Agonizing wait for Canucks fans waiting for puck drop
Posted May 27, 2011 6:58 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It can definitely be a challenge, for even the most devout supporter: Sustaining the hockey-high for an eight-day stretch.
News1130 checked in with Canucks fans who are trying to fill their days until the puck drops on the final round on Wednesday — and then, not again until Saturday. It’s sheer torture for happy hockey fans like this guy who has hockey philosophy to get him through:
“The days are… my immediate reaction was ‘insignificant’ without a game day the next game,” he says. “But I won’t go there; we want them to have some rest!”
“It definitely painful waiting for that first game to come up,” says another. “I’m actually going to the Sasquatch! Music Festival, so I’ll manage to pass the time reasonably well.”
Others tell us — just like their team — they’ll be getting to know their new opponent. They’re closely watching Tampa Bay play Boston. One man says sustaining the high is kind of a lark: watching, listening, and reading a week’s worth of sidebars local media has to supply a hockey-crazed province.
Many are still swallowing the final round schedule, freaked out by a delay they never could have anticipated. Some say holidays and business travel plans mean they’ll be away from their home town for this epic event.
Players itching for the Final to begin, too
It’s bad enough for fans, but what effect does this long wait have on the players?
“Obviously, the benefit [of the wait is] you get to heal all of the bumps and bruises, and when you get this far into the playoffs, you’ve got a ton of them,” explains Rick Dhaliwal with News1130 Sports. “As we found out yesterday, the San Jose Sharks were quite banged up in the Western Finals.”
“The negative is you could lose an edge,” he adds. “You’re coming off the high in the Western Final, you just made it to the Stanley Cup Final, and now you’ve got to wait eight days… there is a bit of a momentum kill.”
“You want to get going right after that Game 5 against San Jose, but that’s not the way it works.”
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