Hockey Playoffs
April 21, 2014
(UPDATE: So this post was supposed to go up back at the end of April when the playoffs actually...ya know...had just started. But for any number of reasons, I'm an idiot and didn't publish the damn thing. So I'm posting it now anyway with the original date attached even though it's currently June 10 and the playoffs are damn near over. So please enjoy a 2 month old post!!)
By far my favorite playoffs of any of the 4 major sports (yes hockey is a MAJOR sport. If you disagree, feel free to go read something else). The NFL playoffs are fun and the whole 1 and done scenario makes for mostly great games. Baseball playoff games are usually pretty watchable, though the advent of the 2nd wild card and all the weird end of season playoff scenarios drag what's already and interminably long season even longer (and I'm not even mentioning how long the damn games are). Basketball playoffs...the games are usually pretty entertaining (last year's Spurs/Heat finals was great TV), and I could say a lot more about basketball but I'll just say this. On Saturday I was flipping between hockey (Hawks/Blues) and basketball (Warriors/Clippers) playoff games. The Hawks/Blues game was headed to OT. When the 3rd period ended, Warriors/Clips had about 2.5 minutes left to play in regulation. So you figure I could watch the end of Warriors/Clips then flip back to hockey for OT. Did that happen? Not even close.
The Hawks/Blues had their 15 minute intermission, then played 6 full minutes of OT (at which point the Blues scored the game winner) and the Clips/Warriors WERE STILL IN REGULATION!! That's right, the end of an NBA playoff game (2.5 minutes left) took almost 30/35 minutes of REAL TIME. That's just unacceptable. Now I realize I'm an NHL guy anyway, but I think even the most diehard NBA fan would admit that's RIDICULOUS.
But the reason for this post isn't to just bash the length of NBA games. Instead, this is an ode to how much I LOVE the NHL playoffs. One of the best things that happened to hockey was the invention of Hi-Definition TV. Of course all sporting events in HD are superior to what they used to be. NFL games are beautiful to watch, English Premier league games in HD really help you appreciate the passion of the fans and the history of some of the venues. Baseball games give you better angles than if you were actually at the game & basketball games really give you an appreciation for the athleticism of their players.
Hockey on the other hand...well for starters a hockey puck is pretty damned small. HD made hockey games so much easier to follow - especially for non-fans or people new to the sport (we will absolutely ignore the AWFUL decision to have the puck trax that one of the networks attempted to use several years back. If you don't know what it is, youtube it for the sheer hilarity). The other thing that I love about hockey are the small venues. The biggest hockey arena only seats between 20 & 25 thousand fans (some not even that much) so when these places are packed, it's a feeling unlike any other. Then throw in the fact that hockey has a flow and an almost nonstop amount of action and you've got a recipe for constant excitement. Every hit, every bloody facial laceration, every shot off the post, every goal, every blown call by the referees and you hear it. I would even say you can feel it coming through the TV (cheesy as that sounds).
Oh yeah, did I mention that hockey players just keep playing? They tear something in their shoulder and it's called an "upper body" injury and they don't miss a shift. They take a slapshot off their foot, break a bone, call it it a "lower body" injury, and play the next game. Never mind that these guys are the size of football players and are forced to skate around with weapons in their hands in a box that's 200 feet by 85 feet. These guys are some of the toughest athletes around and if any athletes deserve to get paid more, it's hockey players. And if sportsmanship matters to you, every series ends with a long handshake line that ALL players and coaches have to participate in.
I've watched more hockey in the last 5 days than I have in a while because the games are just so much fun. The passion and the energy of these games (even ones where I don't have a specific rooting interest in the outcome) make them so much fun to watch. Especially if any of them go to OVERTIME!! Yes hockey overtime lasts until a goal is scored. 3 overtimes? 4? 5? They've all happened. Games that start at 730EST will sometimes end at 2am. We've already had one 3 OT game so far and I would expect one or two more. Last year saw more playoff overtime games than any post season in NHL history. This season has already had 5 games go to OT and I would expect several more.
I could go on and on about this, obviously, but instead I'll just say that I'm excited to see how the playoffs shake out. Whether my Flyers lose in Round 1 or make the Finals, I'll still be watching most of the games & I encourage you to check a few out. You'll be surprised how much fun they are.
-SDR