Well the playoffs, thus far have been great! The first round was tremendous with so many story lines not only for the die hard hockey but for the casual one as well. As far as story lines for myself go, all of my former teams have been eliminated and there is one Canadian team still standing, the Montreal Canadians, but as I have said many times, it’s hard to cheer for them, a sentiment shared by many up here in Canada.
So moving forward, who am I going to cheer for in the second round? I think that might show through in my choices to move on to the third round, once again no science behind my selection.
LA Kings vs. Anaheim Ducks – I’ll go with LA, not because they are up 2-0 already but because they have a great story with their first round series win.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Minnesota Wild – The Blackhawks simply because I like their coaches. Joel Quenville (head coach) and Mike Kitchen (asst. coach) are 2 great guys and even better coaches. I love it when the good guys are successful.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. NY Rangers – I’ll take Pittsburgh, I like Crosby and the Rangers beat the Flyers. So far, though, this series is boring.
Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadians – tough call, from a pure hockey sense but Boston is better than Montreal, the Bruins should win. This series has so much history behind it, the games are intense from the ice, to the bench, to the fans in the stands – it is non-stop action right from start to finish. Two story lines here: the fact that Montreal is last Canadian team left but there is a lot of sentiment for Jerome Iglinla to win his first Stanley Cup, a lot of hockey fans up here in Canada will be cheering for him ahead of Montreal. I am picking Boston, because just like me, Jerome was captain of the Calgary Flames – I know a little corny but who cares.
A lot of people always ask me, what game of a seven game series is the most important? Well the answer to that question is not as easy as saying that “they are all important… - you can make a case for any type of scenario. Some would say that game one is the most important; that as a team you have to set the tone for the series etc… but is game one more important for the home team or the road team? Personally, I always liked starting on the road, you could quite often steal a victory. There’s a lot of pressure on the home team for game one. Some would say that game two is the big one because you as a team are either ahead in the series 2-0 or the series is tied at one game apiece. The discussion can go back and forth with, as I said, a case being made for each scenario. Game four, I think is huge, simply because the series is now one of two scenarios, tied at two games a piece and the possibility of a long drawn out series or one team has a huge upper hand and leads the series three games to one.
Does the home team have an advantage in the playoffs? Well the answer to that question is yes! I will say that I don’t think that it’s as big as factor as it once was. All the rinks are basically the same now. It was not that long ago that many NHL buildings were different – Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Philadelphia to name a few, some teams could not play in these buildings, so home ice was big, it was intimidating, it was uncomfortable for the opposing team. The rinks now are sterile, everything is the same so there is no reason for the players to be uncomfortable or for that matter intimidated. Without going back over the games from round one (I’ll leave that to someone else) there were quite a few victories by the road team, including game seven wins by LA and Minnesota.
So onto game five, six and seven. This is when every series gets real exciting, because each of these games are elimination games (game 5 isn’t always one but quite often it is). To sit on the bench during one of these games is something else because there is so much at stake. Are you moving on to the next series or are you golfing the next day? I really do not know any player that actually went golfing the next day after being eliminated but it is accepted as the term used for a team that is on the verge of elimination. During the regular season there is a tremendous amount of pressure to play and to perform. That same pressure is there during the playoffs as well but in an elimination game, the pressure and the emphasis on each player to rise to the occasion is far greater. The elimination game can make or break a player – he either has it or he doesn’t. The pressure of making a mistake that will eliminate your team is huge and therefore some players never hit stride in these types of games. The fans never forget the mistakes or the lacklustre performances that happen in the elimination games.
The elimination game takes on a life of its own with both teams saying all the right things leading up to it. A game five elimination game is different than a game six or seven elimination. I’ll stay away from the game four elimination game, it happens so infrequently plus I was never in that position – wait a minute we (the Flames) swept the Chicago Blackhawks back in 1980. I just remember going into the game that the Flames had never won a playoff series, so the excitement about getting it done for the first time just added to the sense of urgency. If you are behind in the series, the game five elimination game is a tall order, you have to win three straight games, yes it has been done but it is tough. The start of the game is crucial, everybody has to make their first shift their best one of the night. You have to put yourself in a position to win the first five minutes of the game, a tie at the very least will do. You cannot fall behind in an elimination game, if you do fall behind the mind starts to wander and when this happens you are done. Win the first five minutes, put it behind you and then move onto the next five minutes, so really you are playing four, five minute periods. The feeling is much different for the team that is up in the series, yes they want to win but there can be the sense that – oh well, we will get them next game.
Game six is far different than game five because both teams are thinking about game seven. One team is thinking about winning game six and forcing a game seven and the other team is thinking about not wanting to lose game six because they don’t want to play in a game seven. This mind set is unique because the team that is thinking about winning will be playing the game in overdrive, while the other team will be playing safe. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to guess which team will have the better chance.
As I pointed out in last week’s blog, there are no guarantees in game seven’s - all bets are off. No team has the advantage and anything can happen. Game sevens are fun, they’re exciting but the lead up to them is what really makes them unique. The roller coaster of emotions that a player and a team goes through is truly amazing. That is why it’s not always the team with the best system or the most talent that wins in the playoffs. It is the team that enjoys the ride the most.