Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below decks of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken are sleeping off their overindulgence in fish crackers accumulated during last night’s trick-or-treating. So, yet again, I’m here by myself trying to cover everything.

Silliness aside, it’s difficult, if not well-nigh impossible, to pay much attention to sports right now, what with the Israel-Hamas War raging and the question being not if but when there will be a significant terrorist attack on American soil courtesy of the current feckless administration. This is why I chose such an innocent, child-friendly cover photo for this post. A cartoon duck and penguin playing hockey doubtless seems to many like frivolity’s height compared to current events. Then again, when in history can such a charge not be lodged against paying attention to sports?

Amplifying this notion are thoughts of two beloved friends, each suffering a profound loss last week. One saw her best friend finally succumb to the cancer against which she honorably fought to the end. The other suddenly and unexpectedly lost his mother. Very, very few of us have not been there. Nothing puts life’s priorities firmly and bitterly in place like death.

One does what one can to lift spirits during these times, not the least of which among believers comes down to reminding each other and ourselves of the uplifted souls now embracing the sacred magic of eternity with Christ.

This mixes with the tear-stained loss of our time on earth. We know, preferably without morbid dwelling, that our dilapidated, coffee-propelled bodies have a firm, albeit unknown to us, expiration date. The promised forever, purchased at the ultimate bloody price, is coming our way one day. But for now, how do we cope with the empty chair?

There is a natural tendency to scream at the world when our turn for the unfortunate fellowship comes. A temporary blindness hits when loss’ tears become our seemingly sole remaining possession. The world’s fun and frivolity is rendered meaningless at the graveside. Irrational though we inwardly know it is, we want the world to stop and at the least acknowledge our internal devastation. Who cares — who could possibly care — about these silly sports games?

Yet the games, those meaningless and silly games, go on. Perhaps after sight beyond our tears slowly returns, we take at least some note of their comings and goings. The results are often not as hoped; an accepted risk all sports fans assume. Yet there is, at least for a moment, diversion. The opportunity presents itself for refreshment and renewal, setting aside what has devastated us in favor of that which, in some small fashion, delights.

This leads to the NHL game between the visiting Anaheim Ducks and the Pittsburgh Penguins, played on October 30^th. The match was most likely not a 2024 Stanley Cup Final preview. The Ducks have a core of young talent centered around Trevor Zegras and this year’s second player selected in the NHL draft after the much-ballyhooed Connor Bedard, namely Leo Carlsson. Still, they are most likely not all the way there yet to warrant consideration as a legitimate contender. The Penguins are geared for one more run behind Sid Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, having added Erik Karlsson for additional blueline firepower, but it may not be enough. Nevertheless, that’s why they play the games. To find out.

The game itself was an entertaining affair, embodying the see-saw battle cliché, not to mention youth and skill plus exuberance facing maturity and skill plus experience. Neither team had more than a one-goal lead. Things look bleak for Le Canards Puissants late in the third period, with the score tied at three and Anaheim having to kill off more than a minute and a half of a two-bird … er, man Pittsburgh advantage. The Donalds did so long enough to bring it down to a more manageable but still tenuous five-on-four power play against Anaheim. At this point, sports magic struck.

Ducks forward Mason McTavish, having served his penalty for tripping, sprinted out of the penalty box at the precise time teammate Adam Henrique snagged an errant Karlsson pass. He shoved it across the ice to McTavish, who had scored earlier in the period to tie the game. McTavish immediately changed from heading toward his team’s bench to aiming at the Pittsburgh goal, where he scored with 11.9 seconds remaining in the game. 4-3 victory for the flight-unimpaired fowl.

🚨MAC-T!!! 🚨

He scores on the shorthanded breakaway and we lead it with seconds remaining!! pic.twitter.com/0JR6CX2EqZ

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) October 31, 2023

Life and death continue. Yet for a minute, save for disappointed Penguins fans, on this night, there was the brief flash of blessed diversion, a reminder that for those of us who remain, life does indeed continue. Indeed, in life’s priority list, sports are not top billing. Yesterday’s news of a cherished former coworker and her blessed husband’s baby announcement takes that spot. (As a side note, more of this, please. I’ve written enough obituaries.) Still, there it was.

That’s why we write about sports here at RedState.