There are two NHL first round rematches from last season. One is the again higher ranked, Tampa Bay Lightning vs the Detroit Red Wings.
Last year the Lightning made it to the NHL finals for the second time in franchise history, losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. It was the third title in six seasons for the Blackhawks after a 49 year title drought. The Lightning won in their other finals appearance beating the Calgary Flames in 7 games, to capture the 2004 Stanley Cup.
The Red Wings are in the playoffs for a current North American major sports league high 25th consecutive season. In that span, thus far, they won 4 Stanley Cup crowns, the first in 1997, which ended a 42 year title drought.
On the long NBA regular season’s final night this Wednesday, I will be far more focused on three NHL opening round playoff games, but also the Golden State Warriors will be seeking an NBA record 73rd win.
They will be heavy favorites vs the Memphis Grizzlies to notch that win and break the current league record they currently share with the Chicago Bulls, a mark set 20 years ago.
Last night the Warriors won in San Antonio vs the Spurs, as 5 plus point underdogs to set up this chance.It was the first home loss for the Spurs.
Both NHL conferences, the Eastern and Western, will have five teams from one division and the minimum three from the other, participating in the Stanley Cup playoffs, which begin on Wednesday night.
In the West, five teams from the Central Division qualified while just three from the Pacific Division did so.
Meanwhile in the Eastern Conference, five Metropolitan Division teams qualified and just three Atlantic Division teams made the 16 team field
The top seeds are the Washington Capitals in the East and overall while the Dallas Stars are the Western Conference top seed.
Only one team is undefeated after the first week of baseball while two teams failed to notch a win in the early going.
The Baltimore Orioles with 5 wins are the undefeated team while the Atlanta Braves (0-5) and the Minnesota Twins (0-6) have yet to win.
These three teams were involved in the first League Champion Series in 1969 along with the 100 win New York Mets, who won it all.
As is the case with the season thus far, both the Braves and Twins failed to win a League Championship Series game in 1969, getting swept in 3 straight games by the Mets and Orioles respectively.
The 1969 Orioles won 109 regular season games, swept the Twins and beat Mets’ 25 game winner, Tom Seaver in the World Series opener.
However the Mets led by Jerry Koosman and Donn Clendenon won the next four and the title.
34 years ago in what is referred to as “The Miracle on Manchester,” the Los Angeles Kings staged an unbelievable comeback, the largest in NHL playoffs history, to win game 4 of a best of 5 preliminary series, L.A. eventually won, vs the highly regarded Edmonton Oilers.
Last night in not so arguably a less important game, the Winnipeg Jets battled back to stage a highly improbable win vs the Kings that may cost L.A. what would/could have been just their second regular season divisional title.
The Anaheim Ducks need a road win vs top ranked and “nothing to play for” Washington (Capitals) in a make up game tonight, to wrest away the Pacific Division title from the Kings.
Winning the last three Pacific Division regular season titles has given the Ducks far less than the Kings, who have more Stanley Cup crowns than regular season titles of any kind by a (2-1) margin.
1982 Edmonton Oilers vs LA Kings – The Miracle on Manchester – Hockey
Click above to view the Kings’ incredible comeback win vs the Edmonton Oilers in game 4 of their best of 5, 1982 preliminary series.
Steve scored the all important tying goal in that game 4.
Once, I believe on one of those great “roasts” hosted by Dean Martin, the one and only Muhammad Ali said “everyone’s talking about Gabe Kaplan” as only he could, a tribute to Mr. Kaplan a rising and so talented comedian.
Having seen Gabe Kaplan, on one of the recently aired, marvelous “Tonight Shows,” with Johnny Carson shown each night on Antenna TV, I talk some more here about Kaplan’s great sense of humor, much of it recalling his days in Brooklyn, New York.
The show that aired recently was from May of 1974, before Kaplan starred in the television show “Welcome Back Kotter,” which also truly launched the career of John Travolta.
Coincidentally, Cindy Williams appeared on that Tonight Show, also a year before her big television show, “Laverne and Shirley” which also starred Penny Marshall.
I was fortunate to be a contestant on a Gabe Kaplan hosted “NFL Trivia” show. He was funny both on and off camera.
More telling to me, he was gracious even telling me the genesis of his making “that noise” in a great “Kotter” episode, in which he plays basketball with student “Fred Boom Boom Washington,” (played by Lawrence Hilton Jacobs), as each of us were getting “tv makeup” applied.
What a thrill for me then and to have seen this fine performer and others on the Tonight Show with Mr. Carson.
Gabe Kaplan, pictured above.
The two teams, (Detroit Red Wings, for a North American major sports league high 25th consecutive season and Philadelphia Flyers) that qualified for the last two NHL playoff spots yesterday met in the 1997 NHL finals.
That final resulted in Detroit winning its first Stanley Cup crown in 42 years.
Meanwhile the Flyers enter the playoffs, 5 days after fellow Philadelphia team, Villanova ended a 31 year NCAA title drought, seeking to win their first Stanley Cup in 41 years.
By the way each team knows its first round playoffs opponent.
The Red Wings will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round for the second straight season. Last season the Lightning won in 7 games en route to a Stanley Cup finals loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Meanwhile the Flyers are to battle the top ranked Washington Capitals, a team that began play in the season (1974-1975), in which the Flyers last won the title, still seeking their first such title.
Switching channels earlier today, I came across two of the great actors, Lee J. Cobb and Robert Duvall, each from a different era, in a scene together on the television show, “The Virginian.”
I could hardly concentrate in awe of their greatness, at this point Cobb well established as an all-time great, Duvall at the beginning of an ongoing great career.
Two other greats come to mind when thinking about both men, each rarely a leading man type but with the “acting chops” few could match, leading men or not.
Those others are Marlon Brando and Gregory Peck.
Just one year before the referenced episode of “The Virginian,” called “The Golden Door,” aired in 1963, Mr. Duvall made his film debut in “To Kill A Mockingbird,” in which Mr. Peck turned in an iconic performance.
Both Cobb and Duvall had great film roles opposite Marlon Brando, the former in “On The Waterfront,” the latter in “The Godfather.”
One sentence from today’s brief viewing resonates as Duvall’s character says “the old man” the same three words as he said in “The Godfather” prefaced by “if” and followed by “dies we take the deal.” Again these guys were/are among the true acting greats.
Robert Duvall, pictured above.
Certainly there will be “scoreboard watching” today as the three NHL East teams battling for the two remaining playoff spots all have afternoon games.
Two of the games are to be played simultaneously, the Detroit Red Wings, still in control of their bid for a 25th straight post-season appearance, are at New York vs the Rangers while the Boston Bruins, needing help to qualify, host the Ottawa Senators. Both tilts begin at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Next, the third team in the playoffs hunt, the Philadelphia Flyers host the Pittsburgh Penguins in an NBC telecast beginning at 3 p.m.”Philly” controls its fate as well but to assure a playoffs berth must win 2 games, while Detroit needs only one. There are other contingencies as well, stay tuned for an interesting NHL day.
The Los Angeles Kings have won the last two “even year” Stanley Cup titles thus the fact they have but one first place finish/divisional title in their 47 previous seasons of play is downplayed as perhaps it should be.
Winning the Stanley Cup and going far in the playoffs is what counts and winning a divisional title does not assure that.
However, the Kings with a magic point total of 1, (a win or overtime loss by L.A. or a loss by the Anaheim Ducks), hope to garner their second divisional title (NHL Pacific Division), tonight. Their lone regular season division title to this point was in 1990-1991.(NHL Smythe Division).
L.A. faces the Winnipeg Jets at home, a game starting 5 hours after the Ducks’ road encounter with the Colorado Avalanche so the Kings will know where they stand before their game.
Andy B Sports 