Sutherland is No Kapowski, I'll Tell You That Much!

Kelly spills in Toronto and picks up helper on Leafs' GWG.

I’ve always had this unspoken connection to Kellys. 

My first crush was Kelly Kapowski from Saved by the Bell. I had a great friend in high school by that name. I actually dated two Kellys back-to-back in college, affectionately referred to as “New Kelly” and “Old Kelly” by my roommates. I love Kellys. 

(My wife is not named Kelly, by the way. But she doesn’t read this stuff anyway, so I’m safe… I think.)

Kelly Sutherland, though? Not so much.

He picked a helluva time to pick up his first career assist, tripping/diving/falling in the neutral zone in the exact spot a Toronto clearing attempt was headed. His body — void of a soul in the moment he hit the ice — provided a better block than any Avalanche defenseman had all night. Sutherland’s inopportune fall allowed the puck to die at center and settle in perfect positioning for Steven Lorentz to pick up, skate into the zone and deposit high over the shoulder of Avalanche netminder Mackenzie Blackwood for the shorthanded goal, a marker that would prove to be the eventual game winner.

Thanks, Kelly. I know you didn’t mean to, but that doesn't mean that I can’t be upset that you did. But you do have me remember my first love…