Montreal’s Sandy Sabotage Not Proven, Nor Is It Effective

The teapot tempest of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals has arrived and it involves sand being deposited by some sinister unknown source outside the Flyers locker room during Saturday’s Game 4 in Montreal. These pernicious granules aren’t particularly helpful for maneuvering on the ice, and it caused several of Philadelphia’s players to miss shifts in order to make trips to the locker room for skate sharpening.↵↵NBC’s Pierre McGuire caught wind of it and mentioned the sand during the second period, touching off a minor controversy that might have gotten more traction had Montreal actually, y’know, not been shutout and lose Game 4. While no official accusations of cheating were leveled, Flyers players in anonymous comments sounded as though they believed something underhanded was going on. ↵

↵↵The Canadiens were forced to address the sand issue, with coach Jacque Martin saying that both teams experienced skating problems, with the culprit more likely being the composite sticks causing damage to skates than anything to do with the sand. Habs defenseman Jaroslav Spacek had a more flippant reading of the issue.↵

↵↵⇥“I thought they had diarrhea, going back and forth from the locker room. The guys were talking on the plane. What happened?”↵⇥↵⇥“If (the Flyers) have trouble, maybe they can wear those skate protectors like figure skaters.”↵⇥

↵↵↵That’s a burn. With Game 5 tonight in Philly, the Canadiens will have to come through with another comeback from a 3-1 deficit or the next bit of sand they’ll be seeing is on the golf course.↵

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