closing the season out
a very belated nemspaper
hiiiiii. i, um. it's been a hot second. look, it's not that i forgot about my blog. and it's not like i was... well, i was procrastinating. but not because i didn't want to write! it's mostly because i've been so damn miserable and stressed out. this last stretch of games had me feeling so, so strung out, i felt like i just couldn't stop at any point to gather my thoughts and feelings about it all, it just kept going, and the missed games kept piling up! but i'm ready to unpack at least the games for now. well, it'll probably be a bit hazy, they're not really fresh in my mind. so let's just begin the end—the habs' game number 82.
april 16th, 2025 | CAR @ MTL: 2-4
in true montreal canadiens fashion, we had to do it in the most dramatic way possible. threading the needle, using our very last opportunity to take fate in our own hands. a highly anticipated game, so much so that canadian politics rescheduled around it!
and it's well-warranted. i was on the edge of my seat all game. i was clenched, full body. i was bouncing my leg incessantly. i had the hood of my hoodie up and scrunched around my face.
not for a moment was i able to relax until the final minute, basically. but the boys were playing well, they were playing better than the last games at least, for sure. they were playing like they were desperate to win, you could really feel it. and hey! emil heineman was back in the lineup! finally we get our lucky charm back.
slaf especially played well. he won puck battles, he was creating space. he was really playing what you wanted to see from him, and it's great. he teed up the assist for kaiden's goal, and it was great.
kaiden, btw, got two goals this game. isn't that fun? he really said, i'm not playing around. well... okay, there was a carolina goal in between there, that went in off of kaiden's skate. so in a Way, he got a hat trick, haha.
it's only funny because of hindsight, alright. thankfully, nick suzuki snapped a goal and went on a knee and touched the ice and felt the reverberations of the collective heartbeat of the crowd, the city. yeah man."
and hey! we finish it off with a jake evans empty netter, baby. this rly has been such an important season for him. and we won.
thank GOD that carolina chose to run a B lineup. hey man. look, we're a young team, the youngest playoff team in like, ever? not really a cup contender at all. to make it to the playoffs at all is beyond our wildest imagination. we wanted to be in the mix—but now we are IN THE PLAYOFFS. i am beyond proud of this team, i am overjoyed, i am elated. i cried. i cried!! these boys have worked so hard to get to this point, and i'm so happy they get to make it to the dance. and it means a lot to the city, you know? i feel so happy to be a montrealer.
we play next on monday, game 1 against the caps. it's gonna be tough, but i believe. i have to. ne perds jamais espoir—never lose hope!
soooo, everything else?
look, if i tried to wrack my head to recap every game i missed out on recapping, i think you wouldn't really get my honest feelings, because they were all kind of mixed up together in the week of turmoil. and i really mostly want to focus on the positive. but, technically, i did watch a game after the carolina-montreal one, and it made me cry too... in a bad way.
april 16th, 2025 | VGK @ VAN: 4-1
i watched this with my friends, and i really, really appreciated it. even if canucks hockey leaves me strung out and gutted, at least we have each other.
this felt like kicking a team while it's down. we tried, we tried. pius scored his 25th goal of the season, the last goal of the season, the only goal of the game. i love him, you guys. i love pius a lot. he didn't win unsung hero, by the way. heh. so unsung he didn't even win it. isn't it apt?
it's hard to approach an end of season like this without thinking about contracts and whatnot. i don't WANT to have to talk about it. and frankly, maybe i should leave that discussion for free agency day. but i will just say... i'll be mad if the canucks fumble this bad bitch. i'll also be devastated if all the many many sad closeups of brock are truly warranted. but that's too much of a bummer, okay?
sigh. what else is there to say? we got our ass beat? lanky got injured partway through the game and had to be replaced by tolo? sigh. classic... teddy got knocked out too. like. what the hell!
this game sort of encapsulated the cursedness of this canucks season. what else could we have done? i don't Want to end like this. but it did.
"Pick yourself up, when the night ends / Find a way to carry on! / Greetings from oblivion! We hope to see you soon! / Move along, move along, move along now / Even though your heart screams with regret / Spill your guts, sing your heart out / Throw it all away / Forgive don't forget, okay? / And I know that someday soon you'll look back / On all this and you'll laugh / Forgive, don't forget! / While you forgive, don't forget! / So I hope we meet again / Someday!"
a final roundup
like i said, i really cannot find the energy left in me to do individual recaps of all the games. so here are a few key emotions:
- MTL @ OTT: 5-2 — that sucked ass. whatever dude, we came off a hard-fought 6 game win streak. i will say, seeing that many habs fans in their barn is hilarious. i kinda hope leafs fans show up in droves to kanata for the series, lmao. i'm on my hater grind, guys.
- MTL @ TOR: 0-1(OT) — this one bothered me but not as much. a loser point is a point. and we held them off to 0-0 OT, c'mon. it's the toronto maple leafs. as much as i hate them and wish ill upon them, they're the top team in the division. this still means something, okay?
- MIN @ VAN: 3-2(OT) — i've never had my opinion on a team and a fanbase flip so hard so fast. fuck trenin, you guys suck, i hope you choke your playoffs run. dops can go shove a metal pipe up its ass.
- CHI @ MTL: 4-3(SO) — pissed me awwwfffff. whatever... one point at a time... i was at work for this too. stg. stop humiliating me in front of my coworker!! WAIT OH MY GOD I ALSO FORGOT TO SAY. DEMIDOV FUCKING RULES IM OBSESSED WITH HIM. OK COOL.
- SJS @ VAN: 1-2(OT) — oh my god. an OTW?!?! who'd a thunk it. our last little bit of joy...
- i also watched some abby canucks, some trois-rivières lions. the games i was catching up on, they also lost. boy, am i tired of overtime. it's a lot of hockey, man!
so yeah, there you go. i'll get around to writing a canucks season retrospective sometime, probably. the habs one will come after playoffs, whenever that ends for us. hopefully, hopefully! we go further than people expect. hopefully! anyway. have a good night folks. i hope you enjoyed this extra long nemspaper.
