We could sit here and talk about contracts, free agents,
salary caps, trade rumors, etc, but don’t you get enough of that already? I
mean, who wants to listen to someone (me) go on and on about something they
really know nothing about? Well, at least not more than the other hundreds of
articles out there about it. It’s all just a whole lot of “if/then” scenarios
that get old after a while. Instead, I’d like to take a little walk down memory
lane. In these upcoming recaps, we will re-live
some of my personal favorite moments of the past season. That sounds fun
right?!? So here we go, in chronological order.
Let the good times
roll : 1. Dallas Shootout win over Boston 11/5/13
 |
| BOSTON, MA - Jamie Benn #14 of the Dallas Stars celebrates his goal in the first period with his teammates against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on November 5, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) |
Let me paint the scene for you: Tyler Seguin and Rich
Peverley get traded out of Boston. Two players who had helped the team win the
Stanley Cup in 2011. Tyler leaves on a not-so-warm sendoff with stories of
partying, irresponsibility-you’ve heard the rumors. It’s both guys first game
against their old team. In Boston. In TD Garden. In front of ~18,000 of some of
the most “colorful” fans in the league (see Bottle Throwing 101). Exciting
isn't it?
There’s just something about playing against your former
team no matter on what terms you left. You can be professional about it and say
all the right “PC” things, but it matters. It gets in your head. You want to
prove them wrong. You want them to feel the pain of what they lost. And that’s
exactly what Pevs and Segs did.
But, they didn't do it alone. An early goal by Jamie Benn
put the Stars up on the board first. They wouldn't score again until late in
the third period. With less than 3 min left, Vern Fiddler scored the game-tying
penalty shot goal that propelled the Stars into overtime. Although both teams showed moments of dominate puck
possession, neither could produce that game winning goal, and after the 5 min OT
it was time to settle it in a shootout.
For those of you who don’t know, or for those that need a
refresher, shootout rules are basically as follows. Each team initially selects
three players to participate with the home team deciding which team shoots
first. All three players from each team will be able to shoot unless the
outcome is decided before the last player. After those six players, if the
result is still a tie, the shootout will proceed to a sudden death format.
Patrice Bergeron was elected to go first from the Bruins and
he puts it in the net. Jamie Benn was up next for the Stars but his shot was
blocked. Next up for the Bruins was Jarome Iginla but he couldn't get his shot
by Kari Lehtonen. Cue Tyler Seguin. The fans had shown Tyler just what they
thought of him all night by booing him every time he touched the puck. The
shootout was no different. In a post-game interview Tyler said he was just
trying to do something different against his former net minder teammate and it
paid off. Tyler scored to keep the Stars hopes alive much to the dismay of the
home crowd.
Enter one of my favorite scenes of this season. After his
shootout goal, Tyler proceeds to skate back to his bench for the ritual fist
bumps. In doing so he has to pass his former bench. Tyler says he didn't do
this on purpose, but as he skated by his former teammates it appeared to the TV
audience that he was fake or “air” fist bumping all the Bruins players. On
purpose or not, to me it sent a message. The proverbial middle finger, if you
will (seriously, Google it).
In a matter of seconds Tyler quieted the Boston faithful and
exacted a little unspoken revenge. But it wasn’t over yet. There were still two
shooters left. Lehtonen saves a wrist shot from former Star Loui Eriksson and
Tuukka Rask answers with his own save on a shot from Alex Chiasson.
It was time for Sudden Death. The Bruins put their trust in
David Krejci but he couldn't get it past Kari. Cue Rich Peverley. The stage is
now set for Revenge Part Deux.
A goal by Peverley here would win the game. It would allow Dallas to deliver
Boston its first home loss to the Stars since January 2006. It would also help
fuel the argument of “who won the trade.” A quick shot by Peverley ends it.
#ThankYouBoston
Peverley
and Seguin get their revenge, the Stars win against one of the best teams in
the league, and fans get a glimpse into the potential of what the team could be
and would go on to be. It was glorious. I couldn't have written a better ending
myself.
To quote Razor’s in-game commentary, “Storybook!”
Kacy contributed this story for the Texas Sports Review
Follow her at @thatgirlKacy12
Follow Stars Talk @TexSR_StarsTalk
No comments:
Post a Comment