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An NHL Finals that’s really worth a look
By Tom Zulewski May 25, 2004 |
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Sure, you plunked down a few pennies as the season began thinking the Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning would be playing for the Stanley Cup in the Finals that begin Tuesday night at the St. Pete Times Forum. And I, like most of my so-called expert colleagues, would have laughed hard in your face, not to mention happily taken your money. After further review, now that the Flames and Lightning have actually gotten to this point and we’ve coughed up our dough, this matchup for the greatest trophy in all of professional sport gives you reasons to pause and feel this will be a best-of-7 that’ll be full of surprises. For obvious reasons, the Flames have that San Jose connection, and not just for what happened in the Western Conference Finals. Speed mixed with aggression can be a potent combination, as the Sharks found out. More importantly, Calgary is playing with the watchful eye of an entire nation on its soul. See, the Flames are the first Canadian finalist since the Vancouver Canucks extended the New York Rangers to a seven-game classic 10 seasons ago. Calgary’s only Stanley Cup was won in 1989 in the last all-Canada (Montreal) Final. Ironically, that Canucks-Rangers series was a classic played right before the NHL shut down for half of the following season. Now, Flames-Lightning may be heading in that very same direction, but we won’t focus on anything labor-related until it’s absolutely necessary. Let’s talk puck, shall we? For Tampa Bay, the Lightning is making the fans stand up and pay attention on the Gulf Coast, not exactly a hockey hotbed until now. Tampa has speed to burn like San Jose did, but the Lightning have the discipline to shake off any mistakes that the Sharks could not. They have the better goaltender in Nikolai Khabibulin, but this playoff year has been the coming-out party of Miikka Kiprusoff, as his old team in San Jose can attest. There are nice stories of veterans looking to put their name on the Cup on both sides of the ice. Dave Andreychuk has been around the NHL forever – 22 years like Ray Bourque when he finally got his ring with Colorado three seasons ago – and he has a darn good shot with this Lightning bunch. Calgary’s Dave Lowry may be a spring chicken compared to Andreychuk, but he’s been around for a while without seeing his name on the Cup, including three playoff years with San Jose (1998-2000). Even Flames coach Darryl Sutter (remember him, Sharks fan?) is entering unchartered territory in his first Finals as an NHL coach. Mushy feelings aside, the Lightning have the edge in speed with Martin St. Louis lighting the fire and Fredrik Modin and Brad Richards complimenting on the main line. Calgary has Jarome Iginla – another star-in-waiting who’s made a dent in the playoffs – leading a cast that includes pest Ville Nieminen and unlikely heroes ranging from Steve Montador (see Game 1 of the West Finals for an example) to Martin Gelinas, Mr. Marty-on-the-spot when the game needs extra time to get a winner. And, of course, the Flames have their green hardhat, given to the hardest-working player from that particular game. The Lightning doesn’t have one because it was ruined by a bolt in a thunderstorm. Just testing on that last part. I have no idea if the Lightning even has a hat, other than the ones they wear on the ice. Tampa Bay is coached by John Tortorella, your likely Coach of the Year in the NHL. Back-to-back Southeast Division titles and a 100-point year are reason enough for the Gulf Coast region to pay attention. But that total suits the Flames just fine. Calgary has already knocked off three 100-point teams in Vancouver, Detroit and San Jose to get here and the Flames don’t flame out around anyone whenever they get pushed around. For that reason and many others outlined earlier, the Flames will bring the Cup home to Canada for the first time in 11 years. The city will be standing when all is said and done. Happy viewing, everyone. All we are saying is give this brand of Stanley Cup puck a chance. |
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