Unsurprisingly, Team Canada won the gold medal at the IIHF championships. If there was a championship I less interested in recently, I’d tell you about it. But there isn’t. Why should I care again? The most news-worthy, ergo, interesting, aspect of the tournament was the fact that some dumb politicians decided to complain about the naming of Shane Doan captain of team Canada because once upon a time, he may have made fun of a French-Canadian referee. Give me a break.
The Senators were able to take two games from the Sabres in Buffalo and look like they have what it takes to get the Stanley Cup Finals. The folks at CBC will be happy that a Canadian team is there to sustain ratings; too bad it’s the least popular of the six Canadian teams but, then again, it’s a pipe-dream to believe the Leafs or Oilers will even be playoff-bound sometime soon.
In the West, Anaheim earned an OT win to tie their series with the Red Wings. The series now shifts to the left coast where Detroit will have to try to take home-ice advantage back from the Ducks. Taking anything from the Ducks is quite difficult considering their back end consisting of Pronger, Neidermayer and Giguere. This is shaping up to be a knock-down, dragged out series, if the Senators can somehow make quick work of Buffalo, they could potentially capitalize on a worn down Western foe.