As Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs nears its completion, we are truly witnessing the changing of the guard among the contenders for hockey’s championship.
Friday night in Montreal, the home team has a chance to advance to the next round based on the success of the young, fast roster that has electrified the whole NHL. At the same time in Boston, the Buffalo Sabres continue their march to respectability if they can eliminate the Bruins in their Game 6.
The Canadiens and Sabres reflect the new NHL, with a pace of play that makes fans jump to their feet almost every shift. And then there’s Philadelphia, with its patient rebuild, advancing to face Carolina, with another squad of 20-somethings learning to win on hockey’s biggest stage.
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And like Montreal, Philadelphia and Buffalo, the Anaheim Ducks, with their young snipers — Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Beckett Sennecke — are ahead of schedule, now awaiting an opponent in the second round, after their takedown of the two-time finalist Edmonton Oilers.
If you add the youthful, speedy Utah Mammoth to the conversation, there is a possibility that we will witness five former “also-rans” making their mark in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
And with teams breaking through, we have to wonder if there are teams breaking down. Last year’s champion, Florida, didn’t make the playoffs; their opponents, the Oilers, have to be wondering if their window is now closing; and a similar question has to be asked in Dallas with the Stars, after they were eliminated by Minnesota.
What this all really means is that trying to be a contender can be taxing and fleeting. If you get to the Stanley Cup final and don’t win, one has to wonder if you will ever get a second chance to win, and how much closer you are to having your championship window close. A player like Connor McDavid, with the clock ticking, has to wonder if his window is closing. The same with players in Dallas. And maybe some players in Winnipeg, too.
New teams. New players. It makes for amazing stories in these playoffs. But it also means there is the inevitable changing of the guard.
Such is life in the NHL.
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