Life is an interesting collage of intended and happenstance events, actions and behaviours.
There are many near misses along that amazing journey, so, so close to success, so, so close to failure, so, so incidental, so, so consequential. There are the nearly won, the nearly lost, the nearly extinguished, the nearly blossomed, the nearly loved, the nearly wedded, the nearly bought, the nearly sold, the nearly died, the nearly lived…….
Stanley Cup Playoffs are a time of near misses. In a seven game series, it is not always that the best team wins. There are so many near misses in shots that go wide, shots that deflect in and shots that deflect out, shots that hit goal posts and go in, shots that hit goal posts and stay out, penalties that are called, penalties that are not called, players that are injured on a play, players who escape injury despite a major collision, coaches that inspire, coaches that don’t, leaders who lead, leaders that don’t. This is a complex collage of personal effort, team effort, near misses, good intentions, and good fortune. It is no surprise that people say winning the Cup is difficult when those near misses fill all series, through four rounds of competition, and potentially 28 games per team in order to win 16 of those games, and the Cup.
With so many near misses in play during this rather thrilling time of the ice hockey year, it is not surprising that there are unexpected winners, unexpected losers, and many unexpected outcomes along the way. We should honour all of those teams and players who play for the Cup. They all have a chance. They all want the same result. Some want it a little more. But mostly the winner has been on the right side of near misses.