Surprised at the lack of discussion about hockey in Florida with the Panthers just one win away from winning the Stanley Cup for the first time ever. I know that they aren't the Lightning and Bolts fans are disgusted about their little brother standing at the door step. Florida had 4 match balls and are now down to 2! Edmonton was able to do what no NHL team has ever done before, win game 5 away, after being down 0 - 3. The game Tuesday night in Ft Lauderdale was very entertaining. The Oilers won this thriller 5 - 3. It was 4 - 3 until the final seconds when the visitors finally got the puck into the empty net. Looking forward to game 6 on Friday!
Not a hockey fan, but hopefully the Panthers can pull this out for their first championship. I know a couple guys in SFla that are big hockey fans. I used to live 15 min from the arena and they would offer me tickets, went once, left early. Btw, if it was the Lightning in the finals there would be a thread in the swamp gas forum (more traffic) instead of here.
Yeah, lot's of Gators are also Bolts fans. I'm not a fan of the Panthers per se, but I do like hockey and these have been really good games to watch. Edmonton has already made history by winning game 5 in the above mentioned circumstances. They also won big again last night, really kind of embarrassed the Panthers. It ended 5-1, Oilers scored 2 empty net goals during the final minutes so that result is a bit inflated but clearly they were the better team last night. There is good chance that they will win game 7 as well, something that hasn't happened since 1942. My favorite team is the Montreal (since that's where I grew up and played pee-wee hockey) but a win for the Oilers is monumental for hockey fans in Canada (probably at least 50% of the population) since no Canadian team has won the Cup since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.
Yea, actually my friends are from Montreal and I think hockey is about the only sport they care about. Certainly the only one they know much about.
Panthers hold on to win their first Stanley Cup 2-1. I actually watched the final period. Pretty intense last few min protecting a one goal lead. Congrats to Panther fans!.
Yeah, it was an intense series. The first one I have watched most of since the year the Bolts and Habs played in the final. As with most professional sports, I've kind drifted away and only watch occasionally or when it's particularly interesting. It seems that things have changed a bit since I was a regular NHL observer: a couple of times 1 or even 2 Panther players were laid out in front of the net while the puck was bouncing around in front of the net. I don't recall ever seeing this before. I remember seeing excellent defensive players block shots with their bodies but it would be 15-20 ft away from the net. Sprawling across the goal line, near and even behind the goalie, is not something I am accustomed to and quite honestly I'm surprised it's allowed. I thought only goaltenders were permitted to be in the crease.
Yes, heavy rain early, they delayed the parade start a bit until it lightened up. Still a huge crowd, saw estimates of about 300,000.
