As Chicago Blackhawk forward Patrick Kane snuck the puck past Flyers goalie Michael Leighton to give the team their first championship since 1961, it seemed like he was the only one that knew it. He jumped around, threw his gloves in the air, and frantically skated to the other end to celebrate with his goaltender. But everyone else in the arena was confused. The puck went in so fast and got stuck in the corner, that it was virtually impossible for anyone to see. This caused mass chaos. Half of the Blackhawks believed their star forward and celebrated with him. The other half stood around not knowing what to do. The Flyers and their fans weren't quite sure what to do, either. Even the reliable goal judge didn't flick on the red light. Did the puck actually go in? Or was it stuck under Leighton's pad? Were we about to see the first time that a Stanley Cup celebration had to be postponed? (How crazy would that have been?)
Watching the game on TV, I said out loud, "What the hell just happened?", probably what many other people around North America were thinking. But if you think about it, this wasn't the first time that those 5 words have been uttered throughout these 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In fact, the first playoffs of this decade have offered up a vast array of "What the hell..." moments. And while you're here, let's look back at them.
-We watched one of the most dominating regular season teams in recent memory, the Washington Capitals, lay a stinkbomb against the 8-seed Montreal Canadiens. And just like that, the team that everyone thought would jump over the hump this year, dug themselves into a deeper and darker hole.
-We watched one of the greatest goalies of all-time, Martin Brodeur, show us signs that his career is winding down, as he put in another subpar playoff effort and the young and talented Devils were done in 5 games.
-We watched the San Jose Sharks, #1 seed again, looking like they were going to collapse again against the Avs, but then magically transforming into a juggernaut and easily advancing to the Conference Finals, before transforming back into their usual playoff selves and crapping the bed against Chicago. The Sharks also brought us a memorable "What the hell" playoff ending thanks to Dan Boyle.
-There was a time when Colorado, Nashville, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, were all up 2-1 in their first round series. Can you imagine if this was the Western Conference final four? Would NBC have been able to cancel their NHL coverage right in the middle of the playoffs? Because they might have done that.
-We watched the Montreal Canadiens turn back time to the late '70s and stun not only the Capitals, but the defending champ Pittsburgh Penguins to take their place in the East Final. They knocked off two teams that were much better than them on paper, but when they faced a team who they might have been a little more equal with, they got manhandled. What the hell...?
-We watched one of sports greatest comebacks ever. Not only did the Flyers come back from a 3-0 series deficit to beat the Bruins , but they came back in Game 7 down 3-0 in the game, which makes this accomplishment 10X greater.
- We watched road teams go 4-0 in Game 7, pretty much putting an end to the home ice advantage factor.
-We watched one of the best commercials in recent memory (the NHL"what if" promos) and one of the worst in recent memory (East Side Mario's)
Good God.
-We watched a washed-up goalie named Michael Leighton record 3 shutouts in the East Final and help the Flyers win the Eastern Conference.
-We watched the worst goaltending matchup in Stanley Cup Finals history, between Leighton and Antii Niemi, with each goalie looking like they had hit up the hotel bar right before the game. 2 of the 6 games went over 10 goals, 3 of the other games went 7 goals or over, while Game 2 was somehow a 2-1 final. See you in the KHL, Michael Leighton.
So as the Blackhawks had finally realized that the puck had gone in and that they were indeed Stanley Cup Champions, it was only fitting that these 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs had ended with a question that everyone had been asking for the last 2 months. "What the hell just happened?"
But if you think about it, there's nothing wrong with this question when it comes to watching sports. One of the reasons why we watch sports is because we don't know what the hell will happen, although some of my predictions make it look like I do know what will happen. Kidding, kidding.
This is the reason we keep coming back every year, whether it's on our couch at home, or a bar downtown, or going to the arena to watch. We witness new unpredictable and crazy stuff that creates all sorts of emotions. But the best emotion is the shock and awe. The stuff that we never thought we'd see in our lifetime. And sure enough, it happens. It's the stuff that everyone talks about by the water cooler the next morning.
"Did you see that?"
"Unbelievable!"
How many times were these conversations had throughout the last 2 months? A lot more than the 2009 playoffs, and the 2008 playoffs, and the 2007 playoffs, and so on.
We watch sports for these moments, and when they happen, they don't disappoint.
So let us answer the burning question of these 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Q: What the hell just happened?
A: The best playoffs we've seen in a long, long time.
