Stanley Never Loses Its Luster

With all respects to the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy, it will someday sit in an owner's closet collecting dust, the NBA's Larry O'Brian, trophy will one day become someone's door stop, but the Stanley Cup will never lose its luster. Perhaps that explains why the game Edmonton Oilers with nary a sharpshooter mucked and grimed their way to a virtual standoff with the talented Carolina Hurricanes. Time and Time again, Edmonton's, Ryan Smith, blew past the Carolina defense blinding passing pucks as if Yarri Kurri or Glen Anderson would blast it past the goalie, but these were the Oilers of Ryan Dvorak, Mike Pecca, and Raffi Torres....a group that clearly reminisent of the "Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight." The Oilers blasted just as many shots wide of the net as they put on goal, and that was the difference in an exciting Stanely Cup Final. Despite Edmonton's lack of talent, they were inspired by an opportunity for immortality by having their names inscribed on Lord's Stanley's Cup. For Hurricane captain, Rod Brind'Amour and Mark Kaberly, it means years from now they can take thier grandkids to the Hockey Hall and Fame and survey all the names until they scan the Carolina Hurricanes 2006 roster. They will live into the future in name only as the artifact travels the globe with curious children inspecting the signatures of Terry Sawchuk, Ted Green, Jean Belivue, Lester Patrick, Gump Worsley, Henri Richard and of course all those Hurricanes. It was this fleeting opportunity for etenal life that prodded the Oilers to leave everything on the ice, but in the end, it was the stiffiling goaltending of rookie, Cam Ward, that closed the door. He became joined, Philadelphia's, Ron Hextall, Montreal, Patrick Roy, also Montreal's, Ken Dryden, as the only rookies to win the Conn Smyth trophy as the Stanley Cup's Most Valuable Player. So the Carolina Hurricanes reap the whirlwind by becoming the second southeastern conference team to win the Stanley Cup. Somewhere in Hartford, CN, they're celebrating.