The San Jose Sharks, in their 24th season, (yesterday ESPN.com “reported” it was their 25th, sorry there was no NHL season in 2004-2005, thus this is the Sharks’ 24th season, their first was in 1991-1992), advanced to their first Stanley Cup Final series dispatching the St. Louis Blues in six games.
The Blues have now failed to make the Cup finals in all 45 of their seasons since riding the expansion NHL West to three finals appearances in as many years of that configuration (1968-1970). St. Louis has gone (0-3) in semi-finals series since that point.
That was the Sharks “semis” record going into this series but now San Jose is in its first NHL finals series which will begin Monday night as Memorial Day revelers drive, either in Pittsburgh vs the Penguins or at home in the so called “Shark Tank,” vs the Tampa Bay Lightning, depending on tonight’s game 7 result in Pittsburgh.
Joe Pavelski had the very important first goal while Joel Ward added the goals that made the score (2-0) and (3-0) as the San Jose Sharks built a (4-0) lead, allowed a “keep the T.V. viewers, phony, Blues “comeback,” before winning (5-2) in game 6.
Pavelski leads all playoff performers with 13 goals. Logan Coutore of the Sharks leads with 22 points. Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton are also long time Sharks’ players who deserve congratulations on reaching the NHL finals.
As was the case in game 3, the Oklahoma City Thunder, to this point easily the big story in either the NBA or NHL playoffs, scored 72 points in the first half en route to a rout of the 73 win Warriors in game four and now lead their NBA “semi” 3 games to 1.
Maybe 72 was a better number for a record breaking NBA team, as both the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers and 72 win Chicago Bulls set the NBA regular season mark for wins and never faced anywhere near the trouble Golden State is facing, and won the title.
Once favorites to win it all, the 73 win Warriors are roughly 13 to 5 underdogs and if they fail to repeat as NBA champions as now appears likely, but far from certain, the number 73 will evoke memories of the 1973 Boston Celtics, whose very impressive 68 wins are the most by a non title NBA team.
Yesterday the one and only Nathans celebrated its 100th birthday.
At the original Nathan’s at Coney Island in Brooklyn their inimitable hot dogs were available at the 1916 price of 5 cents.
I have many good memories of Nathans both in the distant past, a birthday party and relatively recently at the original in Coney Island.
Their french fries are “out of this world” delicious and there are many newer menu items from which to choose.
Maybe it was (birthday) #11 at Nathans for me and now (birthday) Number 100 for Nathans, here are to the memories past and future, to Nathans, a fun great place to be.
Nathan’s was founded by Nathan Handwerker and his wife, Ida Handwerker
The Pittsburgh Penguins built a (3-0) lead and won (4-2) at Tampa Bay, vs the Lightning in game 6, to force a seventh and deciding game in the NHL semi-finals/Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night in Pittsburgh.
Matt Murray, one day shy of his 22nd birthday, returned as the Pens’ goaltender and recorded the victory, getting help from coach Mike Sullivan’s successful challenge of an apparent Jonathan Drouin goal, which instead was ruled an offside play.
Thus instead of T.B. scoring first, eventually it was Phil Kessel (his 9th goal of these ‘offs to lead which leads the Pens) and the Penguins, who did so.
Incredibly or maybe not that incredibly, since the first goal/”wood” is so important in the playoffs, 10 of the 11 games in the “semis,” have produced results, in which the team scoring first won the game.
Sidney Crosby has all three game winning goals for the Penguins in this series, his goal making the score (3-0), getting the honor in this one. He also assisted on Kessel’s, obviously important opening goal.
Kris Letang, whose goal made the score (2-0) and Bryan Rust, whose nice breakaway goal insured the win, at (4-2) Pens, also had big goals.
All four Tampa Lightning semi-final series have gone to a decisive 7th game and for the second straight season the Lightning won game 5 on the road, but failed to close out their semi, instead losing game 6 at home. Last year Tampa Bay won game 7 on the road at New York, vs the Rangers.
Only three of the eight teams in the current NHL and NBA semi-final round have ever won titles in their current city. The Oklahoma City Thunder did win an NBA crown as the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1978-1979 season.
The defending champion Golden State Warriors , Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning have won titles while the Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks in addition to the Thunder in Oklahoma City have not.
Only in 1969-1970 when two semi-finalists were from the expansion, third year NHL West have there been less, in that case two of the 8 semi-final teams, that had never “titled.” Two of the six that had not won it all, the Los Angeles Lakers (they have won 11 in L.A. since that time) and Atlanta Hawks had won titles in their previous cities.
The Lakers had won 5 titles under the great coach John Kundla, led by George Mikan and Jim Pollard, as the Minneapolis Lakers (there are many lakes around Minneapolis not the case in L.A.).
Meanwhile the Hawks, who have not won a title since and never as much as made the NBA finals, going (1-16) in semi-finals tilts as the Atlanta Hawks, won the 1958 NBA crown as the St. Louis Hawks coached by the great Alex Hannum and led by Bob Pettit. They made two subsequent finals appearances while in St. Louis, losing to great Boston Celtics’ teams each time.
That year, 1969-1970 had established NHL teams, the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks in the semis but NHL West third year teams the St. Louis Blues, long defunct California Golden Seals and all 4 NBA semis teams, the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and aforementioned Lakers and Hawks had never won it all.
It is interesting that starting with that year’s New York Knicks’ title, 3 of the NBA teams sans title going into the 1970 playoffs won their first crown ever or at least in the current city in consecutive years, the Bucks in 1971 and Lakers in 1972.
My research shows that in 1994, 1998 and perhaps other years there were as few as three teams that had “titled” among the 8 semi-final teams in the NHL and NBA. From the NBA’s first season in (1946-1947) through the (1966-1967) season the NHL’s 6 teams all had won titles precluding the possibility of less than 4 teams that had won titles, in the combined NHL and NBA semi-final fields.
4 Notes, 4 teams in semi-finals and music would have been and is a better way to go.
Kyle Lowry scored 35 points while DeMar DeRozan added 32 as the Toronto Raptors again won at home to even their NBA semi-final series with the still heavily favored (roughly 10 and a half to one, in some ways 13 to 1) Cleveland Cavaliers at 2 games apiece.
The Raptors are now (8-2) at home in these ‘offs, the losses coming in series openers, vs the Indiana Pacers in the preliminary round and to the Miami Heat in the quarterfinal round.
Game 5 is in Cleveland, tomorrow (Wednesday) night where the Cavaliers (6-0) have yet to lose in the playoffs, the only one of the 32 NBA and NHL playoff teams that can make that claim.
Joe Pavelski, who has been a brilliant performer in these playoffs, scored two goals, the tying and go ahead game winner, as the San Jose Sharks moved to the precipice of their first Stanley Cup Final’s appearance, doubling the St. Louis Blues (6-30 in game 5 at St. Louis last night.
After exchanging (6-3) road victories, the Sharks (0-3) in previous semi-finals are one win away from the NHL finals for the first time. They hope to advance to the finals with a home win Wednesday night in front of what should be a rollicking crowd in San Jose.
The Sharks are (5-2) at home in these ‘offs, while the Blues are (6-3) on the road.
Each team has been frustrated in not ever making a post expansion division final series but the Sharks’ core players, all fine ones, such as Pavelski, Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture (he and Pavelski lead all playoff scorers with 21 points each, Pavelski leads with 12 goals) and Joe Thornton have actually suffered semis defeats, while no current Blues’ player has done so with the Blues.
That intangible, the fact I feel the Sharks have the only tough loss in the series and a big opportunity at home, makes my prediction that the 3 to 2 favorite, Sharks will win game 6.
A younger Logan Couture, pictured above.
Two great players, Kevin Durant (33) and Russell Westbrook (30) combined for 63 points last night as the 56 win Oklahoma City Thunder routed the 73 win, record breaking Golden State Warriors in game 3 at Oklahoma City and now have a 2 games to 1 semi-final series lead.
None of the three season record breaking teams I recall and I doubt any in NBA history were ever down 2 games to 1 in any playoffs series in the year they broke the NBA record for wins in a season which the Warriors did this season.
The team whose record the Warriors surpassed the Chicago Bulls 20 years ago in 1995-1996, swept its best of three prelim, led (2-1) en route to a 5 game “quarterfinal series triumph and built (3-0) series leads en route to semi-finals and final series victories.
Both Wilt Chamberlain record breaking teams, the 1966-1967 Philadelphia 76ers and the 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers lost opening games in that season’s playoffs as the Warriors also did in this current struggle vs surging “OKC”
However, neither trailed (2-1) or at any point after game 1. Being totally accurate, the Sixers as with these Warriors, needed to win at least 3 of the 4 possible remaining games after losing their best of 5 quarterfinal series opener vs the Cincinnati Royals.
Game 4 of the Warriors/Thunder “semi” is in Oklahoma City tomorrow night. Last year the Warriors trailed 2 games to 1 in both their quarterfinal and finals series before winning the next three games both times. Maybe they can still get away with it in this series, even win three straight but I would not count on it.
Russell Westbrook pictured above.
For the second straight game, the Tampa Bay Lightning posted a (4-3) win vs the Pittsburgh Penguins, this one at Pittsburgh, and now have a 3 games to 2 semi-final series lead in a bid for their second straight NHL finals appearance.
In Friday night’s game 4, series squaring win the Lightning built a (4-0) lead and held on for that (4-3) victory. Last night Tampa Bay had to fight back from (2-0) and (3-2) deficits before winning the game on a goal credited to Tyler Johnson.
Twice the great player, Nikita Kucherov tied the game for “T.B. ,” the second time with less than 4 minutes to play in regulation.
In their quarterfinal series victory vs the New York Islanders, Kucherov tied games 3 and 4 on the road with third period goals, before the Lightning won the game in overtime.
In game 4 of that series, Jason Garrison’s “blast” won the game in overtime, while last night he took the shot and gets the primary assist, as the puck went off Johnson’s back and into the net giving Tampa Bay a (3-2) semi-final series lead, earned with a Sunday night road win for the second straight season.
Last year, the Lightning lost game 6 at home before winning game 7 on the road at Madison Square Garden vs the New York Rangers. The three previous Lightning semi-final series went 7 games, with the team ahead (3-2) in games, winning each time. Game 6 is Tuesday night in Tampa.
It was such an emotional day yesterday with it being the 100th anniversary of my mother’s birth and all that entails, that I did not heed the great Mildred Dunnock’s, (another mother, at least as a character in “Salesman” so it was “death” of a chance) advice, in the classic Arthur Miller play “Death of a Salesman.”
She admonished “attention must be paid.” She did so in both the film and on stage. I failed to do so in both the NHL and NBA, as it was “Thunder/Lightning” last night, two nice underdogs, that now have leads in their semi-final series.
Details will follow in another post, “Thunder and Lightning,” but for now the lament of not paying attention is running through me.
The horrible fear, the ANTI and other ANTIS, are on their way and now I must PAY (attention)?
The great actress, Mildred Dunnock pictured above.
Andy B Sports 