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Puck Gate

   Chris Pronger snatching up the pucks after losses in both Games 1 and 2 has many calling foul.  There's no question it stinks of bad sportsmanship and maybe even borders on being a "sore loser".  But keep in mind this is the pinnacle of all hockey series…The Stanley Cup is the crowning achievement for all hockey players.  Win at all costs is always the philisophy Pronger has lived by in winning 2 Olympic Golds and a Stanley Cup with Anaheim.  Back before Pronger was drafted 2nd overall by the Hartford Whalers he attended my high school in Stratford, Ontario and that drive to win was even evident back then when he was just a 16 year old skinny kid.  Its hard to fault a player who is trying everything in his power to help his team hoist hockey's holy grail.  So if Pronger has to get his hands dirty who really cares ?  And if this wasn't the finals nobody probably would have even noticed.

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   Pronger's goals are simple…get under the Hawks skin and shift the focus off his team thats lost both the first two games of the series.  In that sense it was executed to perfection.  All the talk the past two days has centred around Pronger who has taken the pressure off the rest of his teammates.  He also drew the ire of the Hawks Ben Eager and it would be no surprise if Pronger suckered a Hawk into a penalty in Game 3 for his puck thefts.  From a Hawks standpoint why should they care what happens to the puck when they're just 2 wins away from a ring.  A puck or the ring ?  The Hawks know what matters most.  So if Pronger is looking for another puck after Game 3 that will mean the Hawks will have a 3-nothing stranglehold which I'm sure will be just fine with the Hawks even if they don't have the puck.

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