Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Just Like That, Winnipeg Went Quiet

04/21/2015 at 8:12am EDT

from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of Yahoo,

Silence. The puck came out to the point, Francois Beauchemin fired it and Rickard Rakell deflected it into the net 5:12 into overtime Monday night. Just like that, the MTS Centre went from one of the loudest arenas of all-time to one of the quietest.

As the Anaheim Ducks celebrated their 5-4 victory and 3-0 first-round series lead over the Winnipeg Jets, you could hear their whoops and hollers all the way up to the rafters. Fans started filing out. After maybe a minute, some chanted, “Go, Jets, go!” But soon they faded, and there was no sound again. Hundreds stayed in their seats, stunned.

Nineteen years they had waited for this. Nineteen years they had waited to see an NHL playoff game in Winnipeg. Now they had to process a bittersweet mix of emotions – pride, excitement, frustration, disappointment.

“That’s one you’ll always remember,” said Jets winger Blake Wheeler. “Just too bad it wasn’t a more fond memory.”

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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