Another Wonderful Winter Classic
by Mark D on May 12, 2011 7:02 PM EDT
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PrintIn a move that surprised no one, the NHL is pairing up the Flyers and the Rangers for the Winter Classic in Philly this year. this year. Yes, this is the 2nd appearance of the Flyers in 3 years. Yes, it appears that the roster of teams that are allowed to play in the Winter Classic is limited to the 6 teams that NBC will air on Sunday. I don't even know where to begin with these choices for the WC. Obviously I'm biased and believe that the Islanders and Rangers (hell, even the Isles and Flyers) make a much better rivalry then Rangers vs Flyers. Do you remember when the Rangers won the Cup beating the Flyers in Game 6 of the finals? Me Neither.
First off it would have made more sense to give the Flyers another year off from the Winter Classic. Since the Penguins wouldn't have been in this years classic, they could have finally had the Flyers Vs Penguins classic at the Penn State football field. Why the rivalry between the Pens and Flyers keeps getting passed up for the Classic is odd, given the hatred that both fanbases have for one another. Once again though, logic might ask why the Bruins didn't play the Canadiens, or why there has only ever been 1 Winter Classic out west?
The NHL seems to be doing what it does best, killing any joy people might have for the Winter Classic. Like watching the Super Bowl or any number of big sporting events, part of the fun is in hoping that your team will someday be a part of the action. But the choices made so far by the NHL for the Winter Classic gives the impression that for a lot of us it will never happen. Unless you have Ty Conklin or are one of the 6 pre-approved teams from NBC it's not going to happen. It's too bad, especially as rivalry games between two teams that really hate each other can bring fan excitement to an all new level. It's not just the fans either, you can get a playoff like intensity from the players when they are playing a rival.
But as the Flyers are looking at their second visit already to the Winter Classic, and hey as long as Comcast owns the Flyers and NBC, let's keep the Synergy going!
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Hold on. i'm confused.
Who’s Crosby/Ovechkin going to play for? Are they allowing a day rental? Did I miss a trade?
Crosby
Just had another setback in his recovery.
"And Campbell knows that if head-shots are eliminated, fighting must be eliminated too. Since fighting is, by definition, punching people in the head" - Quisp
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Thats crazy
This is some serious head injury…Must be scary to be in his head…Wonder what hes going through…
Blues v Isles (in KC)
Because the NHL hates Dom.
"..."
by Thaddeus Ballpheasant on May 12, 2011 10:51 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
No No
That will be a Stanley Cup Final
"And Campbell knows that if head-shots are eliminated, fighting must be eliminated too. Since fighting is, by definition, punching people in the head" - Quisp
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Heh
I know that’s the only way either team will go back there, I just know it.
First final I’d be in invested in for decades, and I’d have to miss it due to confinement in the asylum.
Lighthouse Hockey: Stay classy, my friends. Er, stay thirsty, my brother. Aw hell, whatever.
One year, one year we'll get ours.
Proud Islanders fan, the organization that iced the greatest team to ever play the game, whom won 4 consecutive cups. I'm bleeding Blue and Orange.
Let's go Islanders! Beep...Beep...Beep.Beep.Beep.
Datsyuk IS the best player in the nhl
Yeah, if this really is the drill then I'm already done with the W.C.
Same reason I so often miss the NHL on NBC Sundays.
Let’s see…teams you show every week, plus McGuire and Milbury? Pass.
Lighthouse Hockey: Stay classy, my friends. Er, stay thirsty, my brother. Aw hell, whatever.
I've never watched
An NHL on NBC during the regular season.
"And Campbell knows that if head-shots are eliminated, fighting must be eliminated too. Since fighting is, by definition, punching people in the head" - Quisp
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Depends who's playing for me.
Proud Islanders fan, the organization that iced the greatest team to ever play the game, whom won 4 consecutive cups. I'm bleeding Blue and Orange.
Let's go Islanders! Beep...Beep...Beep.Beep.Beep.
Datsyuk IS the best player in the nhl
on any given night you can guess what team is playing on National TV..
Hawk, Wings, Pens, Caps…I know there are a few more but those always seem to be on the guide…
I know there are a few more
Yup… if they are playing those teams, of course.
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on May 15, 2011 10:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, there are a few....
Flyers, Bruins, Rangers.
That’s the NHL according to NBC.
Hunter said he was just finishing his check.
I was soured on the Winter Classic the second year they put one together.
Since NBC is in control of the Winter Classic, the NHL will rarely promote any teams beyond the original six and a couple of ’67 expansions.
This game is nonsense to watch anyway. It’s all spectacle with little attention paid to hockey.
Hunter said he was just finishing his check.
agreed
It’s obvious the only reason they ever choose the Sabres was to make sure it was cold for the first one.
"And Campbell knows that if head-shots are eliminated, fighting must be eliminated too. Since fighting is, by definition, punching people in the head" - Quisp
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Plus the Bills could promise them they wouldn't make the playoffs
Hey-oh!
Seriously though, didn’t they just get done saying football sightlines work far better than baseball stadiums for this, yet they’re going ahead with it in Philly’s not-historical-in-any-way baseball stadium?
Lighthouse Hockey: Stay classy, my friends. Er, stay thirsty, my brother. Aw hell, whatever.
Well, it will be fun to watch every puck shot over the boards
go over the fence. I hate that stadium.
Proud to root for the Jets, Mets, and Islanders!!!
by CharlieIsles on May 13, 2011 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions
the first winter classic was the best.
the snow, great game, great television. ever since then garry bettman and nbc have been trying to catch lightening in a bottle. and if you know anything about how garry bettman opperates, as you can guess, he’s failed.
they are one or two bad winter classics away from irrelevance.
Visit The Cuse Connection. The Newest Syracuse University Athletics Blog at http://www.CuseConnection.com
Once again though, logic might ask why the Bruins didn’t play the Canadiens, or why there has only ever been 1 Winter Classic out west?
Ratings.
Canadian ratings don’t count in American (read: Comcast’s) numbers, and large market teams from the East draw better than those from the West—with the exceptions of Detroit and Chicago… who, you may remember, played one another in a WC a couple of years ago.
The WC is a marketing gimmick, so don’t get too upset about certain teams not getting included… or expect that they will be any time soon. There’s no rule that says that every team has to get one, and as long as they keep getting the ratings for the same old teams they’re not likely to mix it up too much.
"I have an opinion and I know you have an answer, but in all honesty if you don’t know then don’t reply, because my opinion will always be better than your answer….and if you agree then highlight your response unless you don’t know."
Canadian teams now get the Heritage classic, remember? And since theres only 6 of them they will all get a chance. The American teams, on the other hand...
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
I forgot about the Heritage Classic
So the plan is basically to never have a Canadian team in the WC now? That’s somewhat silly.
"And Campbell knows that if head-shots are eliminated, fighting must be eliminated too. Since fighting is, by definition, punching people in the head" - Quisp
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
It is...
But theres only six Canadian teams- is it fair to have 50% of them be selected for the outdoor games in one year?
Let Us Go, Islanders! (Ever notice how strange that sounds without the contraction?)
by TheMetalChick on May 14, 2011 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Like elesias said
It’s purely a TV and sponsor-scratching event — so having a Canadian team in it, even a popular one, would take a huge chunk of U.S. TV viewers out of the equation.
Lighthouse Hockey: Stay classy, my friends. Er, stay thirsty, my brother. Aw hell, whatever.
Yep
It’s too bad – because right now I imagine a Canucks-Hawks Winter Classic would provide mad ratings.
"Playin hurt, baby that don't faze me. I don't got time for pain. The only pain I've got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is!"
"You can't come in my kitchen, kick my dog, and take a box full of ballpoints! Your ass must be crazy!"
Or
Canadiens – Bruins. I’d even excuse the Bruins getting another WC just because it would be a rivalry game I’d like to see
"And Campbell knows that if head-shots are eliminated, fighting must be eliminated too. Since fighting is, by definition, punching people in the head" - Quisp
Contributor to Lighthouse Hockey not sure if I'm the Sniper or the Enforcer.
Alienating the die hard hockey fans is not how the NHL should choose to do business.
We need to show the NHL that we’re not going to accept this. Don’t watch the Winter Classic and don’t support it in any way.
The NHL doesn't care about hardcore fans...
because you’re the hardcore fan. They figure you’ll watch no matter what, and most of us do. However, they want to get new fans, and that’s why they pick the same teams over and over. They’re trying to latch onto stars, to get new fans to enjoy the game. Who exactly are the stars in this game? Lundqvist? That’s about it. At least with Washington and Pittsburgh you do have Ovechkin and Crosby.
I've stopped watching the Winter Classic.
Titling it “classic” doesn’t make it so. Beyond the first, none have been particularly memorable or classic, except if you count this season’s because that’s one of the games that took out Cindy Crosby.
Hunter said he was just finishing his check.
know what would be awesome?
I know.
June 8, 2012 - after beating the Nashville Predators in Game Six of the Stanley Cup finals, the Islanders send team captain John Tavares out to center ice to receive the Stanley Cup from Commissioner Gary Bettman.
Bettman: Oh, hey kid! Fancy meeting you here. Did you come down from Canada to watch the NHL finals?
JT: Gary, I had four points tonight. They just gave me the Conn Smythe Trophy five minutes ago.
Bettman: Heh, what a vivid imagination! Anyway, where’s the captain of the Bruins? I gotta give this thing away.
[In the corner, Colin Campbell can be overheard loudly swearing.]
JT: No, really, we won.
Bettman: Why are you dressed like an Edmonton Oiler?
Coli Crowd: [to tune of the Chicken Dance] Bettman Sucks!
JT: Yeah, so Gary, you know, we’re the Islanders…and we still have Trevor Gillies on speed-dial.
Bettman: John Tavares, please come here and get your Stanley Cup on behalf of the New York Islanders!!!!!!!!!!!
JT: Thanks, man. And seriously, we want to thank you for pretending that our entire franchise didn’t exist for the past five years unless it was time to suspend someone. Your Winter Classic was just lovely, too. Are those guys having a Spring Classic out at Bethpage Black right now? ‘Cause I think you and Versus could make some coin sponsoring that, eh? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta take this bitching trophy home to Toronto so Maple Leafs fans can remember what it looks like.
We may be in the box, but you get the penalty.
Lighthouse Hockey - a beacon of greatness on the rocky coast of sports blog mediocrity
Non-hockey scribblings at nightflyblog
by mikb on May 16, 2011 1:19 PM EDT reply actions 5 recs
LOVE IT! LOVE IT!!
We are all Islanders, even if we are in Jersey!
by Russel Ginart on May 17, 2011 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions
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1979-80
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May 24, 1980: Tonelli to Nystrom. At long last, the steady build of the New York Islanders from expansion doormat to surprise semifinalist to annual contender reaches the promised land: Buoyed by a late season trade for Butch Goring that gave the team the depth up the middle GM Bill Torrey had been seeking, the Islanders knock off the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
The victory justified the faith in coach Al Arbour who guided them from their second season to their first Stanley Cup seven seasons later. The Islanders would not be the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup, but they would be the only one capable of a dynasty.
1980-81
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May 21, 1981: This time it was much easier. After falling to "only" 91 points in the 1979-80 season, the Islanders returned to their division title tradition, piling up 110 points -- a whole 13 points over second-place Philadelphia.
Between the quarterfinals (where they beat the upstart Oilers in six games) and the finals, the Islanders reeled off eight consecutive wins -- with a four-game sweep of archrival Rangers in between. As they defeated the Minnesota North Stars in five games for their second Cup, their goal difference in the final was a combined +10.
1981-82
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May 16, 1982: Another year, another landslide title. The Islanders won the Patrick Division by a whopping 26 points over the second-place Rangers, and were seven points clear of their nearest competition for the President's Trophy, the still-not-quite-ripe Edmonton Oilers.
A first-round scare against the Pittsburgh Penguins turned in the Isles' favor thanks to John Tonelli's heroics, and a true dynasty was on its way: Past the Rangers in six games, then an eight-game sweep of the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks to run away with the Stanley Cup.
1982-83
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May 17, 1983: Not so fast, whipper-snappers. The Edmonton Oilers' steadily rising challenge for league supremacy took them all the way to the finals for the first time, where the New York Islanders summarily dispatched them in a four-game sweep. For the Islanders, the Dynasty was secured. For the Oilers, it was a powerful lesson in where talent ends and the demands of playoff hockey begin.
Four years, four Cups, 16 consecutive playoff series wins (a record that would grow to 19 until the rematch with the Oilers the following year). Mike Bossy scored 60 goals yet again, and Wayne Gretzky became acquainted with Billy Smith's crease.
