:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/33109635/20131027_lbm_ac5_290.0.jpg)
Lucic doesn't really like Weise.
One of the most famous photos in hockey history is a moment from a handshake line, the post-game tradition that is meant to symbolize the end of hostilities — or, at least, an end to the prison rules of a playoff series — and a return to civility.
It features Maurice (Rocket) Richard, the legendary Montreal Canadiens forward, and the goaltender he had just beaten to win a semi-final series, (Sugar) Jim Henry, of the Boston Bruins. Henry is bent slightly forward, his one visible eye blackened, shaking hands with Richard, who is bleeding from a bandaged wound above his eye.
Here is a dramatization of that goal, from the 2005 movie The Rocket.
So what did they say to each other in that line?
Probably not this: "I’m going to f—ing kill you next year."
That is what Bruins forward Milan Lucic is alleged to have told Canadiens forward Dale Weise in the handshake line on Wednesday night, after Montreal had beaten Boston in a Game 7, like Richard had done 62 years earlier.
Martin St-Louis just lost his mother... and now the entire team will go to her funeral. (Thanks ChopChopChop for the heads up)
Martin St. Louis was there for the Rangers after his mother died last week, and now his teammates will be there for him.
Sunday afternoon in Montreal, with the Blueshirts already in Quebec for Saturday’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, players and staff will attend the funeral of St. Louis’ mother, France, who died of a heart attack last Thursday at 63.
The Rangers rallied emotionally around St. Louis in the second round to overcome a 3-1 deficit to the Penguins, and now that the Canadiens have advanced, the Rangers have the opportunity to support his family in person.
"We want to be there for Marty," forward Mats Zuccarello said after an optional skate in Greenburgh on Thursday. "He’s been tough. He’s been here for the team through these tough times, and I think that’s something everyone wants to do is be there for Marty and his family. He’s our family, too. He’s our teammate. It’s a no-brainer, for sure."
Alain Vigneault said the funeral was originally scheduled for Saturday, but that conflicted with Game 1’s 1 p.m. start time. The NHL and NBC explored the possibility of moving the game to Saturday night, according to a person familiar with the situation, but that never became necessary.
Memorial Cups are equal parts past, present and future.
The tournament, now a four-team joust between the champions of the CHL’s three major junior leagues and a host squad, has oodles and oodles of history. A lot of outstanding juniors never even got close to winning one, while leafing through the record books quickly evokes memories of some pretty memorable tournaments and finals.
A personal favourite? How about 1975 when the Hamilton Fincups and Dale McCourt upended the brawny New Westminster Bruins in Montreal. Or Oshawa beating Kitchener in overtime on Bill Armstrong’s winner to capture the 1990 event.
Last year’s tussle in Saskatoon will stay in the memory banks for a while, for it was the clash for No. 1 between Nathan MacKinnon and Seth Jones. When it mattered, MacKinnon was better — a lot better -— and not only did he and his Halifax Mooseheads lift the trophy, he did go on to be the first pick in the 2013 NHL entry draft. Chances are, he’ll also be collecting the Calder Trophy next month in Vegas.
For hardened junior hockey fans, this is what matters — the history of the tournament and what it means to their team and their hometown.
Hockeysfuture.com takes a look at Avalanche prospect in the post-season.
The season may have ended on a disappointing note for the Colorado Avalanche but the short postseason run was an invaluable experience for some of the Avalanche’s young prospects. Joey Hishon made his long-awaited NHL debut and Brad Malone and Paul Carey got their first glimpse at what the NHL playoffs are all about.
In Canadian major juniors, Spencer Martin, Michael Clarke, Chris Bigras, and Mason Geertsen all got a chance to compete for their respective league’s playoffs. However, only newcomers Cody Corbett and Samuel Henley are still playing hockey in the late spring. Corbett and the Edmonton Oil Kings beat the Portland Winterhawks to win the WHL championship, the Ed Chynoweth Cup. Likewise, Henley and the Val-d’Or Foreurs defeated the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to win the QMJHL Presiden't Cup. The league champions will move on to compete for the CHL’s Memorial Cup.
Luke Moffatt, Ben Storm, Nate Condon, and Will Butcher all made it to their conference playoffs but only Storm, Condon, and Butcher’s teams would make it to the NCAA tournament. Freshman defenseman Butcher and the University of Denver Pioneers were ousted in their first game of the single elimination tournament by the highly favored Boston College Eagles. Storm’s Huskies would make it to the second round before losing to Condon and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Gophers advanced all the way to final round but were on the losing end of an emotional 7-4 loss to Union College.
In case you are interested, Chris Drury talks about life lessons taught in the Little Leagues.
Chris Drury, who resides in Greenwich, played for Trumbull National Little League, the 1989 Little League Baseball World Series Champion. A retired professional ice hockey player, Drury won the Hobey Baker Award with Boston University, the Calder Trophy with the Colorado Avalanche, and the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche. He is a two-time Olympic silver medalist with the United States, and a former captain of the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. Currently, Drury serves on Little League's International Board of Directors and coaches at the Stamford National Little League in Stamford.