But Is There a Gagarin Cup Like This?

As far as I know, the correct answer to the question above is no.

The Stanley Cup replica, with plenty of fresh water for all to drink, is at 46th Street at the crossing of Broadway and Seventh Avenue. Or the point of Duffy Square as you look south toward Times Square.

Yes I wore my Kings jacket, from another era, but it looks smart with the latest uniform change. This was Wednesday afternoon, as I spotted several Rangers and Senators fans making the visit to drink from the Cup.

It was a sunny day, and there was more hockey on the schedule that night. Ditto today. Life is definitely trending toward the positive right now.

The Gagarin Cup Final Is Underway

Well, what do you know. It's mid-morning on Friday and there is already a hockey game in the books today.

Avangard Omsk Oblast defeated visiting Dynamo Moscow, 2-1, in the opening game of the Gagarin Cup Finals in the Kontinental Hockey League. Roman Cervenko and Alexander Perezhogin scored for Avangard, which emerged from the Eastern Conference after winning best-of-seven series against Amur Khabarovsk, Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Traktor Chelyabinsk. Dynamo Moscow came to the finals after winning Western Conference series against Dinamo Minsk, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and SKA St. Petersburg.

The action can be viewed live on YouTube each game day. To quickly access the day's game, click on the YouTube logo in Gagarin Cup banner, which is atop the KHL web site.

But you must get up early for these games. Omsk is in southwest Siberia, so do the math or get a time converter to judge just what 2 pm (or 1400 hours) Moscow time means to you and your sleep pattern. Dynamo's games in Moscow have a little better starting time. A final note, the KHL schedules list the home team first or on top.

Here's a little preview of the teams attempting to be the fourth winner of the Gagarin Cup.

And here is a wiki page that lists the teams in the league, past winners of the Gagarin Cup and a few notable players in the four-year history of the KHL. Note that there will be a new playoff scoring champion this spring. Alexander Radulov was the scoring champ in the last two tournaments, but his Salavat Yulaev Ufa squad was bounced by Ak Bars Kazan in the first round. And I don't think the KHL will combine RaDOOOO's figures in that series with any numbers he posts for the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Oh well. Even RaDOOOO cannot have everything.

Here is the recap of today's game.

Enjoy.

Wednesday's Playoff Tab

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
First Round
Philadelphia 4, at Pittsburgh 3 OT
(Flyers lead series, 1-0)
At Nashville 3, Detroit 2
(Predators lead series, 1-0)
Los Angeles 4, at Vancouver 2
(Kings lead series, 1-0)
Summaries are here.

WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE
Second Round
Edmonton 6, at Brandon 0
(Oil Kings win series, 4-0)
Moose Jaw 4, at Medicine Hat 3 OT
(Warriors win series, 4-0)
Tri-City 2, at Spokane 1
(Americans lead series, 2-1)
At Kamloops 5, Portland 4
(Winterhawks lead series, 3-1)
Summaries are here.

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE
Second Round
London 5, at Saginaw 2
(Series tied, 2-2)
At Kitchener 5, Plymouth 1
(Series tied, 2-2)
Summaries are here.

QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Second Round
Saint John 5, at Baie-Comeau 3
(Sea Dogs win series, 4-0)
At Chicoutimi 2, Shawinigan 1
(Series tied, 2-2)
At Rimouski 4, Blainville-Boisbriand 3 OT
(Series tied, 2-2)
At Halifax 2, Quebec 1
(Remparts lead series, 3-1)
Summaries are here.

A late starter: Here's a post from the Coming Down the Pipe blog about the Saint John Sea Dogs and the Edmonton Oil Kings, two junior teams that are a perfect 8 for 8 after two rounds of the CHL playoffs.

Notes From Behind the Bar

A little warning about keeping your head on a swivel, or perhaps just another example about knowing who is on the ice at all times.

The Kings' Mike Richards caught Alexandre Burrows at a moment when his attention needed to be everywhere at once. Could easily have been the other way around during this game, which makes the Canucks-Kings series a fun one, should you not have a horse in the race. There are enough skill players, and a healthy collection of players you might describe as having hearts filled with shit and splinters, to make me stay up late on the East Coast.

Points to consider. Both teams need to do better on the power play, because there should be plenty of them in this series. Numbers like 2 for 8 and 0 for 5 signal there is plenty of room for improvement.

Next on the docket is the Shea Weber meets Henrik Zetterberg in the corner moment at the end of the Predlies' victory over the Wings.



Right off the faceoff, Weber goes into the corner and, wouldn't you know it, the nice Saint Zetterberg of Detroit appears to say hello with an elbow to the back of Weber's head along the glass. So, one can only assume Mr. Weber was attempting a gentlemanly "and how are you, good sir" with a bent arm shiver to the back of Saint Zetterberg. Does Weber deserve a suspension? Yes. Even I know that, but there is a point where you have to address the saintly status of the Red Wings. They take penalties and on this night they are called rather than ignored. Learn your lesson.

For the next few months, your saintly status has to be earned again.

Seriously, if I read one more thing about how the Red Wings play the game the right way while I witness Holmstrom doing what he is supposed to do -- bending every rule ever so precisely to gain an advantage in front of the net -- I will have to turn the sound on the TV off.

Probably a good idea since Doc Emrick is already getting on my nerves with his "pass to Crosby ... WHO HITS THE PIPE!" I like to imagine a young Doc at a party, practicing his patter by describing the path a certain illegal substance is being held for a long time before, "Johnson takes yet another hit, looks to his left, AND PASSES THE PIPE!"

Pass the remote. I'm now TURNING THE SOUND OFF!

(To be fair, I'll let Doc and his good friend Pierre McGuire have the last word, and then I am cutting them off in the Lounge.)

A New Forechecker

Yes, please welcome Petunia Puck, who has more bite in her than Alexandre Burrows.

We've been a little lonely in the Lounge since the passing of Pablo the Hockey Pug, who would go hard into the corners for carmel corn. Petunia likes to play in high traffic areas, in front of you, on the couch and in the blind spots, waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

Petunia has warmed up to the game of hockey, though West Coast games prove to be a bit of a challenge. For now, she's choosing two periods of late night hockey before closing the eyes. But she's young. She'll learn.

First Round Picks to Click

That video was a look back. Now let's look forward.

In the East
Rangers over Senators in 5. (Funny that the Senators have actually matched up well with the Rangers this season. Still.....)

Bruins over Capitals in 4. (No faith in Washington, the team. I'm not being political.)

Panthers over Devils in 7. (I know this is a weak branch to hang on, but I am going out on this one only on the basis that the Panthers will get larger crowds to urge them on than the Devildogs will in Newark. Sad. Why are there still 3 teams in the NYC area?)

Flyers over Penguins in 7 (Normally, I would agree with those picking Pittsburgh, but I expect Claude Giroux to really have a great series here. That prospect makes the Flyers my favorite in this round.)

In the West
Canucks over Kings in 5 (No shootouts to save the Kings, whose soft dump-ins play to the strength of the Canucks.)

Blues over Sharks in 5 (Alex Pietrangelo continues to amaze me with his development. I guess those extra years in the Ontario League did him some good, right?)

Predators over Red Wings in 7 (Alexander Radulov will take a charging penalty and earn a suspension: I still remember Ra-Dooooo's flying elbow as a Quebec Rempart in the Memorial Cup final against Moncton.)

Coyotes over Blackhawks in 7 (Chicago doesn't play enough home games in this series to win.)

As you can see, I fully expect to be putting these picks in the 14-day time capsule known as the trash can by the time the second round commences.

And We Return to the Table

Old friends and new, let's gather again to remember the springs of our youth, the dreams of our fathers and the hopes of our friends, who all would and still gather to watch, worry and cry as our teams try to bring home the Stanley Cup.

It's time to drop the puck, get in the mix and feel what it is like to be alive, 20 seconds a shift. Pure fury, rest, then more bursts of sweat,confusion and rage, all in the hopes that my team, not yours, puts 16 wins together before any other in the tournament. Players will describe it as a grind, a march, a marathon or a war. It's personal, a job they must do. That's the takeaway. Whatever you have to fight your way through to get a little peace, what Imagine Dragons sings in "It's Time" as building from the bottom of the pit to the top, surviving the path that heaven runs through miles of clouded hell. That is the desire. That is the Cup.

I think of my father returning from the slaughterhouse, a nick here and a gash there, his boots a deeper shade of blood splatter, his eyes damp and sore from the daily kill. For him, the battle to provide for his family was won. He was all smiles. And if there happened to be a big game on the TV that night, there had better be a steak on the table to celebrate our good fortune.

My love of sports, and my passion for hockey, come from my father. Thanks to him, there is one game that matters to me more than all others. And for visitors to the Lounge for the rest of the spring, we will celebrate that spirit and the Stanley Cup playoffs. Rest assured that there is a place setting and a spot at the table for you. Come on in. It's steak night.