The first round of the NHL playoffs is almost complete, and it makes me beg the question, is there anything better in the sports world than the NHL playoffs? I know that I have a hockey bias and have a great appreciation for the two month grind that these athletes go through in order to put their name on Lord Stanley's cup, but I think that any person involved with sports can look at the journey to the Stanley Cup and say there is nothing in sports more difficult to accomplish. In the NFL you can go 6-7 in 80 percent of the season, get hot at the end by winning your last three regular season games and then win four straight playoff games to be crowned world champions. I understand that a lot more may go into an average football game compared to a hockey game, but having to get up and get ready to play in a crucial game is both physically and mentally demanding, regardless of the sport. In the MLB, teams have the toughest time getting in to the postseason, but let's be honest, once you get in, a team like the the Kansas City Royals could go on a run to win three baseball series in a row and be considered the best team in baseball. The NBA playoffs can be very entertaining in the later rounds as superstars face off against one another, but the early rounds are almost unwatchable because you will see a team like the Miami Heat dismantle a team that belongs in a different league like the Milwaukee Bucks. Parity in the NBA is what hurts the playoff excitement because you can pretty much map out the first two rounds with almost no problem. The NHL on the other hand is the total opposite as we have already seen an eight seed knock off a one seed, the other one-eight match-up is going to a game seven, and a two-seven match-up is going to a game seven. The best part of the NHL playoffs is the amount of overtime hockey we get to see. Almost every series sees multiple overtime games, with a few, like the Phoenix-Chicago series, involving overtime in five out of the six games. All playoffs are great in professional sports, but when it comes down to pure accuracy on who the best team is, the NHL has the best way of making sure at the end of the season they are crowning the true champion of the league.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Are the NHL Playoffs the Best there is?
The first round of the NHL playoffs is almost complete, and it makes me beg the question, is there anything better in the sports world than the NHL playoffs? I know that I have a hockey bias and have a great appreciation for the two month grind that these athletes go through in order to put their name on Lord Stanley's cup, but I think that any person involved with sports can look at the journey to the Stanley Cup and say there is nothing in sports more difficult to accomplish. In the NFL you can go 6-7 in 80 percent of the season, get hot at the end by winning your last three regular season games and then win four straight playoff games to be crowned world champions. I understand that a lot more may go into an average football game compared to a hockey game, but having to get up and get ready to play in a crucial game is both physically and mentally demanding, regardless of the sport. In the MLB, teams have the toughest time getting in to the postseason, but let's be honest, once you get in, a team like the the Kansas City Royals could go on a run to win three baseball series in a row and be considered the best team in baseball. The NBA playoffs can be very entertaining in the later rounds as superstars face off against one another, but the early rounds are almost unwatchable because you will see a team like the Miami Heat dismantle a team that belongs in a different league like the Milwaukee Bucks. Parity in the NBA is what hurts the playoff excitement because you can pretty much map out the first two rounds with almost no problem. The NHL on the other hand is the total opposite as we have already seen an eight seed knock off a one seed, the other one-eight match-up is going to a game seven, and a two-seven match-up is going to a game seven. The best part of the NHL playoffs is the amount of overtime hockey we get to see. Almost every series sees multiple overtime games, with a few, like the Phoenix-Chicago series, involving overtime in five out of the six games. All playoffs are great in professional sports, but when it comes down to pure accuracy on who the best team is, the NHL has the best way of making sure at the end of the season they are crowning the true champion of the league.
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