Rite of Spring '14: Can you fall asleep with a panic switch?

[Kramerica Industries]

Great time for NBCSN to lose its video feed...

Figures it'd be this series where all servers crash.

TSN lost the feed for game 6 and had to use the NBCSN for the entire third period.

And for someone like me, desperate to escape a world where Jakub Silfverberg's name was pronounced with a hard "J", that was completely purpose-defeating when that happened, too.

You know, I find the whole dichotomy between NBC using TSN/CBC and vice versa (well, TSN using NBC, anyway) quite interesting. I guess it's because, by virtue of broadcasting in different countries, NBC isn't a competitor of TSN or CBC, and TSN and CBC aren't competitors with NBC. NBC doesn't do it quite as much as they did in the past, but they use Canadian broadcasts all the time in the first round of the playoffs, and I know TSN used NBC for at least a few games of the Minnesota-Colorado series, as well as the 3rd period of Game 5 of LA-Anaheim because their feed crapped out.

[oddball]

Great time for NBCSN to lose its video feed...

Figures it'd be this series where all servers crash.

TSN lost the feed for game 6 and had to use the NBCSN for the entire third period.

I'm thinking the heat had something to do with this, but that doesn't excuse NBCSN's lame leaving the Montreal-Boston game for the start of the LA-ANA game only to return for the handshake of Montreal and Boston while the Ducks-Kings game was in progress. Either show the entire Boston-Montreal game including the handshake or let the viewers in LA-ANA watch their game in full. Get it right NBCSN. *smh* It's also completely inexcusable for the NHL to not set the start time for the Ducks-Kings game for 30 minutes later. There is no reason this couldn't be done. Viewers at home should not be forced to choose between to games in progress, unless one is in overtime. Whoever is deciding the start times needs to be fired.

[Funky Bunky]

Eh, wish we could've won, but y'know the Kings were going to hold serve on home ice. Off to game 7 we go...

[Kramerica Industries]

They were? Strange foregone conclusion to draw from given that Anaheim was 4-0 at Staples heading into tonight's game.

[Unocal]

History will not be on LA's side against Chicago if they win game 7.

Of the previous teams to go 7 games in rounds 1 and 2, none have won the conference finals: 1993 Leafs, 2002 Leafs/Avs, 2003 Wild, 2009 Hurricanes, 2010 Canadiens, 2012 Rangers.

[The_Admiral]

Seems like the third round has been decided rather summarily the last few years.

SO I LOOKED IT UP BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE DO. In the sixteen conference finals since the lockout, there have been three sweeps, eight that went five games, three that went six, and just two that went a full seven. The Final has either gone six or seven every year with the exception of Anaheim beating Ottawa in five in '07. Something about this round makes teams crap out.

[Still MIGHTY]

Game 7.

Son of a bitch.

Friday is going to be a torture chamber.

---

Go Ducks.

[ninersdd]

Obviously the league has to be happy having Chicago and New York in the final 4 and potentially LA, and Montreal is definitely a popular and familiar Canadian team in the States. One of these days(don't know when and it will be a long time) the Final 4 is gonna be something like Edmonton-Winnipeg and Ottawa-Florida, that would make NBC cry and be forced to show them on TV.

[The_Admiral]

I'm surprised NBC didn't pull the plug on hockey after Edmonton-Carolina and Anaheim-Ottawa. Crunch the numbers: you really can't do worse.

The time between the lockout and the rise of the new generation was a strange little interregnum in general.

[Still MIGHTY]

I'm surprised NBC didn't pull the plug on hockey after Edmonton-Carolina and Anaheim-Ottawa. Crunch the numbers: you really can't do worse.

The time between the lockout and the rise of the new generation was a strange little interregnum in general.

Let's not forget the beginning of that Sunbelt vs Northern Canada trilogy with Calgary-Tampa Bay.

The NHL has been quite lucky to get the run of Cup Finals they've had since then. DET-PIT x2, CHI-PHI, BOS-VAN, LA-NJ, BOS-CHI. (BOS-VAN: to a lesser extent, but it went seven and Boston won. LA-NJ: I think they sold it well enough, but as we reviewed early in this thread, 2012 was kind of a crappy playoffs all around.)

[Muggens]

I am so rooting for Montreal to win the cup. IN MONTREAL. So the fans can make Bettman's ears bleed.

[dbadefense1990]

I am so rooting for Montreal to win the cup. IN MONTREAL. So the fans can make Bettman's ears bleed.

Part of me wants them to win their 1st Cup in the salary-cap era. Part of me also wants them to fail to continue the Curse of Marty McSorley for all of Canada to suffer forever.

My dream Final match-up in this moment in time is Kings-Habs, revenge for what happened in 1993. Kings-Rangers would also be a sexy match-up, but not as much as the former.

But first is Game 7 in Anaheim on Friday. While the Kings and Ducks try killing each-other, Patrick Kane will invite all Chicagoans to watch the bloodbath with some beer and chicken wings on the side.

Obviously the league has to be happy having Chicago and New York in the final 4 and potentially LA, and Montreal is definitely a popular and familiar Canadian team in the States. One of these days(don't know when and it will be a long time) the Final 4 is gonna be something like Edmonton-Winnipeg and Ottawa-Florida, that would make NBC cry and be forced to show them on TV.

Regardless of Friday's outcome, NBC stuck another homer in this year's NHL Final Four. Teams from the three biggest television markets in America along with the most decorated hockey club of all time as the conference final teams? How long until this alignment sees daylight again?

And for the match-ups NBC dreads to ever see true? Well it varies, but any Cup Final involving Phoenix, Nashville or Florida is dead-on-arrival for ratings. straight-out. The other Sun Belt teams (Anaheim, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Dallas) or the current sucky teams (Isles, Sabres, Senators, Jets) will be easier to work with for NBC, but it depends on the series match-up. The die-hard hockey fans will watch, but it might not be a sale to the casual NBC viewer.

I'm surprised NBC didn't pull the plug on hockey after Edmonton-Carolina and Anaheim-Ottawa. Crunch the numbers: you really can't do worse.

The time between the lockout and the rise of the new generation was a strange little interregnum in general.

Let's not forget the beginning of that Sunbelt vs Northern Canada trilogy with Calgary-Tampa Bay.

The NHL has been quite lucky to get the run of Cup Finals they've had since then. DET-PIT x2, CHI-PHI, BOS-VAN, LA-NJ, BOS-CHI. (BOS-VAN: to a lesser extent, but it went seven and Boston won. LA-NJ: I think they sold it well enough, but as we reviewed early in this thread, 2012 was kind of a crappy playoffs all around.)

The NHL's Cup Final down period in the last decade was between 2002 (the stacked Red Wings against little-known Carolina) and 2008 (Pens-Wings I). There were lots of funky match-ups in this period, and most of the time, ABC/ESPN and then NBC had a hard time selling these games to viewers.

In terms of broad appeal to viewers, the 2003 series (Ducks-Devils) had the best plot line sell (Team Disney trying to complete their Cinderella Cup run against some demons from New Jersey), but despite playing in the two biggest TV markets in America, that series saw diminished ratings from the years prior.

2009 was in my opinion the start of the NHL's current run of great championship series match-ups. They had themselves a rare rematch of the prior year's series, with two of the most well-followed fan bases in America, it went to a Game 7, and the road team won it (ratings picked up as Game 7 progressed because of the impossible task of a road team in any sport winning a championship series Game 7, which hadn't been done since the 1979 Pirates).

In the last five years, the plot-lines involving the current generation of players have made for more juicy series to see. Cups have been won in well-known cities, the games have been really competitive and the league has reaped the benefits from growing ratings in the time.

[The_Admiral]

Obviously I would not like the Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup, though I might be able to tolerate it, and I would definitely like them to beat the Rags now that MSL made himself the cuntiest player in the entire league.

[Brass]

And Lucic threatens Weise and Emelin in the handshake line.

Get rid of that overpaid piece of garbage. If a goal celebration pissed you off, Looch, then maybe you should have dealt with it during the game.

[Sport]

And Lucic threatens Weise and Emelin in the handshake line.

Get rid of that overpaid piece of garbage. If a goal celebration pissed you off, Looch, then maybe you should have dealt with it during the game.

then he got mad when Weise told the press about it and called Weise a baby. Hey Milan, there were about fifty cameras on you during the handshake that caught you behaving like a child. Somebody was going to ask about what you said. What an idiot.

Also, it must have pained the ESPN social media person to tweet this

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/466713736108322818

[Kramerica Industries]

Obviously I would not like the Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup, though I might be able to tolerate it, and I would definitely like them to beat the Rags now that MSL made himself the cuntiest player in the entire league.

You know, this is hilarious to me. The Rangers have a Cup hero-not-turned-traitor in Brad Richards as well but now that the Rangers have secured that extra first round trade asset pick for the Lightning, most fans would rather see the Habs win this series than the Rangers. Maybe the wound is still too fresh, I really have no clue, but, yeah, people here don't like that dude very much these days.

Now that Los Angeles forced Game 7, I'm rooting for one last Game 7 road victory in this round. All due respect to the Ducks and their fans, of course; I just really want that LA-Chicago rematch.

[TorinK92]

Also, it must have pained the ESPN social media person to tweet this

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/466713736108322818

A lot of the people are saying that the NBA is obviously better because they've never seen an NHL game.

Of course, I've never had frogs legs, but I know for a fact that boiled tofu hotdogs are better.

[speedy]

Many of you hate the Bruins or just flat out hate the city of Boston for various reasons, so like many other sensible Bruins posts this will go ignored, but I digress.

In the Bruins "Modern" era (since 2008) they've made the playoffs every year. Since 2008 they have played in at least one game seven in every year. If we remove their Stanley Cup run of 2011 from the equation, here's how the Bruins fared in said game sevens.

2008: 0-1 (0-5) AWAY vs Montreal

2009: 0-1 (2-3) HOME vs Carolina

2010: 0-1 (3-4) HOME vs Philadelphia

2011: N/A

2012: 0-1 (1-2) HOME vs Washington

2013: 1-0 (5-4) HOME vs Toronto

2014: 0-1 (1-3) HOME vs Montreal

That's 1-5 overall, a very tolerable 0-1 on the road, but an in excusable 1-4 at home. The one win, coming as we all know against a Toronto squad that the Bruins really had no business winning. They've been outscored 21-12 in those game sevens.

When do people start to realize this team just isn't built for the playoffs? They lack the killer instinct. They don't get up for big games, and going 1-4 at home in game 7's is an insane stat. I don't know if it's coaching (probably) or lack of leadership in the locker room. They've been there before, it's a seasoned group - when do they wake up? Do they? At the end of the day, the better team won - Montreal was faster, smarter, better. Good for them.

[Sport]

Many of you hate the Bruins or just flat out hate the city of Boston for various reasons, so like many other sensible Bruins posts this will go ignored, but I digress.

In the Bruins "Modern" era (since 2008) they've made the playoffs every year. Since 2008 they have played in at least one game seven in every year. If we remove their Stanley Cup run of 2011 from the equation, here's how the Bruins fared in said game sevens.

2008: 0-1 (0-5) AWAY vs Montreal

2009: 0-1 (2-3) HOME vs Carolina

2010: 0-1 (3-4) HOME vs Philadelphia

2011: N/A

2012: 0-1 (1-2) HOME vs Washington

2013: 1-0 (5-4) HOME vs Toronto

2014: 0-1 (1-3) HOME vs Montreal

That's 1-5 overall, a very tolerable 0-1 on the road, but an in excusable 1-4 at home. The one win, coming as we all know against a Toronto squad that the Bruins really had no business winning. They've been outscored 21-12 in those game sevens.

When do people start to realize this team just isn't built for the playoffs? They lack the killer instinct. They don't get up for big games, and going 1-4 at home in game 7's is an insane stat. I don't know if it's coaching (probably) or lack of leadership in the locker room. They've been there before, it's a seasoned group - when do they wake up? Do they? At the end of the day, the better team won - Montreal was faster, smarter, better. Good for them.

Hard to say you're not built for the playoffs when you have a Stanley Cup and another finals appearance in a three year stretch. I look at that 7 year period and I see 10 series wins with 57 playoff wins. Save for Chicago that's about as good or better than anybody else right now. There's no 80's Islanders or 80's Oilers anymore. Nobody's won back to back cups since 97, 98 (though there's a good chance that ends this year). WIth league parity where it is winning consistently in the playoffs is so much harder than it used to be.

The game 7's record is alarming, but removing 2011's three game 7 wins is unfair and drastically skews the narrative. I don't see how you can just throw those out when you're talking about an entire era.

[Kramerica Industries]

I was gonna say the same thing, yeah. There's a world of difference between "1-4 with that one being extremely fortunate" and 3-4 with a Cup victory in that mix. Yes, 3-4 isn't very good still, but they played two home Game 7's and another Game 7 on the road (and Game 7 of the Cup Final, at that) and won all of those games. Maybe this is just a further reflection on the idea that Game 7 is the ultimate crapshoot. The Sharks beat the Red Wings at the Joe in Game 7 in 1994; anything can happen in that wonky decisive game.