Not to cross over too deeply back into horoscope territory, but there is a significant full moon this week. So if your vibes feel something, this is an extremely vibey week in an astrological sense.
But you are here to find out what vibes are for the NHL teams, and here we have the Lightning and Canadiens a mere win away from the Stanley Cup Final.
For the Lightning it would be their second trip in two years; for the Canadiens, it would be their first Cup Final appearance since 1993.
Tampa Bay got here via an 8-0 rout of the Islanders in Game 5. Winning a Game 6 at Nassau Coliseum is obviously a different task, and no one has been quite able to put the old Isles’ coliseum to rest for good.
It’s a heck of a week to find out who is going to the Stanley Cup Final!
New York Islanders
The vibe: Concerning!
Energy check: Castaways
They couldn’t have picked a worse time to play their worst game of the season. Right after Ryan Pulock saved Game 4 from going to overtime and cut the Lightning comeback bid short, they laid a stinker. That proved costly, as they face a Game 6 where it could be one of the 1,000 last-game-at-Nassau Coliseum’s we’ve seen the past few years. That kind of a showing with the opportunity to go ahead in a series is concerning, especially when the Islanders have done so well at building mid-series momentum. Now, they have to force two Lightning losses in a row for the first time all playoffs.
[NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2021 schedule, TV info]
Tampa Bay Lightning
The vibe: So close to using “Lightning struck twice” puns
Energy check: New City of Champions
The Lightning put up eight goals on a team known for its smothering defense. Sure, the Islanders played their worst game of the entire postseason, but that’s also just an impressive feat from Tampa Bay. They didn’t even need playoff superhero Brayden Point until they got to seven. Even Luke Schenn joined in! Now the Bolts need just one more win to be the first team to get to back-to-back Cup Finals since the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.
MONTREAL, QC - JUNE 18: Las Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) hopes for a pass during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Semifinals game 3 between the Las Vegas Golden Knights versus the Montreal Canadiens on June 18, 2021, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Vegas Golden Knights
The vibe: My Heart Will Go On
Energy check: Why do the Golden Knights have to always invent musical curses?
This was a bad time for Vegas to just totally forget how to offense. Carey Price for the Canadiens has been excellent, but that doesn’t explain Mark Stone getting one shot on goal in two games. Unless their best players start producing real fast, the Golden Knights will just end up as a footnote in the season of the Canadiens.
Montreal Canadiens
The vibe: Traitor by Olivia Rodrigo
Energy check: Goal Caufield
The Canadiens are really doing this. Say what you will about their path to this point and an easy route through Canada, but that didn’t mean they’d play well against the Golden Knights. Vegas is more than capable of winning two in a row and ending this Cinderella run but Montreal is also capable of winning just *one* more game. Tuesday night may have been their best performance all postseason, too. Good teams win at the right times.
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Marisa Ingemi is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop her a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Ingemi.
