Monday, May 24, 2010

The Karma Initiative

Last night the finale of Lost dominated the airwaves as recaps, interviews and the show itself were aired for nearly 6 hours. If the theme of the lengthy series was being lost (either in body or soul) then the ending, if it were a self-contained movie might be called Found.

One of the favourite devices of the writers of the TV program was to bring back long since "deceased" characters to resolve a plot line or move the story along. As the main protagonists all attempted to move to where they needed to be, these forgotten friends often appeared to help them along. Setting the whole thing in motion was Charlie, and then finishing the job were some cameos from Rose and even Shannon.

The Canadiens look set to dominate the airwaves in this house tonight. What, with recap videos, interviews and the game itself, it all seems a little familiar. Like the ABC moneyspinner, the Canadiens are seeking a resolution. Lots of things they once held are now lost. Their fans hope some may be found.

Habs fans hear ad nauseum how lucky they've been to beat Washington and Pittsburgh. Cammalleri has been shooting over 20%, Gionta at nearly 13%. Their goalscorers have been lucky. And Halak, maintaining a save percentage of over 0.930 after a season at only 0.926 – well he had to come crashing to earth.

Perhaps they have. Turn around and hear Philadelphia's wonderful system creating a team worthy of moving forward. No out of whack stats there...

While Cammalleri and Halak have done their best Jack and Sawyer impressions, the dwindling cast of contributors might need more help. Lost for some time has been Benoit Pouliot. Once the man to mark, he hasn't been that man since early March. And the goalscoring of others has been AWOL too. Andrei Kostitsyn (who Brunet reminds us about every shift) hasn't scored since an April hat trick. Gomez's goals even more distant. And you can add Plekanec to the mix. If you've lost count that's 2/3 of the top lines. Add Metropolit to the mix, a 10 goalscorer on the PP and 16 overall, as he has 0 in the playoffs (as long a stretch as 1/4 of a season). And you might as well think about Hamrlik, goal-less, and Darche too.

There's not a 50 goal-man in there, but there are a few 20 goal threats. And while 20 goal men will have 60 scoreless games in a season, and are not at all unfamiliar with 18 game slumps, the thing about them is they do score 20 goals. Sooner or later, one of these players will bounce one in off Ryan Parent or score a goal with an ankle. Sooner or later, their line change will be cut short by an unlucky Flyers bounce to spring a breakaway for the Habs – one on which they actually score.

If this series were long enough (80 games, say), I'd even expect all these things to happen. The interesting thing here is that time is running out. Will the Canadiens, lie the writers of Lost be able to resolve their season. Will karma, like the writers of Lost call on the Shannons of the team to move the plot along.

We'll see.


Karma sometimes comes back to you too at some point

Or at least, that's what I hear.

Perhaps a team that made the playoffs on the back of a terrible second half and a shootout, and the Conference final due to a heroic turn of karma should be careful what they wish for.

Perhaps a guy that plays on the very edge of the rules and looks to all but the NHL disciplinary committee to step on the ice to end careers sometimes shouldn't count his chickens before they've hatched. Or perhaps be wary of calling others cheats, as he did the Bell Centre staff just the other day.

After all, who in the hell do you think you are? A superstar? Well right you are...

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