instead for No. 72 — a number he donned in the days of the Soviet Union and during his first go-round with CSKA Moscow. He took this number again, wearing it once more for CSKA Moscow, whom he signed with at the end of the 2009-10 NHL season. What’s old is new again this season as Kozlov is once again donning No. 13, the number he made lucky during his 18 seasons in the NHL.
Photographs: Alexei Yashin from cska-hockey.ru; Vyacheslav Kozlov from dynamo.ru.
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Stastny dons the Ice Tigers crest.
Former NHLer and Hockey Goddesses fave Yan Stastny has signed with the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Based in Nuremberg, Germany, the Ice Tigers were Stastny’s first professional squad. As we reported last week, Stastny recently parted ways with his former club, CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League.
In Nuremberg he joins a few other ex-NHLers Ryan Bayda (Carolina Hurricanes), Eric Chouinard (Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild) and Sven Butenschön (Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks).
Photograph: From the official website of the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers.
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Can this man help heal a broken heart? Here's hoping!
It’s the start of the hockey season — normally a source of great excitement and joy in my family — but I am bereft. My team is gone, spirited away to a better place. A real hockey market — where people actually deserve it.
Right.
I can’t express how tiresome those sentiments have become. But before I spiral into despair over the loss of my Atlanta Thrashers, I thought I would attempt to compile a list of things that are keeping the gossamer thread of love for the NHL intact for me. You know, the kind of exercise completed by depressed people and Oprah disciples trying to force themselves to be more grateful. So here is my self-indulgent, things-that-keep-me-hanging on list…
1.) Fantasy Hockey
If it weren’t for my long-standing fantasy teams, I may have thrown up my hands in disgust and just gone back to being a college football fan like I (as a person living in the South) am expected to do. But I have built many good friendships through my involvement in fantasy hockey and am the commish of a 12-16 team all-girls league. Looking forward to helming my own virtual teams once again has helped me through the bleakest of bleak times.
2.) Boomer Gordon, on-air personality for Sirius/XM’s Home Ice channel
Oddly, I used to kind of dread hearing his voice. It’s not your typical “Hey! I’m a radio guy!” voice, and I used to think he sounded a little drunk on air, but over the five or six years I’ve been listening, he’s become a true favorite. He can be excessively harsh, but has always been fair about the Thrashers, where most people haven’t. Maybe it’s because he is an Islanders fan. No matter, his show has been the one hockey program I could bear to listen to this summer.
3.) Jaromir Jagr
Thank you Jags for returning to the NHL! The anticipation of seeing one of my longstanding favorites has given me something to look forward to, now that I have no team to call my own.
4.) The KHL
I know it sounds crazy, but bear with me. Regular readers know that Sasha and I are Russophiles. We’ve been studying Russian and have traveled to Moscow several times now to watch hockey and raise some hell. My all-time favorite player (anyone care to name him?) is still playing over there, and I try to follow his career from afar. Being able to still be interested in hockey (any hockey!), I think, will help me pull out of this funk so I can one day love again.
5.) Anger
Now that my team has been stolen away, I have powerfully negative feelings toward certain players who dissed Atlanta and, of course, the team I used to love. Hate is the other side of love after all. And just maybe looking forward to cheering against a team will help heal my broken heart.
I’d love to hear from other Thrashers fans — how are you coping with the loss of the team? What keeps you hanging on?
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Yan Stastny
The CSKA press service reports Stastny and the team severed ties by “mutual agreement.” Last season, Stastny appeared in 49 games, scoring 12 points.
Photograph: From KHL.com.
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Mourners place flowers at a makeshift memorial to the victims of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl air disaster.
The loss of these players has been especially tough for this goddess, for I consider Russia to be my home away from home. I can only imagine what people in that country are going through right now.
Since the incident, I have been following news reports and listening to some of my favorite shows on XM Radio’s Home Ice channel. Personally, I am a bit shocked and disturbed at what I am hearing.
Let’s put the cause aside. Everyone knows the situation with Russian aviation and the more recent advent of charter flying. Pointing fingers, surprisingly and thankfully, hasn’t been a focal point.
However, it is the reaction and presumption about what should happen next that is troublesome. As of yesterday, it was suggested that the team would rebuild and play this season. Some of the hockey gurus at XM/Home Ice spent the day discussing this, proclaiming that this simply was not “right.”
Oh how easy it is to sit in your comfortable radio studio in North America and say what some other business in some other country should do. And yes, I realize that’s why these “gurus” get paid. Still, when a country has experienced a tragedy, it takes a lot of naïve audacity to make a moral judgment on how an entire country should mourn. Do they know the history of Yaroslavl? Have they ever been there? Do they understand what this venerable team means to the community? To the league? To Russia? What about the morale of the people? What do they need to heal?
At the risk of sounding callous, let’s put people’s feelings aside. Life is hard in many parts of Russia. People struggle. Jobs are scarce. What happens if an entire organization suspends operations, even for a year? Many people in Yaroslavl earn a living through the operation of the team and the venue. The local economy depends on the team, and the people who earn money from the organization. Take that away and you take away people’s livelihoods; people with families to support, people who are already struggling.
The people of Yaroslavl, like all of Russia, have faced many tragedies that have taken many lives, from the seemingly endless wars to the gulags to modern terrorism within their own borders. Their spirit — more often than not — tells them to mourn those that are lost and move forward. They have no choice. And it’s not for us to judge.
Photograph: From The Associated Press via DayLife.
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The 2011-12 Lokomotiv squad poses for a picture in August.
It was one the best teams in Russia. It was one of the most respected teams in Russia. It was team number one in Yaroslavl. This city breathes hockey. I have been there three times to see Lokomotiv play, it was unforgettable. I wanted to go there this season. I can’t imagine why an elite professional team would fly on a really prehistoric airplane. What a horrible tragedy.
As far as I’ve learned, no one survived. We have lost some of the best players of Russia and Europe, as well as the Canadian coach Brad McCrimmon. I cannot believe that.
All my prayers to friends and families. RIP Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, you will always be remembered.
Russian media from the place of tragedy
Photograph: Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team picture from the KHL.
]]>I think most will agree after digesting that embarrassment and hearing what the players and team personnel had to say, it is obvious this team has problems. I think the biggest problem is the stars of this team are coddled and not called out by the proper authorities when they need it. ALEXANDER SEMIN I AM LOOKING AT YOU. However, I’m not just talking about coming into practice when they feel like it, I mean, let’s face it they are still human and the grueling schedules they keep is enough to run everyone down at some point. My point is letting certain star players play when they need to be benched for their own good.
Now, I’m not on the inside exactly, I don’t know all the things that go on behind the scenes, but I can tell you that Alex Ovechkin was not suffering from one ailment this season, but three.
Yes, count them: One, Two, Three.
A wrist injury (which got one giant cortisone shot before every game for months), a groin injury, and a knee injury. Now, I’m no expert, but after a pitiful showing in the playoffs most likely due to said injuries, why would you let this guy go play for Worlds knowing he could injure himself further and potentially put him in the press box for months? Maybe it’s the old Soviet mindset clouding my judgment on this, but I’d tell him he was going to sit Worlds out.
I’ve also heard what was wrong with the lackluster Nicklas Backstrom this year… let’s just say I hope he stops hanging out with a certain defenseman who is known for his alcohol consumption and has gotten himself back together over the summer. Have I said too much by saying this? Potentially. I’m just still surprised even though I really shouldn’t be.
On that note, I might not have said this much before, but I am a HUGE Mathieu Perreault fan. I can’t get enough of Mighty Mouse and his perfect flow. I was interested to find out that the apparent reason he was suddenly sent back down to the minors back in mid-spring was that he showed up to practice still intoxicated from the night before. Do I insert a “Short French-Canadian Lightweight” joke here? Or do I once again shake my head?
All I know is, I’m happier than a hornet we have Matty P for another year, got my other hockey love in Chris Bourque back, and that we acquired Troy Brouwer so I can ask him to do the Kaner Shuffle with me, Brouwer Style!
Alex Kovalev
38-year-old forward Alex Kovalev returns to Russia after 18 seasons in the NHL. He has signed a two-year contract with the Gagarin Cup finalist “Atlant”. As Canadian press marks, it’s not surprising, because Kovalev, who signed a $10-million contract with the Senators in 2009, never came close to fulfilling expectations. Nevertheless, Alex was a real star in the NHL – during his long career he scored 428 goals and 596 assists in 1,302 regular season games and had another 45 goals and 55 assists in 123 playoff games.
CEO “Atlant” Andrew Ropes said he had called Alex, as soon as he learned about his intention to return to Russia. “The conversation went very businesslike. I immediately outlined his role in our young and ambitious team, which desperately needed leaders – experienced and respected players. He knew right away I became interested. He was attracted by the figure of a new head coach “Atlant” Gustafsson”, – marked Ropes.
He added that Alex would join his new team in the coming days. “He himself can not wait to begin preparations for the season”, – said Ropes (according to “Atlant” official web-site).
]]>A couple of weeks ago, the Boston Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 39 years. More than a million fans packed
Imagine if everyone bought a DVD set.
the streets of Boston to celebrate, and many more longtime fans from all over New England, the Canadian Maritimes, North America and around the world, reveled in the victory. Reports are that Stanley Cup champion gear flew off the shelves, with stores barely able to keep up with demand.
But this fan wants more. And this fan believes that many of her fellow Bruins fans want the same thing: A boxed DVD set.
I don’t want a highlights DVD. The one you’re selling appears nice, and I’ll undoubtedly purchase it. But what I want is a boxed set, like the ones sold by MLB for their World Series winners. As a Red Sox fan, I own the 2004 and 2007 sets, which include not just the World Series games, but the ALCS wins as well (alas, not the ALDS. Tsk.)
This is where the NHL can do MLB one better. Give Bruins fans a DVD set with all 16 victories. And make them complete games, start to finish. None of this editing the games down to two hours, as you’re doing on the NHL Network. I want every moment, start to finish. I want every glorious second of the victories over hated rival Montreal. Every glorious second of the revenge match (sweep! sweep!) against Philadelphia. Every glorious second of their grind-it-out wins against Tampa Bay, up to and including Tim Thomas embracing a tearful Marty St. Louis.
I don’t want just the final against Vancouver. That’d be like receiving nothing but steak in a four-star restaurant. I want the fine wine, the garlic-mashed potatoes, the fresh asparagus.
And for the homemade chocolate cake, I want a bonus DVD of the celebrations, from Zdeno Chara hoisting the Cup to the parade.
You’re on the right track with the Blackhawks DVD set from last season. But five games isn’t enough. Not remotely enough.
I want 16 games. I don’t care whose feed you use, though if you’re asking, the enthusiasm of Doc Emerick or Jack Edwards would be preferable to Bob Cole’s “meh, the Bruins win in OT,” though his calls do offer comedic value. The production effort is minimal – just chop out the ads (and the between-period analysis if you wish); no other editing required. Charge $150 for the set, and have it on the shelves before Christmas. It’ll sell itself.
Please, NHL, I’m asking you nicely. If that’s not good enough, I’ll beg. I want this with the burning heat of a thousand suns, and if you consider the number of Bruins fans out there, you’ll be making a profit on this faster than you can say “fat free-agent contract.”
Sincerely yours,
Savvy
Photo from boston.com
]]>First and foremost, the Avs picked a solid, scoring winger that is ready to play in the NHL right now. How many years in a row have I bemoaned the fact that the Avs have become a holding ground for a homogenous group of North Americans, waiting for them to develop, fall out of favor or be traded? How many drafts have I anxiously awaited the arrival of a skilled European to give us the diversity every team needs to succeed? Well, we finally got it with the big Swede Gabriel Landeskog. I’m not alone when I say that the Avs desperately needed this piece of the puzzle – a big left winger with wonderful hands. And don’t forget our second pick Duncan Siemens who they’re calling a “throwback defenseman” for his stay-at-home, crushing mentality. Goodbye Liles, hello real defense!
That is the good.
The bad? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that ol’ Kroenke clearly meets the criteria for that role – especially when you have a team that is costing you $28 million in salary and you are $36 million under the cap. That’s right, folks. The owner of the NHL Rams, soccer legend Arsenault, the Pepsi Center and numerous other teams and business ventures, can’t seem to spend any of his hard earn cash on the team that has given so much to him and his fortune. It might be excusable if he were struggling for cash flow but the money is there in abundance. So why is Kroenke refusing to open his wallet?
That, my friends, could be the ugly in all this. The Avs have money. The Avs need a goalie. There are no legitimate goalies available (I will shoot myself if we get another struggling goalie such as Vokoun as people are speculating) and the Avs’ don’t even have a semi-developed goalie ready to step in. This may mean that the Avs are banking their money and a couple of stellar players for a trade to acquire a big time netminder. Ugly because while they desperately need a bona fide goalie, I’m not sure I’m ready to say good-bye to Stastny, Duchene Johnson, or whomever else it would take.
The solution? With the CBA ending this year and next year being a potential strike year, maybe they just call up one of those youngsters and give them a shot. If they’re lucky, they end up with an up-and-coming breaking out into the league. At this point, they’re better off going with an unknown than with a mediocre known quantity. If it doesn’t work out so well, they can snag a well-known name after this year. Lord knows there will certainly be enough cash flow for it.
Unfortunately, this seems to be the best way out of the pickle the Avs have gotten themselves into. So maybe we can end up with The Good, The Bad and – the Not So Ugly. Could be worse, I guess.
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Destiny's darlings: The Boston Bruins
One May 29, venerable hockey writer Stan Fischler tweeted the following:
The Bruins have less of a chance to win The Cup than Atlanta has of retaining the Thrashers.
He wasn’t alone. The vast majority of hockey experts, from Puck Daddy to ESPN to THN, picked the Vancouver Canucks to easily skate off with the Stanley Cup against the overmatched Boston Bruins. After all, the Canucks had scoring powerhouses Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Selke Trophy finalist Ryan Kesler, and Olympic gold-medal winner and Vezina finalist Roberto Loungo. The Bruins? Sure, they had their own Vezina candidate in Tim Thomas, but their top regular-season scorers (Milan Lucic and David Krejci) had totaled just 62 points each. Zdeno Chara was a Norris finalist and former winner, but had been panned by some as overrated and overhyped. Thomas? A freakishly lucky goalie whose success rested largely on the Bruins’ defense-first system. Or so many said.
The Canucks, NHL royalty as the Presidents Trophy winner with the best regular-season record, looked down their noses at the rag-tag Bruins as the media all but crowned them champions before the first puck drop.
The disrespect manifested itself in Game 1, when Alexander Burrows bit Patrice Bergeron’s finger during a scrum, and continued in Game 2, when Max Lapierre taunted Bergeron by shoving his fingers at the Bruins center’s mouth.
And that’s when Nemesis stepped in.
Today, nemesis refers to someone’s particular enemy, but in ancient Greece, Nemesis, according to Wikipedia, “was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris (arrogance before the gods). The Greeks personified vengeful fate as a remorseless goddess; the goddess of revenge. The name Nemesis is related to the Greek word νέμειν [némein], meaning ‘to give what is due’”
Nemesis showed up at the TD Garden with revenge on her mind; the Bruins blew the Canucks out in Games 3 and 4 by scores of 8-1 and 4-0, respectively, to even the series.
The Canucks pulled ahead 3-2 in the series after returning to Vancouver and winning 1-0, but apparently hadn’t learned their lesson. Loungo criticized Thomas’s goaltending technique, calling the one goal allowed one he himself would have stopped due to his superior positional play. Given a chance to clarify his statement the next day, he plaintively said he had “pumped (Thomas’s) tires all series,” and that Thomas has said nothing nice about him.
What kind of professional athlete, one making $10 million per year, needs validation from his opponent? As Thomas said after Game 6, “I didn’t know it was my job to pump his tires.”
Perhaps Loungo took his cue from his coach, who whined that Thomas played too far out of his crease and made a formal complaint to the NHL about him. Or Daniel Sedin, who allowed a 5-foot-nothing rookie (Brad Marchand) to use him as a speed bag late in Game 4. What kind of a man – what kind of a hockey player? – allows that to happen? What member of the Bruins wouldn’t have knocked Marchand into the middle of next week?
So Nemesis had to be smiling on Game 7 as Thomas solidified his Conn Smythe trophy, as Marchand and Bergeron scored two goals each (talk about divine retribution!), and Chara lifted the Stanley Cup to the rafters as the Bruins celebrated their first Stanley Cup since 1972.
Postscript: The night of Game 7, there was a total lunar eclipse over parts of Africa and Asia. The last time the world witnessed a lunar eclipse was Oct. 27, 2004, the night the Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals to win their first World Series since 1918.
Photo from boston.com
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