[Sport] NHL playoffs 2012: preview
The NHL ice hockey playoffs started yesterday, and it looks like being a good year for the Stanley Cup. There are some familiar faces in there, but also some surprises.
The Vancouver Canucks won the President's Trophy again, so it's no surprise that they're in the playoffs. Last year they won the trophy, made it to the final, and lost. That sparked riots in Vancouver (lolwut Canada?), so it'll be interesting to see how they fare this year. Personally I'm a bit of a fan of the team, and you've almost got to feel that they deserve it. They continue to win the President's Trophy year after year, but as far as I'm aware have never won the Stanley Cup itself. I'm sure it's only a matter of time, so maybe this year will finally be their year?
The cup winning teams from the last four years are all in there too (2011 - Boston Bruins; 2010 - Chicago Blackhawks; 2009 - Pittsburgh Penguins; 2008 - Detroit Red Wings), so the competition is fierce. Of the remaining teams, the Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals, and San Jose Sharks are all fairly regular visitors to the playoffs. The Predators in particular are looking good this year. Also, it's great to see Sidney Crosby back on the ice for the Penguins, and playing well, after his concussion last year and the long recovery that he had to go through.
Then there are the two teams that I was really surprised to see in the playoffs. Admittedly I've not been following the main season of the NHL this year, so I'm going on past form, but still. The Florida Panthers? o_0 The St Louis Blues? Really? Wow. It seems that both of these teams won their divisions, so they definitely deserve to be in there, but somehow I'm still surprised. I suppose part of it with Florida is that, well, they're from Florida. Ice hockey isn't exactly the first thing that springs to mind when you think of that state. I think it's a testament to the strength of the college draft system that all four of the major American sports run that teams like the Panthers can go from having an average year to a really good one. That balancing act of giving the poorer-place teams from the end of the year the pick of the new talent really does seem to its job of keeping all of the teams reasonably closely matched. Sure, there are always teams with more money to spend, or the heritage to draw in the best players, that tend to feature year-in, year-out (see the list of previous championship winning teams in the playoff,s for example). But the combination of the draft, and the playoff system itself, means that young, less fancied teams still have a chance.
With three games down there's already been one upset. Good thing each round is best of 7 eh Vancouver? I really hope that I'll be able to catch some of the games live on television, but even if I can't I'll be following the 2012 Stanley Cup with great interest.
The Vancouver Canucks won the President's Trophy again, so it's no surprise that they're in the playoffs. Last year they won the trophy, made it to the final, and lost. That sparked riots in Vancouver (lolwut Canada?), so it'll be interesting to see how they fare this year. Personally I'm a bit of a fan of the team, and you've almost got to feel that they deserve it. They continue to win the President's Trophy year after year, but as far as I'm aware have never won the Stanley Cup itself. I'm sure it's only a matter of time, so maybe this year will finally be their year?
The cup winning teams from the last four years are all in there too (2011 - Boston Bruins; 2010 - Chicago Blackhawks; 2009 - Pittsburgh Penguins; 2008 - Detroit Red Wings), so the competition is fierce. Of the remaining teams, the Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals, and San Jose Sharks are all fairly regular visitors to the playoffs. The Predators in particular are looking good this year. Also, it's great to see Sidney Crosby back on the ice for the Penguins, and playing well, after his concussion last year and the long recovery that he had to go through.
Then there are the two teams that I was really surprised to see in the playoffs. Admittedly I've not been following the main season of the NHL this year, so I'm going on past form, but still. The Florida Panthers? o_0 The St Louis Blues? Really? Wow. It seems that both of these teams won their divisions, so they definitely deserve to be in there, but somehow I'm still surprised. I suppose part of it with Florida is that, well, they're from Florida. Ice hockey isn't exactly the first thing that springs to mind when you think of that state. I think it's a testament to the strength of the college draft system that all four of the major American sports run that teams like the Panthers can go from having an average year to a really good one. That balancing act of giving the poorer-place teams from the end of the year the pick of the new talent really does seem to its job of keeping all of the teams reasonably closely matched. Sure, there are always teams with more money to spend, or the heritage to draw in the best players, that tend to feature year-in, year-out (see the list of previous championship winning teams in the playoff,s for example). But the combination of the draft, and the playoff system itself, means that young, less fancied teams still have a chance.
With three games down there's already been one upset. Good thing each round is best of 7 eh Vancouver? I really hope that I'll be able to catch some of the games live on television, but even if I can't I'll be following the 2012 Stanley Cup with great interest.
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