Avs Talk - A Colorado Avalanche Blog

I find the resemblance between the Washington-Montreal and San Jose-Colorado series to be uncanny. I thought on it a lot today and this post came into being. And I've got to warn you, it has some existential mumbo-jumbo at the end.

To start with, both series are matchups between the respective 1st and 8th seed from the East and West Conferences. That one is blindingly obvious, but it's only the beginning.

Both Washington and San Jose were labelled as big, banging teams with smoking offense and would nullify the speed of Montreal and Colorado thanks to their physical prowess and offensive skills.

Predictions for both series had the Colorado and Montreal as limping in and ripe for a sweep. There were a few predictions of a token win on the backs of an astounding goaltending performance from both teams, but that was as far out on the limb most predictors would go.

This was despite a "choker" label being attached to both San Jose and Washington One hanging a little heavier than the other, to be certain.

Washington and San Jose were 2/1 favorites in the betting world for game #1. If you wanted to win $100, you had to lay down $250. That's how certain the oddsmakers - and the hockey nation - felt of impending dominance.

In game 1, Montreal and Colorado shocked the world by not only beating their opponent but by looking like the better team. This was no fluke on the backs of goaltending, this was a legitimately earned win. It had many wondering if they shouldn't have went with the cinderella upset pick so they could look like geniuses.

In game 2, Washington and San Jose were treated to piss-poor goaltending by their designated #1 'tenders. It wasn't shocking, but it was another similarity.

Oh, and let's not forget the hometown-slanted officiating. In both series, the referees appear to be easily swayed by the hometown crowd who holler over any slight by their opponent. It appeared to wear the refs down as both Montreal and Colorado had ridiculous interference penalties assessed late in the game.

For Montreal, it was Hal Gill laying a solid check on Alexander Semin shortly after Semin had lost the puck. For Colorado, it was Adam Foote battling for position to get in front of the net. In Colorado's case, it led to the winning goal.

Oh, and did I mention that game 2 ended 6-5 in OT in both series?

I pondered on what this would mean and wasn't even sure where it was headed as I was writing. Then it hit me.

I've told the story of my time as a Canadiens fans before on this blog (I'll try and find a link later) and how it came to be that in my teenage years, I rebelled towards Colorado/Quebec to show my individuality around the age of 15.

If you were to cut the timeline of my life in half and overlay the two pieces, you would find my Colorado and Montreal affiliations are perfectly overlapping.

But what does that mean? In my current philosophy, it leads me to just one conclusion. The powers that be who are writing our stories have seen fit to write one which inspires me to write a story.

It's simple, it's poetic and it's confusing enough to sound true. Which is the nature of most new age hokum, isn't it?

But if the universe needs to use such a roundabout manner to get my creative juices flowing, I'm more than willing to accept it.

Especially if it leads to a Colorado series victory.