Bedeviled and Bedazzled…
Sometimes, stories just hit home and unintentionally one becomes the story. That was a bit of the case on Saturday evening.
When covering sports, we all get disgusted sometimes. That is the nature of things. It happens. For those that do not know, my father passed away 17 years ago on Saturday right around the third period of the game against Tampa Bay.
What happened next was just…
Supernatural.
It’s the only logical way to explain a four-goal third-period outburst on the road that left everyone in Tampa Bay and New Jersey stunned.
It left me in tears and speechless.
New Jersey started the period down 3-1 and looked completely lost out there. They had just come off a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday night. New Jersey scored the first goal, fired 22 shots on net in 20 minutes, and then disappeared.
The first shift was pretty uneventful. I wear my heart on my sleeve and probably did so Saturday a little more than normal. Then, it happened. The Ring went off, the wind kicked up outside, the inflatable turkey went airborne. Need I go on?
This may have been why.
Because sometimes only other powers can explain what happened next. Jimmy Vesey tied the game later off a brilliant feed from P.K. Subban. Wait, that occurred too? Yes. Then midway through the final stanza, Yegor Sharangovich tallied the eventual game-winner. It was “Papa Sharango’s” (I watched too many Bond movies) second goal of the game and another highlight reel caliber goal.
Tomas Tatar made a rare appearance in the goal sanctuary to seal the game and simply the only reaction was…
Nothing but tears.
Tears of what? Joy? Relief? Reflection on years gone by? All of those? Probably.
Sometimes there is no rational explanation.
More on that Eighth Win
New Jersey’s record at 8-5-3 is far from the more stellar ones in the NHL. However, it is pretty good considering the depths this team has been in recent years. Let’s be honest. There is still a long, long way to go. There are a lot of issues that need to be addressed — again something assistants not assisting.
It is that resolve of New Jersey which was so lacking last year — whether it was due to COVID, veterans, or whatever. Players like Dawson Mercer embody so much more than stats. It is why the loss of a player like Blake Coleman had and still has such an impact.
They give that belief that no matter what. The game is not over. Sure, there are nights when a team just does not have it. Unfortunately, quite a few of those occur over the course of an 82-game season.
However, players keep a team long enough in games then others execute. That sounds like a classic comeback recipe. Again, Mackenzie Blackwood made a slew of crazy saves in the third period and New Jersey provided the offense for their goaltender in kind.
It was an afternoon and evening where the events of the past came together with the future and the present.
Like I said before if one wants to call it a miracle. Okay.
Whatever it was, it was special, to say the least.
More must-reads: