hockey night in canada* for dummies**

Hockey Night in Canada *

a fan's perspective on the NHL, though i don't claim to know much about hockey!

* prolly need some sort of trademark symbol or something, as this is the name of a show!
** and guessing those book people want credit too for the "for dummies" saying, so here you are.

Anyway, I'm not really talking about the show itself, rather the "act" of hockey night in Canada. Its hockey night pretty much every night right now, preseason is in full swing. (Preseason games are also known as exhibition games). The preseason games really don't mean anything towards points or standings for the regular season, however, they give the teams a perspective of one another, a chance to feel each other out (literally when there is checking and fighting!) before the regular season starts.

You see every year there are trades, and contract changes, then there are new players from the farm teams, and basically everything you knew about a team last year is out the window, as they are basically new again. Preseason is an re-introduction to one another.

Regular season starts on Sat, Oct 3 with 2 games in other countries - Prague, CZ and Stockholm, SE (hmm, I wonder if overall ticket prices went up to cover the costs of all these overseas games, another blog entry perhaps!) Here everything matters. Each move, each shot on goal, each penalty, each goal, each win. Points are awarded, overall standings develop, and the season continues until spring, with teams from the Eastern Conference (you guessed it, teams from the Eastern half of North America) battle it out with each other, while the teams from the Western Conference do the same.

Then the heat rises, as if the season wasn't intense enough. The feeling and the passion of the game... The desire for each player to win, not just to beat the other team, but to beat themselves, their previous all-time best. The numerous hours of practicing put to the test, and their ability to react, to respond, to adapt, to PLAY is shown. Hockey for me is a sport of great skill combined with pure raw instinct. Borrowing a line from the book "The Power of One" by Bryce Courtenay - "First with the head, then with the heart." (though the sport of choice in the book was boxing, I believe the WILL to win, is as important as the skill, though the WILL does no good without the necessary skills to back it up.)

Yes, the heat is on, because now we are into playoffs. The 8 best teams in terms of overall points from each conference play against each other in best-of-seven game series'. These 8 teams don't meet by random, the best teams play the worst teams: 1st vs 8th, 2nd vs 7th, 3rd vs 6th and 4th vs 5th - so there are four games in each conference going on. After the first round, 4 teams are eliminated, and the rounds continue until ultimately we are left with only the best team from the East and West, who will play another best-of-seven series for the coveted Stanley Cup.

And for the 2008-2009 season, here at the final round of the year, we shall see my Habs (from the East) go up against the West, who? I am not sure, but Detroit again would be a decent call. If I thought the heat was intense watching my boys kick butt during regular season, and into the playoffs, during these final rounds I will be at the edge of my seat, biting my nails, hoping to bring that cup to Montreal.

GO HABS GO!
Happy 100th!

Please, no walk of shame this year, KEEP YOUR PUCK ON THE ICE!
(Thanks RED/GREEN)

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