Flyers Game 1 was Tremendous, albeit with the Wrong Result; this is Why the Hockey Playoffs are the Best

Standing on his head was not enough for Robert

Esche and the Flyers on Saturday night.

I do not follow hockey in the regular season to anywhere near the degree that my brother-in-law, who is kind enough to educate the blog readership on this topic, does. I watch and attend a few Flyers games, and read enough on an ongoing basis to be a little dangerous. Not Jack Bauer dangerous. Not J.J. Redick dangerous. More like Chollie Manual dangerous. Anyway, after watching the Flyers game on Saturday night, which they lost in double overtime 3-2, it reminded me why the Stanley Cup Playoffs are a better event than any other playoff system, with the lone exception being the NCAA basketball tournament, which of course stands above all else. Sure the Super Bowl in itself is a great event, but the hockey playoffs overall are unbelievably exciting. Here is why, as manifested in the Sabres/Flyers game from Saturday night.

The intensity in a hockey playoff series is incredible. You are sitting on the edge of you seat for two and a half straight hours, or in the case of Saturday, four straight hours, as you wait for that one penalty that might lead to that one odd-man rush that might lead to that one goal that might make the difference in that one game which could be the difference in the entire series. It is unlike soccer, in which a goal could decide the game but is slow moving plus most people do not understand it so it’s boring. It is not like the NBA where a 10-0 run in the first quarter is virtually meaningless. It all hinges on every play. Because of that, there is unbelievable emotion and intensity that every player on every team brings to the ice.

The NHL playoffs are also where one player, a goalie specifically, can carry you on his back to the Stanley Cup. Robert Esche, although he was not the winning goalie on Saturday night, was simply sensational between the pipes, keeping the Flyers in the game single-handedly, despite being outshot by some 30 shots. In fact, if Sami Kapinen could have, for once in his life, made a big play and hit a wide open net instead of the post, the result would have been a 3-2 Flyers win. This same phenomenon does not exist in basketball, where the league’s best player (Kobe) will likely lose in the first round, or baseball, where a pitcher likely only can get two turns in a seven game series (maybe three if he can go on short rest).

The hitting in hockey is great too. R.J. Umberger just got laid out flat on a clean but vicous hit by Buffalo defenseman Brian Campbell. It was the biggest hit I have seen since that fraud Eric Lindros played his last game in the orange and black and got absolutely demolished by Devil Scott Stevens. I love the fact that Umberger’s teammates went right after Campbell for the hit. There is honor in this game! Players get their teammates backs. They play together. And all that matters is that silver cup. Not the money. Not the fame. Just the Cup. Campbell, even though his hit was clean, will surely take one back at some point later in the series.

Hockey playoffs are filled with great traditions too. Most of the players, you will notice, will not shave during the duration of their team’s run in the playoffs. Superstition. In addition, after beating the crap out of each other for seven games and wanting nothing more than to beat the other team and beat the other team up, both team’s line up at the end of a series and shake hands and congratulate each other on a series well fought.

There is nothing better than the hockey playoffs, at least not in the professional sports rank. Let’s hope for all the Flyers fans out there that this is not a one-and-done spring for the Flyers. It has been 31 years since the Flyers beat these same Sabres to win their last Cup, and 23 years since any professional team in Philly won a championship. We have some catching up to do. Let’s knot this series tonight and take it one game at a time from there.

Note: picture courtesy of www.flyers.com