Mortality 3, Hockey 0

 I don't know if the good Lord's hot at hockey, or if he's just a Maple Leafs fan who's mad at the game because the Leafs keep choking in the playoffs. But lately he sure has been kicking around the Sport of Kings (the Los Angeles Kings, that is).

Why, just look at what's happened in the last two weeks.

Lonnie Loach, local Fort Wayne Komets legend and the guy who scored maybe the most important goal in the franchise's 74-year-old history, was taken from us by cancer at the way-too-soon age of 57.

A couple of days later, cancer also took Ken Dryden -- arguably the greatest goaltender in the history of the game, and certainly the greatest for the nine years he backstopped the mighty Montreal Canadiens in the 1970s. Apparently the Big C was being even more of a jackwagon than usual that week.

And just today, a week after Dryden passed ...

Comes now the news that Eddie Giacomin has died at the age of 86.

If you don't remember Eddie G, hop a plane to New York and you'll get an education. Rangers fans remember him well there, and not just because no Ranger has worn his No. 1 since 1989, when the club retired it. It's the least they could do for the prematurely graying goalie who wore the Ranger blue for 11 seasons, finished up with the Detroit Red Wings and retired after the 1977-78 season with 290 wins and 54 shutouts in 610 regular-season games.

Nine years later, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Probably shouldn't have taken that long.

So, not quite three weeks, three hockey leges gone. Mortality 3, Eddie Shore 0, some such thing.

Please, Lord. Root for someone else. Hockey needs a break.