All of these moments are great, and all captured in time and memory. Each was the greatest moment at the moment it occurred, and each struck their own chords and made us feel the passion the drives us, that makes us love hockey as we do. The moments that make us certain, without doubt, that this is the greatest sport of them all, leading us to question what is lacking from the minds of the 'normals' that for some reason can't cause them to see that. How this sport ranks below like, I dunno, billiards or something, I'll never know. No other sport comes close, and us that are fans know that. Because when you're a fan, you get it. No fans are more passionate than hockey fans, and it's because of moments like all those listed.
This SC run we're on right now is exactly what I love about hockey. You just never know. Every game, every shift, every shot, can matter so much. And don't blink, ever, or you might miss a moment that can be remembered a lifetime.
Let no one here doubt that we can do this. Over and over I've repeated aloud what Henrik uttered to start the playoffs to begin with. "Why not us?". The team has bought in. They believe. They believe in the journey, they believe in each other. This is the most I've seen them play as a team in 20 years. Greater than the sum of their parts. I miss Cally, I truly do. But the injection of MSL, his leadership, his legacy, has made all the difference. Leaders abound on this team, as does heart, and in some part skill. We have one of the best defenseman in the world, the best goalie in the world, and some of the most underrated players whose skill potential still has not yet been met. Possibilities are endless here. And I for one, believe. I truly believe, and even down 3-1 against Pitt, at which time my sons heard me give a 45 minute tirade about their not playing to potential, about how this just wasn't them, that tired or not they need to dig down, and blah blah blah, speaking as if I were there coach in their locker room at that very moment, lashing out with conviction and fury, but ending it with nothing but full faith and confidence. I knew we could come back. I knew we could match Pitt, contain pitt, and advance. My sons heard me say it, that we will do this. That we can come together as a team and find the heart and the will to play like the warriors we need to play like in order to be cup worthy. And then we did. And my sons learned one hell of a lesson, that you can never count a team out in the playoffs. They too now believe. They too now feel, "why not us?". Because we can. Because we are greater than the sum of our parts. Because we believe, and we believe in each other. Because we have the right leaders, the right depth, the right attitude, and no "always look to pass the puck to so and so" type stars.
I often have believed that you can tell the team that will go on to win the cup by going through each series and imagining what the SC run video months later would look like. What story lines would it have? There's always a story line. Silly concept, I know. But I'm tellin ya, if you try and imagine the video in your head, or one hour special in your head, you can usually pinpoint which team would be the one likely to fill the footage. And to me, when I'm doing it this year, though LA is worthy as well, this time I see the footage being filled with us. Our story lines. Our road to triumph.
We have a long way to go, my friends, but this year, this journey is hours. In a few weeks, I am going to be enjoying a life long memory with my two boys, as we join thousands of you for the victory parade in NYC. What other moments will occur from now till then? Who will the heroes be? I can say with almost certainty that at one point Zucc will have a moment worthy of making the list. Remember I said it. He will have his hero moment. But what others? So much must happen from now till the hoisting of the cup. So many saves, so many plays, so much more story. My warning to all, is to not take any moment of it for granted. Don't let the games fly by, enjoy each shift, keep replaying a good goal, enjoy this run, because it may end up being memorialized forever, and we can all years down the road proclaim "I remember that moment", "I remember how I felt" "I remember what the look on my sons face was like" etc. Enjoy it. All of it. We've a long way to go, but just remember, "Why not us?"...
And on a completely separate note, as much as it might ruin the spirit of above, I do want to at least weigh in on the whole Messier/Noonan thing. Video, angles, speed, are tricky things. Yes, it looks so unlikely if not impossible to have been Mess's goal, but it was. I've gone through it a million times and have pinpointed exactly how it was. But to me the most important evidence of all is Messier himself. To those of you who believe it was Noonan, I speak this to you. I cannot consider you to be a true blue blooded ranger fan if you do not believe that our greatest captain had even a shred of integrity. You would have to believe that Mess has such little integrity, such a complete lack of it, that he would go all these years without owning up to it. Yes, that is a fact. You would have to think so little of him, that you should be demanding his banner be yanked from the rafters. But Mess is full of integrity and honor, and I'm a proud Rangers fan that holds him up as one of our greatest. There is simply no way, none, that he would have such little integrity and honor that he would let everyone continue to believe it was his goal. How can you be a die hard fan and yet think so little of "The Captain"?. That's all I've got to say about that. I cringe every time I see those claiming it wasn't him, because it is a character assassination on him, on one of our greatest. An out and out character assassination, as if he had no character at all. Yes, it was his goal. Had it not been, we would've known about it years ago, from Mess's mouth himself. Period.
Anyway, enjoy the game tonight all, I'm crossing my fingers we just end it here. Let's just do this. LET'S GO RANGERS!!!!
