TORONTO — Black Lives Matter.
Those words were expressly blared through the Scotiabank Arena sound system before the resumption of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday afternoon, part of a pre-game video played during a three-minute Moment of Solidarity.
“In hockey we often let our effort, determination and passion to win do the talking,” said commentator Kevin Weekes in the video, which was similar to one played Aug. 1 at the outset of the playoffs. “But when an issue is bigger than the game we must speak out, starting with three words we need to get comfortable saying: Black. Lives. Matter.
“Equality is the only way forward. As players, as fans and as active citizens we must confront these issues.”
The NHL’s player-driven postponement of four games this week followed similar actions taken by athletes in the NBA, WNBA, MLS, MLB and professional tennis.
It happened after a group of players chose to put aside their individual pursuits of the Stanley Cup to take a collective stand. That decision was reached inside the NHL-created bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton during a series of face-to-face conversations, plus conference calls with founding members of the Hockey Diversity Alliance.
It brought members of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins together for a meeting on Thursday morning, less than 12 hours after playing each other. Those teams were immediately back at it Saturday as Tampa took a 3-1 lead in the second-round series with a 3-1 victory in Game 4.
“You’re having these conversations and really personally I almost forgot that we even played them the night before and we’re about to play them again,” said Lightning defenceman Luke Schenn.
There was no evidence of the competitive edge being dulled during a game that featured a couple spirited scrums and a five-minute boarding penalty to Boston’s Nick Ritchie for a late hit on Yanni Gourde. Ritchie then fought Barclay Goodrow in the third period.
Ondrej Palat scored twice while Victor Hedman added a power-play goal as Tampa moved win away from reaching the Eastern Conference Final. Jake DeBrusk replied for the Bruins.
During the 48 hours without games, there was very little talk about hockey around the NHL. The walls of the Toronto bubble were even decorated with messages like “Black Lives Matter,” although those drawings were only visible to the players and staff on the inside.
Some new art surrounding the bubble. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/RTXbFAnOYN
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) August 28, 2020
On Saturday morning, Lightning defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk took advantage of the relaxed dress code to arrive for the game in a black “HDA” hoodie. He was among the players shown on the pre-game video discussing the impact of this week’s stand against systemic racism, along with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron of the Bruins.
“We all need to learn a lot about what’s happening outside of our own lives,” Marchand told reporters Friday. “A lot of us, we don’t truly understand what it’s like in other peoples’ shoes, and we need to. It’s the only way things are going to change.”
The NHL ran a quote on the video board saying: “Nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
“As we resume play today the NHL and our players unite in the fight to end racism,” said the in-arena host. “We stand together for a common cause that needs action today, tomorrow and well after our Stanley Cup Playoffs end.”
Now that the players and league have started looking more intently at this issue they can’t avert their gaze. Even with the chase for the Cup back on.
There should be no sticking to sports after the actions taken by players in this league and others in recent days.
“Now you’re not talking about Game 4 of a Stanley Cup playoff game in the second round, every question I’m getting is on how can we be better? This is how,” said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. “We’re using our forum right now. I’m telling you that the players behind me are all trying to use this forum to be better and we’re standing united on this front.”
The playoffs are back on, but it’s on all of us to ensure that the larger issues aren’t allowed to fade into the background.
