The Best Parts Of The First Round Of The NHL Playoffs

The first round of the 2011/2012 NHL playoffs has been intense to say the least. A completely different level of hockey than the regular season grind. And with a completely different level of hockey comes a new level of media coverage and fan interaction.

To start us off Stanley Cup winner and Olympic Gold Medallist Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh was being publicly ripped in the name of getting in his head and affecting his performance. The often ridiculed superstar says it hasn't got in his head but his team is now golfing or kicking pictures of Claude Giroux.

A Conn Smythe award a Vezina trophy oh... and a Stanley Cup are not enough to shake off the fans in Washington for Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas who is haunted by his decision to not attend the White House with the Bruins to celebrate their Stanley Cup victory last season.



Then you have Ilya Bryzgalov. Who is haunted by bears and fans... or fans dressed like bears... or a strange combination of both. How about bears in the crowd?



As a bonus for strange/funny so far Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have set a new record for goals scored in the first four games of a playoff series. 45 is the new magic number. The 1984-1985 playoff series between the Oilers and the Blackhawks comes in second with 44 goals.

A 10-3 rout of the Flyers helped Pittsburgh not only stay alive but also set the record. If you want to see more stats from this wild series check out  an article from the Bleacher Report's. I don't normally recommend that site because it's run by fans with wild imaginations but the article I linked has some fun numbers. Philadelphia would go on to win the series in 6 games in a rather anticlimactic 5-1 Flyer win.

At the time of this writing all four Western Conference series have been decided. The Kings eliminated the Canucks and their departure has led to the annual "Where will Luongo be traded?" rumours as expected. Come on Toronto ;) 

The St Louis Blues defeated the Sharks so the fans and columnists are now trading Patrick Marleau.

Phoenix beat the Blackhawks so Patrick Kane is being waved around by the fans and hockey writers like the white flag of defeat.

Nashville's defeat has put Detroit into Lidstrom limbo once again. As a bonus Tomas Holmstrom is also contemplating retirement. The days of "hockey town" dominating the NHL are getting closer that is until they draft two more Zetterberg's in the 6th and 7th rounds of this years draft.

Three Eastern Conference series are going to game sevens. If all the other series taught us anything Washington, Florida and Ottawa advance thoughor the sake of sanity and entertainment I hope New York and New Jersey win their game 7's so we at least have a few entertaining hockey teams to watch from the East. As for the Bruins... ... Lets go Ovechkin!

Heres an FHL style goal to close out this article. Share this page on facebook! Thanks for the support.

Why Can't We Be Friends? Or how about "Can't We All Just Get Along?"

It's been a long season. Blood, sweat and tears have all been shed. Friendships made and friendships broken. In the grand scheme of things all of this happened because of hockey. The game we all love and a passion that unites us. Hockey breeds competition, frustrations, joys but most of all it bring us together. It's brought us some great shows. The goals, the hits and the fights have been bringing the crowds to their feet all year long. It hasn't been without dramatic sequences like players boycotting games and fan bases going to war in the crowds and message boards but the one thing that we all took from the games regardless of what happened surrounding it was that butterfly in the stomach excitement that made us want to go night after night.

From fans invading other FHL towns to putting on a show in the Maine Event there has been an endless barrage of story lines that have gripped every fan base at some point. That in a nutshell is what hockey is all about. Things happen and half the time when we can't control them it's not what we wanted to happen. Everyone wants the cup, to win and to be treated fairly but reality is that's just not the case most of the time and we just have to suck it up and try to do the best at the things we can control rather than kick dirt and raise hell over things we can't.  

Since the first day I decided to apply myself to more than just watching the game and started getting involved I began to write this blog and build relationships all around the league. From day one it's been he said, she said and on a small scale complete anarchy. This team is cheating this way... That team is doing this and that and they shouldn't. The Kirnans are out to screw the other teams... The referees are idiots. Such and such organisation is corrupt. It never ends and very likely never will.


What I'm trying to say is this is hockey and the up and downs that come with it. Referees at every level are criticised. Gary Bettman the commissioner of the National Hockey League is one of the most jeered men in sports being booed every time he speaks. Nobody will ever be totally satisfied at some point, if ever and that's life. Get on with it. Do what you gotta do but the mud slinging and trash talking are overblown. Everything is a conspiracy when there is something on the line that everyone wants.


What this league and the teams in it really need to do is just get back to some good ol' hockey. To cut the bullshit and the whining and the conspiracy theories and to just enjoy the game. If it's so horrible every owner in this league can pull their teams out or sell them or just quit but they haven't have they? There is a lot of room for improvement. More clarity. Better ref's you can go on all day. As for treatment of players... They are grown men. They know what's right and what's wrong and they are in no way enslaved to the teams they play for. There are other leagues and opportunities for most to explore.


Players play, Owners pay, The commissioner oversees the league fairly without bias and hands out suspensions and fines as necessary. The fans show up to show support. Security does it's job to protect people and diffuse situations, Referees make calls they see using their best judgement and discretion.


That's hockey. It's not always going to be the way I described it because this isn't a perfect world or a perfect league. Take your licks and keep coming back for more that's what's important. Bury the hatchets and wash off the bad blood. I present you the game of hockey without the politics... hold the stress and frustrations... it's just a game. Learn to enjoy it again for what it is.


If you enjoyed the article please share the link. Thanks for the support. Good luck to everyone still alive in the playoffs and better luck next season to those who are not.

Aviators Out Off Playoffs, Shot Down By Whalers In OT Period!

FIRST PERIOD and the Aviators fans were confident of another win on Danbury ice. Danbury had a different idea, with only 1:07 of the clock a score for the Whalers. #55D J.Sanford for the back of the net for the Whalers first marker of the day. Score 1-0 Danbury.

At the 3:27 mark of the first, #12C A,Goupil hit net and made the match 2-0 Whalers. #14C J.Dabkowski had a breakaway and scored for the Brooklyn Aviators. Score is now 2-1 Danbury. 1:10 later #18C J.Dolgy did his magic at the 5:38 mark and tied the game 2-2 and that is how the first period ended.

SECOND PERIOD saw #27RW C.Mignone score on a powerplay with 6:57 off the clock. Score is now 3-2 at this time.The next score came on a fluke rebound of a Whalers skate #44F K.Miller by Aviators #4C R.Schweyer that managed to get by #29G P.Vetri. This make the match 4-2 at this time.

#19LW G.Holt scored with 1:43 left in the second period making the match 4-3 Brooklyn Aviators. This is how the second period ended. Brooklyn fans still saw the win on the score board with only one period left.

THIRD PERIOD action was fast and furious with both teams knowing the importance of the this period. I was time ti do or die as they say in the real world. Skating was fast and the hitting picked up a bit. Sorry to say that the only score came from the stick of #16RW S.OMalley of the Danbury Whalers. His shot was deflected of the skate of #38G J.St Pierre of Brooklyn and found its home inside the A's net.

 This is how the third period ended in a 4-4 tie. Brooklyn fans were thinking of Fridays game and how it ended with Danbury taking the match in the OT period. Can you say let the OT start......

OT PERIOD didn't take to long for Danbury to repeat in an OT victory. The hero for Danbury was #16RW S.OMalley, it took only 1:54 of the OT Period to send Brooklyn packing for the season. The A's could clear the puck from their end and they payed the price, season over. Another hearth breaker for the Brooklyn Aviators players and fans. Whalers 5 and Aviators 4, congratulations to the Danbury Whalers organization.

You couldn't ask for a more exciting playoff action then want I just witnessed, it was great. Even though our season is over I will be attending some of the playoff games and I'll keep you guys posted.

SHOTS OF GOAL: DANBURY 55   BROOKLYN 33

POWERPLAYS: DANBURY 0 FOR 3   BROOKLYN 1 FOR 6

PIM: DANBURY 14 MINUTES FOR 7 INFRACTIONS

       BROOKLYN 8 MINUTES FOR 4 INFRACTIONS

SIDE NOTE: I wish all the teams in the playoffs the best of luck and lets some some real great playoff hockey to show everyone that the FHL in here to stay.

Article by Clifford F. Zeman