A Time For Everything

In an upset that no one in the hockey world expected--the Montreal Canadiens advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Last night, the Habs, as they're sometimes called, beat the Vegas Golden Knights in seven games. The Knights were one of three odds-on favorites to go all the way and win.

The Canadiens, on the other hand, finished 18th in the NHL at the end of the regular season (behind my Dallas Stars) but 4th in their division and earning themselves a spot in the playoffs.

Once making the playoffs, they took down the Toronto Maple Leafs, the League's 6th best team (by points) and then swept the Winnipeg Jets (only 14th best).

 This is their first trip to the Final since 1993--that's twenty-eight years!

After tonight, we'll know who they'll be playing--last year's Stanley Cup champs (the Tampa Bay Lightning) or the New York Islanders, who themselves haven't made the Finals since 1984. They've made the playoffs plenty of times, as have the Habs, but neither team has gotten to the Final in decades.

Despite losing $15 on my Stanley Cup Final wagers--$5 when the Stars didn't make it to the post-season, $5 when the Colorado Avalanche lost to the Golden Knights, and then last night when the Golden Knights lost to the Canadiens--I'm tickled red, white, and blue for the Habs.

LET'S GO HABS!

As always, have a great weekend. :0)

 

Well, it's done...the Stanley Cup Finals have ended, hockey is over for a few months.

My Dallas Stars did not end up on the "Stanley Cup Champions" side of the equation, but they're winners in the hearts of every Stars fan worth his or her salt.

The 2019-2020 season lasted 367 days and the boys in Victory Green (that's the actual color name :0)) played the whole way.

They struggled, overcame challenges along the way, and played in the two biggest events of any hockey season--the Winter Classic on New Years day in front of 85K fans; and the Stanley Cup Playoffs & Finals in front of no fans. Only three players, all Stars, were able to have family inside the bubble due to heavy Canadian government restrictions and the COVID-testing hoops required by the NHL.

The Tampa Bay Lightning may have been the most skilled team on the ice, but they weren't the best team, and sadly the injuries stacked up a little too high against the Stars in this final series.

They were the underdogs every step of the way and few--including me--though they'd make it past the first round. Same for the second. Ditto the third. But then they did and I finally believed they could have pulled it off. And I still believe that if those injuries to key players hadn't happened we could have.

But they still deserve all the credit for digging deep in the most bizarre set of circumstances and all the love and respect and pride for doing what they did for themselves, for their fans, and all of DFW.

 

Very few people picked my team to get past the first round against the Calgary Flames, much less get all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals and be a threat to actually win the most prized trophy in sports.

BUT!!

Here they are.

And on Saturday night, they won Game One against the Tampa Bay Lightning--one of the best teams in the League. Granted, Dallas had four days of rest and Tampa only had one, but that's hockey. And they'll be gunning for us come Game Two tonight.

Here are some pics from Saturday night's game.

That there is our MVP--the goalie, Anton Khudobin, without whom we wouldn't be here.

And last picture--my favorite thing to see after a win--the Reunion Tower Ball lit up!!

Have a great week!!

 

 

And I have a long week ahead of me. But I'm ready for it!

The time has come for me to finally get my dental work done. However-- I chose to postpone the first appointment by a week because I didn't want to be down and out with pulled teeth and mouth pain while enjoying the Stanley Cup Finals and cheering my team to victory. :0)

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

For my birthday, I get to watch the last game of the 2018-2019 NHL hockey season. Tonight is game seven of the Stanley Cup Final. Someone is walking away this year's Stanley Cup Champ.


Will it be the St. Louis Blues, who have never won a Stanley Cup? Ever.

Or will it be the Boston Bruins, who've won several over their history as one of the original six?

I haven't watched much hockey since my beloved Stars were knocked out of contention by said St. Louis Blues. But it's the last game of the season and I want to see the handshake line--one of my favorite hockey traditions--and I want to see who takes home the Cup.

Despite, the Stars loss, I want to see the Blues win. Mostly because I hate the Bruins. But also because, they're a Western Conference team. But mostly because they've never won and that would be a really cool thing to watch happen. Sadly for their fans, they aren't at playing at home tonight. Of course, they probably don't care as long as the team wins and brings the damn Stanley Cup home to St. Louis finally.

Three weeks ago, I couldn't imagine saying this, but...

LET'S GO BLUES!!!

Time for some hockey talk. We haven't done that in a while. :0)

Over the weekend, the Dallas Stars had an opportunity to move out of the Wild Card slot for the playoffs and into an actual playoffs berth. True, they'll have to hold onto it, but they've had the Wild Card slot for a good month or so, so chances look promising.

One point separated the Stars and the team ahead of them in their division, the St. Louis Blues, going into the weekend with two games on the schedule for both teams. Did they make it??

Well, the Stars won Friday's game earning them two points, but so did the Blues, so there was no change as of Saturday.

On Sunday, the Blues played early and lost. The Stars had to have known this going into their own game. So what did they do? They lost in spectacular fashion to one of the five worst teams in the league. Ugh.

Granted, there were a couple of factors going against them, but they played like crap, even for them and even with the things they had to deal with.

Anyway, the answer is no, they didn't pull it off. They're no better off, but, on the other hand, they're no worse off. The team now has four days off to get their act together. On Friday, they play...guess who?...the St. Louis Blues. Someone's going down.

Now onto my dilemma.

I have three favorite teams, all in different divisions. The Stars can play both of the other two teams at various levels of the playoffs. While the Stars are my home team, the other two have very compelling story lines for why I would want them to win--

The Pittsburgh Penguins are going for a third Stanley Cup in a row. Due to changes in the league over the last dozen years, two in a row is difficult enough. Three would just be phenomenal. And as the saying goes, "If any team can pull it off, the Penguins can." Collectively, those boys have played a lot of hockey in the past three years--not just NHL, but other competitions as well--and they're tired. But after a questionable start back in October, they're lighting it up now in the last thirty or so games heading toward the post season. So, yeah, go Pens!


The Vegas Golden Knights are going for their very first playoff run in their very first year as a team. They've already broken numerous records for a franchise in its first season. They are, to pretty much everyone's surprise, first in their division at the moment and they've hovered near the top for most of the season despite a spate of injuries to their goalies--of which every team only keeps two on the active team roster. They've had three goalies come in this year from their minor league teams who've all done a yeoman's job of guarding the net. They could actually pull this off. What's not to love about this narrative? So, yeah, go Knights!


And then, of course, are the Stars--they've been to the playoffs only twice in the last eight years, losing once in the first round and once in the second. They've made it the Stanley Cup playoffs twice since moving to Dallas twenty-five years ago, winning only once in 1999. Would I love to see my hometown boys (I say hometown, but only four players are even American!!) get to the playoffs and win the Cup. Just because they're my team and it'd be super cool to have hockey eclipse every other sport in this state for a while. So, yeah, GO STARS!


What I discovered in watching Friday night's Stars game against the Penguins is that I definitely want the Stars to win right now, during regular season play. Why? Because they need to make it to the playoffs before my Sophie's choice can even be a choice. They need the points to climb the standings.

Any suggestions on how to choose when the time comes?