"To have the opportunity against Pittsburgh should be a lot of fun," Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said. "There will be a lot of hype."
Red Wings star winger Marian Hossa even had the chance to chat it up about a rematch from last year with the media, but how this time around he will be playing from the other side.
"It's a unique situation right now, definitely this doesn't happen often," Hossa said. "I try to make the best of the situation for myself and try to help the team win a Cup."
Just like last year, right Marian? When you scored 3 goals in the 6-game final, and combined for just 11 shots in the first 4 games of the series? Let's hope you can bring your game back up to that level of play in this year's final.
The truth is that outside of Detroit and Pittsburgh, hockey fans are getting quite tired of the coverage that the Red Wings and Penguins get. At 7 pm EST on a Monday or Tuesday night, the average hockey fan would sit in front of their television set and watch some good 'ole fashioned hockey. Little did that fan know that 26% of the televised games broadcasted, the Penguins or Red Wings would be entertaining us along with Versus analysts Keith Jones and Brian Engblom. But it did not stop with regular season coverage.
In the Eastern Quarterfinal Series, Versus and NBC broadcasted every game between the Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. The reasoning that Versus would give the fans is that these two teams are bitter division rivals. Could the same have not been said about the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins, or the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks?
The media is also first to criticize any star player when he is not on his game. Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes was strongly criticized going into the playoffs because of his sour play before his friend Eric Cole swooped in and gave Staal a little extra scoring touch at the trade deadline. Staal has been put under the microscope yet again this week since he had just 1 goal and 1 assist in the series sweep by the Penguins. Also, lets not forget the Alexander Ovechkin – Don Cherry fiasco that swarmed the hockey world for weeks after Ovechkin celebrated his 50th goal of the season.
Where is this criticism of Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk? Before getting injured in the middle of the Conference Finals, Datsyuk accumulated just 1 goal and 6 assists in 13 games played. Not too shabby for a fourth-line center. Wait a second though, was he not named a Hart Trophy finalist for regular season MVP just a few short weeks ago? Well, why has he not been getting pummeled by the NHL coverage?
As a fan of the NHL (outside of Pittsburgh), one almost has to root for the Detroit Red Wings to repeat. Think about it hockey fans; how many times are NBC and Versus going to shove Crosby skating around with the Stanley Cup down our faces over the summer and next season? As hated as the Red Wings are, at least the typical hockey fan has gotten used to the images of Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom and Kris Draper skating around with the Cup. But the real question is, are you even going to watch it to begin with?
My advice to anyone who feels how I do is to turn your back to this series and enjoy your nights in a better way that suits your lifestyle. I will be watching baseball and forgetting all about the rest of the NHL season. This series is destined to be played over and over, which will keep people like Gary Bettman and Keith Jones salivating. But what does the average American or Canadian do when a rerun of their favorite show is on?
We have seen that episode before. Its the one where every stoppage there is a closeup of Crosby and in the end Evgeni Malkin just cannot find his scoring touch. Oh yea, and the Red Wings cling on to a victory, giving Engblom and Jones free-range to talk about how [random player #1] was an unsung hero. Change the channel please, I think Tatum O'Neil is on Rescue Me tonight.
Keywords: alexander ovechkin, brian engblom, chris osgood, don cherry, eric staal, evgeni malkin, gary bettman, keith jones, kris draper, marian hossa, mike babcock, nbc, nhl, nicklas lidstrom, pavel datsyuk, Philadelphia Flyers, playoffs, stanley cup, sydney crosby, tomas holmstrom, versus
Comments
Boohoo, the NHL lost a fan.
In the Eastern Quarterfinal Series, Versus and NBC broadcasted every game between the Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. The reasoning that Versus would give the fans is that these two teams are bitter division rivals. Could the same have not been said about the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins, or the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks?
You're seriously gonna throw out the Sharks and Ducks, two teams that didn't exist prior to 1991 and 1993 respectively? Over 2 Second 6 teams like Pittsburgh and Philly that battled in the ECF just a year prior? Weak game. Oh, and VERSUS IS OWNED BY COMCAST, THE SAME PEOPLE THAT OWN THE FLYERS. Why the hell do you think they picked up Flyers games while the Versus crew kept slobbering over Mike Richards?
And you think the Canadiens series wasn't highly played throughout national tv in Canada? That was all over CBC...but it would've taken a little research to find that. I successfully did more research for this comment than you did for this article. But you were forced to watch Pittsburgh and Philly...wahhhh.
As a fan of the NHL (outside of Pittsburgh), one almost has to root for the Detroit Red Wings to repeat. Think about it hockey fans; how many times are NBC and Versus going to shove Crosby skating around with the Stanley Cup down our faces over the summer and next season? As hated as the Red Wings are, at least the typical hockey fan has gotten used to the images of Nicklas Lidstrom, Tomas Holmstrom and Kris Draper skating around with the Cup.
Sounds like you just have a bias against Sid and Pittsburgh. So a struggling league (by the standards set by the 3 other major sports) would like to market arguably the best player in the game, who has a Hart, Ross and Pearson trophy and TWO trips to the Finals before he turns 22 and you're going to get bitchy? Grow up.
Noone cares that you won't be watching the Finals. I'll be watching some good hockey in the meantime. Joke.
Can't even believe I had to register to comment on this load.
Not once did I say that the NHL lost a fan; I am just saying that I am not interested in this series, much like a lot of people that I have spoken to on this topic.
The NHL can market Crosby all that they want, but where is the love for the other strong players in the league? Henrik Lundqvist does not get NEAR the exposure he deserves; why not? He is young and makes highlight-reel saves almost every night he plays. Yes, he has not seen the Stanley Cup Finals yet, but he doesn't have the luxury of a good team around him. What about Jarome Iginla? He may be boring in interviews, but so is Sid the Kid.
I am all for giving coverage to traditional hockey franchises (Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, etc.) but you cannot overlook the rivalry between Anaheim and San Jose. They do not have as long of a history as Pittsburgh or Detroit, but just watch those games in the regular season. Those teams HATE each other almost as much as anyone in the league. Who cares about how long that they've been around; they play great hockey against each other. Did you see the Thornton-Getzlaf fight in game 6? Not a great fight, but it was spirited and made for great hockey to follow. The difference between Thornton's fight and any of Crosby's fights is that Thornton didn't jump Getzlaf and vice-versa. Fun hockey to watch.
I'm glad that Montreal and Boston was broadcasted on CBC. This argument refers to Versus when it came to broadcasting. Canadian media does a good job when it comes to supporting every team. At least that is what I have noticed by watching Center Ice.
I will admit, I did not know that Versus was owned by Comcast. Still, after hearing that fact I am still reminded of Crosby AND Richards being the only players discussed in the series. Still inexcusable.
Thank you for registering to comment on this load. I appreciate the support.
I wish I had caught this sooner.
Like a year sooner, but whatever.
Tecmo is obviously another cry baby fan, and we all know that there isn't any reasoning with them people.
With them, it's Sid or nothing, and if they don't get him, the tears start flowing and the whining turns into flat out balling.
This douchetard has a lot of of nerve telling ANYBODY to grow up with that little girl attitude of his...