The Quest for the Cup

By Aniket Tolpadi     4/17/15 10:35am

 April has rolled around, and with it, hockey fans around the world are buckling up for the most exciting two months of the year. It’s time for the Stanley Cup playoffs, which I would humbly describe as the most exciting playoffs in sports.

In so many ways, hockey is the ultimate team game. A successful hockey team must be complete with skilled forwards, responsible defensemen and a sound goaltender. Based on the strenuous nature of the sport, no one skater can play for much more than half the game and the team must work as a cohesive unit. 

Because the success of a hockey team hinges on its ability to work together, there is far more parity during playoffs. Since each individual player is less capable of impacting the game as he can in other sports, the difference between so-called “elite” teams and merely “good” teams is not so significant. It is therefore fairly common to see upsets in the Stanley Cup playoffs, while they are not nearly as common in other sports.

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This notion of parity in hockey is particularly true this year, as there is no clear favorite: not even the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings qualified for the playoffs. Several teams appear to have a legitimate chance to bring home the Stanley Cup, breeding considerable optimism among fans.

Jeremy Reiskind, a Tampa Bay Lightning fan, said he is extremely excited about his team’s chances. They will play the Detroit Red Wings in a first-round series that begins on Thursday.

“I have been following the Tampa Bay Lightning my whole life and I think this is one of the most talented teams I have seen,” Reiskind, a Duncan College sophomore, said. “We have the superstar and leader in [Steven] Stamkos, tons of depth at the forward position, and one of the best goalies in Ben Bishop. This team is focused on bringing back the Stanley Cup to Tampa Bay, and I believe this will be the year.”

The Chicago Blackhawks are always a threat at this time of year, and their odds of winning the Stanley Cup this year are predictably strong. As such, Blackhawks fans are cautiously optimistic regarding their team’s chances; the Hawks will play the Nashville Predators in a first round series that begins on Wednesday.

Duncan freshman Jacob Behling said the playoffs will ignite the Blackhawks into a better team.

“Even though they have been playing poorly recently, playoffs transforms [Chicago] into a whole different team,” Behling said. “If they find ways to get through the Predators defense, they can beat them. Then the Hawks will get Kane back and who knows what they can do. When the Hawks make the playoffs, the Stanley Cup is always a possibility.”

The St. Louis Blues have also looked particularly dangerous this year, breeding optimism among fans such as Wiess College senior Trevor Caswell. The Blues will play the surging Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs.

According the Caswell, the Blues, who won five of their last six games, have a good chance of making it to the finals.

“The Blues are coming into the series with a hot streak and they have a solid veteran team that is one of the most physical teams in the league,” Caswell said. “I can see a Rangers-Blues Stanley Cup Final going to game seven.” 

Fans of other teams have plenty reason to be excited about the playoffs as well. The Minnesota Wild, for instance, feature an impressive amount of scoring depth, a very strong defensive core and a goaltender in Devan Dubnyk who has proven himself to be a legitimate candidate for the Hart Trophy, awarded to league MVP. 

On the other hand, the Anaheim Ducks have a big, skilled physical lineup led by center Ryan Getzlaf and winger Corey Perry; such a formula is typically successful in the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference, the New York Rangers are certainly strong contenders due to their all-world goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and quick, skilled forwards that carried the team to the Stanley Cup Final last year. 

Similarly, the Montreal Canadiens feature a goaltender in Carey Price that is in the midst of a historically strong year that will likely win him league MVP honors, and thus, must be given a chance. Last, but certainly not least, would be the Ottawa Senators; the Senators enter the Stanley Cup playoffs as easily the league’s hottest team, and thus cannot be counted out.

Such is the nature with hockey: Each year entering the playoffs, at least half the teams in the playoff field has a legitimate shot to bring home the Stanley Cup, and this year is no different. This is undoubtedly the biggest draw for fans that have a rooting interest in the games; even for fans that don’t have a rooting interest, there are several interesting storylines to follow this year. Some of them are as follows: How will the Senators, this league’s “Cinderella story,” fare in the playoffs this year? Just how loud will the Saddledome (home of the Calgary Flames) and the MTS Centre (home of the Winnipeg Jets) be after their teams have returned to the playoffs after lengthy absences? Will the Pittsburgh Penguins be able to avenge their devastating loss to the Rangers in last year’s quarterfinals in a first-round rematch this year?

With so many captivating storylines, the promise of numerous physical and entertaining series, and the potential for so many upsets, hockey fans are eagerly awaiting the start of the playoffs. Though the sport never truly caught on in the Houston area, the next two months are as good a time as any to watch some hockey and give it a chance. We’ve finally arrived at the most wonderful time of year.

 

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