When the Red Sea parts, you don't ask how. You just scurry along your journey, and you try not to get mud on your skates.
When the stars reconfigure to form a giant arrow pointing the way through the darkness, you don't ask why. You merely pick up your load and you continue down the road.
When the days unfold in front of you like the pages of a script, you don't stand and scratch your head. You move along one act at a time, and you enjoy the play.
Now that fate has taken a hand in the NHL playoffs, these are important lessons to remember.
Especially since, on that hand, there is a padded glove with a Lightning bolt upon it.
The further these NHL playoffs go along, the clearer it becomes. This is fate. This is karma. The Lightning, that longtime team of density, has been adopted by destiny.
They are charmed. They are golden. They have been kissed by the sirens and guarded by the angels. Also, Nikolai Khabibulin has been pretty darned good.
What other conclusion can you make? Look at the way the planets, and the playoffs, have aligned for the Lightning. A few weeks ago, when the regular season was winding down and teams were still jockeying for position, a bunch of us were debating which teams would be the most difficult for Tampa Bay to have to face. The consensus was, in no particular order: Ottawa, because of sheer ability; Toronto, because of the way it matched up against the Lightning; New Jersey, because of Martin Brodeur.
Ah, and even if the Lightning could get past such a series of hurdles, look at who would probably lie in wait from the other side. Detroit, probably. Colorado, maybe. Vancouver, possibly.
Now, here we are, and the big guys have gone down like Michael Corleone's hit list. No Jersey, no Ottawa, no Toronto. Furthermore, no Avs, no Wings, no Canucks.
We have come to the point where you are allowed to wonder. Is this just happenstance? Is the Lightning merely a team that is growing up before our eyes, or just before the trading deadline, did Jay Feaster quietly acquire magic beans?
Who could ever have seen this coming?
As it turns out, maybe Nostradamus.
Historians will note that, for much of his life, Nostradamus wrote serious visions of a grim future. He wrote, interpreters say, about Hitler and Napoleon and the moon landing. Turns out, Nostradamus also might have been a hockey fan.
In an effort to discover the truth, I contacted Victor Barnes, the director of the Nostradamus Society of America and author of the book Remember the Future (the Prophecies of Nostradamus). Yes, Barnes said. If we had all paid a little more attention to the words of Nostradamus, instead of his funny hat, we might have seen this coming.
Barnes points to Quatrain No. 9-9, which says, "The Aquilon wind will cause the siege to be raised."
"In Nostradamus lingo, Aquilon means Russian, or Northern," Barnes said. "Some see this as a reference to the Russian winds of winter conquering Napoleon. However, it might just reference the "siege mentality' of the Tampa Bay hockey team, its Russian goaltender and its darkhorse rise to fame this year.
"It appears Tampa Bay's team has the power of some ancient, warlike wind on its side. I think they just might win."
This sort of stuff happens in sports. Circumstances unfold. Someone gets a little help. Tumblers fall into line, and the road is always paved.
Remember the '83 Miami Hurricanes football team? They were ranked fifth going into New Year's Day, and they beat No. 1 Nebraska only when the Cornhuskers decided to go for a two-point conversion and failed late in the game. That, coupled with a loss by No. 2 Texas to Georgia, and with a loss by No. 4 Illinois to UCLA, and an unimpressive victory by No. 3 Auburn over Michigan, vaulted the 'Canes to their first national championship.
How about the '84 Brigham Young Cougars, a team that didn't play anyone in the Top 20 all season. That year, however, there were no other unbeaten teams, and Washington lost late in the season to Oklahoma and No. 3 Florida was on probation. In today's BCS system, BYU might not even have been invited to play Washington for the national championship. Instead, it won the title.
How about the '96 Florida Gators? On the day of the SEC title game, the Gators were fourth in the country, coming off a loss to FSU and nowhere near the national championship. But Texas, going for it on fourth and 1 deep in its own territory, upset Nebraska in the Big 12 title game. Then Ohio State came from behind to beat Arizona State in the Rose Bowl, and the Gators, who beat Alabama, won their title by winning a rematch with FSU.
It doesn't just happen in football. Remember the '89 Michigan basketball team? It won the NCAA Tournament even though it went into the tournament ranked 10th in the country. Along the way, three of the No. 1 seeds in the country were upset by other teams. Michigan won the title by beating Seton Hall in overtime.
In the NHL, the Hurricanes went on a nice run in '02 to reach the final. Same with the Florida Panthers in '96.
This Lightning team is better than both of those clubs. It has won eight out of nine, and Khabibulin has surrendered only a goal a game. Vinny Lecavalier is coming off a wonderful series, and Martin St. Louis was the best player in the league this year, and Darryl Sydor has solidified the defense. No one is suggesting this team isn't earning its way.
It's just that fate seems to be a fan, too.
"I believe in destiny," said Phil Esposito, the father of the franchise and now a radio analyst for the team. "And I think this is a team of destiny. I really do. I feel like this is almost meant to be, like it was with Anaheim last year. Only this is a better team than Anaheim."
Before the series began, Esposito predicted the Lightning might have its toughest series against the Islanders, but if it got past that, and the cards fell the right way, it could go all the way.
"When they won Game 3 on the Island, I thought about destiny," Esposito said. "When the Canadiens beat Boston, I really thought about it. Things seem to be falling the right way, don't they?"
Of course, it is possible for other teams to think they, too, are destiny's children. If you are Jeremy Roenick of the Flyers, it probably hits you from time to time that, yes, this could be your year. If you are the Sharks, who have never been this far before, you think the same. Calgary, which hasn't won a championship since Terry Crisp herded it toward one, would probably swear this was its movie, not the Lightning's.
