I know only 1 or 2 of you Americans even know that the NHL exists, but for us Canadians, it's been a helluva ride, especially if you're a Leafs fan.
Brief rundown for our friends down south: for the last month, the Leafs, Rangers, Islanders, Hurricanes, Lightning, and Canadiens have been fighting it out for the last three playoff spots in the Eastern Conference (yes, same as basketball - it actually works the same way with the playoff format and the two conferences :-). At one point, you had 5 points separating all 6 teams (2 points for a win, 1 point for an overtime/shootout loss). As of last weekend, it was really down to the Leafs, Canadiens, and Islanders for the last spot. Leafs lost to the Islanders on Friday, so you have the Canadiens in 8th, Leafs one point back in 9th, and the Islanders one more point back in 10th. The Canadiens have more wins so hold a tie-breaker over both teams while the Leafs have one over the Islanders. But the real kicker is the Islanders have one game in hand on both. They played the Flyers last night (worst team in hockey) and have another game today at 3:30pm against New Jersey while the Leafs played the Canadiens last night.
So, the situation as of last night was as follows: Canadiens win and they're in (two points ahead of the Isles and have a tie breaker), Leafs need to win and Isles to lose one of their last two games, Isles need the Leafs to win and win both of their last two games and they're in.
As usual, rather than just fucking lose and eliminate all hope, the Leafs miraculously pull off a win (FYI to the Americans, the Leafs are basically the Yankees of hockey up here, literally half the country cheers for them and the other half fucking hates them for that) after giving up a lead in the second period. They knock off the Canadiens but they don't clinch a playoff spot 'cause they played the Isles on Friday, they now have to wait for them to lose. Of course, Jersey has clinched 2nd overall and won't be playing the best goalie in hockey as there's no reason to risk injury. So now we wait and see if the Isles, who have been fucking hot recently, lose to a team that has nothing to play for.
Story of this damned team. They always seem to hang on and always do it in dramatic fashion (last night's game was nuts) yet never really get close to the Cup (not only haven't they won the Cup since 1967, they never even made it to the finals since then; only the Blackhawks and Cubs have longer droughts in professional sports). I mean, whoever gets the spot is going to play the Sabres anyways, so they're gonna lose (Sabres are one of the top teams in hockey right now).
Why can't the fuckers just lose and eliminate the false hope they give everyone? I'm switching to the Jays before the hockey playoffs even begin, they look like they have a much better chance of winning sometime in my lifetime (again).
Brief rundown for our friends down south: for the last month, the Leafs, Rangers, Islanders, Hurricanes, Lightning, and Canadiens have been fighting it out for the last three playoff spots in the Eastern Conference (yes, same as basketball - it actually works the same way with the playoff format and the two conferences :-). At one point, you had 5 points separating all 6 teams (2 points for a win, 1 point for an overtime/shootout loss). As of last weekend, it was really down to the Leafs, Canadiens, and Islanders for the last spot. Leafs lost to the Islanders on Friday, so you have the Canadiens in 8th, Leafs one point back in 9th, and the Islanders one more point back in 10th. The Canadiens have more wins so hold a tie-breaker over both teams while the Leafs have one over the Islanders. But the real kicker is the Islanders have one game in hand on both. They played the Flyers last night (worst team in hockey) and have another game today at 3:30pm against New Jersey while the Leafs played the Canadiens last night.
So, the situation as of last night was as follows: Canadiens win and they're in (two points ahead of the Isles and have a tie breaker), Leafs need to win and Isles to lose one of their last two games, Isles need the Leafs to win and win both of their last two games and they're in.
As usual, rather than just fucking lose and eliminate all hope, the Leafs miraculously pull off a win (FYI to the Americans, the Leafs are basically the Yankees of hockey up here, literally half the country cheers for them and the other half fucking hates them for that) after giving up a lead in the second period. They knock off the Canadiens but they don't clinch a playoff spot 'cause they played the Isles on Friday, they now have to wait for them to lose. Of course, Jersey has clinched 2nd overall and won't be playing the best goalie in hockey as there's no reason to risk injury. So now we wait and see if the Isles, who have been fucking hot recently, lose to a team that has nothing to play for.
Story of this damned team. They always seem to hang on and always do it in dramatic fashion (last night's game was nuts) yet never really get close to the Cup (not only haven't they won the Cup since 1967, they never even made it to the finals since then; only the Blackhawks and Cubs have longer droughts in professional sports). I mean, whoever gets the spot is going to play the Sabres anyways, so they're gonna lose (Sabres are one of the top teams in hockey right now).
Why can't the fuckers just lose and eliminate the false hope they give everyone? I'm switching to the Jays before the hockey playoffs even begin, they look like they have a much better chance of winning sometime in my lifetime (again).
I was there on that fateful day, were you?
and I watched UFC 69....which literally had my jaw hanging open at the end of it...
