If you fell asleep during the Maple Leafs 1-0 shootout loss Saturday night, you weren't the only one. Great to see Toronto playing defense, and it takes skill to gain a point without scoring a goal. Still, if Florida makes the playoffs (likely) this year and Toronto doesn't, the Maple Leafs will be the ONLY NHL team to have missed the playoff since the lockout. Even the Chicago Cubs have won 2 division titles in that time.
Toronto ended up going scoreless for the weekend, getting shut out in Washington Sunday night. The Capitals are also fighting for that 8th spot, so losing to Washington was a double loss. The Maple Leafs didn't even get a shootout goal Saturday night.
The NHL Network may keep its HNIC choices, but the CBC may reassess its distribution of Leafs games down the stretch. That may also depend on how well the Senators and Jets are doing down the playoff stretch.
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If the Winnipeg Jets don't make the playoffs, the enthusiasm for hockey in Winnipeg will still be pretty high, especially after what we saw Monday night on NBCSN.
On loan from TSN, Gord Miller set it up beautifully when just as the puck was about to drop, he said "You're in for a treat tonight … because this place … is nuts."
MTS Centre is the smallest building in the NHL, and as Miller and Pierre McGuire kept noting, the loudest. They compared it several times to the old Chicago Stadium, high praise indeed. They brought up that theme again when Blake Wheeler scored a breakaway goal in the 3rd period, giving the Jets the lead for good.
Winnipeg has done well at home, not so much on the road. This game was the finale of a 8-game homestand, and the Jets kept the crowd in it.
The crowd did their part, chanting "Miller" very loudly throughout the game for Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller. The Sabres had been hot, thanks to Miller's play. Gord Miller joked to McGuire that the crowd was chanting his name.
The Miller-McGuire chemistry from the TSN days was clearly in play. None of the NBC/NBCSN announcing teams has the chemistry level of Miller and McGuire.
The evening had a TSN feel to it. The local TSN-Jets feed was the only other TV source for the game. McGuire shared the "inside the glass" space with Mike Johnson, who has become the de facto #2 color guy for TSN. Brian Engblom, whose primary job is the #2 color guy for NBCSN, also does games for TSN-Jets.
One funny note: The TSN reunion feel might have clouded one comment McGuire made with Winnipeg's Nik Antropov made a great hit on Buffalo's Ville Leino. "The Toronto Maple Leafs fans are probably sitting at home going 'why didn't he do that in Toronto?" NBCSN would probably wonder how many Toronto fans watch its coverage, since its reluctance to show more Canadian-based teams is blamed on the fact that Canadian viewers don't count in the ratings.
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The timing was likely bad, given that Toronto scored its only two goals while Doc Emrick was talking with Mario Lemieux. Emrick's lack of excitement during the Maple Leaf goals was a huge contrast to the enthusiasm when Pittsburgh scored its first goal in the 2nd period.
Emrick may have toned it down in honor of the guest, but it sounded bad on TV. If you weren't paying attention, you might not have realized that Toronto scored.
Yes, the statue of Mario Lemieux had been unveiled that day. McGuire interviewed the soon-to-be-returning Sidney Crosby after the 2nd period. Interviews are important, but so is the game action.
The pace of the Buffalo-Winnipeg game was breathtaking, and the announcers were able to keep up with it. NBCSN normally has too many obligations to keep a good pace going. Because the network allowed Miller and McGuire to do what they do best shows that TSN (and CBC) style broadcasting is more interesting and relevant than what NBCSN normally puts out there.
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Don Cherry told us last week he would talk about the NHL and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Saskatoon wants an NHL franchise. Saskatchewan's economy is doing extremely well; plenty of corporate sponsorship. The two main questions are whether people will drive far enough to see NHL action, and the capacity of Credit Union Centre. Its Web site lists a capacity of 11,300. Presumably, plans would expand that capacity, though you could currently fit a Phoenix Coyotes or Columbus Blue Jackets or New York Islanders crowd.
Phoenix is probably more fun to live in than Saskatoon, but fan demand for everything would be higher in Saskatoon. And the TV audience would be multiple multiples above what the Coyotes draw.
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I was able to see Montréal at Vancouver on Saturday. Not an exciting contest, but fun to watch. Did I mention that was at BC Place?
My TV couldn't get the Montréal Canadiens at the Vancouver Canucks at 7 pm Pacific time. But I could watch the Montréal Impact at the Vancouver Whitecaps. Vancouver won the MLS match 2-0, but lost the NHL game 4-1.
The MLS match was part of a free preview. The match was carried on TSN, and we saw the TSN feed. Even the TSN soccer announcers sounded British.
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This coming week is a light week for Canadian-based teams. The NHL Network did add Toronto at Ottawa, the early HNIC game, for St. Patrick's Day.
Those Americans with a CBC feed can watch Montréal at Ottawa in a special Friday night game. Those who get the CBC Montréal feed can watch the Habs host the New York Islanders in the early Saturday night slot. The entire CBC family (though, once again, not on the NHL Network) can watch Rick Nash and his Columbus Blue Jackets play before an excited crowd … at Rogers Arena in Vancouver in the late HNIC game.
Possible Comcast simulcasts this week include San Jose @ Edmonton (Monday), San Jose @ Calgary (Tuesday), and Washington @ Winnipeg (Friday).
Other than the TSN sim subs of the Canucks, NBCSN is done with Canadian-based teams until the playoffs.
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