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Quick Strikes: The Carolina Hurricanes won the internet yesterday

Some other stuff happened, too.

The Headline

We are, of course, first and foremost a Tampa Bay Lightning blog. However, sometimes other NHL clubs do something so amazing we just have to give credit where it is due. Today, that credit goes to the Carolina Hurricanes.

For those who aren’t aware, the Hurricanes have developed a unique celebration tradition after every home win. Here is their most recent iteration:

The team has also mimed playing baseball - batting the puck with a stick and all - and has played duck-duck-goose at center ice. As with every thing that goes viral in this world-pretty much every one of these celebrations does-there are many people with many different opinions on this whole thing. One of those people, a person I don’t really even think is worth naming, recently said that the Hurricanes were “a bunch of jerks” for bringing (IMO, anyway) joy and personality to their sport.

The Hurricanes responded, and it was beautifully done.

One of the best ways to take away the power of a petty, out-of-line label is by owning that label. It’s really hard to allow a third party to have control over you and/or your actions if you own the thing that the party is using to try to take power away from you. By doing this, the Hurricanes have sent a message, and, even better, done so in a way that’s going to turn a profit.

Brilliant.

Just how brilliant? Well...

But wait! It got better:

Brilliant.

The Bolts

-The Lightning organization has a new shutout leader: Andrei Vasilevskiy. He dethroned former net minder Ben Bishop the other night when Tampa won against Montreal. Vasy shared his thoughts with the media post game.

-He might seem young for it, but Vasy is already inspiring the next round of young goalie superstars, including Spencer Knight.

-That game also brought some other interesting news to fans’ attention:

-There’s a watch party for the Lightning’s game at Columbus tonight:

The org

-The Syracuse Crunch is putting on a charity paint night on March 5th for Change for Change, the initiative started by former Captain Mike Angelidis (and his teammates).

The Other

-The Florida Panthers had a touching tribute last night to those who were lost at Stoneman Douglas High a year ago this past Valentine’s Day.

-Ivan Bondarenko’s story is similar to many youths who want to pursue their NHL dream. They leave home young, roll the dice, and see what happens. Bondarenko’s tale, though, has been a little different.

It turns out that he had not only crossed the Atlantic in search of a hockey career but also criss-crossed the North American continent looking for a chance to raise his game and become a pro. His decisions were as extreme as they come and everything was left to chance. That, I eventually found out, suits Ivan Bondarenko just fine.

-Vancouver Canuks prospect Mike DiPetro seems like a really good dude. Here’s your wholesome, feel good story of the day:

-Look out!

-The NHL trade deadline can be very emotional for fans who have teams that are sellers. To help New York Rangers fans get through what might be a potential cluster, Mike Murphy of Blue Shirt Banter devised a helpful survival guide.

It’s important to remember that the Rangers aren’t the only big sellers this year. It’s even more important to remember that there are bigger names on the market than Kevin Hayes, Mats Zuccarello, and Adam McQuaid. If Artemi Panarin, Mark Stone, and Matt Duchene are the Tickle Me Elmos, the Rangers are selling assets that are more like Gigglepuss Grover or something. And McQuaid is something like Threaten-us-with-Tetanus-Oscar the Grouch.

-The American Hockey League continues to be one of the strongest places for NHL talent to develop. With a quartet of players making their NHL debut the other night, 86 AHL’ers this season have now made that jump and played their first game.

-Women hockey players deserve to be talked about in reference to their own achievements and their own lives, not the achievements and lives of who they are related to. Here’s a helpful guide from Melissa Burgess, just in case it’s needed:

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