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Agony and Ecstasy

May 26, 2012, 8:54 AM ET [149 Comments]
Eklund
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To this very day, it pains me to watch footage of the 1980 Stanley Cup Final. A pair of blown first-period calls by the officials -- a high-stick goal by Denis Potvin and, more famously, linesman Leon Stickle missing an obvious offside that, two seconds later, led to a Duane Sutter goal -- weighed heavily in the New York Islanders Cup-clinching win in overtime of Game 6.

I couldn't bring myself to watch the Islanders celebrating their win. I couldn't focus on feeling proud of the Flyers' 35-game unbeaten streak during the regular season and dramatic run to the Finals. I certainly couldn't cheer myself up by thinking about next season; which seemed so very far away. All I could feel was an awful pain in my heart. The mourning lasted for several days.

Thirty-two years later, the pain itself is long gone but the memory of it gets triggered whenever some highlight clip of Bobby Nystrom's overtime Cup-winning goal comes on the TV. I still flinch and look away.

Everyone who has ever loved hockey -- whether as a fan, a player or both -- has felt that heartbreak at various times. Hockey will do that to you. Never is the pain more acute than in that year where you feel deep in your soul that THIS is your year to win the championship and the sense of destiny deepens through a long playoff run, only to be suddenly shattered into thousands of tiny pieces in the blink of an eye.

So I know what the New York Rangers and their fans are feeling this morning. They had a magnificent season and a tremendous playoff run. They'll be serious Cup contenders for years to come. But none of that matters right now. The pain of coming back to tie last night's game, come within a whisker of forcing a Game 7 and then seeing the end of their season unfold in almost slow motion as the Devils got three cracks at the net from close range is a hurt I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

As for the New Jersey Devils, the exhilaration that the team and its fans are feeling right now is what makes the game such a joy at times. With the exceptions of Martin Brodeur and Patrik Elias, none of these Devils players were around the last time the team made it this deep in the playoffs. They are a worthy representative of the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final.

One thing that these playoffs have shown beyond a shadow of a doubt is just how much parity there is in the NHL. Change around a few breaks here and there and the Devils might have lost in the first round rather than playing for the Cup. With a little better goaltending and defense, it could just as easily be Pittsburgh or Philadelphia playing Los Angeles for the Cup. It mostly certainly could just as easily have been the Rangers.

I don't believe in kicking a team or a fanbase when it's down. Those who support the winning side should savor every minute of the victory, because it won't happen every year no matter how good your team is.

To those who gloat over victory, just remember this: The time will come again when it's your turn to watch in agony as someone else celebrates. Each and every year, 15 of the 16 teams in the playoffs see their seasons come to an end that very way. Winning the Stanley Cup or even reaching the Final is a huge accomplishment that takes no small amount of good luck to come to fruition.
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