‘s hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen followed with interest the round of the night before Wednesday. On the same day, all the teams were scheduled to play staggered matches starting every fifteen minutes. The round reminded me of the American football NFL Sunday.
In Wednesday’s round, Lehkonen also saw the blanks of the Red Zone broadcast known from the NFL. In the NFL, Red Zone is a broadcast that follows the most important moments of each game in real time, jumping from game to game.
– I was left wondering if this was some kind of market grab. I guess it was dictated by necessity to put it on Wednesday, because on Sunday the NHL would lose to the NFL and on Saturday to the college American football series. However, I would say that the NHL is in a situation where it has to test different things on the marketing side, Lehkonen continues.
One experiment was to play two practice matches in September in Australia.
– It really came from outside the box. They sent two gangs there (Los Angeles and Arizona) to watch the kangaroos, Lehkonen jokes.
– The NHL is desperately looking for growth. They are in cahoots with Russia and there is constant crap on that subject. Then there was this rainbow mess, with which luckily they took a spoon in a beautiful hand.
Before the start of the season, the NHL banned players from wearing rainbow tape on their sticks. The ban was lifted this week.
According to Lehkonen, the series desperately needs positive attention.
– The salary cap will rise and young players will get more and more money in the future. Growth should be found somewhere.
Who surprised?
During the first couple of weeks, there are several surprises in the league. Detroit, Philadelphia and even Jarmo Kekäläinen represented by Columbus have had a better start to their season than expected. The same can be said about Boston, who lost important players in the summer.
Many expected Boston, who won the regular season last season, to be in trouble this season.
– I can’t help but praise Boston’s coach Jim Montgomery. He’s got it covered. He is able to adjust the game according to the opponent and the situations. Against Chicago, it was so un-Boston, far from the familiar physical Bruins, but they coolly picked the points out of there.
– They have a good idea in the coaching team and a good idea of how to win. Whether it’s a change of direction game, a mid-range trap, prison rules or whatever, Boston has it all.
That really seems to be the case, as Boston has won every one of its first six games – even four on the road.
– We also need to highlight the culture in the club. Even though certain players have left, the room table is not compromised at all. Jake DeBrusk was late for one of the games in the morning practice, so he didn’t play in the evening. Captain Brad Marchand drive this locomotive there now.
Who flopped?
The strongest candidates for the flop category come from the same Canadian province, Alberta. Edmonton’s fall is shaping up to be a complete garbage fire, and neighboring club Calgary isn’t doing any better. Last season, everyone got fired in the summer Darryl Sutter’s to a spike, but even the change of coach hasn’t made Calgary straighten up.
Defender Nikita Zadorov from the beginning of the week, he opened up in front of the media exceptionally strictly about the team’s problems.
Zadorov unusually directly accused his teammates of self-centeredness. He also let it be understood that some players do not find any type of coach suitable.
Zadorov’s comments can be seen in the messages written to the X service below.
– That Zadorov thing is a real gem, Lehkonen laughs.
– Now you can honestly ask, what is good for that team? In this new generation, there are too many private entrepreneurs who have their own company inside a big company. The NHL is coming at a good pace after basketball in this star cult business. It is not understood how hard to twist that NHL Regular Series is. The river in group dynamics is rotten there.
Goal of the week
Young, lively and skilled Arizona has been a joy to the eye since the beginning of autumn. In the big picture, the team is still very much in the process, but the game is often really entertaining to watch.
The highly mobile and puck-moving youthful pack of Coyotes gave a good indication of their skill level in Wednesday’s power play against Los Angeles. Skill and patience were really enough. The goal of the week is by Clayton Keller finished hit at the end of a beautiful dominance pattern.
– Arizona is now playing the kind of hockey that all teams have to take seriously. No one can take them on days off anymore. The coaching is doing an excellent job there and has made the team commit. They have a tough mission to show the whole world that they can go to the playoffs, says Lehkonen.
What next?
In the upcoming rounds, Lehkonen plans to closely monitor how long the reigning champion Vegas’ flight lasts. Vegas has won each of their seven games. No championship team has started the season with such a hard winning streak before.
– They play better hockey than they played last year in the regular season. The gameplay, tasks and roles seem to be unusually bright for everyone. That’s a tough opponent for anyone. The championship certainly made the group a bit more relaxed as far as coaching goes, which only helps. That team has winning hockey in their hands.
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