by Dan Salem and Todd Salem (5-27-13)
TODD:
Admittedly, neither of us are the biggest hockey fans. I play fantasy hockey and do wondrously well for some reason. But that is about the extent of my hockey fandom. Nevertheless, the NHL Playoffs are spectacular. Everyone always says this, but that's mainly because it's true. I caught that Bruins-Maple Leafs game seven from round one...there are no words to properly describe the game. Wow!
Up three goals mid-way through the final period of game seven...still up two with two minutes remaining...Boston pulls their goalie and scores once...after the ensuing face-off, Boston pulls their goalie again and scores again within 30 seconds. After that, we knew Toronto had absolutely no shot at winning in overtime.
There have been other great games and other great series as well. So many contests go to overtime it's uncanny. So what is hockey doing to make the playoffs so much better than the regular season? Or, perhaps more importantly, what is hockey doing wrong during the regular season that makes casual observers not care a lick until playoff time? I have my theories.
DAN:
The NHL playoffs make for pretty amazing drama. Unlike the NHL regular season which is significantly less interesting that college hockey, the NHL playoffs nearly top the collegiate hockey experience. I'm a Boston University alumni, so I know great college hockey. What made hockey great at BU was two fold. An enthusiastic and energized fan base that went balls crazy at every game and rivalry. We hate Boston College, would chant "BC sucks" at every game regardless of the opponent, and it was awesome. Most college sports have these things going for it, but with college hockey you get extra crazy fans in a small space. Ice rinks are often intimate, with the fans smushed against the glass at ice level.
Playoff hockey in the NHL is amazing for a different reason, however. Hockey is a tough sport and hard on a player's body. Its a close second to football for brutality and bodily injury. Yet the NFL season is sixteen games and the NHL season is much, much, much longer. If I was a professional hockey player I think I might just play at 85 to 90% some nights. Not always intentionally, but always knowing I have to save my best stuff for the playoffs. I have to be healthy, I have to have energy left in the tank. I can't go balls out on a random Tuesday unless it has playoff implications. So now its the actual playoffs. Woo! I'm kicking things into high gear, giving 120% every night because now I'm playing for a chance to win the Stanley Cup, the coolest, most awesome trophy in sports. If my team wins this trophy, I personally get to carry it around for a week and do whatever my sick and dirty mind desires with it.
How can you top this? You can't and every hockey player is doubling their efforts in the playoffs. Add to that the insanity of hockey fans and their increased enthusiasm at a playoff game, and you have an incredible game and experience night in and night out throughout the playoffs. I don't think you can hope to get this level of play into the regular season. Overtime during a regular season game is a chore. No one wants that as a player. But in the playoffs? Bring it baby, bring it!
TODD:
I think you touched on the answer a bit. Obviously the crowd is more into playoff games because of the stakes. A better crowd means a more exciting contest, almost regardless of how the players are feeling. But the players are also giving a tad more in these games. How can you possibly give 100% effort on a Wednesday night in mid-January and expect to have anything left come June? It's not feasible.
But crowds wax and wane; players still try very hard during the regular season because this is their passion and they are paid professionals. The real difference between playoff hockey and regular season hockey has nothing to do with either group. The reason regular season hockey is not entertaining is because the system is designed against it's excitement. Even if said player DOES decide to give 100% effort on that Wednesdaynight in mid-January, it doesn't effect the standings to a larger degree. With the NHL now rewarding a point for overtime losses, each individual regular season game's effect on the end is so minuscule it is comical.
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