Maple Leafs and Ducks to meet in the Stanley Cup

Every team in the NHL has now played 36 games so it's time for another of my mid-season playoff previews. That's where I take the standings with every team having the same number of games played and simulate the playoffs based on the season series to this point, which occasionally results in some surprising upsets. I initially did this at 32 games but it was boring as Pittsburgh was so dominant in the East. Now, however, New Jersey has slipped into the 8th spot and they actually lead the season series against the Penguins. That changes everything, as you can see below. ROW is Regulation/Overtime wins, the first tiebreaker when teams are tied in points.

East            Pts     ROW
Pittsburgh      56      26
Boston          52      19
Winnipeg        38      17
Montreal        51      20
Toronto         44      20
Ottawa          44      15
NY Rangers      39      15
New Jersey      39      13

West            Pts     ROW
Chicago         58      22
Anaheim         53      19
Minnesota       44      17
Vancouver       44      15
San Jose        44      13
Los Angeles     43      19
St. Louis       42      17
Detroit         41      16

The playoffs would work like this, with season series records in brackets:

East:
NJ over Pittsburgh (2-1)
NYR over Boston (2-1)
Ottawa over Winnipeg (2-1)
Toronto over Montreal (2-1)

Yes, all four matchups in the East would be won by the lower seed.

Toronto over NJ (1-0)
Ottawa over NYR (3-0)

Toronto over Ottawa (3-1)

The Leafs win the East!

Much less intriguing in the West:
Chicago over Detroit (3-0)
Anaheim over St. Louis (2-0-1)
Minnesota over LA (1-0)
San Jose over Vancouver (3-0)

Chicago over San Jose (3-0)
Anaheim over Minnesota (3-0)

Anaheim over Chicago (3-0)

So Anaheim will take on the Leafs, who fired Brian Burke unceremoniously just before the season started. Burke is now a part-time scout for Anaheim, so if karma plays a part, look for the Ducks to win the Stanley Cup, again beating a team from Ontario.

And if you think this is all bunk, remember that back in 2011, I predicted a Boston-LA final, and those were the teams that won the next two Stanley Cups.

Update: Well, New Jersey has been eliminated, so Pittsburgh takes the East at the 45-game mark, while Chicago takes the West as Anaheim is losing the season series to San Jose at the moment.

Best,

Sean

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New Jersey Devils 3 at Buffalo Sabres 4 (SO) - March 2, 2013

OK, I've been yammering on and on about boycotting the NHL but absolutely nobody listened to me. Not even myself. When I checked the new schedule after the lockout ended, I saw that Buffalo had a home game on March 2nd, the date I would be flying from New York back to Toronto. The First Niagara Center was one of three NHL rinks where I had yet to see a regular season game, so I had a dilemma. Should I simply forgo the NHL this year, or try to find a way to get to Buffalo and cross another arena off the list. I chose the latter option and my regular roadtrip friend Sharpy agreed to pick me up in Toronto and drive me to Buffalo. Meanwhile, Andrew of the Ultimate Sports Road Trip would sell us his season tickets as he would be out of the country on a European sports adventure.

I began the day in Manhattan, took a taxi to Newark Airport, flew to Toronto where Sharpy met me and we drove to downtown Buffalo, location of the First Niagara Center, where the Sabres hosted New Jersey (who coincidentally call Newark home).

First Niagara Center



We arrived in Buffalo just after 1 pm and drove around to look for free parking, which we located about a five minute walk west of the arena near Marine Drive. Fortunately, gates open two hours early so we were able to enter the arena to get out of the freezing weather. There are several entrances into the first floor atrium, a spacious area (below) where the ticket windows and Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame are located. This is a detailed display with memorabilia from all those inducted, including Don Majkowski, the Packers QB prior to Brett Favre.



The seating bowl doesn't open until one hour before the game, so we were able to tour the main concourse and see some of the history on display such as the Blue Zone which has a good history of the Sabres (below).



We stopped by the Pour Man's Aud Club and grabbed some lunch as the Beef on Weck ($9) there is the recommended dish. It comes with a bag of chips and some pickles, so you get all your food groups. We also found a charity stand that was offering very large and very good chocolate bars for just $1, so that was desert. After our completely healthy meal, we walked around the concourse, which is quite spacious at first (below) but fills up quickly as 19,070 fans make their way inside.



We didn't do much else as we had met a friend of Andrew's and were chatting with her for most of the pre-game. So when the players came out for the warm-up, we headed to our seats and got ready for the battle at hand.

The Game

Martin Brodeur was hurt for the Devils so Johan Hedberg got the start against Ryan Miller. The Sabres had recently fired long-time head coach Lindy Ruff and were on a 2-game win streak as they tried to salvage their season. The first period was a snooze as the Devils played a typical road game, limiting the Sabres to six shots.

Things got going in the second when the Sabres scored shorthanded as Cody Hodgson won the puck on a forecheck and fed a wide-open Jason Pominville, who slapped it in from the slot. Just two minutes later, the Devils' Mark Fayne shot from the point and the puck bounced off Ryan Carter and then Steve Bernier before finding its way behind Miller (perplexed below) and the 1-1 tie.



The third period saw New Jersey open the scoring on a shorthanded marker by Adam Henrique, but Buffalo responded two minutes later when Hodgson (#19 below) again found an open Pominville streaking down the right wing. His shot was partially blocked by Hedberg, but still made it into the back of the net and we were tied again.



Near the midway point, Jochen Hecht took a shot that bounced off the side of the net. Hecht continued around the back of the cage and took a pass from Mikhail Grigorenko and fired from the other side, sending the puck in off a diving Hedberg. Yet again though, the lead was less than two minutes old when the other team tied it, this time Andrei Loktionov doing the honours to cap a great three-way passing play with Stefan Matteau (son of Devils slayer Stephane) and Ilya Kovalchuk.

The remaining 8 minutes decided nothing and neither did overtime, where Buffalo had the only two shots. This took us to the shootout. Pominville went first for Buffalo and beat Hedberg to the glove side. Kovalchuk missed for New Jersey, and when Tyler Ennis scored five-hole for the Sabres, it was up to Adam Henrique to keep the Devils alive. His backhand shot was gloved by Miller and the Sabres had their third win in a row.



After that horrid first period, both teams played well the rest of the way. Each club had one shorthanded goal, one fluky deflection, and one goal as a result of a nice passing play. Miller was just a bit better than Hedberg and earned the second star as a result. A good game to mark  my only NHL visit this season.

Notes

Even though there was no Canadian team playing, O Canada was sung. Great touch!

The Sabres logo is one of the best. I don't know why they changed it back in the mid 90s, but I'm glad they brought it back.



Both Ennis and Henrique were penalized for roughing at the end of overtime but were still allowed to shoot in the shootout. I think that if you are in the box at the end of OT, you should not be allowed to shoot. Are you listening NHL GMs?

Next Up

I'm going to visit Brampton today for an OHL game, one of the last to be held there. The team moves to North Bay next season and a CHL franchise will move in. This will be the last game of the trip, so there will be one final recap tomorrow and a trip summary after that. Check back for those posts in a couple of days.

Best,

Sean
 

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NHL Shortened Season Road Trip

With the NHL season well underway, I wondered how the shortened season would impact the possibilities of a league-wide road trip. As it turns out, it is much easier to plan a trip when teams are playing more games per month and not traveling on extended road trips as there are no interconference games. Usually it takes a couple of hours to work out a reasonable trip but this time, it took less than 30 minutes. Starting today, February 1st, the following trip takes you to all 30 stadiums in just over 2.5 months.

Feb 01 St. Louis at Detroit
Feb 05 Los Angeles at Columbus
Feb 07 Carolina at Ottawa
Feb 09 Toronto at Montréal
Feb 12 NY Rangers at Boston
Feb 16 New Jersey at NY Islanders
Feb 17 Washington at NY Rangers
Feb 18 Ottawa at New Jersey
Feb 21 Florida at Philadelphia
Feb 23 New Jersey at Washington
Feb 28 Pittsburgh at Carolina
Mar 03 Carolina at Florida
Mar 07 Winnipeg at Tampa Bay
Mar 09 Minnesota at Nashville
Mar 12 San Jose at St. Louis
Mar 14 Anaheim at Dallas
Mar 21 Vancouver at Phoenix
Mar 22 Detroit at Anaheim
Mar 23 Vancouver at Los Angeles
Mar 27 Anaheim at San Jose
Mar 28 Colorado at Vancouver
Mar 29 Columbus at Calgary
Apr 01 Calgary at Edmonton
Apr 05 Detroit at Colorado
Apr 09 Chicago at Minnesota
Apr 11 Florida at Winnipeg
Apr 14 Tampa Bay at Buffalo
Apr 15 Dallas at Chicago
Apr 17 Montréal at Pittsburgh
Apr 18 NY Islanders at Toronto

What I like about this trip is that it is nearly perfect, in that you can see nearly every team on the road exactly once. Only six teams are missed in their visiting whites, and no team is seen more than twice away from home. The San Jose-Vancouver-Calgary stretch over 3 days is the only difficult drive and you would bet a nice week in between Dallas and Phoenix.

Of course, I won't be taking this trip, but as always, it is fun to plan.

Best,

Sean

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Lockout? What Lockout?

Well, the NHL season is 10 days old and the lockout is a distant memory. My boycott has been reduced to a "give them no money" protest that is as ineffective as it is meaningless. Forgiving fans have returned to the game in droves, with record ratings and sold out rinks in many markets. The NHL won't miss my $49.99 that I normally would have spent on Game Center Live. In fact, to my eternal shame, I have been watching GCL quite often. The league has employed a brilliant marketing strategy, offering the service for free for the first two weeks of the season. I couldn't resist watching a few games and even with the limited training camps, the action was fast and furious. Hockey is the most exciting televised sport and seeing it again being played at the highest level made me feel like a recovering alcoholic offered a free beer. In this case, I reluctantly took it, had a few sips, and am again regularly late for work. In my case though, it is because the NHL games are on in the morning here in Singapore. A hockey hangover so to speak.

So now I'm considering the advantages to the shorter season. Usually by early February, the mid-season doldrums have taken over as the 82-game slog is simply too long for players and fans alike. But a 48-game sprint should keep the mail-in games to a minimum and most teams will be in the playoff race until April. With no interconference games, travel schedules will also be lighter and the Stanley Cup Final will be the first East vs West meeting of the season.

I was hoping to avoid attending an NHL game during my upcoming month in North America, but that was wishful thinking. I've already given in and bought a ticket from a friend so I can see a regular season game at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, one of three NHL rinks I've yet to add to the Quest for 400. Before that I have a week in NYC where I will probably check out the Jets and Rangers at the renovated MSG, as well as the Leafs on Long Island. In both cases, the box office is not an option, as I want to get in the building without giving the NHL my money.

So does it really matter who gets the cash, beyond me being able to write this column extolling how I am not a hypocrite? Probably not. If I buy a used Camry from you, Toyota may not get the money directly, but they get the ancillary benefits of having me drive the car and talk about it to friends. Even if the NHL doesn't get a single dime from my pocket, they will count me in the attendance figures and will also enjoy the extremely minor exposure they get when I write about the game. In fact, my failure to stop writing about the NHL is pretty much a sign that my boycott was stupidly conceived to begin with.

The only way an economic protest can work is if a majority of market participants agree to it. Most fans want nothing to do with the business side of the game and are just happy to have the chance to cheer on their favourite team for the rest of the season. Those of us who thought we could make a difference had no chance. Before the first puck dropped, I estimated that about a third of fans would engage in some sort of action to protest the lockout, but in reality the number is probably around 5% if that.

Simply put, if you want to follow sports, you have to accept labour problems on a regular basis. If you get so frustrated that you are capable of turning away permanently, more power to you. I am not that strong, and watching Matt Frattin's beautiful overtime goal to beat the Sabres this morning convinced me that it is better to forgive and forget than hold a grudge. So once again, it's Go Leafs Go! See you in New York!

Best,

Sean

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Will Fans Boycott the No Hockey League?

I received an email from the Toronto Maple Leafs telling me that the NHL has cancelled regular season games until October 24th, representing the first two weeks of the season. Ah shucks, what am I gonna do now? The answer: stop watching the NHL if and when the owners come to their senses. I was hoping to make the Winter Classic the centerpiece of my December sports road trip but with uncertainty like this, it is not worth booking the airline tickets, which I need to do quite soon, before prices rise even more. So I'm cancelling the 2012 Winter Trip entirely. The NFL season is tainted after the replacement referee debacle, the NHL is a joke, and although I enjoy the AHL, it isn't worth the 24-hour trip each way to see a few games in Providence and Hershey. Suddenly I have three free weeks and I'll be finding something more exotic to do here in Asia or maybe the South Pacific.

That is the short-term solution, but in the longer term, I don't think I will spend a dime on this league ever again. I have three NHL arenas to see as part of my Quest for 400 and I will visit those, but will be getting tickets from your friendly neighbourhood scalpers. I will avoid parking, concessions, and any other revenue stream that will see money go to the owners. Even the NHL's signature Game Center Live package will not be spared. Failure to do so will confirm that I am a stupid fan; the type that the NHL hopes will return without complaint when this fiasco finally comes to an end.

I wonder though about other fans. I think the league will return in a month or two, in time for the 24/7 series to be filmed and Winter Classic to be played. Will hockey fans again forgive a pointless work stoppage? I'm hoping that fans begin to realize that they are being played for saps by Bettman and his owners. Similar scenarios will continue to play out after every CBA expires. The NHL is being poorly run but those responsible have no reason to improve the business model, because fans keep spending their money without complaint. All I can do is be one of those fans that says "Enough!" and start spending my money elsewhere. So I am. I hope that at least one reader can do the same.

Next Up

After a sparkling three-day trip to Sri Lanka where I saw lots of Twenty20 cricket, I'm off to Japan this weekend. A friend was kind enough to offer me a sponsor's ticket to the Japanese Grand Prix, so I will be spending Sunday traveling from Tokyo to Mie to watch the race. Check back for recaps of both trips next week.

Best,

Sean

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NHL Playoff Predictions

Last year at this time, I ran a simple simulation of the NHL playoffs based on the regular season records. Overtime wins are given priority over shootout wins, and if a series is tied, the team with the better record moves on.

Here's how this year's playoffs shape up:

East

Ottawa over NY Rangers 3-1

Washington over Boston 3-1
Florida over New Jersey 2-1-1
Philadelphia over Pittsburgh 4-2

All upsets - the four favorites actually lost the season series.

Ottawa over Florida 3-1
Philadelphia over Washington 3-1

Philadelphia and Ottawa tied 2-1-1 but Philadelphia advances because their extra-time win came in OT while Ottawa needed a shootout.

West
Vancouver over LA 2-1-1
St. Louis over San Jose 4-0
Phoenix over Chicago 3-1
Nashville and Detroit tied 3-3, Nashville advances based on the better overall record although Detroit outscored them (more on that later)

The four teams with home advantage won the season series.

Nashville over Vancouver 2-1-1
St. Louis over Phoenix 3-1

Nashville over St. Louis 4-1-1

Stanley Cup Final
Philadelphia and Nashville split their two games. Nashville wins based on their slightly better overall record although Philadelphia outscored the Predators 6-5.

Amazingly, this is the same matchup as predicted last year, with Philly taking that one. As you know, it wasn't very accurate. This year will be different I am sure. Update: No, it won't.

The real NHL tiebreaker rules include goal differential, which I ignore in this little simulation. It makes no difference in the East, but in the West, Detroit would advance instead of Nashville. Vancouver would then beat Detroit (series was tied 2-1-1 and tied in goals as well, so Vancouver moves on based on better record) . St.Louis beats Vancouver 2-1-1 to make it to the final where they would beat Philly based on their win in their only meeting back in October.

My personal predictions are essentially the opposite in the East, where Pittsburgh and the Rangers should meet in the final with the Penguins moving on to win the Cup over Nashville, who will eliminate Vancouver in the Western Final. As always, it should be an interesting and exciting playoffs.

Update: My Cup picks have both been eliminated, so I give up. Truly a bizarre playoff with road teams dominating.

As for the season series simulation, it was right 5 of 8 times in the first round and 3 of 4 in the second (Philly edged NJ 7-6 during the regular season).

For what it is worth, the Kings beat Phoenix 8-7 during the season with 3 of 6 games going to overtime. The Rangers outpointed New Jersey so look for a Rangers-Kings final and a very happy NHL.

The four possible finals and the season series:
NYR-LA - Kings won the only meeting in OT, game was the season opener in Stockholm
NYR-Phx - Rangers took both games, including one in a shootout
NJ-LA - Devils took both, including one in a shootout (didn't matter, Kings won the Cup 4 games to 2)
NJ-Phx - Coyotes won the only matchup 5-3 at home

Best,

Sean

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NHL Playoff Race After 68 Games

At the end of 2011, I posted the NHL standings after 27 games, because at that time, some teams had played more games than others and it was tough to see just where they stood relative to each other. The 27-game mark is also about 1/3 of the way through the season, and I intended to post an update after 55 games, which would be the 2/3 mark. However, most teams completed their 55th game while I was on my most recent road trip and I didn't have time to do the analysis. So I've let the schedule run on a bit and am now posting the standings after 68 games played, as this makes for exactly half a season since the first post.

First, here are the points for the middle half of the season, ignoring divisional breakdowns.

East
NY Rangers      55
New Jersey      54
Pittsburgh      53
Ottawa          49
Boston          48
Philadelphia    48
Carolina        47
Washington      45
Tampa Bay       45
Winnipeg        44
Florida         43
NY Islanders    41
Buffalo         40
Toronto         36
Montreal        35

West
St. Louis       60
Nashville       59
Vancouver       59
Detroit         56
Dallas          48
Calgary         48
Colorado        47
Anaheim         47
San Jose        45
Chicago         44
Los Angeles     44
Phoenix         43
Columbus        32
Minnesota       31
Edmonton        30

St. Louis and New York Rangers led their conferences, which is not surprising as they both lead after 68 games as well. What is clear is that the West had a better top four with Detroit's 56 points enough to take first in the East. Perhaps the most interesting point is that the top three teams in the East are from the same division (Atlantic), and 3 of 4 in the West are also from the same division (Central) . I don't think it is much of a stretch to predict a Stanley Cup final between squads from these two divisions.

Toronto was only one point better than woeful Montreal during that stretch. They won 15 games in their first 27, then 15 in their next 41. See you next year.

Here's the 68-game standings, with that teams conference position after 27 games in brackets:

East            GP  W   L  OT   PTS
NY Rangers (1)  68  43  18  7   93
Boston (2)      68  40  25  3   83
Florida (3)     68  32  23 13   77
Pittsburgh (5)  68  42  21  5   89
Philadelphia (4)68  39  22  7   85
New Jersey (10) 68  39  24  5   83
Ottawa (9)      68  35  25  8   78
Washington (8)  68  34  28  6   74
-----------------------------------
Winnipeg (11)   68  32  28  8   72
Buffalo (7)     68  31  29  8   70
Tampa Bay (13)  68  31  30  7   69
Toronto (6)     68  30  30  8   68
Carolina (15)   68  26  27 15   67
Islanders (14)  68  28  31  9   65
Montreal (12)   68  26  32 10   62

West            GP  W   L  OT  PTS
St. Louis (6)   68  43  18  7   93
Vancouver (5)   68  42  18  8   92
Dallas (8)      68  37  26  5   79
Detroit (2)     68  44  21  3   91
Nashville (11)  68  40  21  7   87
Chicago (4)     68  36  25  7   79
San Jose (3)    68  34  25  9   77
Phoenix (7)     68  33  25 10   76
-----------------------------------
Colorado (12)   68  35  29  4   74
Calgary (13)    68  31  25 12   74
Los Angeles (9) 68  31  25 12   74
Anaheim (14)    68  29  29 10   68
Minnesota (1)   68  29  29 10   68
Edmonton (10)   68  26  35  7   59
Columbus (15)   68  22  39  7   51

Nothing much surprising here, there are only two spots up for grabs in the East with Buffalo going up against the Southeast teams, one of which will take the 3rd seed. Essentially Ottawa and New Jersey played themselves into the playoffs at the expense of Buffalo and Toronto.

In the West, Nashville knocked out LA, but the Kings are on the doorstep with two other teams in what should be an interesting race.

Generally though, both conferences have four stronger teams that should be fighting it out in the second round. However, note the two 4-5 matchups, both between these superior teams. The weak 3rd seed in both conferences means it is better to finish 6th than 5th, at least in the first round.

Let's have a quick playoff simulation, using the regular season series:

1st round

NY Rangers/Washington - Rangers lead 2-1

Boston/Ottawa - Boston leads 4-1

Florida/New Jersey - Florida leads 2-1-1

Pittsburgh/Philadelphia - Philadelphia lead 2-1

St. Louis/Phoenix - St. Louis leads 2-0

Vancouver/San Jose - Vancouver leads 3-0-1

Dallas/Chicago - Dallas leads 2-1

Detroit/Nashville - Detroit leads 3-2

No upsets here.

2nd round

NY Rangers/Philadelphia - Rangers lead 5-0

Boston/Florida - Boston leads 2-1

St. Louis/Detroit - Detroit leads 3-2

Vancouver/Dallas - Dallas leads 2-0

The West sees top two seeds go down.

Semi-finals

NY Rangers/Boston - Rangers lead 3-0

Dallas/Detroit - Detroit leads 4-0

Weak third seed finally shown the exit in the West.

Stanley Cup

NY Rangers/Detroit - Rangers won on March 21st, so they will be the champs!

Update (June, 2012): Nope, LA wins, just as I predicted last year! So look for the Rangers to win in 2013, assuming there is a season.

Best,

Sean

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Tampa Bay Lightning 3 at Winnipeg Jets 4 - February 23, 2012

After a day off, I returned to the MTS Centre on Thursday night to see a southeast divisional matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Winnipeg Jets.

MTS Centre

The smallest rink in the NHL with a capacity of 15,004, the MTS Centre was previously home to the Manitoba Moose, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. It was built in 2004 to replace the Winnipeg Arena, which housed the previous incarnation of the Jets.

The building was constructed on the site of the old Eaton's building, which was demolished after the retailer went bankrupt in 2001. You can find a statue of Timothy Eaton on the second floor, make sure to rub his left toe for luck.

The main entrance is at the corner of Portage and Donald and opens into an atrium where the box office is located.

You can enter the lower bowl which is immediately to the right of the ticket windows. The concourse is wide enough and you can easily make your way around before it gets too busy (doors open 90 minutes before the game). There are a couple of interesting displays: old-style Jets jerseys (below) and a tribute to the 1920 Winnipeg Falcons, who were the first Olympic gold medal winners in ice hockey.

As you walk around, you will notice the floor is directly level with the street outside. It is a bit unusual to see cars driving outside just a few feet from where you are, most arenas have their concourse above street level.

There is also a map that lists all NHL franchises and their AHL affiliates (above), great for planning that upcoming roadtrip.

I should note that if you want to tour around the lower bowl, you better have a ticket for that level as the plebes in the upper deck are not allowed to mingle with the well-to-do downstairs. I had upper level seats for both games, but on Tuesday I was somehow able to get in to the lower bowl and take a few pictures. I fully expected to do the same on Thursday but was told that this is not possible and I was "very lucky" to have had the chance during the previous game.

From the atrium, the stairs to the upper deck lead to a large lobby where pennants for each NHL team hang, displayed in reverse alphabetical order which puts Winnipeg first. At the other end of this lobby is a Game Night Stage where a band plays very loudly and not particularly well. This is also where a skybridge connects to Portage Place, a shopping centre and many fans use this route to enter the building.

Once inside the upper level, you will notice the concourse here is somewhat narrower and has far fewer concessions. I was fortunate on Tuesday to find a full-service Tim Hortons on the lower level. It sells sandwiches and donuts at regular prices and is the best stadium bargain I've found in a while. On Thursday, confined to the upper deck, the best choice was an Asian Noodle Box at $8, a relatively healthy if overpriced option with three flavours to choose from (Caribbean Pork, Korean Beef, or Thai Chicken). There is another Timmys here, but it only sells donuts and other sweets, not the more appealing sandwiches. Poutine and perogies are also available, as are the usual hot dogs, pizza, and nachos. Moxie's Bar and Grill is a full-service restaurant on the lower level but I did not try that.

The seating bowl is darkened before the game and during intermission so you can't read the free program. I don't know why they do this; the usher in my section was an older gentleman who had difficulty reading everybody's ticket.

There are a few banners that remain from the Moose, and the mascot is Mick-E Moose, so they are retaining some history. On the second level, there are some posters from concerts past as well as a few Moose players. It is strange to see Kevin Bieksa, now an enemy player, remembered in this way.

The scoreboard is a typical four-sided video board, while a single ribbon board encircles the rink between the two levels. The out-of-town scoreboard is shown here on occasion, cycling between the other games, but disappearing when ads are displayed.

I sat in the first row of the third deck and found my view to be partially blocked as you can see below. I found this to be quite annoying and wonder why they can't better design rinks so that there aren't unobstructed views from what should be the best seats. The people next to me had it even worse, forced to crane their necks whenever the play was in the other end.

Overall, I was not impressed with the MTS Centre. Preventing fans from accessing both levels is stupid and a fix needs to be found. Having obstructed views is something I expect from rinks built in the 1950s, not in 2004. There is also no free wifi, which should be an arena standard going forward. I know that the team is new and the fans are excited, but they deserve better than what they are getting here.

The Game

After watching Winnipeg on Tuesday and knowing that Tampa Bay had the worst goaltending in the league, I expected the Jets to win easily and that's pretty much what happened. Don't be fooled by the score, it wasn't that close.

Winnipeg scored two in the first period and added two power play markers in the first three minutes in the second to chase Mathieu Garon, who was replaced by Dwayne Roloson. Andrew Ladd (shown being tripped below) had three points, including his second consecutive 2-goal game.

The game then went into boring mode, with little action for about a period and a half. I managed to stay awake to see Steve Stamkos score on the PP after a beautiful 4-way passing play, his league-leading 43rd that ended Ondrej Pavelec's shutout bid with nine minutes left in the third.

Tampa Bay pulled Roloson with about two minutes to go and Teddy Purcell scored with 54 seconds left to pull within two. Tanner Glass then took a stupid cross-checking penalty for Winnipeg and Martin St. Louis tallied almost immediately to make it a one-goal game. But with only 8.9 seconds left, the Lightning didn't have enough time to tie things up and the game finished 4-3.

With the win, the Jets moved into first place in the southeast division and third place in the conference. They are playing well (4-0-1 in their last 5) and have a good team with a great goaltender. They lack that killer instinct though, as evidenced by giving up several goals late in these two games. They need one more piece to make a good playoff run; I'd be afraid to play them in the first round, especially if they have home advantage through the third seed. However, the teams chasing them have games in hand, so it will be a close race the rest of the way.

Notes

Winnipeg fans are loud and nearly all of them stay for the whole game which I really respect. Check the picture above, that's with less than a minute to go.

However, they complain about every single call against them. At one point, Tim Stapleton put his stick in the feet of a Lightning skater who fell. The ref raised his arm to signal what was clearly a penalty and the place erupted in boos. The reverse is also true: when a Jets player falls and no penalty is called, the catcalls rain down. This happened during both games I attended and began to drive me nuts near the end of this one,. Look, I've seen lots of hockey and it is normal for fans to rag the officials, but this is too much. I know it has been 15 years since you had the NHL, but get used to it, sometimes your team commits penalties too!

Next Up

I'm driving back to Regina tomorrow to check out a game between Moose Jaw and the Regina Pats. There's just three more hockey games (all of the WHL variety) on the Canadian portion of the trip, with over 800 miles to drive to get to them all, so it will be a busy weekend. I'll try to keep the updates coming, so check back regularly.

Best,

Sean

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Philadelphia Flyers 5 at Winnipeg Jets 4 (OT) - February 21, 2012

In 2010, I saw two NHL games in Atlanta, and it turned out those would be the last NHL games I would see there as the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg this past off-season. It's great to have another team in Canada, but damn, I miss that Atlanta option, with $15 tickets and 75F weather. Now it costs $75 to sit in the upper deck and 15F outside.

Tickets to the Jets are difficult to obtain on TicketMaster, with only singles left for public consumption after those who win an early-bird lottery get their fill. Back in January both this game and Thursday's Tampa Bay battle went on sale at the same time. I picked up a good seat for the Tampa tilt but by the time I checked on tickets for the Philly affair, there were no reasonable choices left. So I was ticketless when I arrived at the MTS Centre last night about an hour before game time.

There was a line waiting for tickets to be released and I dutifully took my place at the end with about 20 people in front of me. Another gentleman joined the queue behind me and I determined he was also looking for a single. After a couple of minutes of waiting and realizing the line wasn't moving, a guy came in and asked me if this was the line to buy tickets. I replied in the affirmative and then he pulled out a couple and said he was looking to sell. I asked him how much and he said $150 to sit in the first row in the upper deck. Yikes, too much for me, but it turned out he wanted that for both tickets, in other words, face value. He wasn't willing to sell a single so I casually asked the guy behind me if he wanted to buy one. He was no dummy, and we quickly forked over the cash and were given the tickets, which were not of the bland TicketMaster variety but cool season tickets. Sometimes it pays to be at the back of the line.

The seats were actually in the third row, but there were no rows in front of us as that area was reserved for handicapped patrons. The view was not bad as you can see above.

The Game

I normally review the venue but I entered late and spent most of the warmup talking to Sharpy, who would be enjoying his last game on the trip as he had to return to work. So I'll post more details about the MTS Centre after Thursday's game.

These teams had played three times already with Winnipeg taking every game, including an 8-7 encounter late last year. The Jets were tied with Toronto for the final playoff spot in the East, so it was difficult cheering for them, yet I could not root for the abhorrent Flyers either, so I was just hoping for a good game. Boy, did I get it.

The starters were Ondrej Pavelec (above) and Ilya Brzgalov (below), who made some disparaging comments about Winnipeg during the off-season and is consquently rather disliked by the fans here, who chanted Ill-ee-aa! Ill-ee-aa! derisively throughout the evening. If you've been following hockey at all recently, you'll know the Flyers have had goaltending problems for years and this season is no different as Bryzgalov has struggled of late. He hasn't lost his sense of humour though, after the game he said it was nice to be supported by 15,000 people.

The Jets opened the scoring when Dustin Byfuglien (on the left below, with Nik Antropov) blasted a slapshot from the point that beat Bryzgalov cleanly, the first of three power play markers for the Jets.

The Flyers tied the game a few minutes later when Claude Giroux took a pass from Scott Hartnell and backhanded the puck into the open net with Pavelec well out of position.

The second period saw both teams pot two,with Jets' captain Andrew Ladd scoring two just 64 seconds apart while Hartnell and Maxime Talbot tallied for Philadelphia.

The third period saw the Flyers dominate, but a power play marker by Evander Kane (above) that fluttered in off Bryzgalov's glove (a huge gaffe by the goalie) gave the Jets the lead, which they maintained until the last minute. With their net empty, the Flyers attacked and Wayne Simmonds snuck in between Ladd and Byfuglien to take a pass from James van Riemsdyk and beat a startled Pavelec from in close with just 9.7 seconds left. For the second day in a row, we had overtime after a back-and-forth 4-4 game.

The Flyers' domination continued in the extra frame, as they outshot Winnipeg 6-1. With less than a minute to go, Daniel Briere outworked Johnny Oduya and fed a pass to Jaromir Jagr who was open in the slot. Game over as Jagr scored his record-setting 16th OT goal, then performing his trademark salute to top things off.

This was the best NHL game I have seen in a long while, probably because I spend most of my time watching the Leafs, who are simply not that good. The difference was clearly goaltending; Philly is going nowhere in the playoffs if neither of their keepers can elevate their game. Philadelphia peppered Pavelec with 55 shots (most by any team this season) and he made some outstanding stops, including one effort where he dove across the crease to make a backhanded catch that netted him the Highlight of the Night on Sportsnet. The Leafs lost in overtime to the Devils, so having the Jets lose in OT as well was a good outcome as well.

Notes

One element of hockey that needs to return to the game is the naming of lines, such as the French Connection that starred in Buffalo in the 1970s. The Jets have the GST line (Glass, Slater, and Thorburn), a strong checking line that brought on chants of "GST! GST!" whenever they were on the ice. For non-Canadians, the GST is our Goods and Services Tax (5% now) and this line does much better, playing about 25% of the time.

I know it's Glass!

Our hotel is about 3 miles from downtown and offers a free shuttle to and from the games, a great deal. With an early 6pm start, Sharpy and I had plenty of time to enjoy a local pub after the game.

The fans here are some of the best and most passionate I have seen, but they expect a penalty every time a Jet is checked and falls down. Guess they are still getting used to the new NHL.

Next Up

As mentioned, the Lightning are here on Thursday in an all-Southeast division battle, which means I have a day off today, which I'm using to catch up on rest as there is no sporting event nearby. Check back Friday for a quick recap of the game and the MTS Centre.

Best,

Sean

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Toronto Maple Leafs 4 at Edmonton Oilers 3 (OT) - February 15, 2012

It was a quiet ride up Highway 2 as we left Calgary and the horrible memories of that 5-1 loss behind and hoped for better things in Edmonton. Edmonton calls itself the City of Champions, and it ain't bragging when you can back it up, which they do with 5 Stanley Cup titles and 13 Grey Cup championships as well. Yeah, it has been a over 20 years since the last time Lord Stanley's mug was raised here, but until the Leafs win one, I'm not going to criticize. Still, the Oilers are struggling and I was hoping the Leafs could salvage this two-game Alberta excursion with a win.

Rexall Place

Located northeast of downtown in a rather hardscrabble neighbourhood, Rexall Place was opened in 1974, making it the third oldest rink in the league (only the two New York arenas are older). It was originally named the Northlands Coliseum after the non-profit organization that owns the arena, but naming rights have since been sold to Rexall, who runs drugstores in Canada among other interests. There is an LRT stop here, as well as parking lots surrounding the facility. I stayed at the hotel across Wayne Gretzky drive so don't know how much the parking is.

Despite its age, the arena has been renovated on a regular basis and has some of the best atmosphere I've seen in the league, helped no doubt by the thousands of Leaf fans. Before you enter, make sure to check out the Wayne Gretzky statue next to the east entrance.

There is only one row of suites so the second tier is very close to the ice and gives great views. The club level is mostly underneath the first level of seats so it doesn't impact the seating bowl.

We had club seats and spent some time wandering around here, but there isn't much other than an $18 buffet before the game. You can watch the Oilers come out of their dressing room (that's the door below), but that wasn't something I particularly wanted to see.

The main concourse is flush with concessions but there wasn't much outside your typical offerings. I had poutine which was surprisingly good but is now commonplace in western arenas. Perhaps the only unique offering were the perogies as Edmonton boasts a large population of Ukrainian heritage. A Mediterranean burger, which seemed to be a monthly special, was also tempting.

It is easy to walk around the venue, although the concourse does get busy as game time approaches. There is a smaller concourse above the second seating level which is much less crowded, but has fewer concessions as a result.

There is a third seating level which is still reasonably close and there is a small standing area at the very top,but no concourse. Go up here, if only to take some pictures.

One unique touch is the 30-foot high oil derrick that is lowered before the game so the Oilers can skate through it as they enter the ice.

The Oilers have a storied history and the banners to prove it (below). But as I walked around the concourse, I was disappointed that there weren't more displays dedicated to those great teams of the 1980s. There were a few pictures of record-breaking moments, and even pictures of some concert performances, but nothing more impressive. I really think they should do a better job of honouring these players who made Edmonton the City of Champions.

That would be my only complaint though. I really like this place; it maintains an old-school feel without sacrificing the modern amenities. The location is certainly not the best, and there is talk of building a downtown arena to replace Rexall Place, so if you haven't been here yet, try to stop by soon.

The Game

After being spanked in Calgary, Toronto had to come out strong and they did that when Joffrey Lupul scored just 4o seconds in,beating Nikolai Khabibulin (above) on a great give-and-go with Phil Kessel.

Just 58 seconds after that, Matthew Lombardi received a perfect pass from Cody Franson and broke in alone on Khabibulin, deked and slipped the puck through the five-hole to make it 2-0. The Oilers called timeout and responded with their own goal after 54 seconds when goalie James Reimer negated an icing by touching the puck, allowing Edmonton's Lennart Petrell to pass the puck out to Ben Eager (below, beating up Mike Brown0, who had no problem putting in the open net.

Three goals in less than three minutes and it certainly looked like we would be in for a lot of goals, but that was in until midway through the second with Taylor Hall tipped in a pass from Sam Gagner to tie the game. Edmonton dominated the period outshooting the Leafs 13-3, but Remier was strong and kept his team in the game.

In the third, Oiler Ryan Jones dumped the puck over the glass and sheepishly headed to the penalty box, a victim of the dreaded delay of game infraction. The Leafs wasted no time converting when Jake Gardiner blasted a point shot that beat Khabibulin, who appeared to be screened by Ladislav Smid (below).

This set up the countdown. Could the Leafs hold on? The answer, as usual when I am in attendance, was no. With just over 4 minutes to go, Jordan Eberle stole the puck from David Steckel and wristed a perfect shot over Reimer's arm to tie the game.

Fortunately, the Leafs didn't collapse and managed to get it to overtime. The last two Toronto victories I have seen were both in shootouts, so I confidently predicted that the trend would continue, but Toronto was even better. After Dion Phaneuf broke up an Oiler rush, Lupul and Tim Connolly broke down the ice on a 2-on-1. Lupul fed Connolly with a perfect pass and Connolly tipped it in, his first goal in 18 games. Leafs win!! A huge victory to stop a 4-game slide and keep their tenuous grip on that final playoff spot in the east.

This was a great game, end-to-end action, and some fantastic goals. All four Leafs' tallies were right in front of us too, which made things even better. Sitting in the first row of an NHL game when your team wins on the road is an experience that cannot be duplicated in any other sport. This will be one of the greatest memories of my lifetime and will definitely be the highlight of the trip.

Notes

We had the same seats as for the Calgary game, first row in the home team's zone , looking at the face-off circle, goalie on our left. An interesting coincidence that those seats were available at both venues. I doubt I'll ever sit that close again though, it's just too expensive.

Luke Schenn was a healthy scratch for Toronto, leading to more speculation about his future with the club. He's a +8, so yeah, need to get rid of him and keep Komisarek.

I have now seen the Leafs on the road 19 times in 17 NHL venues. Their record is 6-12-1.

Next Up

I'll be visiting family in the small town of Camrose today and checking out an Alberta Junior Hockey League game that evening. It will be a huge difference from these last two nights, but I'll post a small update in a couple of days.

Best,

Sean

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Toronto Maple Leafs 1 at Calgary Flames 5 - February 14, 2012

After a day off to visit some friends here in Calgary, it was time for the first of two Maple Leaf games in Alberta. My friend Sharpy flew in on Monday night to join me for a week, which meant that we needed two tickets. I had been checking TicketMaster regularly but there were no pairs until a couple of days before the game, when two seats were released in the first row in one end zone. The tickets are ridiculously overpriced, but there are times when you have to take the plunge and damn the consequences (such as being left destitute). As you can see from the photos, these were pretty good seats. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the game.

Scotiabank Saddledome

The Saddledome is a unique venue among all sport. The name is no accident, the building is shaped like a saddle and adds a western flavour to the Calgary skyline. It was built in 1983 to replace the Stampede Corral (below), the Flames' home rink for their first three seasons in Calgary, as well as to host hockey and figure skating for the 1988 Winter Olympics. Along with the Flames, the venue hosts the WHL's Hitmen and the NLL's Roughnecks.

The Saddledome is located on the grounds of the Calgary Stampede, one of the world's largest rodeos that is held every July. The easiest way to reach the venue is by using Calgary's LRT system, known as the C-Train. The Victoria Park/Stampede station is linked to the Saddledome via an enclosed pathway with posters for each past Stampede along the walls. It is really interesting to see the changes in the style of these posters over the years.

When you get to the main entrance of the rink, you will see the ticket windows and fan store. If you get there before the gates open, you can have something to eat at Dutton's Canadian Lounge, a sports bar underneath the main entrance; you'll need to have your ticket scanned in and out.

The arena has three levels of seating with the third level being called "Press Level" in an attempt to make it seem like sitting far away is actually cool. To be fair, the first three rows here are reasonable, but as you near the top, the scoreboard is obscured by the sloping roof and you might find yourself watching the game on a couple of large screens rather than the ice. Tickets here were $47 for the game I saw, and much higher for the lower levels.

There is only one concourse which gets rather crowded as game time nears, but with gates opening 90 minutes prior to the game, you can spend about an hour walking around before it gets too busy.

There are a number of displays on the walls commemorating Calgary's hockey history as well as the 1988 Olympic Games; take the time to read them as they are quite interesting.

There were a number of good food options here as well. My choice was the chicken breast wrap from Jugo Juice, reasonably priced at $7 and pleasing to the palate as well. I saw a few other specialty options, including Vietnamese Subs and Noodle Bowls at the Taste of Asia stand. There are also two restaurants above the second seating level on either side: the Saddleroom on the East and the Alumni Lounge on the west. I did see tickets for the Alumni Lounge available on TicketMaster but at $240 they are rather overpriced, even if food is unlimited.

The Flames have several banners on display, including the one commemorating their 1988-89 Stanley Cup championship. As well, Lanny McDonald's #9 and Mike Vernon's #30 have been retired.

Overall, the Saddledome is a great venue that has aged well over nearly 30 years. The staff are very friendly even to us visiting fans and with history on display throughout, it is more than just a hockey rink. I'd like to visit again and see a game that doesn't leave me despondent.

The Game

The Leafs lost 5-1. The difference was Miika Kiprusoff (above, note the retro 3rd jersey), who stopped 41 of 42 shots. It was 2-1 Flames after one, but when Calgary's Paul Byron scored on a penalty shot in the middle frame (below), it made the comeback that much more difficult.

Calgary added two late ones to complete the soul-crushing defeat. Really, do I need to recap the rest of this nightmare? No. Read it here if you wish, I'm going to cry quietly for a while. A few more pictures are below.

Olli Jokinen in the warmup, he scored the second Flames goal

Joffrey Lupul

Phil Kessel and Jarome Iginla (he scored the final goal)

Byron on the faceoff

The Leafs scored off this faceoff when Bozak banged home his own rebound

Tim Connolly

This was the scene I saw the most, Kiprusoff skating out of his net while the Flames fans celebrated a goal. Ugh.

Notes

During the intermissions, the Flames' ice girls clean the glass of any spray that may mar the view. A nice touch. The team also announces when there are three minutes left in the intermission to encourage fans to get back to their seats. Not that the fans needed much encouragement the way their team was playing.

Kiprusoff recorded his 301st career win. He used to compete with Vesa Toskala for the back up position in San Jose. Toronto ended up with Toskala. Sigh.

Next Up

I'm driving to Edmonton for tonight's Leafs-Oilers tilt. Yet again we have first row seats, but I'm so depressed that I don't care. Regardless, check back tomorrow for more on that one.

Best,

Sean

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