I Hate Them All
With the Flyers season over, the focus shifts to other teams that are still in the hunt. If you poke around the Fansided network, you’ll see plenty of bloggers choosing other teams to root for once their own squad is out. Not here, not me. I don’t have a second favorite team. I don’t have any other allegiances. I love the Flyers, and only the Flyers. Still, I am a hockey fan and still have an interest in who wins.
Since I’m not actually cheering for anyone, I think the best method is the process of elimination. Even though Boston eliminated us, and they are a rival, I don’t really have much hatred for them. I don’t have too much against any of the other teams either. So with that, I think the best way to go about it is to hope for the most exciting teams to make it.
Tampa Bay Lightning
They have a lot of talent up front, which should make their games pretty exciting. Except for the fact that they play one of the most boring traps in hockey. They literally sit in the neutral zone and wait, letting other teams play keep away in their own zones. This…is…BORING! You slow down the game and make it completely unwatchable. The best strategy another team can do is to hold the puck, wait until somebody finally chases them, and then move up. Still, TB fans start booing when teams play like this. I ranted about this before so I don’t want to get into it too much. But I have a special hate for teams that don’t try to make the game fun to watch.
Boston Bruins
They play solid defense, and they attack as best as they can. They don’t mind throwing their weight around either. Still, any team with skill AND desire could dominate them. Aside from Chara and Lucic, they’re not a particularly large team. So they can throw all the hits that they want, but it’s not enough if whoever plays them can push back. Overall, that leads to some fun games if teams are beating the crap out of each other. If Boston does have room to operate their offense, then they do have some guys that can score. Overall, not a bad team, and it can play a pretty exciting brand of hockey.
Detroit Red Wings/San Jose Sharks/Vancouver Canucks
Stars? Check! Depth? Check? All of these teams rely on puck possession, pressure, pressure, and pressure. They can light the lamp, and they can all shut other teams down. The best part is that they are all fast, skilled, and exciting as hell to watch. When the playoffs just started I was completely blown away by Vancouver. I rarely get to see them play, and watching them when they are on their game is a treat. The Sharks and Wings have been dominant for years, and also roll line after line of skill players.
In the end, I think Vancouver is the deepest and most fun. We’ve seen the Wings win plenty of times. San Jose is a step below, and it’s kind of fun to bash them for choking in the playoffs. But if they managed to pull it off, I wouldn’t mind that either. From a pure hockey fan angle, any western team vs Boston would make for the best scenario in the finals.
Anyway, I’m off for vacation tonight, and I’ll be back on the 21st at night. So check back on the 22nd or 23 for something new, whether it be Flyers related or some other hockey gibberish.
Thanks for reading!
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