Why Hockey is the Greatest Sport On Earth

Posted by Dan Cafiero.

The NHL deserves a lot more respect than it gets.

As a sports fan, I tend to think that the “Major” sports leagues in the United States are the NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA and MLS, in no particular order. However, I think it is apparent that the NHL is not even close to the others when it comes to recognition by sports fans across the country as well as the media. Being a hockey fan myself, it is hard to come up with any arguments against the NHL. In that case, here are my arguments for it.

The Fans. I can tell you that every fan of the NHL is a die-hard fan. Whether you are a Blackhawks fan, Redwings fan, Islanders fan or a Rangers fan, those fans have one thing in common, and that is the sport of hockey. It seems like the fact that hockey is not as popular as other sports; you have a stronger bond with other fans. I see Yankee hats everywhere I go in the world and don’t think anything of it due to that fact. When I see somebody wearing an Islanders or Rangers hat, I feel like I automatically have a connection to that fan because there is not that many hockey fans out there. The passion in hockey fans is at a level that no other sport can match.  I know many people who are Jets fans but want the Giants to win every week because they “play in New York too”. That is unheard of in the NHL, lets stick with New York here. I have never met an Islanders fan that would ever want the Rangers to even sniff anything that rhymes with success unless it benefits their beloved Isles. Is this because of the rivalry between the two? Which brings me to my next argument.

The Rivalries. The Rangers and Islanders play each other at least 6 times in an 82 game season every single year and are competing against each other for a division title. (Yes, I know the Islanders aren’t exactly competing for the Atlantic Division but that is not the point here) The Yankees, Mets, Jets, Giants and Knicks don’t have that kind of rivalry in their divisions, given the NBA only has one New York team. Now I am in no shape or form taking anything away from the rivalries these teams may have with other divisional teams such as the Red Sox and Yankees. Boston and New York is probably the greatest rivalry in sports and probably will be forever and we are starting to see it grow into other sports as well. The Giants beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl turned out to be more of a New York beating Boston than anything else. The only problem with the NFL is that it is hard to create rivalries when the playoffs are single elimination. Some of the most heated rivalries in the NHL have been formed in the playoffs because of 7 game series, and that ladies and gentleman, may be the single greatest thing in hockey.

Playoffs? Yes I am talking about playoffs, the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For those of you who are not aware of the playoff format of the NHL, I will explain. A total of 16 teams make the playoffs (Top 8 from each conference) The three division winners from each conference are seeded 1-3, the order is determined by number of points earned during the regular season. Unlike the MLB and NFL, there is no Wild Card. Those teams with next most points in the conference are seeded 4 through 8.  Once the final standings are set, #1 plays #8, #2 plays #7, #3 plays #6 and #4 plays #5 in the quarterfinals round. The teams are reseeded after every round, from the quarterfinals, semi-finals, conference finals and the Stanley Cup Finals. The winners from each conference finals meet in the finals to determine the Stanley Cup Champion. If you win the division in baseball, all you need to do is win 3 games and you are already in the league championship series. In the NHL, a team needs to win 8 games just make it to the conference finals and may have to play 14. That is why the Stanley Cup is single handedly the hardest trophy to win in all of sports. The toughness it takes, physically and mentally, to win the Cup is second to none. Which brings me to my best argument of them all.

The Players. I just want to say that all professional athletes, regardless of the sport, are spectacular at what they do and nobody can take that away from them, as I would love to play a sport for a living while making millions of dollars and I am sure you would too. However, in my own opinion, hockey players are the greatest athletes on this planet and I will tell you why. The ability to play hockey at all, not just professionally, has more requirements than any other sport. Basketball is just a bunch of 6 foot 9 men dunking on a 10-foot hoop while making SportsCenter ‘s Top 10 plays the worst segment of any show on television. So, if you are one to ask how hard could hockey possibly be, well, I’ll let 3x Stanley Cup Champion, Brendan Shanahan answer that.  “I don’t know, you tell me. We need to have the strength and power of a football player, the stamina of a marathon runner, and the concentration of a brain surgeon. But we need to put all this together while moving at high speeds on a cold and slippery surface while 5 other guys use clubs to try and kill us. Oh yeah, did I mention that this whole time we’re standing on blades 1/8 of an inch thick? Is ice hockey hard? I don’t know, you tell me.” 

Yes, Drew Brees can throw a football 80 yards into his receiver’s hands in stride. Yes, Shaquille O’neal stands at 7’1 and can still magically manage to get a ball inside a hoop 3 feet over his head. Yes, Prince Fielder is 5’11 and 275 pounds but is still good at what he does. But when you can step on the ice, not on shoes, but a blade just 1/8 of an inch thick, skate as fast as an Olympic speed skater, shoot a puck 108.8 mph, block those 100+ mph shots with your face and get stitched up on the bench so you don’t miss a shift, have the endurance to play 25 minutes every game at 110%, have the strength to fight off hits from 6’5, 230 pound defensemen coming at you at full speed, and the physical and mental toughness to play an 82 game season and win 16 playoff games to win the Stanley Cup, you are a hockey player.  If you don’t appreciate these athletes for what they do or refuse to have any respect for the game of hockey, well… it's your loss, because you are truly missing out on the greatest sport in the world. 

Nabby on the Rise

Posted by Dan Cafiero.

Nabokov coming in clutch as Isles shoot for a playoff spot.

Evgeni Nabokov stops Flyers’ Wayne Simmonds in the shootout (February 7th, 2012)

The New York Islanders have strung together a few wins in their last 10 games (6-2-2) and John Tavares is not the only reason why. The goaltending has been nothing short of remarkable as of late, thanks to Evgeni Nabokov. In his last 9 games, he is 7-2 while stopping 254 of the 266 shots he has faced. That is good for a GAA of 1.33 and a SV% of .955, he also has 2 shutouts to add to these ridiculous numbers. Now for those of you who don’t follow the Islanders as closely as others and think he has had an easy schedule over this hot streak, think again. He beat the Flyers twice in Philadelphia including a 45 save shutout on February 7th and made 41 saves in a 4-1 win on January 19th. He also shutout Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals at the Verizon Center on January 17th and defeated the Detroit Red Wings, stopping 23 of 24 shots in a 5-1 win in mid January.

Nabokov’s confidence is higher than it has been all season and the Islanders need it to be if they are going to have a chance of making the playoffs. With arguably their best defenseman, Travis Hamonic, out for a few weeks with facial injuries, goaltending is going to be crucial for the Isles. They will more than likely stick with the hot goaltender in the coming weeks as they look to continue to make their way up the standings.