By Jake Hamar of “The Morning Grind” (Follow Me on Twitter @ktikjake)
Okay, I know hockey is a niche sport, and will never match the success of say, the NFL, MLB or NBA, but when it’s playoff time, everyone should be watching it.
Boise residents, I know you love going to the Idaho Steelheads and it’s a fun event for the whole family. Well, since the Steelheads season is over, why not chill on your couch, kick back, order some Idaho Pizza Company, crack open a couple of beers (or sodas), and enjoy these Stanley Cup Playoffs. You got two excellent teams right now in the Cup Finals that know how to score goals, have excellent goaltending, and play with an intensity that can’t be matched. San Jose and Pittsburgh will make you enjoy this series.
I know hockey is either hit or miss in this state. Some say the rules are hard to understand. Others say the game is too Canadian. Well, Boise I hate to tell you this, but you are pretty much a Canadian city located in America, and I mean that in the most complimentary way.
You are polite. You have eclectic tastes in music. You keep your city clean, and devoid of criminal element. It has four fabulous seasons here in the Treasure Valley, much like the beautiful scenery in British Columbia.
So why cannot you embrace hockey fully?
Hockey is epic to watch, especially with HDTV. It’s not as good as being at a live game, but the action is easy to see, and the puck is visible. No need to add that god awful glowing puck that FOX tried to install back in 1995. I won’t say that the players are better now than they were, say, in 1983, but it’s apples and oranges. The game is faster, and with the aesthetically pleasing flow of the game, there’s no reason why anyone can just say the game is hard to follow.
That was then. This is now.
I will give you a few reasons to embrace hockey, and to let your senses take over.
1. The pace and flow of the game is much better than in year’s past.
Just watch the Pittsburgh Penguins from mid-season to now on either the NHL Network or on You Tube to see how well they play as a team and it makes for better television. They get major point production from Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin (when he’s healthy), and have excellent role players like Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino, Patric Hornquist and Bryan Rust. They have an excellent blue liner (defenseman) in Kris Letang, who is also contributing offensively. And the team made a goalie change before the playoffs, who has provided a spark to this team that has helped to get them to the final lap of the Cup Finals.
The Montreal Canadiens of the 1970’s played a similar style of play called “The Flying Frenchmen” style. They combined amazing passing with scoring wizardry. They had guys like Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt, Jacques Lemaire and Mario Tremblay scoring goals, while Larry Robinson was the ultimate two-way player, smashing players into the boards, all the while scoring and passing to his line mates. It was beautiful hockey to watch.
2. The goaltending is fantastic to watch.
In hockey, the goalie is in the ultimate pressure cooker. He’s the last line of defense. If an opposing skater is on a breakaway and the goalie can’t prevent the puck from going in the net, all is lost. Modern goalies have taken the position to a brand new level, in the way they practice, the way they diet, and the way prepare for a team. Granted, he did not have a good postseason, but usually Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers is the master of stopping the puck, Nobody can get anything past “King Henrik”, and if you look at his 2013-14 season where he helped the Rangers to the Cup Finals against LA, you would concur that none of the Eastern Conference teams that tried to put the puck against him couldn’t do anything. Montreal was supposed to be anointed the Eastern Conference Champion that year, but none of the Canadiens scorers could put the puck in the net.
Other really good goaltenders include Carey Price (the former Tri-City Americans stud) of Montreal & Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals. If Price hadn’t suffered a knee injury early this year, Montreal would probably be playing in the East Finals, but without him, they missed the playoffs completely. Holtby went 48-9-7 this year for the Capitals, and if he doesn’t win the Vezina Trophy (the league’s award for the goalie of the year), it would be a major miscarriage of justice. A majority of NHL teams have high-quality goaltenders, but the problem is sometimes they don’t get the blue line help they need to avoid pesky scorers from shallacking them with shots.
3. The shootout.
Hockey purists will say, “the shootout is the worst thing to happen to hockey since the Sun Belt Expansion.” But I say, “Nonsense!” Fans love it, and it’s suspenseful. It’s much better than having the dreary tie where both teams get one point in the standings. I think the game has to evolve, and I think the shootout is a perfect case in point. It might be too “video-gamey” for some people’s tastes, but it just adds to the entertainment value of the game. Of course, since this is playoffs, the shootout is in hibernation until the regular season, but people do enjoy it when it’s a close contest.
So, give the NHL playoffs a chance. Yes, I’m sure Golden State and Cleveland will be a masterpiece of an NBA Final, and millions of people will tune into it.
It’s a shame hockey doesn’t get the same recognition.
