Maybe we have been looking at the 2009 Stanley Cup final all wrong.
You know, all that talk about the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins being the first repeat finalists in 25 years, since the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers crossed dynasties in the early eighties.
The expectation was that history would repeat itself: that the Penguins, like the Oilers, would redeem themselves after losing in the final one year by capturing the championship the following spring.
And, yes, it still might happen. The Penguins are headed back home to Pittsburgh, desperately needing a win tonight to force a winner-takes-all seventh game in Detroit.
Even if the Pens pull off the comeback, though, the comparison to the Isles and Oilers does not really stand up.
For starters, the Isles swept the Oilers in 83, only to see Edmonton roar back and claim the cup in just five games the following year.
Neither series was close or compelling, despite the presence of Wayne Gretzky, Bryan Trottier and Mark Messier.
The two Detroit-Pittsburgh finals have featured some great games - the first two contests last year and Game Five this time round are the only exceptions.
Both series have had their share of intrigue and memorable moments. Plus, both of the Pens-Wings finals have gone to six games.
Detroit have been in charge in both years, but the end result has been in doubt.
So if the ice hockey is actually better this time around than 25 years ago, what is there to complain about? Well, no one is complaining? we're explaining.
The biggest reason the Pens-Wings finals have been nothing like the Isles-Oilers battles is because the Oilers were on their way up, while the Islanders were peaking and then (quickly) falling back to earth. That is not the case with Pittsburgh-Detroit.
The Penguins-Oilers comparison is fair: both teams feature young superstars who are learning on the job. But the Wings-Islanders parallel is as crooked as Tim Hunter's nose.
After losing to Edmonton in '84, the Islanders pretty much disappeared from the play-off picture ever since.
The Wings, meanwhile, are a perpetual winning machine, seemingly capable of rotating players in and out of the line-up with minimal disruption. While the Islanders got old fast, the Wings are always ready - and somehow, able - to replace ageing stars like Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan with newer versions such as Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg.
Detroit do not depend on just two or three superstars to lead the way: they are deep in talent, deep in grit and deep in the play-offs once again.
Forget the Islanders and Oilers. They are irrelevant.
You have got to back further, another generation or so, to find a more appropriate precursor.
How far back? Right back to the '50s, back to 1954, '55 and '56 to be precise.
Because next year, when the Wings and Penguins are competing for a third consecutive spring for the right to hoist the Stanley Cup, everyone will be babbling about the great Canadiens-Red Wings rivalry of the mid-'50s, when the Wings won the first two cups - perhaps like the current Wings are poised to do - before the Habs got there third time lucky.
And, of course, those Habs did not stop there.
That was the start of the NHL's only five-repeat dynasty, the only time the Stanley Cup has been won by the same team five years in a row. Are you listening, Sidney Crosby?
smccaig@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Manchester United's summer dealings
In
Victor Lindelof (Benfica) £30.7 million
Romelu Lukaku (Everton) £75 million
Nemanja Matic (Chelsea) £40 million
Out
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Released
Wayne Rooney (Everton) Free transfer
Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad) £9.8 million
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950