NFL Fans: Welcome to Hockey
NFL fans, your season has ended. If there will be a next season, it’s a long ways away. So to pass time, you might as well catch up with the best sport out there: hockey.
After the Packers beat the Eagles a few weeks ago, I wanted to help Philly fans catch up with the Flyers. This will be a more generalized look into the entire league.
Who are the best teams?
In the East, it’s the Philadelphia Flyers. They have 9 guys that can score, one of the deepest defense core’s in the league, and a goalie tandem that has been solid on most nights. In the West, the Vancouver Canucks are dominating using a very similar formula of depth and skill. The Sedin twins are racking up points, and it seems like nobody can stop them.
Anybody else have a shot?
Pittsburgh Penguins are close to the Flyers in the standings, but their are starting to succumb to injuries. Tampa Bay is a big surprise this year, and could be a potential threat. Detroit also suffered a few injuries, but they’re always in the mix. San Jose hasn’t been as dominant as the usually are, but maybe they can get things in order for the playoffs (or choke, as usual). Boston and New York will be dangerous simply because of their goaltending. Anaheim has enough talent to have a surprising playoff run, as does Los Angeles.
Who’s the best player?
Well, Crosby was starting to run away with the scoring title, until he got injured at the Winter Classic. So right now the top scorer and overall best player is probably Steven Stamkos from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Is Crosby a girl?
Yes.
Rumor has it that there’s another outdoor game coming soon?
Yup, the Heritage Classic will be on February 20, 2011 in Calgary between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens.
Wait, didn’t Chicago win the Cup last year? What happened to them?
They sold a ton of players to Atlanta because of salary cap issues. They got rid of their goalie, and his replacements suck just as much as he did. Hossa and Kane have been hurt, and Toews just isn’t as big of a scoring machine as people think. Patrick Sharp has been their biggest bright spot. As of now, they sit outside of a playoff spot.
We kept hearing about some new All Star Game format. What was that about?
Well, instead of splitting players up by conference, two captains were picked and they held a fantasy-style draft. The game itself still sucked, but the draft and the skills competition were cool.
Ok. That’s all fine, but why should I watch this over basketball or something else?
Well, for a lot of reasons. Upsets actually happen, there’s a ton of violence, and it’s more about teamwork than individual players. Your championship game itself was very good. But a lot of the hype around it was a huge letdown. From Aguilera mixing up lyrics, to no really memorable commercials, to a horrible halftime show, and worst of all, 400 paying customers unable to use their seats because they weren’t safe. Our playoffs don’t rely on all that hoopla, the games themselves are rather awesome.
Hockey is my favorite sport, but it’s not my only sport. I love football very much, and I’m going to be pretty sad if there is a lockout next year. Luckily, I’ll have hockey to fall back on. For those of you who love the NFL above all else, it might be time to familiarize yourself with the coolest game on Earth, just in case.
Thanks for reading!
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