That's Hockey...

I've been lucky since I started getting into hockey.

When my husband first got me into watching it, I naturally wanted to pick a team to root for. And, just as naturally, I picked my hometown Chicago Blackhawks.

The year was 2010, and the Blackhawks took home the Stanley cup for the first time in almost fifty years. It was a good time to get into hockey, and a better time to be a Blackhawks fan.

But the next two seasons were tougher, as we faced first round exits from the playoffs, and then the lockout kept the NHL exhibition game that Boise was going to host. Sure, that wouldn't have been the Blackhawks, but the chance even to see the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild in preseason would have been pretty cool.

And, of course, the Blackhawks then dominated the shortened season on their way to a second Stanley cup since I've been a fan. Not too shabby.

They're doing well this year as well, currently sitting atop the league standings. They've lost games, but in an 82 games season, that's inevitable. Even bad losses, like the one recently against the Maple Leafs (7 to 3... painful), are going to happen over the course of a season. The important thing is bouncing back, which the Hawks have done.

Ambrose will rib me when they lose, and while a part of me is upset that they've lost, I always answer: "That's hockey."

That's just what happens. No one, no team, is perfect all the time.

You can't always win.

But even the teams at the very bottom of the standings have won games. No one loses all the time either.

You hit. You miss. You do it all over again.

You get lucky sometimes, when the pucks all seem to bounce your way, and you get bad luck sometimes when the deflections result in own goals and turnovers.

I like that the seven game playoff format allows for luck and lets hard work over the long haul be the proof of excellence. Luck is mitigated a bit, or at least you need to be lucky for longer than just one game to earn Lord Stanley's cup.

And before you know it, the next season has begun and the fight begins all over again. The wins, the losses, the luck and the misfortune.

That's life.