Alright folks, I know I missed a couple of days, and no it wasn't just out of the shame of being there in-person for my Blackhawks' 2.1 second collapse against the Flyers on Saturday. The Hawks weren't the only things collapsing on Saturday; the sky itself apparently decided to join them, as this entire region was just flooded nonstop with rain on Saturday & into early Sunday. So I ended up staying overnight in one of my least favorite places, putting the kibosh on any hopes of getting a blog up before the first NHL game at 12:30. As far as yesterday goes, did you really need me to tell you which of the THREE games to watch? Probably not. But we've got a full slate of 11 games to get into today, so here I am.
But before we get back into the swing of things, I wanted to talk a little bit about the return to DirecTV of the NHL's oft-maligned cable partner, Versus. As a DTV customer this kind of hits home, and obviously I'm thrilled the NHL playoffs will be on the satcaster. Before we put the kibosh on this story for good, let's take a look at a few of the details that came out in the network's return.
There should no longer be any debate on what the REAL cause for this outage was, thanks to some very telling quotes from both sides. From the beginning of this whole mess (way back in LATE AUGUST), we heard two different sides to this story. There was the Comcast/Versus side, which said that DirecTV wanted to put them on a lower programming tier (a sports-specific tier, apparently), and they would not accept losing a very large percentage of their viewership just when they were adding a ton of new properties. Meanwhile, the DirecTV side never said anything about a tier, they just said Comcast wanted more money and they were refusing to pay it.
Well, read the quotes from yesterday closely enough, and one thing stands out: Versus is not only back on DirecTV, but they're back on *the same tier they were on back before all this started*. The quotes go on to specifically state they will stay there from here on out. This not only means that Comcast's quotes were, at the very least, quite a bit less dishonest than DirecTV's, but it also means that there should be no question who blinked first and who, in the end, "won" this whole mess. Comcast said they were open to negotiations on money (and I imagine they did have to take a bit of a hit from what they were originally asking), but being placed on a lower tier was a non-starter and no deal would be done with that included. Not that I should have to reiterate it for you again, but that's exactly what happened.
DirecTV was facing mounting pressure from three different sides to get the network back; namely, the NHL fans we all know about have been increasingly pressuring the satcaster to get the network back on the air in time for the stretch run and the playoffs. It's worth noting that Versus has probably their strongest schedule I've ever seen from them for the rest of the regular season, including both of the remaining meetings in the NHL's most high-profile rivalry, the Capitals and the Penguins. A shocking amount of fans had already switched to their rival Dish Network in the past six months, thanks in part to a clever ad campaign that specifically pointed out Dish had Versus and DTV didn't, and you have to believe that number only would have jumped tenfold once the playoffs started and people were theoretically missing games not just twice a week, but every single night! It's also worth noting that several articles I've seen have mentioned that the pressure on DirecTV from hockey fans went up significantly after the Olympics, saying that hockey's "increased visibility" from the Games greatly helped Versus & the NHL put more pressure on the satcaster.
Besides that increased pressure from hockey fans, DirecTV was also under pressure from fans of mixed marital-arts, as the juggernaut UFC promotion has its first-ever event on Versus scheduled for this weekend. Finally, cycling fans have apparently been making some noise to DirecTV as well, as Lance Armstrong will be back in the Tour de France this year, which airs exclusively on, you guessed it, Versus. So facing all of this mounting pressure from all sides, DirecTV finally gave in and dropped their ridiculous demand, and what do you know, a deal got done almost immediately.
Hopefully they learned something from this whole sideshow mess: if you're going to promote your satellite service as having "the most sports coverage", you can't just ignore several sports because you don't think they're important. Yes, Versus is nowhere near as important as ESPN, everyone is aware of this. But when one of your sources of subscriptions is having one of the best all-around NHL Center Ice packages out there, you can't simultaneously thumb your noses at hockey fans and tell them their sport doesn't count. They lost a ton of this money through this whole process from irate hockey fans calling up, complaining, and getting 25, 50, and yes, even 100% refunds off their Center Ice packages, and they lost even more money from fans who finally just gave up on the service altogether. This all could have ended when the regular season started in October if they had just dropped their silly demand and put Versus back on the air, and hopefully the people in charge can look in the mirror and realize they just wasted seven months and a lot of profits and, in the end, had to give up on their demand altogether anyway. They lost, Versus won, end of story.
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Okay, with that bit of business out of the way, let's get back to the hockey. As always, here's the awards I'll be giving out to tonight's games:
Marquee Match-Up: The biggest game of the night, the game you absolutely need to see, featuring the biggest stars and/or the best rivalries.
The Runner-Up: Basically the same criteria that applies to the Marquee, just not quite as big of a deal as the night's biggest game.
Under the Radar: This is a game that, for whatever reason, just wouldn't normally jump out at you if you're taking a quick glance at the day's schedule, but upon taking a closer look, this should probably be a great game.
I'd Rather Watch Ice Dancing: With the Winter Olympics fresh on everyone's mind, I'm naming this dubious "award" after the Olympics' most craptastic event that NBC tried to push off on us all in lieu of actual figure skating. Please do yourself a favor, don't watch this game.
Once those four picks are done with, I'll go through The Rest and tell you which of those games just might be worth your time as well. Even if you don't have Center Ice, I'll make sure to note which (if any) of these games are available on national TV in the US & Canada.
Tuesday, March 16th
Overall: An 11-game schedule provides some excitement, but there's really no genuine best-on-best match-ups to really get our hearts pumping.
Marquee Match-Up: Montreal Canadiens (35-29-6, 76 points, 3rd in Northeast, 7th in East) at New York Rangers (31-29-9, 71 points, 4th in Atlantic, 9th in East)
7:30 pm EST/4:30 pm PST
National TV: Versus (US) & RDS (Canada, french only)
Two original six teams step into the spotlight on Versus (hey, a tie-in to the rest of the blog, yay!), as the Habs make a rare national TV appearance in the US as they visit the suddenly revitalized Rangers. The Rangers are sitting 1 point back of the struggling Bruins (who are in Carolina tonight), but the Bruins will still have a game in hand after tonight's games, making a win here for the Blueshirts even more important. Meanwhile, the Habs have been playing great hockey as of late, and they'll be riding a 5-game winning streak into the Garden. They couldn't have picked a better time to get hot, as they've still played more games than anyone else in the East (including the Rangers), so even though they're coming closer to locking up a playoff spot with each win of this streak, nothing's guaranteed just yet. If both these teams play as well as they've been playing of late, this should be nothing short of a great match-up, well worthy of marquee status. And hey, DirecTV customers, you can actually watch it! How about that?
Prediction: Rangers 4-3 (SO)
Runner-Up: Toronto Maple Leafs (23-34-12, 58 points, 5th in Northeast, 15th in East) at Ottawa Senators (37-27-5, 79 points, 2nd in Northeast, 5th in East)
7:30 pm EST/4:30 pm PST
Though it's hard to pick the Maple Leafs for runners-up in anything other than "biggest failures" (and actually, that might offend Oilers fans since they, unlike Toronto, at least still have their 1st round pick), on a relatively weak night in marquee-quality match-ups, I have to give the nod to the Battle of Ontario. Here's something that might surprise you: that same Senators team that went on their club-record-setting 11-game win streak just a few short months ago has the exact same record as their southern Ontario counterparts in their last 10 games: 4-5-1. For the Leafs, that's a reflection of stronger play of late as some of the kids have stepped into the line-up and looked promising. For the Sens, on the other hand, that's a reflection of how they've suddenly run out of goals, and they've gone from having a slight lead over Buffalo in the Northeast to starting to fade fast in that particular race. You have to believe the Leafs would love nothing more than to beat their Ontario rivals and help continue that slide out of contention for home-ice advantage, in their own barn no less. This game could provide some excitement as a result.
Prediction: Sens 4-2
Under the Radar: Philadelphia Flyers (36-28-4, 76 points, 3rd in Atlantic, 6th in East) at Nashville Predators (38-26-5, 81 points, 2nd in Central, 7th in West)
8:00 pm EST/5:00 pm PST
This may be hard to believe when we're talking about an 11-game schedule for a league where MORE THAN HALF of the teams make the playoffs, but this is the only game of the night where both teams are in playoff position going into the game. So even though a game that reads "Flyers @ Predators" probably doesn't jump off the page at you, in actuality this is probably the night's best match-up, at least as far as the quality of the two teams goes. Both teams are also playing relatively well of late: the Flyers are 7-3-0 in their last 10 and the Preds are 6-4-0, with both teams coming off huge late victories over good opponents (the Flyers with the aforementioned 2.1 second shocker over the Hawks, while the Preds scored with about a minute-and-a-half to play to continue their mastery over the Kings). This should be a good, tight-checking, low-scoring battle between two teams who know how to play defense. As Mike Babcock said last night after the Wings-Flames game, even though people like to say "such and such game had a playoff feel", it's still not the playoffs. But this is probably as close as you're going to get tonight.
Prediction: Preds 3-2 (SO)
I'd Rather Watch Ice Dancing: Edmonton Oilers (21-41-7, 49 points, 5th in Northwest, 15th in West) at Minnesota Wild (33-29-6, 72 points, 4th in Northwest, 11th in West)
8:00 pm EST/5:00 pm PST
I'm sure there will be some smart-aleck who will read this and think to themselves "But John, at least this is a divisional rivalry! What about, say, the Avs and the Blues?". And to you, imaginary person, I say, hogwash! How much of a divisional rivalry can it really be when one team is 20 GAMES BELOW .500 and it's a battle of 4th and 5th in the division? Please. At least the Avs and the Blues are both above .500. Hell, one of those teams is even in the playoffs! Don't get me wrong, I'm not gonna tell you to watch that game either, but as far as games on tonight's schedule that are completely useless, I still give the edge to this one. Then again, given how the past few games I've given this award to have turned out (Sharks-Panthers was a 3-2 overtime thriller win for Florida, the Wild upset the Sabres 3-2 as well), I'm sure this game will turn out to be exciting, just so I can be wrong again.
Prediction: Wild 4-1
The Rest
Bruins @ Hurricanes, 7:00 pm EST: The Bruins are bad, but it's not for a lack of effort. They play hard and they usually play physical, but they just don't have the goal-scoring on most nights to get things done, especially now with Marc Savard out. It's hard to believe considering they're still holding onto a playoff spot in the East by the skin of their teeth, but the Bruins are 30th in goals for per game. Yes, out of 30. Meanwhile, Carolina's still got their sights set on a miracle comeback, 8 points back of the Bruins going into tonight, so obviously a win here would be huge. 4 point game, might just make it exciting. Verdict: Might Be Worth Your Time
Sabres @ Thrashers, 7:00 pm EST: The Thrashers' playoff hopes are fading fast with each heartbreaking loss, and they suffered yet another one to the Coyotes in a shootout. How many home games can Atlanta squander before they're officially out of it? Tonight they've got Eastern heavyweights Buffalo in, and this will either be a slaughter for the Sabres, or a very competitive, up-tempo game. Verdict: Might Be Worth Your Time
Coyotes @ Lightning, 7:30 pm EST: I heard one of Tampa's beat writers say he thinks the Lightning played their two best games of the season over the weekend; unfortunately for Tampa, that was still only good enough for a 1-1-0 record, thanks to a heartbreaking late goal given up against the Penguins. They won't have much time to dwell on that as they'll welcome the streaking Coyotes into the Forum. I'm expecting a physical, competitive game, as it's do-or-die time for Tampa. Of all the "rest" games, this is easily your best bet. Verdict: Probably Worth Your Time
Capitals @ Panthers, 7:30 pm EST: Fortunately for the Panthers, Ovechkin got suspended two games for his hit on Brian Campbell. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Capitals have a great record without Ovie in the line-up this season, as this isn't 2007 anymore and they're much more than a one man show. The last time these two teams played in Florida, it was a super-exciting, high-scoring comeback win for the Caps; then again, the last time the Caps played in Florida, the Panthers were still a playoff contender. Verdict: Not Worth Your Time
Avalanche @ Blues, 8:00 pm EST: Hey, so, remember when I said that this game wasn't quite bad enough to win tonight's Ice Dancing award? That should in no way be construed as telling you to watch it. Verdict: Not Worth Your Time
Sharks @ Stars, 8:30 pm EST: Remember when Dallas was sitting in 10th for the longest time and kept flirting with the idea of being an actual, honest-to-goodness playoff contender? Well, they're sitting in 12th now, 9 points back of 8th place Detroit. So much for that. Oh yeah, this game will probably suck, too. Verdict: Not Worth Your Time
Islanders @ Canucks, 10:00 pm EST: I've been getting a lot of crap from a very good friend of mine who happens to be an Isles fan about how often I tell people not to watch Islanders games. To be fair to the Isles, they've won 2 in a row and they've been better of late. But beating a Devils team that's actually not playing Marty and beating the Toronto Maple Leafs are two totally different things from beating one of the NHL's best in the Vancouver Canucks. With all that said, since it's the only late game tonight anyway, I'm gonna give the Isles the benefit of the doubt and say this MIGHT actually be competitive, if only because the Canucks are due for a let-down game. Verdict: Might Be Worth Your Time
Alright folks, that's it from me. As always, enjoy the hockey!
Showing posts with label rangers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rangers. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Today's Games to Watch 3/10
Welcome back to another night of action in the National Hockey League. Before we get into tonight's games, however, let's talk About Last Night....
Canucks 6-Avalanche 4
(My Prediction: Canucks 5-3)
My marquee match-up looked at first like it was going to be a dud of a game last night, as Colorado jumped out to a very early 3-0 lead. But just like they've done all season long, Vancouver battled back for their NHL-leading 10th win when trailing after two periods, and are now sitting 2nd in offense in the NHL. Plenty of people expected the Canucks to be a good team this year, but it was their defense & goaltending that was supposed to carry them. If you had the Canucks in 2nd in offense, well, congratulations Nostradamus, because you're the only one. A big part of that has been their deft off-season signing of Mikael Samuelsson from the Red Wings, who had a hat trick in this game. A great win for Vancouver to keep the young Avalanche at bay in the battle for the Northwest crown, and the Canucks' record in their epic 14-game road trip is now 8-5-0 with only one more game (@ Phoenix) to go before it's finally over.
Flames 4-Red Wings 2
(My Prediction: Flames 5-4 in a shootout)
The Red Wings at times last night looked surprisingly flat at home battling a team that was just one point below them for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West, allowing the Flames to leapfrog over them. Everytime the Red Wings finally look like the Wings again this season (see: beating the Hawks in Chicago on Sunday), they seem to stumble like they did tonight. Not a good sign for a team that's life-and-death to make the playoffs for the first time in two decades.
Canadiens 5-Lightning 3
(My Prediction: Habs 3-1)
Unlike the Red Wings, the Habs got things done against a team just below them in the playoff race on home ice, and they're looking more and more like a playoff team with each game.
Flyers 3-Islanders 2
(My Prediction: Flyers 5-1)
I'll give the Isles some props here: they made this far closer than I ever thought it would be, and even had a 2-1 lead for a while as they were trying to snap the Flyers' epic 15-game winning streak against them. But it just wasn't to be, as the Flyers rallied in the third to pick up yet another win over their divisional rivals.
With last night out of the way, let's get into tonight. Just to recap on what these picks all mean:
Marquee Match-Up: The biggest game of the night, the game you absolutely need to see, featuring the biggest stars and/or the best rivalries.
The Runner-Up: Basically the same criteria that applies to the Marquee, just not quite as big of a deal as the night's biggest game.
Under the Radar: This is a game that, for whatever reason, just wouldn't normally jump out at you if you're taking a quick glance at the day's schedule, but upon taking a closer look, this should probably be a great game.
I'd Rather Watch Ice Dancing: With the Winter Olympics fresh on everyone's mind, I'm naming this dubious "award" after the Olympics' most craptastic event that NBC tried to push off on us all in lieu of actual figure skating. Please do yourself a favor, don't watch this game.
Once those four picks are done with, I'll go through The Rest and tell you which of those games just might be worth your time as well. Even if you don't have Center Ice, I'll make sure to note which (if any) of these games are available on national TV in the US & Canada.
Wednesday March 10th
Overall: Even though there's four fewer games than last night, tonight's line-up is overall much more strong when it comes to the match-ups. So let's get right into it.
Marquee Match-Up: Los Angeles Kings (39-22-4, 82 points, 3rd in Pacific, 5th in West) at Chicago Blackhawks (43-17-5, 91 points, 1st in Central, 2nd in West)
8:30 pm EST/5:30 pm PST
Playing the Kings tonight should provide a little bit of deja vu for the Hawks, as the Kings are pretty much exactly where Chicago was last year. They're a team with a great young nucleus built the right way through the draft who went out and made some big off-season acquisitions to help them take the next step. And like Chicago, instead of battling it out for 8th or 7th, they've skipped right ahead to fighting for home ice advantage in the first round. The Hawks finished 4th in the West last year, and the Kings are in a great position to do the same thing this year, just 1 point behind the Coyotes with a game in hand. If you're going to miss the playoffs for almost a decade, might as well charge into the playoffs in style. The Hawks, of course, have taken another big step forward this year, with the Central division all but wrapped up. They're trying to chase down San Jose for 1st overall in the West, but they're also coming off a shaky game against their Central rivals on Sunday afternoon. Expect a big bounce-back game for the Hawks, and expect a young Kings team who wants to have a much better effort than they did the last time they were in Chicago (when they were largely beaten up by the Hawks). Add those two things together and you have the potential for one hell of a hockey game.
Prediction: Hawks 5-4 in OT
Runner-Up: New York Rangers (29-28-9, 67 points, 4th in Atlantic, 9th in East) at New Jersey Devils (38-23-3, 79 points, 2nd in Atlantic, 4th in East)
7:00 pm EST/4:00 pm PST
It's always a big deal when these two cross-river rivals meet up, especially in Newark when the crowd has a tendency to be split almost evenly. Despite being in completely different places in the standings, both these teams have been struggling. Kovalchuk has been just OK since the Devils picked him up from the Thrashers, and they've quietly watched the Penguins pass them up for 1st in the Atlantic by 5 points (though the Devils do have 2 games in hand). The Rangers, meanwhile, have struggled coming out of the Olympic break and now sit 3 points behind 8th place Boston, with the Bruins still having a game in hand to boot. If the Rangers can start putting some wins together, however, the Bruins are significantly weaker with the loss of Marc Savard, so all is not lost in Ranger-land just yet. Tonight would be a great place to start against their most hated rivals, and it's very rare for these two teams to come together and not produce a very entertaining game. However, I just couldn't bump it above the Hawks-Kings game just because both these teams have struggled of late. Definitely a game you want to check out too, though.
Prediction: Rangers 3-2
Under the Radar: Vancouver Canucks (41-23-2, 84 points, 1st in Northwest, 3rd in West) at Phoenix Coyotes (39-22-5, 83 points, 2nd in Pacific, 4th in West)
10:00 pm EST/7:00 pm PST
National TV: TSN (Canada)
As I mentioned before, tonight is Vancouver's final game in their NHL-record-setting 14-game road trip, and you have to wonder just what they have left in the tank coming into Phoenix tonight. I'm bumping this game slightly above the two others (both of which have the potential to be great games, as well) for the Under the Radar award just because I think it will be very interesting to see how the Canucks come out against the 'Yotes. Will they be looking to finish their road trip on a high note, or will exhaustion finally set in? Let's not take anything away from the Coyotes, either. Phoenix is a huge surprise in a year full of them in the NHL, and they've got a lot to play for tonight with the battle for 4th place and home-ice in the first round against the Kings really heating up as of late.
Prediction: Coyotes 3-1
No Ice Dancing award tonight, as there's really no stinkers on tonight's five-game schedule. So with that said, let's talk about....
The Rest
Stars @ Sabres, 7:00 pm EST: This is a hard game to judge the entertainment value of: the Stars tend to play an up-tempo brand of hockey and should have a lot to play for with their playoff hopes still very much alive (5 points separate them from 8th place Calgary, and they're playing their game in hand tonight). On the other hand, the Sabres tend to play a very stifling brand of hockey and the Stars have been the model of inconsistency this year (they STILL haven't won more than 2 games in a row this year, which for a real playoff-contending team is just mind-boggling). You can probably guess what verdict that adds up to. Verdict: Might Be Worth Your Time
Hurricanes @ Capitals, 7:00 pm EST: (National TV on the NHL Network, US only) I almost went with this game for my Under the Radar pick, but the Caps' are just too far ahead of the Canes right now for me to assume this will be competitive. Still, you've got a lot of intrigue here: the Caps' bouncing back off a rare home-ice loss to the Stars (albeit in a shootout), the Canes looking to continue their improbable march back towards playoff contention (9 points out still, but who really thought they'd even be in single digits a few months back?), and Joe Corvo & Scott Walker playing against their former team. Verdict: Probably Worth Your Time
Tonight's shaping up to be a great night of hockey, so enjoy it folks, and I'll be back with you again tomorrow.
Canucks 6-Avalanche 4
(My Prediction: Canucks 5-3)
My marquee match-up looked at first like it was going to be a dud of a game last night, as Colorado jumped out to a very early 3-0 lead. But just like they've done all season long, Vancouver battled back for their NHL-leading 10th win when trailing after two periods, and are now sitting 2nd in offense in the NHL. Plenty of people expected the Canucks to be a good team this year, but it was their defense & goaltending that was supposed to carry them. If you had the Canucks in 2nd in offense, well, congratulations Nostradamus, because you're the only one. A big part of that has been their deft off-season signing of Mikael Samuelsson from the Red Wings, who had a hat trick in this game. A great win for Vancouver to keep the young Avalanche at bay in the battle for the Northwest crown, and the Canucks' record in their epic 14-game road trip is now 8-5-0 with only one more game (@ Phoenix) to go before it's finally over.
Flames 4-Red Wings 2
(My Prediction: Flames 5-4 in a shootout)
The Red Wings at times last night looked surprisingly flat at home battling a team that was just one point below them for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West, allowing the Flames to leapfrog over them. Everytime the Red Wings finally look like the Wings again this season (see: beating the Hawks in Chicago on Sunday), they seem to stumble like they did tonight. Not a good sign for a team that's life-and-death to make the playoffs for the first time in two decades.
Canadiens 5-Lightning 3
(My Prediction: Habs 3-1)
Unlike the Red Wings, the Habs got things done against a team just below them in the playoff race on home ice, and they're looking more and more like a playoff team with each game.
Flyers 3-Islanders 2
(My Prediction: Flyers 5-1)
I'll give the Isles some props here: they made this far closer than I ever thought it would be, and even had a 2-1 lead for a while as they were trying to snap the Flyers' epic 15-game winning streak against them. But it just wasn't to be, as the Flyers rallied in the third to pick up yet another win over their divisional rivals.
With last night out of the way, let's get into tonight. Just to recap on what these picks all mean:
Marquee Match-Up: The biggest game of the night, the game you absolutely need to see, featuring the biggest stars and/or the best rivalries.
The Runner-Up: Basically the same criteria that applies to the Marquee, just not quite as big of a deal as the night's biggest game.
Under the Radar: This is a game that, for whatever reason, just wouldn't normally jump out at you if you're taking a quick glance at the day's schedule, but upon taking a closer look, this should probably be a great game.
I'd Rather Watch Ice Dancing: With the Winter Olympics fresh on everyone's mind, I'm naming this dubious "award" after the Olympics' most craptastic event that NBC tried to push off on us all in lieu of actual figure skating. Please do yourself a favor, don't watch this game.
Once those four picks are done with, I'll go through The Rest and tell you which of those games just might be worth your time as well. Even if you don't have Center Ice, I'll make sure to note which (if any) of these games are available on national TV in the US & Canada.
Wednesday March 10th
Overall: Even though there's four fewer games than last night, tonight's line-up is overall much more strong when it comes to the match-ups. So let's get right into it.
Marquee Match-Up: Los Angeles Kings (39-22-4, 82 points, 3rd in Pacific, 5th in West) at Chicago Blackhawks (43-17-5, 91 points, 1st in Central, 2nd in West)
8:30 pm EST/5:30 pm PST
Playing the Kings tonight should provide a little bit of deja vu for the Hawks, as the Kings are pretty much exactly where Chicago was last year. They're a team with a great young nucleus built the right way through the draft who went out and made some big off-season acquisitions to help them take the next step. And like Chicago, instead of battling it out for 8th or 7th, they've skipped right ahead to fighting for home ice advantage in the first round. The Hawks finished 4th in the West last year, and the Kings are in a great position to do the same thing this year, just 1 point behind the Coyotes with a game in hand. If you're going to miss the playoffs for almost a decade, might as well charge into the playoffs in style. The Hawks, of course, have taken another big step forward this year, with the Central division all but wrapped up. They're trying to chase down San Jose for 1st overall in the West, but they're also coming off a shaky game against their Central rivals on Sunday afternoon. Expect a big bounce-back game for the Hawks, and expect a young Kings team who wants to have a much better effort than they did the last time they were in Chicago (when they were largely beaten up by the Hawks). Add those two things together and you have the potential for one hell of a hockey game.
Prediction: Hawks 5-4 in OT
Runner-Up: New York Rangers (29-28-9, 67 points, 4th in Atlantic, 9th in East) at New Jersey Devils (38-23-3, 79 points, 2nd in Atlantic, 4th in East)
7:00 pm EST/4:00 pm PST
It's always a big deal when these two cross-river rivals meet up, especially in Newark when the crowd has a tendency to be split almost evenly. Despite being in completely different places in the standings, both these teams have been struggling. Kovalchuk has been just OK since the Devils picked him up from the Thrashers, and they've quietly watched the Penguins pass them up for 1st in the Atlantic by 5 points (though the Devils do have 2 games in hand). The Rangers, meanwhile, have struggled coming out of the Olympic break and now sit 3 points behind 8th place Boston, with the Bruins still having a game in hand to boot. If the Rangers can start putting some wins together, however, the Bruins are significantly weaker with the loss of Marc Savard, so all is not lost in Ranger-land just yet. Tonight would be a great place to start against their most hated rivals, and it's very rare for these two teams to come together and not produce a very entertaining game. However, I just couldn't bump it above the Hawks-Kings game just because both these teams have struggled of late. Definitely a game you want to check out too, though.
Prediction: Rangers 3-2
Under the Radar: Vancouver Canucks (41-23-2, 84 points, 1st in Northwest, 3rd in West) at Phoenix Coyotes (39-22-5, 83 points, 2nd in Pacific, 4th in West)
10:00 pm EST/7:00 pm PST
National TV: TSN (Canada)
As I mentioned before, tonight is Vancouver's final game in their NHL-record-setting 14-game road trip, and you have to wonder just what they have left in the tank coming into Phoenix tonight. I'm bumping this game slightly above the two others (both of which have the potential to be great games, as well) for the Under the Radar award just because I think it will be very interesting to see how the Canucks come out against the 'Yotes. Will they be looking to finish their road trip on a high note, or will exhaustion finally set in? Let's not take anything away from the Coyotes, either. Phoenix is a huge surprise in a year full of them in the NHL, and they've got a lot to play for tonight with the battle for 4th place and home-ice in the first round against the Kings really heating up as of late.
Prediction: Coyotes 3-1
No Ice Dancing award tonight, as there's really no stinkers on tonight's five-game schedule. So with that said, let's talk about....
The Rest
Stars @ Sabres, 7:00 pm EST: This is a hard game to judge the entertainment value of: the Stars tend to play an up-tempo brand of hockey and should have a lot to play for with their playoff hopes still very much alive (5 points separate them from 8th place Calgary, and they're playing their game in hand tonight). On the other hand, the Sabres tend to play a very stifling brand of hockey and the Stars have been the model of inconsistency this year (they STILL haven't won more than 2 games in a row this year, which for a real playoff-contending team is just mind-boggling). You can probably guess what verdict that adds up to. Verdict: Might Be Worth Your Time
Hurricanes @ Capitals, 7:00 pm EST: (National TV on the NHL Network, US only) I almost went with this game for my Under the Radar pick, but the Caps' are just too far ahead of the Canes right now for me to assume this will be competitive. Still, you've got a lot of intrigue here: the Caps' bouncing back off a rare home-ice loss to the Stars (albeit in a shootout), the Canes looking to continue their improbable march back towards playoff contention (9 points out still, but who really thought they'd even be in single digits a few months back?), and Joe Corvo & Scott Walker playing against their former team. Verdict: Probably Worth Your Time
Tonight's shaping up to be a great night of hockey, so enjoy it folks, and I'll be back with you again tomorrow.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
The Moment of Truth; Today's Games to Watch 3/7
As I type this, we're just two hours away from the return of NBC's Game of the Week. The Western Conference-leading Chicago Blackhawks will host their Original Six rivals, the Detroit Red Wings, in a Central division showdown. But although much will be made of the various stories on the ice, perhaps the biggest story is an off-ice one. A very important question will be answered: can the NHL carry over some momentum from last Sunday's gold medal match between the US and Canada? Today's game will perhaps be the biggest test: it features stars from both the US & Canadian teams, as well as Canada's gold-medal winning head coach, exactly one week to the day on the same network that hosted the record-setting game.
Last Sunday's game drew nearly 28 million viewers on the Peacock, beating out television heavyweights in sports (last year's World Series, featuring the defending champion Phillies against baseball's highest-drawing team, the New York Yankees, peaked at 22.8 million viewers for Game 4; it also beat out the Daytona 500, the NBA Finals, and more) and entertainment (the Grammys drew almost 2 million viewers less as well). During last week's game, which was up 61% from 2002's US-Canada gold medal showdown, NBC smartly bombarded viewers with a well-done ad for today's game. The advertisement pointed out that Chicago's two big stars, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, were playing on opposite sides of the gold medal showdown, but would be back under the Blackhawks banner together next Sunday.
Furthermore, there are few rivalries in the NHL with as much built-in drama and history as the Hawks and the Wings, so all in all it was an excellent choice to try and bring some of those viewers back for more hockey. The problem is, this week's ratings on VS and in local markets have not exactly shown any kind of momentum shift from the gold medal contest. Versus opened strong with 400,000 viewers for the Avs and the Wings on Monday night, but the rest of the week's ratings were closer to their around 250,000 season average. Local ratings here in NYC were not particularly strong either, with the Rangers-Pens doing a below-average .93 rating.
Of course, there are arguments to be made that those ratings have mitigating factors. The Versus network remains off the air on nearly 1/3 of American homes thanks to the ongoing conflict with DirecTV, and the Rangers aren't exactly having the type of banner season that will draw in fans en masse. Today's game, on the other hand, will have no such built-in excuses. Everyone gets NBC, and the Blackhawks are one of the NHL's best teams while the Red Wings are still holding onto the final playoff position. So now the question is, will all the Olympic momentum help NBC improve upon this year's highest number (a 1.1 for the last game before the Olympic break, a marquee showdown between the Pens and Caps)? My prediction is no, we will see it right around that 1.0-1.1 level, but I certainly hope I'm wrong. Anything at a 1.5 or higher would blow away NBC's usual non-Winter Classic regular season numbers, and would be considered a home run for the NHL. Let's hope it happens.
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So with the business side of hockey out of the way, let's get down to what we all really care about: the hockey. I'm going to debut what I hope will become a regular weekly feature as we hit the stretch-run: a look at Today's Games to Watch. Basically, I'm going to look at the schedule day-by-day, and make 4 picks per day (unless, of course, there aren't enough games to do that!). Hopefully this can become a daily feature, and if you're like me and you've got Center Ice you'll have a better idea which games are worth your time and which ones to avoid. Even if you don't have Center Ice, I'll be sure to mention which games you can see on national TV.
Marquee Match-Up: The biggest game of the night, the game you absolutely need to see, featuring the biggest stars and/or the best rivalries.
The Runner-Up: Basically the same criteria that applies to the Marquee, just not quite as big of a deal as the night's biggest game.
Under the Radar: This is a game that, for whatever reason, just wouldn't normally jump out at you if you're taking a quick glance at the day's schedule, but upon taking a closer look, this should probably be a great game.
I'd Rather Watch Ice Dancing: With the Winter Olympics fresh on everyone's mind, I'm naming this dubious "award" after the Olympics' most craptastic event that NBC tried to push off on us all in lieu of actual figure skating. Please do yourself a favor, don't watch this game.
With all that out of the way, let's get to it!
Sunday, March 7th
Marquee Match-Up: Detroit Red Wings (30-22-12, 72 points, 3rd in Central, 8th in West) at Chicago Blackhawks (43-16-5, 91 points, 1st in Central, 2nd in West)
12:30 pm EST/9:30 am PST
National TV: NBC (US)
The easiest pick of them all, for all the reasons I already talked about and more. The last time these two teams met on the Peacock, it was one of the most exciting games of the regular season, ending in a shootout victory for the Red Wings. Since that time, however, the Blackhawks have just continued to make their Central division lead more and more insurmountable, while the Wings are in the most unusual (for them) position of trying to just hold on to a playoff spot. As a Hawks fan, I can't tell you how much fun it is to see the Hawks & Wings' longtime positions in the standings flip-flopped, and there's nothing we'd love more than to beat up on the Wings at home to really drive that point home. The Hawks have played well against the Wings this season, but the Wings are finally healthy for the first time all year. In short, this will be a showdown.
Runner-Up: Buffalo Sabres (34-20-9, 77 points, 1st in Northeast, 3rd in East) at New York Rangers (29-28-8, 66 points, 4th in Atlantic, 10th in East)
7:00 pm EST/4:00 pm PST
To be honest, there's slim pickings for the rest of today's schedule, as it's a lot of high-ranked teams playing low-ranked teams. So with that in mind, I'm at least going with one of those match-ups featuring upstate New York's team against Manhattan. While this isn't really a big deal to us Ranger fans, Sabre fans tend to resent the coverage the Rangers get (their network is named MSG, despite being a good 6 hours from there, and tends to focus too much on the Metro-area teams for their liking). Plus, both these teams are desperate for points for entirely different reasons. The Sabres are trying to hold on to a slim 1-point lead in the Northeast standings over the surging Ottawa Senators, while the Rangers have less games remaining than most of the teams around them and need every single point they can get if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. This will be a battle, folks, worthy of marquee status on a weak day for marquee match-ups.
Under the Radar: Vancouver Canucks (39-23-2, 80 points, 1st in Northwest, 3rd in West) at Nashville Predators (35-24-5, 75 points, 2nd in Central, 7th in West)
3:00 pm EST/12:00 pm PST
Few people are going to see the Nashville Predators as a team that jumps off the page at them, but the Preds have a talented team this year, especially on the back-end, and can be fun to watch at times (they can also be very boring to watch at times, which is why recommending you watch a Preds game is a bit of a crapshoot, but like I said, it's a weak day). The Canucks have those cycle-loving Swedish twins, the Sedins, and Luongo looking to bounce back from giving up 5 goals in the first 20 minutes in Chicago. Of course, this is also game 12 of the Canucks' NHL-record 14-game road trip (and for those of you wondering why they still can't play at GM-slash-Canada Hockey Place, it's called the Paralympics, people), so one has to wonder how much the Canucks have left to give. Sure, the Olympics broke up that road trip, but you try living out of a suitcase for two weeks at a time and see how YOU like it, okay?! Either way, this is an interesting game.
I'd Rather Watch Ice Dancing: New Jersey Devils (38-22-3, 79 points, 2nd in Atlantic, 4th in East) at Edmonton Oilers (20-38-6, 5th in Northwest, 15th in West)
8:00 pm EST/5:00 pm PST
Ugh ugh ugh. Welcome to the downside of increased intra-conference play, kids: it's a "battle" of one of the NHL's best vs. one of the NHL's worst and there's absolutely no rivalry here to make it even the least bit interesting. I'm sure Kevin Smith (of "Mallrats" fame....and yes, that's my favorite movie of his, so he'll always be "of Mallrats fame" to me, goddamnit) is just tickled pink at seeing his two favorite teams go at it, but for the rest of us? Yeah, don't bother. The Habs and the Ducks drop the puck at the same time, and that at least has two teams desperate for points to keep their (slim?) playoff hopes alive in their respective conferences. If you still are in the mood for hockey at 8 pm on a Sunday, just watch that instead.
The Rest
Bruins @ Pens, 3:00 pm EST: I really can't think of a single relevant thing to write about this game. Sidney Crosby of Team Canada vs. the USA's backup goalie, Tim Thomas? Unless Tuuka Rask starts? Yeah, that's all I got. Verdict: Not Worth Your Time
Flames @ Wild, 3:00 pm EST: A Northwest showdown with two teams currently sitting in 9th and 12th, respectively, but separated by just 4 points in the standings. Yes, the West race for 8th is incredibly tight. This is the definition of a four-point game. I can't go for a full-on recommendation though, just because the Flames tend to play that boring Sutter style of hockey. Should be chippy as all hell, though. Verdict: Might Be Worth Your Time
Hurricanes @ Thrashers, 5:00 pm EST: Carolina's stunning 7-game winning streak has them 9 points out of a playoff spot after they started the season buried deep beneath the earth with the Maple Leafs (who are all but mathematically eliminated already). To keep this Cinderella run alive, they need to beat their Southeast rivals, with the Kovalchuck-less Thrashers somehow only 2 points back of the Habs for 8th, with 3 games in hand. If the Canes lose this game, you can probably throw the last few clumps of dirt on their season. But if they win, they keep the dream alive. Verdict: Probably Worth Your Time
Maple Leafs @ Flyers, 7:00 pm EST: Speaking of the Leafs, they're in Philadelphia. Yeah. Raise your hand if you care? Really, Toronto? You care? How incredibly shocking. For those of us who DON'T continue to unequivocally support losers, yeah, take a pass on this one. Go read a book instead. Verdict: Not Worth Your Time
Canadiens @ Ducks, 8:00 pm EST (National TV on the NHL Network, Canada only): As I mentioned already before, these are two teams that really, really need points to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Ducks made some moves at the deadline that didn't help them out one bit in Phoenix, where they got shutout 4-0 in a listless affair. You'd think a team that's fighting for their playoff lives would, you know, at least SHOW UP against a division rival, but apparently you'd be wrong. They've played very well at home this year, however, and the Habs are coming off an energetic game against the Kings last night, so I'm predicting a blowout for the Ducks. If it's not, this could be a fun game, and you have the intrigue of Saku Koivu playing against the team he was Captain of for the first time. Still can't go a full-monty on the recommendation, just because of the blowout possibility, but jesus christ if you really want to watch hockey at 8 pm, this is damn sure a better bet than that Devils-Flames game. It will be on the NHL Network in Canada; of note, the NHL Network in the US will air Canadian junior hockey, WHL to be exact, featuring the Calgary Hitmen and the Saskatoon Blades. Personally I'll be checking that out instead, just for the "it's never on TV in the States" curiosity factor. Verdict: Might Be Worth Your Time
Hope you guys enjoyed that. I'll try to work more of the kinks out day-by-day, but hopefully this will provide you with a little bit of perspective on what to watch and what not to watch in the NHL. Thanks for reading, feel free to provide feedback! I'm all ears.
Last Sunday's game drew nearly 28 million viewers on the Peacock, beating out television heavyweights in sports (last year's World Series, featuring the defending champion Phillies against baseball's highest-drawing team, the New York Yankees, peaked at 22.8 million viewers for Game 4; it also beat out the Daytona 500, the NBA Finals, and more) and entertainment (the Grammys drew almost 2 million viewers less as well). During last week's game, which was up 61% from 2002's US-Canada gold medal showdown, NBC smartly bombarded viewers with a well-done ad for today's game. The advertisement pointed out that Chicago's two big stars, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, were playing on opposite sides of the gold medal showdown, but would be back under the Blackhawks banner together next Sunday.
Furthermore, there are few rivalries in the NHL with as much built-in drama and history as the Hawks and the Wings, so all in all it was an excellent choice to try and bring some of those viewers back for more hockey. The problem is, this week's ratings on VS and in local markets have not exactly shown any kind of momentum shift from the gold medal contest. Versus opened strong with 400,000 viewers for the Avs and the Wings on Monday night, but the rest of the week's ratings were closer to their around 250,000 season average. Local ratings here in NYC were not particularly strong either, with the Rangers-Pens doing a below-average .93 rating.
Of course, there are arguments to be made that those ratings have mitigating factors. The Versus network remains off the air on nearly 1/3 of American homes thanks to the ongoing conflict with DirecTV, and the Rangers aren't exactly having the type of banner season that will draw in fans en masse. Today's game, on the other hand, will have no such built-in excuses. Everyone gets NBC, and the Blackhawks are one of the NHL's best teams while the Red Wings are still holding onto the final playoff position. So now the question is, will all the Olympic momentum help NBC improve upon this year's highest number (a 1.1 for the last game before the Olympic break, a marquee showdown between the Pens and Caps)? My prediction is no, we will see it right around that 1.0-1.1 level, but I certainly hope I'm wrong. Anything at a 1.5 or higher would blow away NBC's usual non-Winter Classic regular season numbers, and would be considered a home run for the NHL. Let's hope it happens.
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So with the business side of hockey out of the way, let's get down to what we all really care about: the hockey. I'm going to debut what I hope will become a regular weekly feature as we hit the stretch-run: a look at Today's Games to Watch. Basically, I'm going to look at the schedule day-by-day, and make 4 picks per day (unless, of course, there aren't enough games to do that!). Hopefully this can become a daily feature, and if you're like me and you've got Center Ice you'll have a better idea which games are worth your time and which ones to avoid. Even if you don't have Center Ice, I'll be sure to mention which games you can see on national TV.
Marquee Match-Up: The biggest game of the night, the game you absolutely need to see, featuring the biggest stars and/or the best rivalries.
The Runner-Up: Basically the same criteria that applies to the Marquee, just not quite as big of a deal as the night's biggest game.
Under the Radar: This is a game that, for whatever reason, just wouldn't normally jump out at you if you're taking a quick glance at the day's schedule, but upon taking a closer look, this should probably be a great game.
I'd Rather Watch Ice Dancing: With the Winter Olympics fresh on everyone's mind, I'm naming this dubious "award" after the Olympics' most craptastic event that NBC tried to push off on us all in lieu of actual figure skating. Please do yourself a favor, don't watch this game.
With all that out of the way, let's get to it!
Sunday, March 7th
Marquee Match-Up: Detroit Red Wings (30-22-12, 72 points, 3rd in Central, 8th in West) at Chicago Blackhawks (43-16-5, 91 points, 1st in Central, 2nd in West)
12:30 pm EST/9:30 am PST
National TV: NBC (US)
The easiest pick of them all, for all the reasons I already talked about and more. The last time these two teams met on the Peacock, it was one of the most exciting games of the regular season, ending in a shootout victory for the Red Wings. Since that time, however, the Blackhawks have just continued to make their Central division lead more and more insurmountable, while the Wings are in the most unusual (for them) position of trying to just hold on to a playoff spot. As a Hawks fan, I can't tell you how much fun it is to see the Hawks & Wings' longtime positions in the standings flip-flopped, and there's nothing we'd love more than to beat up on the Wings at home to really drive that point home. The Hawks have played well against the Wings this season, but the Wings are finally healthy for the first time all year. In short, this will be a showdown.
Runner-Up: Buffalo Sabres (34-20-9, 77 points, 1st in Northeast, 3rd in East) at New York Rangers (29-28-8, 66 points, 4th in Atlantic, 10th in East)
7:00 pm EST/4:00 pm PST
To be honest, there's slim pickings for the rest of today's schedule, as it's a lot of high-ranked teams playing low-ranked teams. So with that in mind, I'm at least going with one of those match-ups featuring upstate New York's team against Manhattan. While this isn't really a big deal to us Ranger fans, Sabre fans tend to resent the coverage the Rangers get (their network is named MSG, despite being a good 6 hours from there, and tends to focus too much on the Metro-area teams for their liking). Plus, both these teams are desperate for points for entirely different reasons. The Sabres are trying to hold on to a slim 1-point lead in the Northeast standings over the surging Ottawa Senators, while the Rangers have less games remaining than most of the teams around them and need every single point they can get if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. This will be a battle, folks, worthy of marquee status on a weak day for marquee match-ups.
Under the Radar: Vancouver Canucks (39-23-2, 80 points, 1st in Northwest, 3rd in West) at Nashville Predators (35-24-5, 75 points, 2nd in Central, 7th in West)
3:00 pm EST/12:00 pm PST
Few people are going to see the Nashville Predators as a team that jumps off the page at them, but the Preds have a talented team this year, especially on the back-end, and can be fun to watch at times (they can also be very boring to watch at times, which is why recommending you watch a Preds game is a bit of a crapshoot, but like I said, it's a weak day). The Canucks have those cycle-loving Swedish twins, the Sedins, and Luongo looking to bounce back from giving up 5 goals in the first 20 minutes in Chicago. Of course, this is also game 12 of the Canucks' NHL-record 14-game road trip (and for those of you wondering why they still can't play at GM-slash-Canada Hockey Place, it's called the Paralympics, people), so one has to wonder how much the Canucks have left to give. Sure, the Olympics broke up that road trip, but you try living out of a suitcase for two weeks at a time and see how YOU like it, okay?! Either way, this is an interesting game.
I'd Rather Watch Ice Dancing: New Jersey Devils (38-22-3, 79 points, 2nd in Atlantic, 4th in East) at Edmonton Oilers (20-38-6, 5th in Northwest, 15th in West)
8:00 pm EST/5:00 pm PST
Ugh ugh ugh. Welcome to the downside of increased intra-conference play, kids: it's a "battle" of one of the NHL's best vs. one of the NHL's worst and there's absolutely no rivalry here to make it even the least bit interesting. I'm sure Kevin Smith (of "Mallrats" fame....and yes, that's my favorite movie of his, so he'll always be "of Mallrats fame" to me, goddamnit) is just tickled pink at seeing his two favorite teams go at it, but for the rest of us? Yeah, don't bother. The Habs and the Ducks drop the puck at the same time, and that at least has two teams desperate for points to keep their (slim?) playoff hopes alive in their respective conferences. If you still are in the mood for hockey at 8 pm on a Sunday, just watch that instead.
The Rest
Bruins @ Pens, 3:00 pm EST: I really can't think of a single relevant thing to write about this game. Sidney Crosby of Team Canada vs. the USA's backup goalie, Tim Thomas? Unless Tuuka Rask starts? Yeah, that's all I got. Verdict: Not Worth Your Time
Flames @ Wild, 3:00 pm EST: A Northwest showdown with two teams currently sitting in 9th and 12th, respectively, but separated by just 4 points in the standings. Yes, the West race for 8th is incredibly tight. This is the definition of a four-point game. I can't go for a full-on recommendation though, just because the Flames tend to play that boring Sutter style of hockey. Should be chippy as all hell, though. Verdict: Might Be Worth Your Time
Hurricanes @ Thrashers, 5:00 pm EST: Carolina's stunning 7-game winning streak has them 9 points out of a playoff spot after they started the season buried deep beneath the earth with the Maple Leafs (who are all but mathematically eliminated already). To keep this Cinderella run alive, they need to beat their Southeast rivals, with the Kovalchuck-less Thrashers somehow only 2 points back of the Habs for 8th, with 3 games in hand. If the Canes lose this game, you can probably throw the last few clumps of dirt on their season. But if they win, they keep the dream alive. Verdict: Probably Worth Your Time
Maple Leafs @ Flyers, 7:00 pm EST: Speaking of the Leafs, they're in Philadelphia. Yeah. Raise your hand if you care? Really, Toronto? You care? How incredibly shocking. For those of us who DON'T continue to unequivocally support losers, yeah, take a pass on this one. Go read a book instead. Verdict: Not Worth Your Time
Canadiens @ Ducks, 8:00 pm EST (National TV on the NHL Network, Canada only): As I mentioned already before, these are two teams that really, really need points to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Ducks made some moves at the deadline that didn't help them out one bit in Phoenix, where they got shutout 4-0 in a listless affair. You'd think a team that's fighting for their playoff lives would, you know, at least SHOW UP against a division rival, but apparently you'd be wrong. They've played very well at home this year, however, and the Habs are coming off an energetic game against the Kings last night, so I'm predicting a blowout for the Ducks. If it's not, this could be a fun game, and you have the intrigue of Saku Koivu playing against the team he was Captain of for the first time. Still can't go a full-monty on the recommendation, just because of the blowout possibility, but jesus christ if you really want to watch hockey at 8 pm, this is damn sure a better bet than that Devils-Flames game. It will be on the NHL Network in Canada; of note, the NHL Network in the US will air Canadian junior hockey, WHL to be exact, featuring the Calgary Hitmen and the Saskatoon Blades. Personally I'll be checking that out instead, just for the "it's never on TV in the States" curiosity factor. Verdict: Might Be Worth Your Time
Hope you guys enjoyed that. I'll try to work more of the kinks out day-by-day, but hopefully this will provide you with a little bit of perspective on what to watch and what not to watch in the NHL. Thanks for reading, feel free to provide feedback! I'm all ears.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Welcome to my little corner of the web
I won't go into a great deal of detail, since I'm assuming you're more than capable of reading the About Me section, but I figured a little introduction was in order, so here goes.
I'm as devoted of a hockey lunatic as you'll find here on the wonderful world called the intrawebs. My love for hockey started as a small child, and can all be traced back to my grandfather. He was a noted insomniac (which passed down to me, hence why I'm writing this at 3:48 am EST) and, among other things, a huge fan of the New York Rangers. Hence why, at the tender age of 8, he snuck into my room after my mother had already put me to bed and woke me up just in time to see those aforementioned Rangers win the '94 Stanley Cup. And with that, a lifetime hockey fan was born.
Though the infamous Dead Puck Era of the late '90s-'early 00s drove my teenage interest away for a while, the rule changes in the post-lockout era brought me back fairly quickly. This year is my third straight season with the Center Ice Package, thus allowing me to watch more hockey than any human being should probably watch. I've made it my mission in life to turn as many people on to the world's greatest (and America's m0st under-appreciated) sport in the world, and view it as a badge of honor that my girlfriend has gone from barely knowing the sport existed to falling asleep to NHL on the Fly every night.
Briefly last year I had a podcast that shared the title of this blog, but increasingly insane work hours forced me to discontinue that. Thanks to the joys of unemployment, my free time is back (just in time for the stretch run, oh yeah baby!), and I figured it would be the perfect time to get a blog going again. The podcast may yet return as well, so if you're interested in that sort of thing let me know. And hell, if you're interested in being a co-host, definitely leave me a comment, because I could use one of those.
Anyway. Let's get down to a little bit of meat here. People often ask me "Hey, John, why in god's name do you have THREE favorite teams?". I know it is looked down upon in many sports circles to have more than one favorite, and I want to get into how I think I ended up like that before I get a million questions on the subject. So let's get to it:
Reason #1: There's no other sport out there I even like, let only love like hockey. Most people who are loyal to only one hockey team probably have a favorite baseball, football, basketball, or even soccer team they follow too. To be quite frank, I couldn't care less about any other sport. They all look slow, boring, and/or soft when put up next to my beloved hockey, and given the insane amount of it I watch (and podcasts I listen to, blogs and articles I read, and so on and so on) it leaves little time to follow anything else.
Reason #2: As I mentioned already, I watch a lot more hockey than most people. I find it a lot more fun to watch when I have a rooting interest, so the end result ends up with me rooting for more teams than the average person. Some people, like the Puck Podcast guys for interest, have noted that they enjoy games where they have no rooting interest. That's never been my thing.
Reason #3: It's easy to tell why I love the Rangers (geographical location + pre-programmed family love), so let me just get into why I love my Kings & Hawks. The Kings were the team that the Great One played for when I was a kid, which is why I took notice of them in the first place. My love for them just kind of stuck, and it's been so much fun over the past few seasons watching them rebuild through the draft, the way they're supposed to. All of that basically applies to the Blackhawks too; Ed Belfour was my favorite goalie, and everyone knows he started out as a Blackhawk. Patrick Kane is probably my favorite player nowadays, and I probably wear his jersey more than any sane human being should wear any piece of clothing. Plus, to get REALLY superficial, both teams have my favorite jerseys in the entire NHL.
Okay, we've got all that introduction crap out of the way now. My next post will be both more interesting and less self-centered, I promise. Welcome to the blog and thanks if you took time out to read it!
I'm as devoted of a hockey lunatic as you'll find here on the wonderful world called the intrawebs. My love for hockey started as a small child, and can all be traced back to my grandfather. He was a noted insomniac (which passed down to me, hence why I'm writing this at 3:48 am EST) and, among other things, a huge fan of the New York Rangers. Hence why, at the tender age of 8, he snuck into my room after my mother had already put me to bed and woke me up just in time to see those aforementioned Rangers win the '94 Stanley Cup. And with that, a lifetime hockey fan was born.
Though the infamous Dead Puck Era of the late '90s-'early 00s drove my teenage interest away for a while, the rule changes in the post-lockout era brought me back fairly quickly. This year is my third straight season with the Center Ice Package, thus allowing me to watch more hockey than any human being should probably watch. I've made it my mission in life to turn as many people on to the world's greatest (and America's m0st under-appreciated) sport in the world, and view it as a badge of honor that my girlfriend has gone from barely knowing the sport existed to falling asleep to NHL on the Fly every night.
Briefly last year I had a podcast that shared the title of this blog, but increasingly insane work hours forced me to discontinue that. Thanks to the joys of unemployment, my free time is back (just in time for the stretch run, oh yeah baby!), and I figured it would be the perfect time to get a blog going again. The podcast may yet return as well, so if you're interested in that sort of thing let me know. And hell, if you're interested in being a co-host, definitely leave me a comment, because I could use one of those.
Anyway. Let's get down to a little bit of meat here. People often ask me "Hey, John, why in god's name do you have THREE favorite teams?". I know it is looked down upon in many sports circles to have more than one favorite, and I want to get into how I think I ended up like that before I get a million questions on the subject. So let's get to it:
Reason #1: There's no other sport out there I even like, let only love like hockey. Most people who are loyal to only one hockey team probably have a favorite baseball, football, basketball, or even soccer team they follow too. To be quite frank, I couldn't care less about any other sport. They all look slow, boring, and/or soft when put up next to my beloved hockey, and given the insane amount of it I watch (and podcasts I listen to, blogs and articles I read, and so on and so on) it leaves little time to follow anything else.
Reason #2: As I mentioned already, I watch a lot more hockey than most people. I find it a lot more fun to watch when I have a rooting interest, so the end result ends up with me rooting for more teams than the average person. Some people, like the Puck Podcast guys for interest, have noted that they enjoy games where they have no rooting interest. That's never been my thing.
Reason #3: It's easy to tell why I love the Rangers (geographical location + pre-programmed family love), so let me just get into why I love my Kings & Hawks. The Kings were the team that the Great One played for when I was a kid, which is why I took notice of them in the first place. My love for them just kind of stuck, and it's been so much fun over the past few seasons watching them rebuild through the draft, the way they're supposed to. All of that basically applies to the Blackhawks too; Ed Belfour was my favorite goalie, and everyone knows he started out as a Blackhawk. Patrick Kane is probably my favorite player nowadays, and I probably wear his jersey more than any sane human being should wear any piece of clothing. Plus, to get REALLY superficial, both teams have my favorite jerseys in the entire NHL.
Okay, we've got all that introduction crap out of the way now. My next post will be both more interesting and less self-centered, I promise. Welcome to the blog and thanks if you took time out to read it!
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