commentary...

i love the true beautiful game of hockey... it is a game of true athletic beauty,but a tough,and brutal game to master,because to be in the NHL,means you are the best players on the planet... it is the same with MLB,NFL,and NBA,but you can win after a bad year,by buying players that have talent,in those sports,while the NHL,and pro hockey in various places in the world dilutes the talent pool for pure hockey players,and the minor leagues in the United States do not have players who have pro-level talent,right away,so they are not ready for the NHL,but seeing hockey played on the river,in Ottawa,in front of the Canadian Parliament building,on a five mile frozen piece of river ice,is a true sight to behold,or see it played in backyards throughout the states,up near the Canadian border,and throughout Canada is a sight also to behold,because it is the toughest game to honestly play,and the Stanley Cup is the toughest championship trophy to win,because it is won by teams that seem to be lucky to win,like the Tampa Bay Lightning,in 2004,and the Carolina Hurricanes,in 2006...
History of the Stanley Cup: the Stanley Cup was bought as a decorative punch bowl,by the Lord Stanley of Preston,from a London silversmith G.R. Collis,and company(now Boodle and Dunthorne Jewellers),for ten guineas(equal to two,and half pounds sterling)or $48.67USD then,or 1,186 now... at first,it was meant to be to awarded to the top amateur team,in Canada,and was awarded to teams throughout Canada,and the northern United States,up to the NHL's formation,in 1926,which made it the only league to challenge for it,when the WHL(Western Hockey League)folded,making it the de-facto championship trophy...
it takes sixteen games to win Stanley Cup,and not every team,in the NHL,has a chance to win the Stanley Cup,unlike the MLB,NFL,and NBA,whose teams tend to surprise teams more often than NHL teams do,because stopping a puck takes much more skill than throwing,and hitting a baseball,throwing,and carrying a football,and shooting baskets,because a puck is a three inch,by one inch piece of vulcanized rubber,that can break faces,hands,and is tough to stop at speeds of over 105 mph,or so,and doing it all,on skates...