Hockey Shrine - Lost in Skates

What is surely just a lame attempt to create interest for their website/TV show (so I guess they must be happy), one of Sportsnet’s talking heads, Mr. Brophy,  has come out in favour of limiting playoff overtime to just one period of full five on five, and then, should more time be needed, go to four on four skaters.  Now, I must say that Brophy, on TV (never read him, except today) fairs pretty well up against  the ‘whince-o-meter’: he doesn’t make one cringe nearly as much as some of those other ‘pundits’.  But now his hockey credibility has taken an irrevocable hit. It makes you wonder who’s agenda he’s really pushing here. His point of view would almost certainly meet with Mr. Bettman’s approval. Hey, bring it up now, and often enough (and continuously), and over time, before you know it the idea will gain some sort of (twisted) viability, to the point where they’ll be ‘putting it before the board of Governors’….

Now Brophy anticipates the nay-saying to his little sucker punch and ascribes it to the ‘purist’ camp.  And the upshot, apparently, of this fabulously unorthodox idea has to do with making the (NHL) “product” better and more paletable to the ….Americans. Ya, improving the product, you know, like putting a little blue comet on the puck as it streaks across your tv set.  O boy, here we go again.

Well, call me a hockey purist if you like, but it is the very integrity of the game, that games, championships and cups are won, and lost, having 6 players on each team opposing one another. The only reason the league went to four on four, in the ‘strangular season’,  is because there’s no room anymore out there! Until the NHL adopts the olympic sized rink, a rink that is already accepted internationally (and one that a lot of NHLers play on periodically), then it will simply remain the National HOKEY League. Players now are not of  Rocket Richard’s physical stature; nor of the Pocket Rocket’s; nor of any original-six teams’ players back in the day. They are, today, super conditioned thoroughbreds and there ain’t no room to move out there. (And on top of that the NHL had the brilliant idea of putting another referee on the ice just to make it even cozier.)  Time and space has been steadily and inexorably taken away….so: make the rinks bigger! Now how’s that for a non purist view?

Why play any more than one period of overtime hockey, Mr. Brophy? After 20 minutes of OT, just go straight to the shoot out! Fans (and therein included American ones) love the shoot out, right? Maybe every player could get a shot–till both goalies’ arms fall off. Brophy sites Baseball as being somehow different-extra innings being an ‘accepted’ idea of overtime for those south of the border. Jeez, if there ever was a sport that shouldn’t be allowed to have overtime play, baseball would perhaps be it.  I love baseball, by the way. But continuous, cliff hanger action? No. Baseball is strategy, working the stats and the prospect of brilliant short duration play. Nobody’s suddenly winning it in extra innings.  Someone can in hockey.  (We could remove an outfielder, say, and have only 2 playing in extra innings so hits can find the gaps. That might cut down on those 15 inning marathons in early, meaningless, May. Like  last night’s A’s vs M’s tilt.)  Some people feel hockey isn’t meaningless in May.

Overtime hockey should be played with full teams till everyone is fully bagged and that includes the viewers. If you want to stop watching and read about in the next day you can. Just like with baseball. The particular game Brophy was talking about- I beg to differ-was pretty exciting. Seeing those two elite teams, Wings and Ducks, really hammering it out like that was intense. It sets the table for the rest of the series. And should there be more prolonged overtime, well, the purists will enjoy it.

Boston vs Carolina

Hard not to see the Bruins advancing from this series, but as i’ve already committed to Carolina being my dark horse in the East, i’m thinking that the ‘Canes are indeed cabable of the upset here. Given that they’ve got a core group of at least a dozen guys from their Stanley Cup year; plus with the Coach in an ‘old-hat- new-lease-on-things’position, Carolina has an experienced working system with some added upgrades. They are good in the face-off circle; have a dangerous offense; and with Ward and a familiar bunch of faces around him in the D positions, these guys are a solid team. It just remains to be seen if they can handle the physical play of the well rested bruins. Take the ‘Canes in 7

Detroit vs Anaheim

Boy is this going to be some match up. Watch out for those Ducks! It’s going to be the first real test for the Wings in this post season. We’ll have to see how slow or fast Detroit is out of the gate in sizing up with some pretty  battle tested Ducks players. This is going to be a fairly long series, but unless Osgood (or Conklin) are awful, the Wings should have the depth to handle Anaheim in the end. Wings in 6

Washington vs Pittsburgh

Just like with the Boston series, i’m going with the ‘dawg’ in this one if only, perhaps, to see Ovechkin play a little longer into May. He is for sure the best nhl player and the most entertaining to watch. I’m very impressed, however, with how Pittsburgh has come together since the coaching change and with the addition of Guerin and Kunitz at the trade deadline. Their team play is probably better at this point than the Capitals. But just as better teams seem to sometimes struggle with lesser teams, I think the Rangers didn’t bring out the best in Washington and the Penguins most likely will. Take Washington in 7