Last night, my Stars of the AHL (boooo Dallas!) secured first in the Central Division! We have a finale tonight against the Wild (or Mild given it’s Iowa) so we won’t know who we will be facing in the playoffs until the rest of the Western Conference shakes out. It’s exciting to earn another banner to raise! Not bad for a new team that’s a mere 14-15 seasons old. However, the AHL via the NHL’s dumb NBA-ization of this sport has changed the playoff format. More teams will qualify than the traditional top four per division. Why? I have no idea beyond money and stupidity. It could lead to a problem the NBA had back in the Eighties when a couple teams with below .500 seasons qualified.
Regardless, may my Stars have a fourth appearance for the Calder Cup and I do hope we win it. We look pretty good. Forty wins in a 72-game season with nine overtime losses and three shootout losses giving us 92 points. As I said back when we won the Cup in 2014, all those single points for losing in overtime are what really carry you over and show how much grit you got.