And There Shall Be A Game Seven

The Edmonton Oilers housed the Carolina Hurricane Whalers last night, cruising to an easy 4-0 victory. And thus, there will be a Game 7, and it will be good.

So maybe, just for a day or two, we can put away all the talk about the Quite Frankly-esque television ratings, the small market teams, the fact that very few people care... and just appreciate the beauty, goodness, and purity of a Game Seven. Seven's the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. Seven dwarves. Seven, man, that's the number. It's like you're dreamin' about Gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly Brie time, baby.

Erik Cole returned to the Carolina line-up last night, despite not having played since he suffered a broken vertebrae in his neck back in March. I bet 'Canes coach Peter Laviolette was expecting it to be an emotional lift for his team. Instead, everyone seemed to be preoccupied with thoughts of, "Geez, I hope Cole doesn't die tonight." Shots were 34-16 Edmonton.

Game Seven is back in Carolina on Monday night. 8:00. On NBC.

And here's how Rod Brind'Amour's pre-game pep-talk is likely to sound. From my-nhl.com, where there are seven more of these brilliant little bits.

It Will Be Seven [HockeyBird.com] 2006 Stanley Cup Final, Game 6 [james mirtle]