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The Stanley Cup Playoffs tend to feature some incredibly heated showdowns between the teams angling for hockey’s ultimate prize, and it’s not rare for tensions to boil over on the ice.
That can lead to a lot of players crossing the line at some point over the course of the playoffs, and while the high stakes certainly don’t justify a dirty hit or some other questionable play, it’s not that hard to understand why they might have some trouble keeping their emotions in check.
That can also apply to the fans who are rooting for (or against) the players in question, although there’s really no excuse for engaging in some of the troubling behavior that’s reared its ugly head over the course of the current postseason.
Last month, Evander Kane amplified the story of a young Oilers fan who’d won a battle with cancer and was subjected to some wildly unacceptable behavior when she headed down to Los Angeles to watch Edmonton face off against the Kings in the first round (although the story had a somewhat happy ending).
Now, the Eastern Conference Finals showdown between the Hurricanes and the Panthers has been tarnished by another disturbing incident.
On Saturday, Florida pulled out to a 2-o lead in the series in overtime following the marathon that saw them win the first game in the fourth overtime.
That did not sit well with one Hurricanes fan who decided it would be a good idea to post the address of Florida defenseman Radko Gudas next to a picture of a pipe bomb on Twitter (the account—”@canesplswin”—was deleted shortly after, and while there are screenshots preserving the message, we are declining to link to them in order to protect his privacy).
According to Hockey Patrol, law enforcement officials from the Broward County Sherriff’s Office and the FBI descended upon Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to ensure the safety of Gudas and the rest of the team after they landed in Florida ahead of Game 3 on Monday night.
I didn’t think we needed to remind people it’s a bad idea to send bomb threats to players on teams you don’t like, but I guess that still needs to be said.