Tuesday, February 12, 2019
Blue and White in Florida
The Florida Panthers
limped into the past weekend. They had lost seven consecutive games,
with little hope for improvement. To make matters worse, they faced
the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night, then had to travel to
Nashville for a game on Saturday night.
Not only did they win
both of those games, they also welcomed back Vincent Trocheck from
the injured list. He had been out several weeks with a broken ankle.
The Panthers have a wonderful group of very talented athletes. Such a
group always needs a straw to stir the drink, especially young
athletes. Trocheck leads this group on and off the ice.
The Leafs were
impressive on Thursday night as they bested the Tampa Bay Lightning
4-2, with an empty net goal. As is usually the case, the last few
minutes were frantic for the Leafs, as Stamkos and Kucherov fired
bullets at Freddie Andersen. Mitch Marner, with his 19th
goal of the season, had given the Leafs the lead with less than five
minutes remaining.
On Friday night, the
Leafs broke out quickly and Hainsey scored less than two minutes
into the first period. The Panthers replied on goals from Hoffman,
his 23rd, and Matheson. That lead carried into the third
period. Trocheck picked up an assist on Matheson's goal.
We surmised that the
Leafs would come out flying against the Panthers in the second and
third periods. You can just imagine what coach Mike Babcock might
have shared with them during the intermissions. Apparently, on deaf
ears.
We shared a spot at the
game with my good friend Bob Page. An avowed Michigan supporter, Page
spent years chatting with athletes, as a television commentator, in
Detroit, and in New York City, primarily at Madison Square Garden.
When a photo of Ric “Nature Boy” Flair was shown on the big
screen as he watched the game, Page confessed to me that he did not
recognize the wrestler. That shocked me slightly, as the recognition
was instantaneous with me. I had seen Flair in action countless
times, parading around the ring, howling to the heavens. ( I was
forced to watch it because my boys outvoted me on programming
choices.)
After the game, gimping
along to the exit, I heard a voice behind me. “Let me go in front
of you. I will clear a path so you can get through.” I turned to
find Mr. Flair and his family. He was most gracious, and agreed to be
photographed by fans in the area. He took a moment to say hello to
Joe Bowen, the Leafs radio announcer.
On Sunday night, the
Leafs faced the Coyotes in Toronto. There are two local boys on the
Coyotes roster, Nick Cousins and Brad Richardson. Richardson is
currently sidelined, but has had a fine season up to this point. He
is second in the league for short-handed goals. Cousins began his NHL
career with the Philadelphia Flyers. His dad Brian played his junior
hockey with the Bobcats in Belleville. His grandfather, Earl, was
also an outstanding athlete in the city. The Coyotes left town with a
4-2 victory. The Leafs face the Washington Capitals before the All
Star break.
The New England
Patriots will play the Los Angeles Rams in the LIII SuperBowl. A
series of very questionable calls aided their overtime victories on
Sunday. Canadian Adam Hadwin had to settle for second place in the
PGA event last weekend. He faltered slightly down the stretch, but
did pick up more than half a million American bucks for his efforts.
Another fine week in
the world of sport.
James Hurst
January 21, 2019.
# posted by James Hurst @ 5:34 AM 
