It’s every hockey fan’s favorite time of year. Fans all over are glued to their televisions, watching the lead up to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Commentators and critics are analyzing team and player statistics, and offering a deep and diverse array of obscure facts and strong opinions about who will take home the great cup. Tomorrow marks day one of the real battle to the cup.
Young hockey players everywhere dream of getting the chance to hold the cup above their heads, or as Kris Versteeg of the Philadelphia Flyers put it, “I’ve played for this thing a thousand times on the streets.”
Those playing for Lord Stanley’s mug this week have already played an 82 game regular season, and have skated every other day for the past month of post-season in preparation for the championship.
They have battled through injuries, sickness and fatigue, all of which will be forgotten when they begin the fight of their lives on Saturday.
Both the Flyers and the Blackhawks have suffered gruesome injuries in the playoffs. Flyer’s Ian Laperriere took a slap shot to the face, requiring 70 stitches. He also suffered a bruised brain in Game 4 of the Eastern Finals, only to return less than a month later.
Similarly, Duncan Keith of Chicago took a shot in the mouth that knocked out 7 teeth in Game 4 of the Western Finals. He stayed on the bench, and only missed a shift before returning to the ice to set up the game tying goal late in the second period.
Keith summarized the grit and heart that is required to be a Stanley Cup Championship team when he said, “I’d take all my teeth out to keep winning in the playoffs.”
The Stanley Cup Finals promises to be a hard fought, passionate, and exciting series. Both teams come into it unsure of what to expect from their opponent, but feeling confident coming off decisive series wins.
This series will come down to big game players rising to the occasion, third liners grinding away in the corners, and hot goalkeeping.
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