I did not waste thirty seconds watching the G League Thunder’s game against the resting Clippers. Because on NBC Sports Network it was the third game of the day/evening for me as the defending champ Tampa Bay Lightning started their defense of the Stanley Cup.
Holy shit.
Gary Bettman has to be euphoric with what he’s gotten in the first five games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Of the five games…four have gone to overtime and the one which didn’t was the best game of all as Tampa outlasted the annoying Florida Panthers on the road by a 5-4 count.
What a friggin’ hockey game. The puck movement, the flow, the effortless transition through the neutral zone, the pure hatred and annimosity. Someone on Tampa should kill that mouthy little No. 94 and put him out of his misery. The guy never shuts his yapping mouth. He kind of reminded me of Dougie Lawrence from the Tulsa Ice Oilers. Where’s Tom Wilson when you need him? This is when you need a Tom Wislon to terminate an annoying opposition problem.
This was the kind of game the NHL needed to get it going. And as you watch the video you’ll observe how much having fans in the building adds to playoff hockey.
The only thing missing from this glorious game was the Hall of Famer Gary Thorne doing the play by play.
Tampa with both Nikita Kucherov and Stamkos healthy is a completely different animal. A powerplay which will be difficult to reckon with for whoever has to play them on The Road to the Cup.
WHAT A FUN HOCKEY GAME.
Other than Diana Krall and Tony Bennett….I think Gary Thorne has my third favorite voice in the world. I so miss Gary Thorne on the call. He should be doing hockey instead of baseball.