National Hockey League

[beach bum]

Not really trying to start a thread to discuss things like the soccer thread we have, but I have a legitimate question. Is there even anyone on this board that follows the NHL? I ask this cause I went to all over the Great Lakes region last month and went to a Minnesota Wild game and now I am hooked on the sport. I have adapted the Minnesota Wild as my team in the West and the Philadelphia Flyers as my team in the East.

I ask this question cause being from the rural south like most of you all I was naive to how big hockey is in that area and Canada as well until I went there in the wintertime. I had been there in the summer, but never winter and it was eye opening their love for the sport. I had never even cared about the sport until I saw how big it was there and the fluidity, pace, physicality, and non stop nature of the sport.

Just wondering if there are any northern transplants on here that follow the NHL or random posters who picked up hockey and follow it even if its casually following it.

[RATTLER43]

I don't follow it but for three years in the 80s, I would get home from work after midnight.  ESPN was a different animal back then. I'd turn on tv to unwind. They showed NHL regularly.  Wayne Gretzky's Oilers all the time. I loved it.  Changed jobs and went away from it. But I agree with your analysis of the sport.  Your post took me back to the 80s. 

[Longfellow]

I'd watch hockey all the time if I could go watch games live. It's like soccer, I just don't like it as much on tv

[dc24]

I got into it a little bit when I was a kid. I pretty much watched everything, but Seattle didn't have a team so I wasn't as interested. I liked the San Jose Sharks though and I usually tune in to watch some of the playoffs every year. Since Seattle is getting a team I may get a little more interested, especially since they still haven't gotten a NBA team back. But I'm definitely just a casual fan, if you'd even call it that.

When I was still living in Jonesboro, there were quite a few Blues fans, and I'm sure that's only grown since they won the Stanley Cup last year. I was actually going to go to a Blues game last year, but changed jobs and had to cancel those plans. I hope to get to one in person one day and see how it is.

I'm actually in a fantasy hockey league this year too and doing fairly well in it. A guy I'm in a baseball league with needed another guy and I just said sure, haha.

[beach bum]

Thanks for all the input guys... Glad there are at least a handful of guys on here that know the sport.

To rattler those 80's Oilers teams were offensive mastery at its finest. Even more than just Gretzky too. They are currently a really young team now that scores a lot of goals. But their defense stinks.

And I agree with you Longfellow, if we had a team to watch in person it would be so much better. The speed is unreal in person.

To dc24 I am really excited about Seattle getting a hockey team. Rumored name is the Seattle Kraken but that is not official. Some people think this may now attract NBA to Seattle with the new arena being built. Seattle deserves a basketball team as well again. And about the Blues they have a real shot to go back to back again. The West is not as strong as the East so the Blues have an easier path than teams like the Capitals, Penguins, Lightning, and Bruins in the brutal East. The Blues kind of stand out in the West right now.

[RATTLER43]

Gretzky, Messier, Kurri, Coffey, McSorley, Tikkanen, Lowe.  Plus Moog and Fuhr.  Pure greatness around the Great One.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.   Changed the face of the league as offensive prowess became preferred over slow thuggery (although a good scrap was/is always enjoyable). Nobody could deny the skill and athleticism once they watched that Oilers team.   

[dc24]

Thanks for all the input guys... Glad there are at least a handful of guys on here that know the sport.

To rattler those 80's Oilers teams were offensive mastery at its finest. Even more than just Gretzky too. They are currently a really young team now that scores a lot of goals. But their defense stinks.

And I agree with you Longfellow, if we had a team to watch in person it would be so much better. The speed is unreal in person.

To dc24 I am really excited about Seattle getting a hockey team. Rumored name is the Seattle Kraken but that is not official. Some people think this may now attract NBA to Seattle with the new arena being built. Seattle deserves a basketball team as well again. And about the Blues they have a real shot to go back to back again. The West is not as strong as the East so the Blues have an easier path than teams like the Capitals, Penguins, Lightning, and Bruins in the brutal East. The Blues kind of stand out in the West right now.

I'll definitely follow the NHL more once Seattle has its team. Yeah, I'm hoping the NBA comes back to Seattle soon. I used to love watching the NBA, but I don't follow it nearly as much as I used to.

[1-Adam-12]

I have followed the Blues since 1973 and it was so "Gloria"-ous when they finally won that Stanley Cup after all this time.

Did you hear about the Carolina Hurricanes winning a game in Toronto last week with a 42-year-old emergency goalie between the pipes? The guy is a practice goalie for the Leafs and drives the Zamboni for their minor league affiliate.  Both their regular goalies got hurt by midway of the 2nd period. 

[1-Adam-12]

Stanley Cup playoffs started last night with a history making game.

Tampa Bay beat Columbus 3-2 in 5 overtimes, the fourth longest game in the history of the league.

The Columbus goalie made 85 saves, which is the most in the modern era. There was a goalie who made 92 saves in a playoff game in 1936.

The game went so long, they had to postpone the Boston-Carolina match, which had been slated to start at 8 o'clock last night, to 10 o'clock this morning.

[bleudog]

I don't really follow NHL but there was a "minor" league team in Shreveport at one time (now I think what they have is best defined as a youth semi-pro team) and I'd go to some of their games.  Hockey is definitely a game that TV doesn't do justice.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching the games in-person even though the talent level was below NHL.  The athletic ability of hockey players is amazing.

[1-Adam-12]

The one hockey game I've been to was a preseason game between Dallas and Nashville at Barton Coliseum. It was a great experience.

I got the autographs of Brett Hull and Sergei Zubov of the Stars; I got to see where the players sharpen their skates, and one of the Stars players asked me what time it was just before he took the ice.

My team is the Blues and I was so happy when they became Stanley Cup champions for the first time last season.  I have not yet made it to watch one of their matches but it is certainly on my bucket list.

[beach bum]

The 4th longest hockey game ever was yesterday in round 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Went about halfway through the 5th overtime before a winner was decided. They almost played 3 regulation games in one night how long it went.

[RATTLER43]

Stanley Cup playoffs started last night with a history making game.

Tampa Bay beat Columbus 3-2 in 5 overtimes, the fourth longest game in the history of the league.

The Columbus goalie made 85 saves, which is the most in the modern era. There was a goalie who made 92 saves in a playoff game in 1936.

The game went so long, they had to postpone the Boston-Carolina match, which had been slated to start at 8 o'clock last night, to 10 o'clock this morning.

Absolutely amazing!  85 saves....

[VHSCoach2]

Had a plan to watch the Stanley Cup Playoff marathon all day on NBCSN, but got called into work this morning at 9:30. Home now to see the rest of the games.

[beach bum]

A lot of experts have tabbed the Colorado Avalanche as the favorites and today's performance I can see why. The Arizona Coyotes only got 13 shots on target compared to Colorado's 38 right now. That was a dominating defensive effort. Their physical play and defense is very good, plus the layoff actually allowed their team to heal up cause they would have been banged up with injuries going into the original April and May playoffs.

[beach bum]

Updated playoffs... I'll try to do this every couple days at least.

West:

Vegas Golden Knights leads Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 in the series

Vancouver Canucks 1-0 over Saint Louis Blues (game 2 about to start)

Dallas Stars and Calgary Flames tied 1-1 (they play game 3 around 9:30)

Colorado Avalanche up 2-0 over Arizona Coyotes

EAST

Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers tied 1-1 in series

New York Islanders 1-0 over Washington Capitals (they play around 5:30 or 6)

Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricans 1-1 in series

Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning tied at 1-1

[beach bum]

3 of the 4 teams in the conference finals will be from non traditional hockey markets setting up a strange conference finals.... Vegas, Tampa Bay, Dallas, and New York Islanders are the 4 left. Even the Islanders play second fiddle to the Rangers in the NY metro area as a brand. I will say Vegas and Tampa have created a pretty nice fan base in non traditional markets.


Eastern Conference: Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Islanders

Western Conference: Vegas Golden Knights vs Dallas Stars