Hurricanes deserve a Game 7 win

Lethbridge Hurricanes fans may never know what could have been.

Before injuries thrashed the lineup, the Hurricanes were in charge of their secondround series against the Medicine Hat Tigers.

Now, they’re hoping Stuart Skinner, a bloodyeyed Giorgio Estephan and a smattering of rookies and secondyear players can take the franchise to a place it’s only been four other times in 30 years: The third round.

My prediction is a Hurricanes’ win.

They have the best player on the ice in goaltender Skinner and perhaps two of the next four in forwards Tyler Wong and Estephan. The hope is it’s enough against a relentless, possession-heavy Tigers team that doesn’t make many mistakes and finishes every check.

Missing overage forwards Matt Alfaro and Zak Zborosky has been tough on head coach Brent Kisio but perhaps the absence of forward Ryan Vandervlis affects the team as much as the other two.

Vandervlis has been a revelation in the playoffs. Hurt early in the year, he has been a versatile player, offering enough physical play and eight goals and 17 assists in 60 games. He’s six-foot-three and 215 lbs. so being physical isn’t really a choice but Vandervlis does everything well enough to be nearly indispensable.

Those injuries are compounded by the one keeping Calen Addison off the ice. The second overall pick in 2015 is a rookie the teams counts on. That’s a condemnation of the lack of depth on the roster but regardless, Addison’s minutes are not being filled by a better player.

So why bet with the Hurricanes? If those players are missing and Skinner is going to face a two-to-one shot deficit, the Canes will struggle to win.

Why put money on a franchise whose recent history is as frightening as a skinless Tickle Me Elmo?

I can lie to you and say that I really believe Skinner is good enough. I could tell you that Michael Bullion has struggled or that even with lineup limitations and getting outplayed, the Canes almost won

The truth, however, is a simpler explanation. The truth is, I just want them to win. They’ve packed the barn. They’ve played hard. They’ve earned it.