Hi everyone! I hope everyone has had a great week and is enjoying this year’s playoffs. Any predictions on who will capture Lord Stanley’s mug this year? Personally, I find it difficult to make such predictions anymore. Every year it seems like there are eight or nine teams (or more) that have an excellent chance. Who do you pick among the Rangers, Hurricanes, Panthers, Bruins, Golden Knights, Oilers, Stars, and Canucks? Even the Predators, Kings, Lightning, and yes, even the dreadful Leafs have a chance. A few of these teams might be preparing to have that window of opportunity close for this year (I’m looking at you Dallas, Long Island, and Tampa Bay), but you never really know. A 3-0 series lead isn’t as safe as it used to be. If you twist my arm, I guess I would say that New York is my pick in the East, and Vegas in the West, although my heart is going with Edmonton since I’d love to see the Cup come back to Canada. That said, I’d choose to have the drought continue for thirty more years if the only other option I was given was to see the Leafs win it all.

This is definitely the time of year when comebacks seem to occur every night, and many of the historic variety. Like I said earlier, a 3-0 lead, whether in a single game or an entire series, are not as safe as they used to be. While the Seals never had one of those moments in their brief playoff history, there are a few moments when they did stage a memorable comeback in the regular season. One of those moments took place November 27, 1968 against the Minnesota North Stars. Down 3-0, the Seals chipped away at the Stars’ lead and eventually came away with a tie. Not a win, but an impressive showing nonetheless, and you can read about it in the articles section here.

On a sad closing note today, I regretfully announce the passing of Scott Ruffell, a former Seals stick boy during the Charlie Finley era. Those of you who have read my book may remember that I interviewed Scott, and he provided me with some enlightening stories about how the infamous streaker managed to sneak onto the ice on the last day of the 1973-74 season, and how he once used white latex house paint on the Seals’ skates. He was very happy to reminisce about his days with the Seals, and his contributions to my book were very important and much appreciated. Stay gold, Scott.