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Conglaturations, A Winner Is You |
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If you don’t get that reference, don’t worry about it. It’s a video game thing. Last night saw several causes for celebration as this season winds down to a thrilling conclusion.
Mr. Rocket : Congratulations to Alex Ovechkin on his 1000th Rocket Richard Trophy. If I live through my rampant alcoholism to the ripe old age of 50 then I will enjoy when this trophy is named after him. Ovechkin scored his 47th goal of the year last night and all but sealed the lead. With the playoff matchups all but set up it doesn’t seem smart for any of the major contenders to even play their final game other than Malkin (42). Laine (44) and Karlsson (43) are on teams who know their destinies and can’t afford to waste either in a meaningless game. I’m not going to say a 6 goal night from McDavid is impossible because that kid seems to be able to do anything. But it’s unlikely to say the least.
Devilish Deeds : Congratulations to Taylor Hall on his Hart Trophy win. Spoilers. With the win last night against the Leafs, the Devils were able to clinch a playoff spot and clinch Hall’s Hart Trophy as well. What an insane year for the Devils and their fans. If you were to tell me at the start of the year that
1. Hall would have 39 goals and sit 6th in scoring
2. The putrid (on paper!) defense would be able to stand the scrutiny of an 82 games schedule
3. Schneider would only play 39 games and be average when doing so
And the Devils would make the playoffs. I would have called you daft. They’ve missed Johansson, Palmieri, Schneider and Zajac for tons of games and still they’ve gotten the job done. Who had the Devils in and the Isles and Rangers missing? Not me.
Presidential Predators : Easy joke tailored to your own political values regarding Trump/Clinton/JFK/FDR/Cleveland/Wilson. Nailed it! Take that other side!
Seriously though, congrats to the Preds on winning the annual bad luck charm. What an absolutely disgusting season they’ve had. The team is top to bottom filled with depth and talent. The centre depth of Johansen/Turris/Bonino/Fisher has to be in the top-5 for centre depth in the NHL. Not to mention the ridiculousness of Subban/Josi/Ellis/Ekholm/Pylon’s or Rinne/Saros the Finnish Double Dragon.
Mixed Feelings? : Huge thumbs up to the Buffalo Sabres. Proving that you can turn that frown upside Dahlin. Last again. It feels familiar. They are in dire need for Dahlin and have the best chance to get him. Hopefully for the fans, this doesn’t go the way 2015 did. Though I still think people really underestimate how good of a player Svechnikov is.
Panera Bread : Congrats to Artemi Panarin showing Stan Bowman that he made a big mistake. He gutted Kane to revive Toews and it all just fell apart. A lot of people quipped about how Panarin was just the beneficiary of Kane. I argued in the offseason that that was a lie. Panarin and Kane go together like Peanut Butter and Weirdoh’s crotch. A perfect fit. Panarin helped Kane reach that extra level we all knew he had in him. Panarin has been an absolute beast all season long and I hope he can help Columbus make some noise in the playoffs…for the first time ever.
Brown Noise : Congrats to Dustin Brown for reviving his career. What a turn around. Kopitar playing the best hockey of his life certainly helps, but the Dirty D deserves some credit. It’s not easy to score 28 goals. He would know. He hadn’t done it since 2010. To have your best offensive season in a 14 year career at 33 years old is quite remarkable.
Thanks for reading.
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