It should have been a given that the Avs would fail, all that hype and the question in goal doomed them from start. Canada gets a team in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in a decade. The Calgary Flames were projected at the beginning of the season to finish 13th in the West. Yes, predicted to not make the playoffs at all. Of course, many thought they would see the mighty Red Wings versus the Skilled Avalanche but unless you are playing your Xbox, those boys are not here right now. I am almost starting to change my theory about Stat-Magic (email me if you care what it is). I once felt that it was solely something that affected the outcomes of games when used DURING the game but I am onto something else now. It doesn’t happen often, but this ESPN article (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/s...ge=2003pvw/cgy) nailed it.
What is key about that article is that the point that there is no excuse left to win, and a very good point it was. A point so good as a matter of fact that they will make a serious run at the cup. The other 12 teams that should have finished ahead of them? They can all watch. When it was about time to start the playoffs, I mentioned to my brother that the Flames are a team nobody wants to play. Obviously most people knew it by that point but still everyone is so shocked that they are here. How did they slip through? The fact is that they earned it with solid play and solid coaching, team motivation and strength. Something the projected 12 teams above them in preseason rankings couldn’t put together it seems.
Kudos Calgary and the fans that stick by you, although you are a division rival of my beloved Avalanche, I am pulling for you to take it. You have re-shaped my thoughts of the Stat-Magic theory, and gained a fan in the process.
It should have been a given that the Avs would fail, all that hype and the question in goal doomed them from start. Canada gets a team in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in a decade. The Calgary Flames were projected at the beginning of the season to finish 13th in the West. Yes, predicted to not make the playoffs at all. Of course, many thought they would see the mighty Red Wings versus the Skilled Avalanche but unless you are playing your Xbox, those boys are not here right now. I am almost starting to change my theory about Stat-Magic (email me if you care what it is). I once felt that it was solely something that affected the outcomes of games when used DURING the game but I am onto something else now. It doesn’t happen often, but this ESPN article (
