Hey Facebook, I am well aware that hockey season is over. Stop rubbing it in.
Eastern Conference Finals: Good, Bad and Ugly
This season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs in the East have been great. With upsets abound and every series going to at least 6 games, the entertainment appeal has been very high. We may now find ourselves in the Conference Finals though wondering, “does either team in the East deserve the cup?”
Good
The series are going long and Game 7s are great. They rally crowds, increase interest in teams not only locally, but on a national level, and they drive higher ratings. Also, recent games in the East have been particularly interesting in large part due to their storylines. The Penguins were titans in the sport thanks to the high skill level of Sidney Crosby and his supporting cast, and they fell to a Cinderella team in the Canadiens, who’s regular season record (39-33-10) revealed no indication of how successful they would actually be in the postseason. The same goes for the Flyers, who barely snuck into the postseason at the last possible minute and have made an impressive effort to push forward in the playoffs.
Bad
Are either of the teams that advanced skilled enough to play in the Stanley Cup Finals though? Arguably, upsetting higher seeds twice in a row is a testament to a team’s skill and ability to play under pressure. It’s hard to imagine either team in the East beating either of the teams left in the West. Although neither Western Conference team had an especially easy go in the first two rounds, their solid regular seasons point to a more consistent game than their Eastern Conference counterparts.
Ugly
The Philadelphia Flyers play an ugly game of hockey. I think we all laughed off this kind of embellishment from Daniel Carcillo, a player who had a whopping 207 penalty minutes in the regular season. He’s racked up 26 minutes in the postseason already, spending almost 40% more time in the box than any other single player still in the race for the Cup. It’s now a staggering reality that the Flyers may be the team the Eastern Conference sends to the Finals.
When it comes down to it, any team that can power through three rounds of intense competition deserves a shot at the Cup. Whether either team left in the East can go the extra mile to take home the trophy won’t be determined until early June, but hopefully it will be a good, clean, passionate series to get us there.
Avs Should Pull Their (Backup) Goalie
It will be hard to top the the moves the Avalanche made during the summer of 2009, especially in the goaltending department, but I believe there is one that desperately needs to be made:
Don’t resign Peter Budaj.
I have nothing against Budaj, but Terry Frei’s recommendation that he needs to return is silly. He’s been a solid backup goaltender his entire career here in Colorado. He may not have always been the backup goaltender, but he’s always played like one. His numbers this past season were very respectable, and he showed a lot of class playing in the shadow of Craig Anderson. However, there’s just nothing more this team needs from Budaj, and nothing more Budaj needs from this team.
What the Avalanche need to do is rely on Anderson this upcoming season and give their minor league darling, Tyler Weiman, his chance in the NHL. It’s been a long time coming and there is no better opportunity than next season.
Budaj will make a great addition to a team struggling in net, and could prove to only need a change of scenery to up his game to the next level a la Wojtek Wolski.
Frei says going the bargain route (which I assume means going with prospects) is counterproductive. I wonder if he would say that about any of the other “bargain” prospects the Avs relied on this year. Like it or not, this team is in rebuilding mode, and the only way to make that work for the future is to actually give the younger, promising prospects a chance to play. Weiman has earned his spot. Budaj has overstayed his welcome.
Game 1 Milestones
Yes, I know it’s only been one game. Yes, I know the Avs have a long way to go in this series and the playoffs in general. I still think there are some milestones that need to be looked at, though.
- Craig Anderson has won his first playoff game.
- The Avs gained home ice advantage by stealing a game on the road.
- The Avs did not get swept.
- Rob Blake scored a great goal for the Avs. Even though he was wearing a Sharks jersey, it still felt like old times.
- Joe Thornton looked non-existent thanks to the Avalanche.
There’s at least three more games, but the Avalanche are off to a great start.
Why it Doesn’t Matter and Why it Does
Tonight, the first night of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, will be especially difficult for some Rangers fans. The shoot out loss to Philadelphia was particularly painful and after 4 straight post lock-out postseason appearances, it feels strange to no longer have a team to root for.
Why it doesn’t matter…
The NY Rangers team has not been likely to win the Cup any of those past consecutive years in the postseason. Two of the four years they were knocked out in the first round. It’s also fair to note that the four years before the lock-out, under then new GM Glen Sather, the Rangers also completely missed the Playoffs.
Having the season cut short could ultimately prove helpful for the franchise, where in 10 years of holding the GM position, Glen Sather has been unsuccessful in leading New York to the finals, much less winning a cup. It’s possible this off-season could be the time when the ‘fire Sather’ chants will be met with action.
Lastly, there’s always next season, however faraway that might seem now. It will likely include a refreshed line-up of players and a renewed strategy to chalk up more wins than losses (Rangers 2009-2010 regular season record: 38-33-11). According to recent interviews with head coach John Tortorella, his plan is to keep the team young. Hopefully that means keeping players like Del Zotto, Gilroy, and Dubinsky, while dumping older, higher paid, under-performing players.
Why it does matter…
It matters because we’re fans. We love the Rangers like brothers. We support them proudly in their wins and share in the agony of their losses. Many of us recall the greatness that can be achieved in New York and put considerable energy into participating in the season as fans. Summer is a sports wasteland in many of our lives, and it has started all too soon.
More so however, it matters because New York is the greatest stage in the world, and MSG is the epicenter of that. The population of New York City is 8.4MM, while the next largest city housing an NHL franchise is LA with 3.8MM people. The outlying suburbs of NYC:
Westchester County NY, population: 923,000
Bergen County NJ, population: 895,000
Nassau County LI, population: 1.3MM
Also provide a huge pool of fans (almost as many as LA itself). While the counties in New Jersey and Long Island are home to predominantly Devils and Islanders fans, many cross-over fans exist who consider MSG their home turf. The promotional possibilities are huge for the league and the ability to fill the arena is strong. In short, NYC having a strong team is positive for hockey in general.
While Rangers fans begrudgingly pick secondary teams to root for this postseason and watch the games with a tinge of sadness, remember: next season could bring great things both for New York and the NHL in general. After all, hockey is the greatest sport ever to be played…
One Last Game for Fred
Fred Beery (right), 1986-2010
Fred Beery, my twin brother and an occasional contributor here on Hockeyism, passed away on April 5th, 2010 at the age of 24. He was a great husband, father, son, and the best brother I could have asked for. He loved Dave Matthews, working with computers, and of course the Colorado Avalanche. Even though he didn’t get to finish out the season, I’m sticking with my plan to go to the last game of the regular season with him. He’s got himself a ticket for the game on April 11th, and hopefully if I can swing it, a few playoff games as well.
A big piece of my family has been lost , but the Avs have also lost one of their biggest fans. Let’s win this one for Fred, guys. GO AVS!
College Hockey Pick ‘Em Update
The brackets have been turned in and tabulated and I gotta say, Denver really made a mess of almost all of them. Before I announce the current leaders, thank you very much to all of you that entered. It’s very much appreciated.
It breaks down like this:
Chris H., last year’s champion, has 8 points, but can’t gain any more points in the tournament. His homeriffic love of Michigan may have ruined his chances this year (just like he predicted).
Ryan B. is also at 8 points, and also cannot gain any more points. Denver’s continued playoff losing streak left a lot of red on his bracket.
Chris W. and Kyle H. both have Wisconsin winning the whole tournament. Since both Kyle and Chris can only gain points with Wisconsin wins, that means we can put the end of this whole thing into two possible outcomes:
- Wisconsin wins first game: Chris W. is the automatic winner of the Pick ‘Em tournament.
- Wisconsin loses first game: 3-way tie for first place, putting Kyle H. out by a mere point.
If Wisconsin loses, then I will announce the winner based on the answers given to the tiebreaker question (total number of goals scored in the championship game).
How about my bracket? Right now, I’m schooling all of you with 12 points, and a Boston College win in the next round can pick me up another possible 4. I correctly guessed 3 of the 4 finalists with Denver being the only one I chose incorrectly (F U RIT). But hey, who cares? I’m not eligible to win.
What If?
The NHL has started their playoff ad campaign, and they are some great spots. First, take a look at this, one of the first few released from the “History will be Made” push.
But what about some of the bigger moments in Avalanche history? These are the moments that make me wonder “What if?”
- “What if Patrick didn’t demand a trade?”
- “What if Peter stayed healthy?”
- “What if Ian got a fair shake?”
- “What if Chris didn’t go to Calgary?”
- “What if Todd never punched Steve?”
- “What if Matt got picked first?”
- “What if Joe hired someone to shovel his walk?”
- “What if Quebec bailed out the Nordiques?”
- “What if Claude never checked Kris?”
These only begin to scratch the surface of what could have panned out for this team. What are the moments in Avs history that make you wonder?
2nd Annual College Hockey Championship Pick ‘Em!
It’s that time of year, and your favorite Division I college hockey teams are playing for the championship. We’re doing a bracket challenge again, and it’s your chance to win a college hockey T-shirt from your favorite team.
Download your bracket here and email it to contests@hockeyism.com to enter. Be sure to include your name and email address with your entry. Whoever has the most points at the end of the tournament is the winner! The tiebreaker is the standard goal count number. If there’s a tie after that, well then I have a little surprise.
Brackets are due to me by midnight on 3/25. Have fun!
Your (Search) Results May Vary
I have a nice little plugin for my blog that tracks what people search for to get here. Most are pretty mundane (hockey pictures, third jersey, etc.), but the vast majority are pretty strange. A few of my favorites are:
“bloody red wings” - Even the Brits can’t stand Detroit
“tyler weiman with no shirt on” - Um…
“tyler arnason bad attitude” - This is one of a near constant stream of Tyler Arnason searches that lead to the site. It’s the anti-Gretzky phenomenon: he’s so bad that he’s famous.
“why are hockey assists called apples” – Well, that’s news to me, but Urban Dictionary confirms it.
“let me tell you about hockey” – No, let me tell YOU about hockey.
“why did the avalanche get rid of howler” - Another extremely popular term. All I can tell the fine readers of this blog is that Howler went into early retirement thanks to some personal issues.
“ottawa senators” – Jeez, you write one measly post about Jason Spezza’s illegal stick A YEAR AGO, and you’re all of a sudden a Senators blog. Well, here’s a belated welcome to all the Sens fans. I’m glad you liked the post.
