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It was about eight days into the Stanley Cup playoffs when a friend texted me and asked, “Why can’t we just fast forward to the Colorado-Carolina Stanley Cup final?”
That was before both teams had completed sweeps in the first round, and the ‘Canes swept Philadelphia in the second, while the Avalanche disposed of Minnesota in Game 5. Both teams looked close to invincible. Maybe that text was a little prescient. There was little doubt that Carolina and Colorado were the favourites in their respective conference finals.
Except, no one told the Vegas Golden Knights or the Montreal Canadiens. What we witnessed in both the West Final in Denver and the East Final in Raleigh are the reasons why we watch sports.
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In the West Final, we really shouldn’t be surprised that Vegas won Game 1 of the series. After all, this team is only three seasons away from winning the Stanley Cup. And after a sub-par regular season that cost the coach his job with still eight games to go, this team is playing strong two-way hockey. Mitch Marner is playing as well as he ever has, while Shea Theodore, tasked with marking Nathan MacKinnon, is proving to many he’s as good a defensive defenceman as he is an offensive one.
Never before in Stanley Cup history had we witnessed a series involving a team that won two seven-game series playing against a team that won two four-game sweeps. That’s what we are seeing in the East. And yet, it was the team on three days’ rest outpacing the team that hadn’t played in almost two weeks. Montreal’s speed surprised Carolina in the first period, which allowed them to cruise to victory.
Two underdogs. Two road victories. Expect adjustments to come.
And you know what, we still might end up with that Avs-Canes Stanley Cup Final, but the journey to get there will be full of hills and valleys, sharp turns and adjustments, both big and small, as it is every playoff season. In fact, the journey to get to the final might be more entertaining than the final series itself.
In a world of fabricated TV conflict, there’s little doubt that sports … and the game of hockey is the best and original reality television.
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