Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Just What Ryan Kesler Wants

05/16/2017 at 8:28am EDT

from Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province,

While we contemplate a Nashville-Ottawa Stanley Cup final, here’s something else that is both rare and beautiful, the musings and meditations on the world of sports:

— This is the magic of Ryan Kesler. Hockey’s resident heel has managed to turn a mostly uninteresting Western Conference final into a blood sport between two bitter rivals.

Kesler, of course, is currently locked in mortal combat with Nashville’s Ryan Johansen, and while you can debate his effectiveness in shutting down the pride of Port Moody, you have to admit the matchup makes for great theatre.

In the Preds’ 5-3 loss in Game 2, the real stories were a subpar performance from Pekka Rinne in the Nashville net and another monster outing from the Ducks’ Ryan Getzlaf. Instead, the main talking point was the battle between Kesler and Johansen, which was highlighted by a head butt on the game’s opening faceoff, a Kesler elbow to Johansen’s melon that went unpenalized, a Johansen high-stick on Kesler that was penalized, and this post-game gem from Johansen.

“I’m just trying to go out there and play hockey and it sucks when you have to pull a stick out of your groin after every shift.”

You have to concede the man’s point.

Kesler, of course, is now the centre of attention in the series, which is exactly where he wants to be.

continued plus some Olympics talk...

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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.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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