If there is an NHL season, that is:
Stevens, a 13-time All-Star who has played more NHL games than any other defenseman, skated Friday for the third time this week at the Devils' South Mountain training facility.Other than sore feet and a few blisters, Stevens was happy to be back on the ice with his teammates.
"That's the best part of the game," said Stevens, who smiled frequently during his roughly 45-minute skate with fellow defenseman Colin White and five other Devils. "That's the part you miss most when you leave the game, being around the guys."
I was thinking about Stevens today over lunch, and in particular, the devestating, vicious, mean-spirited, yet completely clean body check he laid on Paul Kariya during Game Six of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals.
For me, there simply isn't any moment that encapsulates the sport at its best and worst at exactly the same time. Kariya's speed and creativity caught completely unaware by Stevens' skill and determination.
It was a brilliant and diabolical mix of geometry and physics that met in a thunderclap.
As Kariya laid motionless on ice, I prayed to God he was still alive, all the while hating myself for admiring the handiwork that had seemingly placed him on death's door.
But then Lazarus rose from the ice, staggered to the bench, and returned to the game to score the game-winning goal when the only place he had any business being was in a hospital bed.
How terrifying. How nauseating.
How incredible. How inspiring.
That goal by Kariya was one of the most thrilling sports moments I’ve witnessed in a long time. It’s not often that you watch a game with no real rooting interest, and then suddenly you’re on your feet screaming at the TV.
I know how you feel Eric. Just reading your words bring me back to that night. Kariya inhaling sharply as he came to, I figured his career was over. Then he scored that goal, I think Brodeur was surprised to see him on the ice. Great moment and it sums up everything great and disturbing about the game. God I miss hockey.
Scott Stevens is also remembered for a similarly devastating hit on Eric Lindros in a playoff game. Eric had just come back from an injury and the tv announcing crew was stunned into disbelief saying that the hit was the last thing they expected to see in the game. At the time it appeared to be a career ender for Lindros. The resilience of hockey players never ceases to amaze me.
I remember when Kariya came back to score that goal I went completly nuts. I’ve always been a huge fan of Paul and that moment was truly incredible. Now I just wish we can see them all this season, and I think that is a pipe dream.