Me wondering if Kevin Durant will or won’t play hasn’t been on my mind much as I’ve had this great Stanley Cup Finals at hand to keep me occupied and interested in team sports at the highest level. If Cupcake plays tonight in Toronto…he plays. If he doesn’t his agent Richie K will have a spin. It affects me in no way whatsoever.
In the NHL your stars play thru the pain and don’t go invisible when they make it this far in a season. They play thru the bumps. Same in the NFL. In the diva superstar world of the NBA….not as much since the days of Willis Reed or even Michael Jordan. Maybe this is why the Warriors never visit Trump’s White House. They must be afraid Trump might touch Kevin Durant’s pussy and cause a national furor.
On Sunday night in St. Louis the Boston Bruins finally won Game 6 by a 5-1 count in a game which was very tough until early in the third period when Bruin replacement defenseman Carlo threw a puck at the net from the right point and it somehow bounced into the net behind Blues netminder Jordan Binnington.
Until that goal this was anybody’s game as the Bruins were clinging to a 1-0 lead on a first period five on three powerplay goal by Brad Marchand. Otherwise–it was a war with both Binnington and Tuukka Rask playing superbly in net.
Kuhlman, Pastrnak and Chara ‘playing hurt with a sore jaw” then recorded subsequent third period goals for the final margin.
My three stars were in this order….1 Rask, 2 Marchand and 3 Pastrnak. Rask is my leader for the Conn Smythe heading into Wednesday’s Game 7 in Boston.
But it’s more than just about Rask for the Bruins. They need something from their first line and the powerplay if they want to hoist the Cup. On Sunday night in St. Louis they got all that from Marchand and Pastrnak. Interesting stat…when Marchand scores the first goal the Bruins are 8-0 in post season play in his days as a Bruin. Just like in basketball…stars leading and role players following.
You’d never get that from the college writers in OKC like Little Nick Gallo and Low Energy Royce Young because Clay Bennett doesn’t allow them to write in such a manner. Stars lead, the others follow that lead. And that’s precisely why Russell Westbrook has led the Thunder into relative NBA obscurity these past three seasons.
Boston has never won a Cup in Boston in a Game 7. I’m guessing Bill Belichick will be waving the Bruins flag in the pregame. I’m guessing Tommy Brady and Alex Cora will be watching on television if they’re able as the Bruins try to become the third team from Boston this sports year to claim the ultimate prize of their sport.
St. Louis won’t go away without a fight. They’re street fighters and this should be a compelling watch for hockey fans all over the world. Too bad the NBA has had none of this in their Finals this season to date.