Lord Stanley Sashays Over To NBC

In case you haven't noticed (and judging by the ratings, you haven't *), the Carolina Hurricanes have opened up a 2-0 lead against the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals. The series moves back to Edmonton (and back to network television) this evening.

There are two ways to look at it. 1) All Carolina has done is protect their home ice, and the crowd in Edmonton will be all the way live, so the Oil isn't in bad shape, really, or 2) If Edmonton can't lure Grant Fuhr out of retirement, this one's done, because their goalie situation right now is as stable and confident as the Boom Goes The Dynamite Guy.

Between the pipes on the other side of the ice is rookie Cam Ward, the rookie sensation who will likely be your series MVP if it ends as quickly as Carolina would like. He's already the first rookie to post a shutout in the Stanley Cup Finals in 20 years and has become more famous in Carolina than a few Busch series NASCAR drivers. Okay, maybe not.

* = Courtesy Bob Uecker, Major League

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