Speaking of exciting play, where The Desert Dogs are 7-2-1 in their last 10 and all of a sudden have 40 points and leapfrogged Chicago to 10th in the Western standings and 5 points behind 8th place Minnesota.
What madness is this?!
Owen Nolan has regained some of that magic touch, guys like Doan, Saprykin, Sjostrom and Ballard are doing the things Phoenix thought they would all along, and this team is showing some backbone. What a comeback against the Thrashers in front of a packed house at Phillips Arena Friday night. Oh, and while we're on the 'Yotes, is there any play-by-play man more fun to listen to than Curt Keilback?
Not that I'm extolling the virtues of VERSUS lately, but kudos for getting up an all-HD channel this week. Well, not exactly. It's The Golf Channel HD from Noon-7 p.m. and then VERSUS from 7 p.m. 'till Noon the next day. But every NHL game on VERSUS until season's end will be on in HD (I still haven't gotten the channel yet, so who knows). It is high time, because originally the NHL On VERSUS wasn't scheduled to go HD in a game west of Dallas for the rest of the season. While The NHL On NBC sticks with the one game a week in Hi-Def system (more on that later), The NHL On VERSUS finally gives HDTV owners the action they desire.
Now on to the opening week of The NHL On NBC (Saturday, 2 p.m.) is starting this week. There won't be too many changes personnel wise, but here are 5 things that are new:
1. Brett Hull, in the studio. For a guy who said he would find calling an actual game too monotonous, how his he going to be able to stand seeing three at one time? Seriously though, Hull could end up being a big waste of time if he isn't interested in talking about what he truly thinks.
2. Cammi Granato is out, Darren Pang is in. For those of you who will have the misfortune of watching the Kings-Blues tilt on the Peacock, Darren Pang will replace Cammi Granato as the Inside the Glass reporter for NBC's number three team, working with the always stellar Chris Cuthbert and the always annoying Peter McNab. Granato's hockey prodigy child with NBC studio analyst Ray Ferraro isn't old enough to pop onto the ice, so she won't be seen this year at least.
3. Eddie Olczyk is the new lead game analyst, working with Mike Emrick and Pierre McGuire. Replacing JD is a daunting task, and I'm not so dead set on Edzo being our representative to talk to the casual fan of hockey. As a Devils fans, I will say that JD is probably the best color analyst the game in America has ever had. His work in the Stanley Cup Finals, especially Game 7, cemented his place as one of the best American network analysts maybe ever. Good luck Edzo.
4. New graphics. NBC decided to go all-black with its graphics packages, so expect it to be much of the same for the NHL games, and expect an all new "Score-strip" at the top of the screen.
5. More games, and that's the most important thing for the NHL nationally. Nine times during the regular campaign, 10 during the playoffs. This is the most regular season coverage the league has had on a network since 1998, when Fox aired 11 games. It's the most playoff coverage the NHL has EVER had on network television, as every Saturday and Sunday of the playoffs will have a game on NBC. It's particularly important with VERSUS in fewer homes that the league get as much exposure as it can from NBC.
So for those interested, 60% of the U.S. will get the Penguins and Flyers. Oh boy, a team that may move next year and the worst team in the NHL. How fun. Emrick, Olczyk and McGuire will have that one. Dave Strader, Brian Hayward and Joe Micheletti will have the Rangers and Bruins from the Garden in whatever's left of the non-local markets. Finally, don't expect the Kings and Blues (as previously mentioned, Cuthbert, McNab and Pang have this one) to air anywhere outside Missouri and California. To be frank, the NHL could've done a lot better with this Saturday (Devils-Isles, Avs-Ducks and Blackhawks-Red Wings were all being played the same day) but they've gotten the best markets and players they could.
For those with digital cable and satellite, NHL Center Ice will have a free preview all week, and boy are you getting a treat, with Hockey Day in Canada being completely covered by Center Ice. That, plus all three NBC games, and just flat-out good hockey. I'm still annoyed that "Rooming with Roenick" never was picked up for another season, but this shall suffice.
And finally, say what you will about the lockout, but the salary cap was a must for the NHL. Look at the standings right now: 40 games left all-around, so we'll say 10 points or less in back of the 8th place team gives you a shot at the playoffs right now. Logistically, everyone's in it except for the Flyers and the St. Louis Blues, and St. Louis has gotten a point in eight of its last 10 games. So 28 teams, possibly a 29th, out of 30 in the hunt? It will keep arenas full and players fighting until April 8th, the final day of the year.
-SFM-
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