Hockey is kind of a forgotten sport in America. Well, not forgotten. It just is not nearly as popular as football, baseball or basketball. That is hard to believe. People these days need to be more entertained more than ever; yet, they’ll sit around and watch football, a sport that involves four seconds of action and the requisite forty to fifty second break. Hockey is played at a breakneck pace, and, in theory, could not stop for a full sixty minutes minus the end of a period.
This year, the Washington Capitals open their season on the road at the United Center against the Chicago Blackhawks, who will raise their second Stanley Cup Banner in the last four years. It will be a moving event for many Capitals; a team that consistently under achieves in the postseason will watch a team that always performs reap their just rewards. It could be the ultimate motivation for their upcoming season.
Not all is bad in Caps land, however. The National Hockey League just awarded the Washington, DC area the 2015 Winter Classic, a cool spectacle that returns the game to its roots. Many students at Shepherd have opinions on the event. Ryan Earls, the kicker on the football team, said, “I think it’s pretty awesome. As a Philadelphia Flyers fan, I can only hope they pick the Flyers as their opponent. Also, I think the reflecting pool would be cool, but may be too difficult to pull off in terms of logistics. Nationals Park would make a great alternative.”
In terms of the upcoming season, there is much to be excited about. The league has realigned its divisions, making four conferences instead of six divisions. The new names of the divisions are the Atlantic and Metropolitan in the Eastern Conference and the Central and Pacific in the Western Conference. This writers picks for top three in the Atlantic are Boston, Detroit and Montreal, in that order. In the terribly named Metropolitan, Pittsburgh, Washington and the New York Islanders, led by newly minted superstar captain John Tavares will be looking to have strong campaigns. In the Western Conference, the Central will be won by the defending champions in the Blackhawks, followed closely by Nashville and St. Louis. In the Pacific Division, look for the Los Angeles Kings to have a great year, followed by the Vancouver Canucks in second and San Jose Sharks in third.
In terms of players to watch, always make a point to look out for centre Sidney Crosby of the Penguins, centre John Tavares of the New York Islanders, centre Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning, right wing Alexander Ovechkin of the Capitals, right wing Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks, left wing Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks, defenseman Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators, defenseman Mike Green of the Capitals and defenseman Kris Letang of the Penguins. In terms of goaltenders, watch out for the Los Angeles Kings’ Jonathan Quick. He is the odds-on favorite to be the goalie for Team USA during the 2014 Olympics. Quick won the 2012 Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
If you haven’t gotten into hockey, give it a go. Watch with someone who knows the game so they can school you in the finer points of the sport. The rules can be kind of strange at first. Offside seems strange until someone explains it; once they do, it is simple and easy to remember. Hockey is a great game and is every bit as physical as football, but takes more skill, as it is played on skates. Enjoy the season, it should be a good one.
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