HOCKEY!

By Luke Langlois, prominent hockey fan, can’t ice skate

This week’s theme is “Making Daily Life More Interesting.” Life can be full of the same repetitive actions over and over again, so I asked my fellow bloggers to bring some spice to everyday life. Hockey playoffs definitely add spice to everyday life. — Editor Holden Hartle

Do you know what makes daily life more interesting? Playoffs. If you have been missing out on all of the various types of playoffs recently, fear not, for there is another sixteen-team conquest on the horizon– the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs. Nobody enjoys being left out of the loop, so today I would like to present some information about this year’s playoffs and present my predictions. I can assure you with 100% certainty that my predictions will be wrong. But, that’s half the fun. Without further ado, here are the participants in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs:

Western Conference Matchups from Top to Bottom

1. Calgary Flames (CGY) vs. Colorado Avalanche (COL)
2. San Jose Sharks (SJS) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (VGK)
3. Nashville Predators (NSH) vs. Dallas Stars (DAL)
4. Winnipeg Jets (WPG) vs. St. Louis Blues (STL)

Eastern Conference Matchups from Top to Bottom

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (TBL) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (CBJ)
2. Boston Bruins (BOS) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (TOR)
3. Washington Capitals (WSH) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (CAR)
4. New York Islanders (NYI) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (PIT)

Now that we’ve established the matchups, here’s some information regarding the playoffs in general and this year’s matchups.

1. The Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2018-2019 President’s Trophy, meaning they had the best regular season record at 62-20-16 (wins, losses, overtime losses). This record ties the regular season record of wins set by the 1995-1996 Detroit Red Wings. In short, Tampa Bay is STACKED! But, history has shown that the best regular season team fails to win the championship. In fact, the ’95-’96 Red Wings team, the most dominant team in history, lost in the playoffs. Will history repeat itself?
2. The Pittsburgh Penguins are making a playoff appearance for their 13th straight season, the longest active streak in the NHL.
3. On the other side of the coin, the Carolina Hurricanes have ended their playoff drought, making their first appearance since the 2008-2009 season.
4. The Washington (D.C) Capitals are the defending champions.
5. The New York Islanders will have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs for the first time since 1988.
6. The Vegas Golden Knights are only in their second season ever but have landed at third place in their division.
7. The Columbus Blue Jackets have been around since 2000 but are seeking their first ever series win (each series is best of seven).
8. The St. Louis Blues may not be a #1 seed, but they have the best record in the NHL since the All-Star Break (about 2/3rds through the season), even eclipsing Tampa Bay’s win-loss record.

I could go on, but that should provide a bit of context for the reader. Now, for my grand predictions. 2019’s Stanley Cup Champion will be the Tampa Bay Lightning. Don’t get me wrong, nine times out of ten the President’s Trophy winner will get upset. Hockey is a sport that is PRIME for upsets, but it is my FIRM belief that Tampa Bay is just TOO GOOD! Here is a number; Tampa Bay’s goal differential is +103. This means that they outscored their opponents in the regular season by a total of 103 goals. To put this into perspective, the 2nd place team, Calgary, had a goal differential of +62, a far cry from 103.

NHL games are quite difficult to pull your eyes from. Unlike football, baseball, or basketball, breaks in the play are infrequent. In fact, players move in and out from the bench during play, no timeout or stoppage in play required. Even if you have never watched a game before, it’s worth it to stop and watch if you have the time. Besides the pure visual candy, NHL playoff matchups can go either way (unlike the NBA). You usually cannot slap the higher ranked team as the winner and call it a day. In 2012, the Los Angeles Kings team that stumbled and crashed into the playoffs ended up being one of the most dominant playoff teams ever seen, and they won it all (go Kings). Last year, the Vegas Golden Knights made it to the finals in their very first season of play, besting teams who have been around for half a century. But Luke, why are you telling us all this even though you say Tampa will win it all? Well, it makes sense considering the fact that Tampa has a statistical advantage on every team in just about every category. But, again, the regular season is wiped from the slate come the playoffs. Don’t be surprised if my bracket is an incoherent mess a week from now. Hockey is hockey. The playoffs start on Wednesday April 10th (TODAY). There will be a game on every night until the semifinal games where there may be breaks in days. This gives you plenty of time to check a game out. Catch the games nationally televised on either NBCSN or USA.

Making Daily Life More Interesting Editor: Holden Hartle