NHL PLAYOFFS

NHL Playoffs

During the month of April comes the NFL draft, NBA playoffs and the start of the MLB season. However, the most exhilarating event of April is the NHL playoffs which continues into mid June and goes quietly under the radar as a major sporting event.
Attending San Jose Sharks games in downtown San Jose is incredible. The intensity inside the "Shark Tank" is taken to another level when the playoffs arrive both on the ice and in the stands. When walking into arena you are engulfed in a sea of teal where the crowds decimal level reaches upward of 110 (equivilant ot an airplane take-off) after goals. This happens not only in San Jose but in all the other major cities that play host to playoff hockey teams the citizens are cup crazy. Unfortunately the lack of interest in hockey outside these cities results in the NHL playoffs having the worst Television ratings of all professional events during their respective postseason play and with the broadcasting being done by virtually unknown cable channel Verus viewer ratings are slowly dropping every year.
After the strike that cancelled hockey for the entire 2005 season, the average hockey fan lost interest, and upon its return in 2006, never gave it a chance to return to the status it had before the strike. I have no idea why so many people are pushing aside the NHL playoffs saying that hockey is boring and lacks the entertainment that NFL gives viewers every Sunday. These NHL haters are so wrong! They obviously have not watched a hockey game in quite a long time. Under the new rules implemented after the strike in 2005, the NHL made changes to allow more fighting, more goals, and bigger hits.
As conference quarter-final play wraps up this weekend we will have seen all of these rule changes better the play of the game and make it more exciting for the fans. More than 5 goals per game have been scored on average due in large part to a seven goal affair courtesy of the New York Rangers. This level of offense keeps the fans excited and believing every shift could result in a goal. In Detroit, bone crushing hits led to bench clearing brawls on the ice as emotions ran high in their series with Calgary.
If you haven't been watching the NHL playoffs now wouldn't be a bad time to start. They are exciting and are a great alternate for any NBA fan whose team didn't make the playoffs or the NFL fan who can't wait to see big hits in the fall.