Written by Taylor Higgins. Media by Joe Hubbs.
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While most Greenville students are glad that the Cardinal’s season has finally begun, there are some fans who just saw their season end. Even though the St. Louis Blues were eliminated in round one of the playoffs, there are still three more rounds to go! Don’t know what I’m talking about? It’s the Stanley Cup Playoffs!
The Stanley Cup has been the end goal (heh) of hockey players since it was first awarded in 1893. There are a few things that set the Cup apart than other championship trophies. One of the biggest is that it’s the oldest trophy that North American pro athletes compete for. Both the Commissioner’s Trophy (MLB) and Lombardi Trophy (NFL) were introduced in 1967 and the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy (NBA) in 1984. Members of the winning team also get their names engraved onto the Cup and each player is able to do whatever they want with it for 24 hours.
So what does the road to this fancy thing look like? It begins with 16 teams, eight from the Western Conference and eight from the Eastern Conference. Each series is the best of seven, so the first team to win four games advances. The first eight teams to shave their playoff beards this year were the Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche, and the San Jose Sharks. As the second round begins, eight teams will face off. That matchups for this round look like this:
Who do you think is in it to win it? Send your predictions our way and we’ll see how you did
