Attention American Hockey Fans
Oct 3, 2008 NHL
Kukla’s Korner has the heads-up on the NHL Networks’s schedule this year, and it’s pretty big, especially if you are a hockey fan that doesn’t live in Canada (or right across the border). The NHL Network will be carrying 75 HD regular season hockey games this year, including the full measure of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada. That means the pre-game stuff and After Hours. It will be preceded by a Public Service announcement warning Amercian viewers about Don Cherry’s suits.
Click here for more of Cherry’s wardrobe, if you dare.
Tags: cbc, don cherry, hnic, Hockey, hockey night in canada, NHL, nhl network, picture
SCF: Penguins VS Wings
May 22, 2008 NHL
The 2008 Stanley Cup Finals begin this Saturday, pitting the Original Six Detroit Red Wings against the risen from the ashes Pittsburgh Penguins. The young Penguins, led by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, will look to run roughshod over the older, ‘more experienced’ Wings. Still, you have to respect Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Holmstrom (Zetterberg in particular saved my fantasy team on more than one occasion). In goal, both Chris Osgood and Marc-Andre Fleury have been doing excellent work, Osgood especially as he had to step in after Hasek tried to give their opening round series away.
My excitement for Game 1 (8:00pm start time) has waxed and waned, thanks in no small part to the NHL having the teams sit on their hands for days and days so they can start the series on a weekend. I know they are trying to take care of their core market (namely, the millions of people who watch on HNIC) but it’s really hard to stay interested for that long when the Sabre-guys aren’t involved! I’m picking the Penguins in 6, and I hope America tunes in to watch this clash of two US teams whose cities actually know what hockey is when their teams aren’t in the finals.
Tags: crosby, datsyuk, detroit, fleury, hasek, hnic, Hockey, hockey night in canada, malkin, NHL, osgood, penguins, pittsburgh, red wings, zetterberg
CBC Hot Stove - Switch Ends for More Offense?
Mar 17, 2008 NHL
Scott Mellanby was on CBC’s Hot Stove segment between periods of their Leafs/Sabres coverage, and had an interesting theory on how to increase scoring without an equipment change - switch the ends of the ice you defend around, so you have the longer skate to the bench in two periods instead of one. There are some stats that back it up:
Entering play Saturday, 2,058 goals had been scored this season in the second period, compared to 1,683 in the first period and 1,844 goals (excluding 185 empty-net markers) in the third frame.
Defensemen would have a harder time getting off the ice with the longer skate to the bench, especially if the puck doesn’t go all the way down the ice on the clear. That would mean more would stay late on their shifts, giving forwards an added advantage. GMs may not like it - their best defenders would be getting more of a rough ride. From a purely business standpoint, arena/ticketing changes would have to happen as many season ticket holders pay to sit at the ’shoot twice’ end of the arena. Otherwise, they’d have to switch up the locker rooms (another expense, although a one-time one). It’s better than the stale ‘BIGGER NETS! SMALLER GOALIE EQUIPMENT’ idea that always gets floated around.
Tags: cbc, hnic, Hockey, hockey night in canada, hot stove, mellanby, NHL, scoring
