DGS49
Diamond Member
I'm not a hockey fan, but I read the headlines and an occasional story on my local team, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
As an outsider I just wonder if the insiders are aware of a fact that seems incredibly obvious to me: there are two realities in Hockey. The first reality is the "regular season." The players enjoy playing hockey and the fans enjoy watching it, but for most of the teams it really doesn't mean much. 80% of the teams either definitely will get into the playoffs or definitely won't get into the playoffs, so they just go through the motions for most of the season. The results don't really matter. The teams that are "on the bubble," actually give a shit and play hard to try to get into the playoffs.
But "playoff hockey" is a whole different game from "regular season" hockey. It's like the difference between two-hand touch football and tackle football, in full pads. The players who can skate artfully around the rink and dazzle the fans and accumulate dozens of "points" in the regular season are almost completely throttled in the playoffs, and the referees wear blinders to the constant, obvious violations, because they know the Playoff Hockey is basically played without rules.
So a mediocre team of brutes and goons can play at least equal to a team of the most talented players in hockey. Imagine what an NFL team could do to a good NBA team in basketball if the refs ignored all fouls. This is what Playoff Hockey demonstrates. Talent can be neutralized.
So now, we in Pittsburgh await the Pens' inevitable drubbing by the Philly Flyers in the second round. Forget about the number of points accumulated in the regular season, forget that they have the best overall hockey player on the planet. It don't mean shit.
Same story, year after year. Why bother?
As an outsider I just wonder if the insiders are aware of a fact that seems incredibly obvious to me: there are two realities in Hockey. The first reality is the "regular season." The players enjoy playing hockey and the fans enjoy watching it, but for most of the teams it really doesn't mean much. 80% of the teams either definitely will get into the playoffs or definitely won't get into the playoffs, so they just go through the motions for most of the season. The results don't really matter. The teams that are "on the bubble," actually give a shit and play hard to try to get into the playoffs.
But "playoff hockey" is a whole different game from "regular season" hockey. It's like the difference between two-hand touch football and tackle football, in full pads. The players who can skate artfully around the rink and dazzle the fans and accumulate dozens of "points" in the regular season are almost completely throttled in the playoffs, and the referees wear blinders to the constant, obvious violations, because they know the Playoff Hockey is basically played without rules.
So a mediocre team of brutes and goons can play at least equal to a team of the most talented players in hockey. Imagine what an NFL team could do to a good NBA team in basketball if the refs ignored all fouls. This is what Playoff Hockey demonstrates. Talent can be neutralized.
So now, we in Pittsburgh await the Pens' inevitable drubbing by the Philly Flyers in the second round. Forget about the number of points accumulated in the regular season, forget that they have the best overall hockey player on the planet. It don't mean shit.
Same story, year after year. Why bother?
