Great first game of the Stanley Cup Finals last night as Tim Thomas lost a 1-0 goalie duel with Roberto Luongo when the Canucks scored with just 18 seconds remaining. Thomas stood on his head all night long but never had a chance on the game winner.
Steve Lepore from Puck The Media is reporting that the game drew an overnight 3.2/6 rating on NBC, the highest such rating for a game one since 1999. Surprisingly, that beat out last year's game one between Philadelphia and Chicago by 14%.
An interesting side note of the game is that Alexandre Burrows apparently bit Patrice Bergeron's finger during a scrum at the end of the first period. Usually that is an offense worthy of suspension, but Burrows is expected to get off with a warning.
That episode reminds me of another finger biting incident when Tim Conboy took exception to an opponent inserting a finger into his mouth during a minor league altercation a few years back. Conboy chomped down and stated afterward that "he stuck his finger in my mouth, so I bit it".
Good "rule of thumb"... don't be sticking your fingers where they shouldn't be. BTW, the AHL suspended Conboy a game for his carnivorous ways.
Hope you didn't sign up for skating at the RZ this month
The RecZone, practice facility of the Hurricanes, has closed it's doors earlier than they expected. If you go to their website, it says that they are "closed for business." They also thank everyone for their patronage over the past 10 years.
It will be a tragedy if the place does not re-open. I have a lot of great memories from that rink as I'm sure many of the rest of you do.
As reported from various sources a couple of weeks ago, the business is in foreclosure and they need a new buyer to come to the rescue. Good luck with that. These things are always more complicated than they appear from the surface.
Brendan Shanahan new "Assistant Principle" of NHL
In a likely attempt to bring some consistency and credibility to the league's disciplinary justice system, the NHL announced yesterday that Brendan Shanahan would be taking over for Colin Campbell.
Shanahan was given credit for revamping the All Star Game a bit and for instituting the All Star Draft. We will see if he is as creative in this new position. Good luck Shanny.