In honor of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins - and for all of the previous Finals Game 7s played in the history of the NHL....

Let us all pause for a minute, and give thanks to the hockey gods for the Stanley Cup Finals Game 7.

True hockey fans consider Game 7 like a little kid thinks of unexpected cake and ice cream. You don't ask about the ice cream flavor or if the cake and frosting are your favorites - you just eat and be thankful. It's the same for Game 7. You don't care who's playing, you just watch and are thankful that it's going on.

Game 7s are to be cherished, adored, and put up on a pedestal. You savor every minute of it, and hope for overtime so that it goes a little bit longer. You admire the grace, toughness, and stamina of the players who made it that far, and are in awe of their ability to push through injuries and exhaustion just so they can play.

What people don't understand - particularly the casual American hockey fan - is that they're not playing for the championship. Oh no. A championship isn't the point. They're playing for the Stanley Cup. Being a champion is just the added bonus.

The guys left on the ice want the trophy. The exact same trophy that their childhood heroes held. The exact same trophy that their father's childhood heroes held. And the exact same trophy that their grandfather's childhood heroes held. This isn't like the NFL, the NBA, MLB, or any NCAA championship where you get a new trophy every year to keep forever. This is all about that 35-pound cylindrical gift covered in sterling silver and engraved with the names of hockey heroes, topped with Lord Stanley's Cup.

Game 7 is what every kid who plays hockey dreams about. (Both girls and boys, I might add.) Game 7 is about glory and immortality. That one moment in a player's life where they fulfill that childhood fantasy. To be a hero forever.

So let us all bow our heads and thank the hockey gods for this tradition, this fantasy, and this heartbreak and joy. And while you're talking to the hockey gods, ask for that rarest gift of all - Game 7 overtime. Because to win the Cup in sudden death is the sweetest moment of all. And the most tragic.

An off topic, heads up to Lightning fans who don't stop following the NHL when the Bolts aren't playing:

There's a new one-stop source for playoff coverage on the SB Nation Hockey blogosphere... That being the 2009 NHL Playoffs hub.  Keep up to the minute on the stories for each playoff team in their respective series and more as the 2009 quest for Lord Stanley's Cup begins.

Already mentioned in comments here but unpublished, Marc Denis gets prime seats in the press box for the playoffs. That's right, rookie Kari Ramo is backing up Johan Holmqvist.

Torts has taken chances with goalies before in the playoffs (Grahame over Khabibulin in the Lightning playoff-finale loss to Jersey in 2002-03) but this one could be the biggest of them all. Can Holmqvist rise to the challenge? Can Ramo come to the team's aid if necessary?

There are so many stories I could cover, or about media stories I disagree with or criticism of writing by parties or what not. Been there, done that. Will come back to it when I need it.

Right now I am not saying anything because this entire series is in the Lightning's hands and I'm not sure what to expect.

For those who are optimistic, I ask you to simply throw away what you've seen the Lightning do against the Devils in 2006-07 and remember -- this is the second season. All records start at 0 and the regular season and what happened then means jack at this point.

For the pessimists out there who want to complain that if the Lightning had gotten this, that and the other thing; if they'd won this game or that game, if they'd played better than shootout hockey, etc... That all amounts to woulda', coulda'and shoulda'. Empty requests and empty rhetoric. It didn't happen. Move on. This is Lightning vs. Devils now and not "Tampa Bay Lightning -- what I didn't like is what is going to guide this team now."

Second season. Second chances. This is Rusty Fedotenko's chance to prove he's worth big money in his looming free agency. This is Vaclav Prospal's second chance to bring electricity to the ice when he scores instead of bringing lead. This is Ryan Craig's second chance to show his influence on ice is not just standing stone in front of the opposing goal...

Second chances are powerful things. You gotta make the most of them. With how Tampa Bay closed out the season, it's important they make the most of this opportunity.

Start from zero and work your way up to the caliber you are capable. If anyone needs a reminder of what this team is capable of, I only ask you to take a little trip to the St. Pete Times Forum and take a gander up at the rafters.

So the Lightning have their playoff berth in hand (backed in, it feels, once again). What they don't have is prime seeding right now in the top 3.

That can change.

The best thing the Lightning can do right now is play like they control their destiny. Last season, they fell flat on their faces when seeding mattered against a weaker opponent. I'm hoping that doesn't happen again, but that can be the case tonight.

Alex and Vinny and Marty, oh my!

Alex and Vinny and Marty, oh my!

Game night at Times Palace and as Ski (he of Best Bucs Blog fame) so eloquently stated, it truly is go time in the southeast.

The one lick of credibility the division has lacked since it's inception has been bonafide playoff contention by a number of teams at one point. Right now 3 are in the hunt and all are grouped near the top of the division. Probably not a first but it's certainly an unexpected bonus for Bolts fan...

Scoreboard watching in February.

And while we'll be paying close attention to things on ice with the Thrashers, Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes, what we really have to look at is what Don Waddle, Jay Feaster and Jim Rutherford do to put their teams over the top... Waddell specifically is in a bind with the last two Stanley Cup champions on his teams heels riow.

Of course, this rambles past the main draw for tonight's game, and I will leave you with exactly what I started this post with....

Alex and Vinny and Marty, oh my!

Alex and Vinny and Marty, oh my!

We'll know who he choses momentarily.

I really wish I could provide placecards for the fans like the major media sources around Tampa Bay will be... Alas, I cannot.

What I can give you is something you can print out at home: Safe is DEATH. It's saved in PDF format for easy printing.