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What Happens When A "Team of Destiny" Meets a "Team of Fate?" |
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I have been working on the UFA Rumour Chart all morning (To launch this weekend) when a friend from Montreal called and asked me... "Wow, has there ever been a more perfect example of two 'teams of destiny' meeting than the Canadiens and the Flyers?"
I honestly can't recall. The only other series I have covered where two so unlikely teams found themselves playing each other was the Carolina/Edmonton Cup Final. I should probably ask Peter Laviolette this question. He is the common denominator in the two series. I have been critical of some of Laviolette's in game line management, but the timeout he called yesterday...well that was the stuff of hockey legend.
About an hour ago I got a text from another friend saying, "Fate really is on the Flyers side."
So it got me thinking.. The 2009-2010 Canadiens and the 2009-2010 Flyers...
Are either of them a "Team of Destiny?" or a "Team of Fate?"
So I looked up both words...and the dictionary pretty much has the two words as synonymous, but to me they really have very different meanings...
Then I found these two definitions....
Fate: The preordained course of your life that will occur because of or in spite of your actions.
Destiny: A set of predetermined events within your life that you take an active course in shaping.
So in other words, when we speak of destiny we talk about something we control more..."You make your own destiny" where when we speak of fate...well fate is fate. You can't change it.
I am suddenly reminded of every history class I ever took and the Puritans who believed in predestination: The belief everything big and small is written in a book and all we are doing is playing out the play.
While I do believe in life everything does indeed happen for a reason, I don't believe in predestination. There is a fine line there. I simply want to believe I have more control of my destiny.
So enough philosophy.
Let's look at these two teams. The Montreal Canadiens to me are a team of Destiny. You can't really give fate too much credit when you draw Ovechkin's President Trophy Winning Capitals, and Crosby's defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins and defeat both on the road in 7 games. You can't say "fate was smiling on you" when you have to beat the Pens without Markov.
The Canadiens have taken whatever was in front of them and found a way to beat it. You can no longer call Jaroslav Halak "a flash in the pan." His save % has been over .930 for months now.
The Habs stars have been their stars. The players they have acquired have done all you would have ever expected of them and Halak's play has allowed the team to be outshot 2-1 night in and night out.
The Flyers on the other hand feel like a Team of Fate. The Flyers made the playoffs on a shootout, drew a first round opponent they dominated all year, and then in round 2 got Michael Leighton back just in time. Every time the Flyers look to be out of it, they suddenly aren't. Something happens, and they are alive again.
Last night's come victory, battling back from 3-0 in the seventh game of a series in which they battled back from 3-0 was the stuff Hollywood movies are made of. It almost felt scripted.
Calling the Flyers a "Team of Fate" is not meant to diminish anything from how much work they have put into this amazing run. They are a different team than they were all season. They are working very hard and feel like they can't lose.
More fate?
The Flyers became a better defensive team when fate dealt them the blow of having to go through so many goalies. Ville Leino was inserted into the line-up only when other players were injured. Michael Leighton was picked up on waivers because Emery was hurt. The rise of Briere and Giroux had much to do with the extra ice-time the were given when Jeff Carter went down. Claude had a less than stellar year due to a lessened role as a third line center behind Richards and Carter.
So what wins?
Destiny or Fate?
You could argue either side.
You could say Montreal is the best at adjusting in any way they have to and if they could beat Pitt and Wash, they can surely beat the 7th seed. The Canadiens are perhaps the best counter attack team we have ever seen. The harder you play against them, the more you play right into their trap. Halak is the ultimate "Player of Destiny" and the team with the best goalie wins...
You could say the Flyers are not an attack team like the Pens or Caps. They are more of a balanced counter-attack team, similar to the Canadiens, and it will be very interesting to see how the Habs deal with a team that won't fire 50 shots a game on them but also has far better defensive defensemen than Wash or Pitt.
You could say the Habs beating the Penguins, who dominated the Flyers this year and knocked them out of the last two playoff, is just another example of fate shining on the Flyers...
But you could also say that NO ONE wants to play the Canadiens right now.
What say you?
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