If nothing else, the twin demolition jobs administered to Florida by Vegas in the first two games of the Cup Final is not a case of "accidents will happen. "In every case -- from goaltending to anything-else-you-want -- the sextet from Sexy City not only was superior, the Cats were infinitely inferior.
We are watching a case of invincibility. Period. First 5-2; then 7-2.
Oy Vay!
If nothing else, the twin demolition jobs administered to Florida by Vegas in the first two games of the Cup Final is not a case of "accidents will happen."
In every case -- from goaltending to anything-else-you-want -- the sextet from Sexy City not only was superior, but the Cats were also infinitely inferior.
Which brings us to both a conclusion and a comparison -- what else?
Conclusion: a four-game sweep looms as inevitable as the moon over Miami.
Comparison: Speaking of "Sweeps," in the Finals, the New York Islanders executed the feat in two straight years and missed by a single game doing it for a third.
"I remember after we beat Minnesota in five games in 1981," recalled 1980 playoff hero Bob Nystrom, "people wondered whether we could make it three in a row; and I said, 'Why not a dynasty?"
Sure enough, Al Arbour's outstanding outfit won the dynastic-seeking third championship over Vancouver, one-two-three-four, and then struck out high-falootin' Edmonton by the same count one spring later.
"When you look at the team we had in '80-'81," said Mike Bossy, "and then compare us to the North Stars that year, you could have figured we'd win it in four."
Like the Golden Knights' last two games, the Nassaumen routed the North Stars 6-3 and 6-3 before moving on to Bloomington, where the win was 7-5 closer.
The Arbourmen took their collective feet off the collective gas pedals in the fourth game -- their lone loss -- before wrapping up Stanley 5-1 at the Coliseum.
Next up was the "Dynasty" season, only this time, a pesky Vancouver club confronted the Isles.
In one meaningful way, the current Panthers have played the first two games the way the Canucks did in '82 with a vengeance, disguised as intimidation.
"If the Panthers thought they could win by intimidating us," said Jonathan Marchessault, a target of Florida headhunters, "they were wrong."
Exhibit A was Matthew Tkachuk's absolute pancake job on Jack Eichel last night that -- at first -- looked like it inflicted serious damage. Fortunately, Eichel eventually returned to the bench despite the done damage.
Likewise, Vancouver's Tiger Williams spent considerable time chasing down Bossy over the Isles four-game sweep but to no gain whatsoever.
"Bossy scored twice in the finale," wrote Barry Wilner in his book, Countdown to a Dynasty, "including an incredible goal by swiping in the puck while he was airborne."
While the Islanders secured dynasty status with the four-game sweep, Bossy captured the Conn Smythe Trophy.
"Only the Canadiens have won four Cups in a row," Bossy concluded. "We're capable of doing that. I want to keep winning the Cup"
And so they did; and so they did; spilling Wayne Gretzky's Oilers in another sweep.
Perhaps it's premature to suggest that Vegas can take the next two games in Sunrise. But, for now at least, the Knights are looking quite a bit like the invincible dynasty Isles of the early Eighties!