Just Some Random NHL Rants….
Well I finally have 2 days off from work….some weeks just seem to take longer than others to get through. Sometimes even the hockey world gets to take the day off…but ah that is where you can sit there, grab a beer, and reflect on what has been going on. Also, you can throw in a few rants here and there. Here’s a little of what’s been happening today and some thoughts thrown into the mix.
Hey Jersey fans….the Sarge is back….Sergei Brylin that is. The New York Post reported that the option for 2007-08 has been indeed picked up by Lou Lamoriello. So Sergei will be able to play in the new Devils arena…which hey, is a damn good thing. The only forward left who has won three Stanley Cups with New Jersey (1995,2000,2003) also won a Calder Cup in 95. It is the first of many moves Jersey will be making in what I am sure will be a summer of change…hopefully the overall product is one more primed to make a deeper run into the playoffs next season.
Low and behold…guess what was on ESPN’s Around the Horn this evening…..a small segment about the NHL on NBC switching over to The Preakness Pre-Show. You knew it was coming…I mean ESPN really could not resist it. Honestly, 3 of the 4 panelists made some valid points. Kevin Blackstone was way off base and clearly either doesn’t understand the sport of hockey or just doesn’t care for it. But oddly the voice of reason was Woody Paige. Paige felt it was an outrage to pre-empt a Conference Finals game for a “warm up for horses and jockeys”.
Why not show the race on a split screen worse comes to worse….it is only a 2 minute race anyway. Funny thing is this….the hockey ratings weren’t that bad folks. The game did over a 3 in the time frame right before it was cut off. Could that have been because of the Preakness? Not too likely…their pre-show drew less…and the race itself did draw just over a 5. The ratings aren’t the end all….as there are so many outlets these days for the sports fan. People tend to lose sight of that but at the same time pulling the game off at that time was callous to say the least.
Finally, just a little rant of my own. Remember how everyone said the new NHL was going to mean a team couldn’t play just defensive in posture and still win?? WRONG!!! Whoever the Senators wind up playing will more or less be going up against an opportunity knocks type team (Ducks or Wings). Ottawa plays a hard, physical style with one scoring line and depth..and that depth can play a great two way game. Players like Vermette, Fisher, Volchenkov, and company are the best collection of guys I have seen play defense since the mid 90’s. Honestly, they are probably the prohibitive favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Buffalo was tabbed as the unofficial face of the new NHL…a team built around speed with a tiny touch of grit and goaltending. Even a superhuman effort by Ryan Miller couldn’t turn the tide for Buffalo…as the playoffs proves to us that defense wins championships still…not offense. Going out on a limb here….the salary cap era NHL has proved one thing….speed kills in the regular season….grit kills in the playoffs.
