Hockeyism

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.

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.

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…