The Final Stretch

It’s that time of year again for fans of professional hockey. The regular season is winding down with just a few games to go and the playoffs are right around the corner. For some fans, their team is eliminated by this time, they want the season to end, and they want to get to the draft lottery in the hopes of a high pick. However, fans whose team is in a playoff position, or fighting for one, are in a completely different situation. Every game played by their team means something to their playoff hopes. The fans do not miss a minute of those remaining games, and during those games, hearts will be broken or dreams will be realized. Regardless if you are in either situation, the best thing about this time is that it’s exciting, and almost anything can happen. Not even the best sports analysts today can predict the final standings in this stretch of games. Sure, there will be some teams that finish in a high playoff spot as usual, but there will always be the teams who inspire all fans as they try and fight, tooth and nail to get into the playoffs, while keeping in mind that standings could change every day. This final stretch of games also builds anticipation for exciting playoff hockey. Anticipation about who’s going to win, who will rise to the occasion in every gruelling series, and who will be the Cinderella story. This is what the final stretch brings to the table, for players and fans. Players love to play for something that matters, while fans treat this period of time as the most wonderful time of the year. When the weather warms up, the games get better, and it’s something that the whole hockey world will happily watch or play any chance they get.