The universe is back in its proper order, which means that all the scenarios are jokingly hitting our planet slowly towards the sun. But until that happy day, we still have to get to the final of the Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup.
The work has not yet been done, as Tampa has lost just two of its first two games to the New York Rangers. The Bolts (and I still say we should make them ‘Ning’ and ‘Gars’ try to meet the ‘Lunch’ of the ‘Up’ tube) have re-established Andrei Vasilevsky as the best goaltender in the world after a brief but intriguing flirtation with Igor Shestarkin. And the twice-defending badass-in-general is taking a slow but breathtaking take on this series.
It’s too bad in some ways, because New York’s Flash and Wave will provide a beautiful facewash for strong Colorado, who do all of this. But in hockey, youth is rewarded only when old age is good and it is ready to be rewarded and it always takes a little longer than you think. Nathan McKinnon looks like a baby but has been doing it for nine years now, and Gabriel Landskoog is in his 11th season. Avs are not old but they are no longer young; Their recent play-off history is wide with frustration and occasional underchievement, but at Hockeyville, it also passes for experience. They look for that moment as if they are in their very infancy, but they are not far from that pale whiff of liniment and chamomile tea. I would guess where they were in Tampa in 2019, not just Darcy Kumper Vasilevsky. It could be the beginning of a new era, or it could be a sharp lesson about what it takes to be a king: the king must be killed.
But Tampa has already begun the aging process not only based on birth certificate information but also the extra season that they have played since 2014 the following season. Looking at the three Andrews palette shifts, they look as old and distorted as the 1967 Toronto Maple Leaf, who won a cup with six regulars and both goals, over the age of 36. By this ridiculous definition, no party has ever grown old.
We also got this vibe in Game 1 of The Lightning series, which they lost 6-2. Vasilevsky, 27, looked terribly scary, apparently defining what an aggressive meh post season was for him, but head coach John Cooper, the face of every real estate broker you’ve ever seen in a shopping trolley, seems anxious and restless. . Even when the Rangers won Game 2, 3-2, Cooper had this beautiful smile that was “OK, now you have your attention” and all the talk from Game 1, about Alexis Lafrenier, Philip Chital’s New York kid line. And Capo Kakko has faded. In other words, whatever was knocking Vasilevsky’s inner ear has been eliminated, and the other 17 bolts in front of him seem calm and commanding in that “veteran leadership” claptrap method.
For Ranger fans, who are accustomed to raising their hopes against a skate sharpener, thinking that good things are coming their way, keeping them away from golf with beer stain will make a huge change in size instead of a neighboring pool party with cups. It’s not that they don’t seem ready to win, it’s just that “ready” requires an opponent who is either less prepared than you or doesn’t have a black hole in his goal that adjusts to any puck shot towards him. The Lightning is OK, well, reader, and if the Saturday series goes as a trend, the finals between the most ready and best-seasoned teams on the menu next Tuesday will begin.
Although it helps the Rangers, the last time a team won the first two games of the series then lost the next three and still won, it was the Washington Capitals in 2018. The team they defeated was Tampa Bay Lightning, who was not. Ready Still. See how this works? You are not ready until you are ready, and you will know when you are ready.