Hockey's 2nd Season Begins

Hockey Talk

Several of my friends believe that the NCAA 'March Madness' Tournament is the most exciting sports event occurring at this time of the year, but I'm here to cast my vote for the NHL playoffs. The marathon battles that lead to the Stanley Cup finals are unequaled anywhere in professional sports as the two survivors that get to compete for the ultimate hockey prize known as Lord Stanley's Cup will have to battle through 3-seven game series to get the chance to become Stanley Cup Champions. While most of the teams from last year are back in the East, the West features some fresh faces including the first ever trip to the playoffs for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the return of the St. Louis Blues after a lengthy absence. This year features some intriguing first round matchups including a series between long time rivals the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, and a repeat of last years Eastern Conference Final between the Flyers and Penguins. The thing that strikes me about this year's playoffs is that in looking at the matches, seedings don't really seem to mean a whole lot, and it wouldn't surprise me to see the lower seeds beat the higher seeds in several of the matches. Let the fun begin!

Washington Capitals Hockey
Sports and Culture

Staged Fighting

Hockey Talk

It looks like the NHL might crack down on "staged fighting" next year by increasing the penalty to 10 minutes or some other heavier action. When they say "staged fights" they're talking about the ones that happen right after the drop of the puck. I have no problem with this because my attitude towards fighting is if your pissed off enough to want to drop the gloves and go at it, you're not going to wait until the referee drops the puck to do it. Staged fighting reminds me too much of WWW wrestling, and we all know how 'real' that is.

Washington Capitals Hockey
Sports and Culture

Do The Referee's Play Favorites?

Hockey Talk

I see a lot of discussion about how the referee's seem to favor certain players when it comes to calling penalties; especially when the game is on the line. While it doesn't hurt to have a kid named Sidney on your team, I don't think that there is any kind of conspiracy by the referee's or pressure by the NHL office to see to it that some teams make it into the playoffs, but at the same time the referee's are human and are well aware that some teams and players are "more equal" than others, and may unconsciously lean a little toward certain players when it comes to penalties. On the other hand, I watched a game recently where the star named Sid was getting banged around all through the game, without nary a call. There can be a fine line in protecting a star player from constant harassment and abuse , and in allowing the opposing team to try and neutralize the key players.

Washington Capitals Hockey
Sports and Culture

Hockey....Then and Now

As a child growing up in Baltimore, one of my passions was going to Baltimore Clippers hockey games in the Winter. While it wasn't the NHL, it didn't matter because it was still hockey, and besides it was all we had. While the game is basically the same as it was back then, there have been many changes since that time, and most are for the better. For instance, I remember a time when the teams were seated on opposite sides of the ice. I don't know why this change was brought about, but I imagine it's for the better or they would have gone back to the old way. I also remember when very few of the players wore helmets let alone face guards. Nowadays, the thought of players not wearing helmets seems ridiculous, but wearing a helmet back then would have qualified you as a sissy. I also remember that most of the players back then looked more like typical hockey players, beat up and missing most of their teeth. In contrast, many of the hockey players in the NHL today look as if they could be posing for GQ or Playgirl. Obviously most of the players back then didn't make the money that players make today, and most likely couldn't afford a good orthodontist, and wouldn't go to one if they could.

Washington Capitals Hockey
Sports and Culture

NHL Needs to Ditch the Dive Penalty

I watched a game last night where a player was obviously tripped and a penalty was called on the player, but a penalty was also called on the player tripped for "diving". This penalty is one that I think that the NHL should consider getting rid of because it's too subjective of a call for the referee to make. To start off with, the majority of the time the call is against a player who trips another player, and the "dive" or "unsportsmenlike conduct" is assessed because the referee determines that the player tripped has tried to enhance the penalty by tripping a bit too much? Just what would be enough of a fall for it to be a penalty and what is too much? Is it that the player hits the ice too hard, or slides too much, or makes a funny face? The point is that the whole thing is too subjective and is not an obvious call like high sticking, boarding, elbowing, etc., and should be done away with, or maybe the referee's can use instant replay to see if the player actually did enhance the penalty or not.

Washington Capitals Hockey

NHL Playoff Structure

I've heard several people comment that everybody in the NHL makes the playoffs. Well, the truth is only about half the teams do actually make the playoffs. While that may seem like a lot compared to other sports, I think that it actually makes the game more exciting in that just about every game during the last month of the season has some kind of playoff implications. For instance, if you look at the standings at this late point in the season, there are only four or five teams in each division that has no real chance of making the playoffs. The other teams are fighting for the playoffs and playoff position, making practically each game important.

Another thing I like about the NHL playoffs, is that each series consists of a best of 7 and not some lame best of 5 like Major League baseball has with their divisional playoffs. In a seven game series, the better team is going to win most of the time as compared to a best of five, where a team can throw a couple of dominant pitchers out there, and win the first two games virtually locking up the series before it even gets started. More than any other sport, the NHL playoffs are an endurance test, and the teams that get to the Stanley Cup Finals have earned their way their. While many people talk about the excitement of March Madness, I look forward to the excitement of NHL playoff hockey, and it's wars.

Brodeur Breaks Record

Congratulations are in order for Martin Brodeur who recently broke Patrick Roy's record of 552 wins. While people are quick to say that Brodeur now ranks as the greatest NHL goaltender, I would just say that he is indeed one of the best. Winning as many games as Brodeur has requires many things including good health, playing for a good team, lots of skill, and a bit of luck. For there have been many excellent goaltenders who's career was cut short by injury. And there have been many excellent NHL goaltenders who never won the cup because they never played for teams such as the Devils or Red Wings. There's no doubt that 20 or even 50 years from now Brodeur will rate high among the all time greatest goaltenders, but I believe it's enough to say he's one of the best, and not necessarily the greatest to have ever played the game.