Verification Word: poop


a. LAP is definitely the team to pick. No knock to Tampa Bay, but they had a much easier run to get to the Finals. They have not been tested by a powerhouse like the Panthers were routinely tested throughout the regular season and playoffs. I would look for the depth of LA to show as it might have not in the regular season, because that's how FHM decides playoff games sometimes.
b. I think the play is honestly to not try to focus that line. The LA top line is not necessarily full of slouches; looking down both rosters, if LA can even come close to cancelling out that production by maintaining phyiscal pressure and somehow limiting their offensive minutes, they will more than make up for the lack of scoring on their lower lines.
c. Tampa would also have to look at depth pieces; sort of the same issue as LA against TBB's top forwards. There's no way to stop Kierkegaard and Kahnwald, they are scoring at an alarming rate. Maintain the forecheck and develop pressure inside so they can't cheat up and get shots, for sure, but also simply limit their time on the ice with depth scoring and special teams.
d. While it's certainly a bit of both, I want to side with the former because they are the Eastern Conference Champions. If they were just having possession problems, I would find it hard to believe that they got through three playoff series against fairly formidable teams all while the team managed to stand on their heads in the defensive zone. Some teams just maintain that style, and TBB is a team of heart. They have a lot of players that start the game with full intention to grind down the opposition, and they grinded down an entire conference.


Milestones


Donair's favorite dish is a cheeseburger. He's not the most Russian on the IIHF team, that's for sure. But his mother, who is originally from Russia, does enjoy making John and his hockey friends pirozkhis, which are basically meat pies you can hold in your hand (similar to a turnover). Donair's mother would go to the local butcher and pick out whatever meats looked good, and then make her signature dough before filling the pies with minced meat and rice. The sauce usually depends on the meat, but Donair always goes for the spicy stuff and dips the pirozkhis in it - definitely an American flourish on top of the Russian tradition, which is a good way to describe Donair himself!


We won the Challenge Cup! I still can't believe it, honestly. So much hard work went into my own player as well as the rest of the players of the S56 gang. After the first couple of rounds I was expecting it to all come crashing down, to be honest -- I mean, 8 straight wins to start? A double sweep? Too good to be true. Our goalie just stood on his head and, despite the regular season consisting of my regular contributions, it was really the depth of the entire lineup that won us all those games. I managed to pick up scoring a little bit in the conference finals, but yeah. It was a true team effort. What stood out to me was how difficult a path we had; once we got to the Cup, it felt like we did all of the really hard work already.


I've been alright! Winning the Cup was a surprisingly emotional experience, after all of the years I've put into playing this game and being with my teammates. I've been in and around this stuff since S23, so yeah. Very great moment. Besides that I'm still playing a lot of disc golf, I'm moving up the amateur ranks and am consistently among the top finishers in my club. Raising my daughter at the same time while working from home on a LOT of code has been challenging at times, as far as keeping a balance - but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm better when I'm busy!