In what was either the boldest statement of gay pride in hockey since the Stanley Cup cameo in a Chicago parade or the most surreal moment of camp comedy since the Belfast Giants' holiday sing-along … well, THIS happened in last night's Vancouver Canucks' win against the Los Angeles Kings last night.
The Royal Half clipped it (stick-tap to Alvin Burk for it as well), and it really had to be seen to be believed. Do you think the players were cognizant of this? Do you think Alain Vigneault knew he was coaching in front of a collage of blue hair, pink shirts and costume jewelry? Did anyone know Shop NHL even offered this for sale?
Later, The Royal Half discovered how this shirt made it into the arena. Check the tape ... literally:
Honestly, we don't know whether to be mildly offended, to stand and applaud, or to hit the weight bench because a guy in a 'Hockey Luvin Homo' shirt has arms three times the size that we do. In any case, looks like we're going to have to update our "Weird Stuff Seen Behind the Bench" story.
(Oh, and if you are or know who the HLH is, please contact us at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com.)
Meanwhile … it was a rough night for Drew Doughty, with turnovers, blown plays and two penalties. Insult to injury: He then had to survive the torture chamber that is the Vancouver penalty box with The Green Men as his tormentors:
Can we get some glass wipes down at the sin bin, please? Then came the Hulk Hogan tribute (via Leahy):
Oh, and congrats to the Canucks for winning the President's Trophy. Fun fact from the NHL: The Canucks have scored the most goals in the NHL (253), allowed the fewest (177) and have recorded the top power-play and penalty-killing percentages (24.7% and 86.6%, respectively). No club in the League's 'expansion era' (since 1967-68) has finished first in each of these categories in a single season.