Stanley Cup Game Two - Wesley's Redemption

The Edmonton Oilers are now without goalie Dwayne Roloson - he was lost for the series in game 1 and with him went the Oilers' chances. Last night Carolina completely smoked Edmonton 5-0 to take a commanding 2-0 series lead.

Roloson hurt his knee in a pile-up late Monday night and that one play has effectively taken the wind out of the sails of the Edmonton Oilers. I canot help but be reminded of another time when one play in the Stanley Cup finals took the wind completely out of a team and lead to a steamrolled series loss.

That was back in 1990 and it was the Boston Bruins vs. these very same Edmonton Oilers. The one play that really took the wind out of the sails of the Bruins was Glenn Wesley completely missing an open net in overtime in game 1. Wesley scores that goal and it is a completely different series. Instead the Bruins end up losing game 1 and the series 4 games to 1.

So you have one play that takes the wind out of the sails of a team, you have the Edmonton Oilers now on both the giving and receiving ends of that one play and you also have Glenn Wesley who was the goat in 1990 but who is now poised to get his name on Lord Stanley's Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes. Kismet.

When Boston fans think of Glenn Wesley - for most it is that open net opportunity they remember. The hockey version of Bill Buckner almost. However, Buckner basically ended his career with that play while the open net miss happened early in Wesley's career and now near the end he'll get his championship ring. It is strange that even though Wesley has been with the Hartford / Carolina organization for 11 years - I still picture him as a Boston Bruin when his name is mentioned even though his 7 years as a Bruin are now dwarfed by his time with the Hurricanes.

Kinda like how I still picture Buckner as a member of the Sox even though he spent much more time with the Cubs I guess.