HockeyTown in February (instead of April)

Congrats to the Red Wings who just won their 21 straight home game, which is an NHL record.  During this winning streak they have outscored their opponents 80-21.  Somehow they are just 15-15-1 on the road so far this season though. 

I was lucky enough to get a chance to watch most of the game last Sunday night against the Flyers for the 20^th straight win.  The game was amazing, it was hockey how the NHL wants it to be played.  It was fast with some big hits and 7 total goals scored.  It kept me interested from start to finish, and made me realize just how much I actually like watching the Wings play. 

If you know me, you know that I love basketball.  I know a lot about the sport, love playing it, and like watching high school and college games regardless if there is a team I care about playing.  But I honestly think that if the NHL was marketed as much as the NBA it would become more profitable than the No Basketball Association.  I almost have to be tied to a chair and held as a prisoner to suffer through an entire NBA game.  I don’t really like any aspect of it.  There is very little offensive strategy besides the isolation play, I don’t think there is any defensive strategies so it shapes up with a glorified pickup game with cheerleaders and announcers.  I like analyzing the different offensive sets in college, I like thinking how I would attack the Syracuse 2-3 zone if I was a coach, I love the emotion of players like Zack Novak, I love the tradition, and I love the passion of the fans.  NBA has none of the above.  For many basketball related reasons, but also cultural, I think if ESPN renewed their contract with the NHL and spent as much time and money promoting it and showing it during SportsCenter, the sport would completely surpass the NBA in ratings and profits. 

What I saw on Sunday was a game far more exciting than any NBA game that I have seen since the Pistons beat the Lakers in 2004.  It was a mere regular season game.  The fans are more passionate, the incredible stars are more team oriented, and 1 star will never be able to dominate a  game like is possible in the NBA.  I will admit I don’t know a lot of the strategy of hockey, but I can tell you that Pavel Datysuk is as fun to watch as Miguel Cabrera bat or Calvin catch a TD pass.  I can tell you that you don’t see players with his abilities every day, and that he is an amazing hockey player. 

Congrats to the Red Wings for showing Detroit, again, that they are the best franchise in all of professional sports for the at least the last 15 years, and for letting fans realize how special this team is and how lucky we are to have them in our city.  Hopefully the fans begin to care about the Wings before the Conference Championship round in the playoffs.