The NHL Could Learn from the NFL

Did you see that crazy backhand goal by Michael Del Zotto of the Rangers that snuck its way through Boston's Tim Thomas a few weeks ago?  Of course you did, it was the only afternoon game on that Saturday.

Well how about that exciting shootout between Colorado and Buffalo that went through 22 skaters?  Or that great defensive win by the Panthers over the Senators where Tomas Vokoun had an 18-save shutout?  No, you probably missed those because you were watching your favorite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, get shelled by Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-1 on home ice.

The Rangers-Bruins game was broadcasted at 1:00 EST on January 9, making it the only game on between the hours of 1:00 and 7:00.  But that is when the NHL flood started; six games were played at 7:00, three games at 8:00 and three more at 10:00 or after.

What can the National Football League teach us?

On December 27 (NFL week 16), NFL fans watched a great game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens at 1:00 in which Steelers' receiver Santonio Holmes got 86 receiving yards against a tough Ravens defense, and Ravens' halfback Ray Rice amassed 141 rushing yards in a 23-20 Steelers victory.  Shortly after that game ended (approximately 4:15), NFL spectators watched in horror as American hero Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts fell to the New York Jets 29-15 to end their perfect season bid.  As if that wasn't enough, the NFL had yet another exciting game start at 8:20 between the surging Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears.  Greg Olsen's brilliant catch in the endzone during the first half led the way as the Bears squeezed out a victory, 36-30.

There is a point to this rambling about sports scores; why doesn't the NHL adopt an all-day Saturday hockey event?

Granted, the NHL does not have the coverage that the NFL has.  But with Versus, NBC and all of the various channels that carry hometown NHL games, could this dream not easily become a reality?  

To take this idea a step further, what if most Saturdays featured division match-ups for a lot of teams?  NHL fans would drool over a schedule that may look like this:

11:00 – New York Rangers at New York Islanders
1:00 – Detroit Red Wings at Chicago Blackhawks
3:00 – Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames
5:00 – Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks
7:00 – Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers

Of course, other NHL games would be thrown in sporadically throughout the day.  

With NHL Center Ice and NHL GameCenter being available to all NHL hockey fans, this could be a great opportunity for the National Hockey League to capitalize on a day that usually has lame programming throughout it during the winter months.

Even if scheduling reasons throughout the week make it difficult for the NHL to schedule division rivalry games, any professional sporting event has the potential to be a great game.  

If the NHL is looking for ways to boost their viewer ratings and possibly end this Versus-DirecTV nightmare by looking more profitable to a better network, this may be the way to go.  There is not one avid NHL fan who wouldn't love to watch a full day of hockey every Saturday before cozying up to football on Sunday.

But the NHL is the only organization that can push for something like this.  I would not get my hopes up hockey fans.