From the moment you walked in the room, something felt different. To the untrained eye, the rituals all looked the same, guys taping their sticks with their own unique style, shoulder pads being tapped in a set pattern, and players exchanging secret 'good luck' handshakes. But underneath it all, there was a sense of electricity, of heightened energy, a big game feel.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were the defending Stanley Cup champions, and it's not everyday you get to test yourself against the best. Our guys were pumped for this one, and to-a-man, they all wanted to make a statement...
In the dying seconds of period two, Cam Neely straddled the blueline while his mates got back onside. Once they were clear, Neely skated into the zone and hit Vladimir Krutov with a nice pass. Krutov held for a moment, then passed it back to Neely as he penetrated further toward the goal. Before the defense could react, Cam dropped the puck back to Jeff Brown at the point, who quickly went cross-ice to Pavel Bure. From the left point, Bure took a look and released a hard shot that Igor Larionov tipped in through the five hole!
VIDEO: Powerplay Perfection!