Lake Larsen | Digital Media Manager
The NFL draft was a few weeks ago, the MLB season just began and the NBA is deep into their playoffs — but there’s one major sport missing from the discussion: hockey. The final three teams left in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning, duke it out to hold one of sports’s most historial trophies, the Stanley Cup. While all sports have their fair share of amazing feats of athleticism, hockey takes those highlights to the next level.
Of the four major sport leagues in North America, the National Hockey League seems to be forgotten. But, if you’re a true fan of sports, then there is nothing like the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Seemingly every minute of every game is filled with superhuman-like efforts to win or unbelievable underdog stories. And this year’s Stanley Playoff race is no stranger to such events. Here are a few reasons why hockey playoffs make for the best sports playoffs.
Giving everything for the name on your sweater:
Hockey, as with all sports, sees many players fall victim to injuries each season. However, the players in the Stanley Cup Playoffs simply don’t hesitate to put their bodies on the line for their team. Against the advice of doctors, in this year’s playoffs fans saw Sean Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers suit up for, play in, and score the game winning goal in game five while skating on an MCL he tore less than a week before.
An underdog story for the ages:
The brand new Las Vegas Golden Knights are the 29th team added to the NHL. They hosted their first game as a franchise mere days after the Las Vegas shooting. The horrific tragedy led the Golden Knights to retire the number 58, in memory of the 58 lives lost in the shooting. As has happened in the wake of many tragedies, a town in pain looked to their hometown team for hope. The Golden Knights set record after record for new franchises as they stormed their way into the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the backs of players that were picked up after other teams deemed them unworthy of a roster spot.
The fans:
Every sport has its fair share of crazy fans, but the fans in hockey adhere to some awesome — if rather strange — traditions. This playoff season has seen some of those traditions carry on into the finals, and some are yet to come. In Winnipeg, home of the Jets, the fans dress head-to-toe in white for a white-out at every home game. The sea of fans throughout the crowd sends a chill down the spine of the teams entering the frosty Winnipeg stadium. But once the winner of “Lord Stanley’s Mug” is announced, one of the strangest traditions takes place; each member of the winning team gets to spend one day with the trophy over the summer.
Whether you watch sports just to pass the time or because you’re a true fan, check out the Stanley Cup Finals. You’re sure to see some history in the making.
Contact the author at llarsen13@wou.edu
Photo courtesy of: nhl.com
