Montreal and the Penguins

Wow watching last nights games I was sure that Montreal could not win another game 7 on the road, but they did it again and were the better team. Pittsburgh came out so flat in the 1rst period as if they felt they could just show up and win the game. As goal after goal got scored against them there just did not seem to be any urgency. Finally in the second period they started to play like NHL champions and after cutting the lead 4-2 Montreal looked like they were faltering. But both teams played even in the third period, and so Montreal won. As a hockey fan I am exciting on several levels, having a Canadian team in the mix, and having a shot at having 3 of the Original 6 teams in the conference finals, if Boston can beat Philly. However for the growth of hockey for casual and non-fans this was a debacle. No Crosby, No Ovechkin, and a Canadian team means bad ratings for the NHL. Montreal seems to be a team of destiny this year, and I am also glad that a new team will be in the finals, no more RedWings or Penguins, which is also a good thing.

Montreal defeats the Capitals

It is still amazing to me that Montreal defeated Washington. Ovechkin is a great player, but he does not seem to elevate the play of his team mates the way Sidney Crosby does. But for everyone to rap him as the reason the Capitals loss, seems wrong to me. It just seems to me it all came down to goaltending, and letting in 2 goals on 16 shots seems to be where to look.

NHL Advertising

The NHL has some decent ads finally, to highlight the critical moments of the playoffs, called History will be made, you can check it out on Youtube. But some of the best ads are made by NHL fans as a parody, check out Puck Daddy's Blog for some of the best.

Ovechkin vs Crosby

Tonight Ovechkin plays Crosby tonight and as two of the best players/hated players/loved players in the NHL it is a great thing.

In the early 80s the NBA finals were on tape delay and the NBA was not really the big business sport it is today. Two players Magic Johnson and Larry Bird changed they way the game was seen and brought the game to the mass audience. The NBA used the Magic/Bird rivalry to build awareness and public interest in their game.

The NHL should do the same with Crosby and Ovechkin, two great young players who polarize hockey fans. They seemed to be loved or hated, but everyone seems to have chosen a feeling about the two.

This game between the Penguins and the Capitals should have prime time exposure, and the NHL marketing team should really be pushing this game.

Hockey players are great ambassadors of the sport, and the NHL should be doing a media blitz to grow the exposure of the league.

We had momentum from the NHL players in the Olympics, and that should have been used to continue to keep hockey in the minds of the public.

It just seems something needs to change to get hockey out of just being a niche sport with a small amount of fans.

NHL and TV

After the great buzz generated for hockey generated by having NHL players in the olympics, two things are certain. First despite the 2 week shutdown, the exposure that hockey and the NHL players got because of the olympics was worth the league shutdown. In a world of stars, getting new people to learn about Ryan Miller is huge. People learn the well known athletes of a sport and then follow the sport, look what Tiger Woods did for golf. So the NHL must send its players to the olympics.

Second after perhaps one of the greatest hockey games in quite a while for the gold medal game, many people who were not hockey fans or casual fans wanted to watch some more hockey games. The NHL needs to fix this by getting a contract with a major network to broadcast games. Versus has been great, but it is not easily available to many homes. Second, the fact that Versus cannot be watched on Directv means that people with the largest satellite TV provider cannot watch hockey on Versus. Someone in the NHL needs to step up and resolve this dispute between Versus and Directv. It would be a shame to lose all this goodwill, and interest in hockey. In a fast paced world, the gold medal game will be forgotten by the general public who move on to something else, and a great opportunity will be lost.

Protecting Hockey Players from their skates

The Orange County Register has an article by Curtis Zupke about developing a material to protect hockey players. One of our local hockey players Kozo Shimano is working on a material to reduce hockey injuries. There have been a number of freaky accidents involving player's skates. He has a material that is slash resistant, is washable, and can be used to make a players socks. Of course even if it is fully developed, Reebok has an agreement with the NHL to make all socks that the players wear. And most players would probably not want to put on another piece of equipment on, especially one that is heavy like this one is. So we will see how this develops, and hopefully something can be worked out to protect hockey players from their skate blades.

Burke and the Ducks

Well Brian Burke keeps getting the players types he likes in Toronto, by grabbing them or trading with the Ducks. It will be interesting to see if JS Giguere reunited with his goalie coach can reproduce the success he had taking the Ducks to the Stanley Cup. JS just does not seem to have the consistency that made him a premier goalie in the league. Sometimes a change of scenery helps all players involved in a trade, so maybe Blake who had been a bust in Toronto will pick up his game as well. If not the Ducks have their number one goalie in Hiller, and some salary cap relief they will need to resign Bobby Ryan.