Detroit Red Wings & the NHL

[Prime2]

Pens take a stranglehold 3-1 games lead of the Stanley Cup Final, since the League went to a 7 game final format in 1939, teams with the lead are 31-1.

Impressive win in Game 4, by a score of 3-1, Murray & Kessel loooking like the CS leaders at this point.

Expect the Pens to close the series out at home in Pittsburgh in Game 5.

[Prime2]

If Matt Murray plays as well in game 5 as he did in game 4, he wins the Conn Smythe.

Rookie just turned 22 years old, 11 games of NHL experience in the regular season, remarkable playoff stats, 640K a year in salary.

Au Revoir Marc-Andre Fleury!

His Game 4 highlights:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhl-expansion-las-vegas-quebec-city-executive-committee-meeting-realignment-foley-quebecor/

[Hannibal]

Bleh. Another shitty Stanley Cup final so far, by-and-large. Once again, the sport pretty much takes a dump when it is on the biggest stage.

[Mike]

Yeah, it gets progressively worse as the playoffs wear on. The 1st and 2nd rounds are the best because there are enough games to always find something interesting. It's like the NCAA basketball tourney in that way.

[Hannibal]

Hockey is somewhat unique in that the trend towards defense is so profound as the stakes get higher. For the most part, you don't see that happen in other sports. Anyone who doesn't follow the sport closely and has tuned in to see future Hall of Famers work their magic is probably pretty disappointed.

[WingsFan]

Yep and the only ones watching the finals are gary bettman and OP (and maybe a few sad sacks in pitt) . Ratings disaster! Worst since the lockout. Some ambassador cindy is to the game....even Canada isnt watching him, Toronto has NBA fever (good lord).

Now I dont usually care about this much, but after gary bettman shut down that viewing party in Tampa for game 7 because "it would hurt television ratings" instant karma. And the Red Wings are not comming save the day. Shit sandwich! Guess bettman will have to find a way to get the...

blackhawks back in the finals next year

[Rocky Bleier]

blackhawks back in the finals next year

Please, God, no...

[Hannibal]

)Ratings disaster! Worst since the lockout.

NEED MOAR MARKETING.

[Prime2]

lol.


"Now, Jim Rutherford stands alone, poised to do something that just isn’t done in the NHL, something Glen Sather, Brian Burke, Jay Feaster, Bob Gainey, Cliff Fletcher and Punch Imlach, among others, tried to accomplish but couldn’t. Something Lou Lamoriello and Peter Chiarelli are just starting to attempt.

The achievement? Win a Stanley Cup as general manager of one NHL franchise, then do it again with another."

[Prime2]

Stanley Cup Final, Game 5 tonight, San Jose will do everything they can to try and extend the series, Pens will need to be their best at home as it's the hardest series game to win.

Crosby has flown many friends and family in from Nova Scotia which probably will tip the scales towards the Pens.

Prime seats going for 12K apiece, first major championship to be potentially won in Pittsburgh since the early 1960's.

[Prime2]

If you haven't figured out by now that Hockey is by far the greatest game on the planet, well then there's a huge hole in your life.

Although the SCF is down 18% it still remains the most watched program in the nation.

https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/06/06/fewer-fans-watching-stanley-cup-finals.html

Forbes offers, "Perfect Storm of Obstacles Undermining Ratings For NHL's 2016 Stanley Cup Final":

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alishagrauso/2016/06/06/perfect-storm-of-obstacles-undermining-ratings-for-nhls-2016-stanley-cup-final/#38898cb6cf4f

This morning, the NHL announced that, rather than a traditional singer for the national anthem, Metallica would be playing the national anthem tonight at SAP Center in San Jose for the Stanley Cup Final Game 4 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and San Jose Sharks. The band will later be autographing guitars and auctioning them off for charity. For the uninitiated, it’s quite a cool partnership. But those who have been following the Final with a cynical eye might see it more as a publicity stunt meant to boost ratings.
Despite the 2016 Stanley Cup Final being an instant classic between two star-studded, powerhouse teams in the Penguins and Sharks, the ratings have been something just north of terrible. While the NHL and NBC Sports had been aware they were facing an uphill battle heading into the Final, but so far there has been no way to counteract a perfect storm of obstacles that has kept viewers’ eyeballs from tuning in.

Game 1 procured a 2.8 overnight rating, and while it would have been hard to beat last year’s record-breaking Game 1 rating of 4.2, it’s still a precipitous drop. The opening game also aired on Memorial Day weekend, traditionally reserved for BBQs and road trips, not sitting indoors in front of a television. Lastly, it didn’t help that Game 1 was pitted against the Game 7 matchup for the NBA Conference Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder – that game netted an 11.2 rating, setting a new overnight cable record for the NBA. Taking all that into consideration, the 4.08 million viewers that NBC drew for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final wasn’t that bad, but when compared to the 15.9 million the NBA’s Game 7 tilt, the disparity is significant.

The problem has been compounded by the fact that both Pittsburgh and San Jose are small market teams. Much like with the MLB playoffs, ratings for the NHL Final tend to live and die depending on the market. The last five previous Final round have featured at least one team (if not both) from the large market cities of Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, or New York, and last year’s Final matchup between the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning was a record-breaker, averaging a record viewership of 5.6 million per game throughout.
Game 2 drew a 1.4 rating and 2.5 million viewers on NBCSN. It was the least-viewed Final matchup in 4 years, and Game 3 was even lower at 2.8 million viewers. Again, these two small market teams, while putting an amazing product on ice, don’t carry with them a prepackaged fanbase destined to bump ratings: Consider that Game 3 drew a record overnight rating for NBC Sports Network in the Bay Area with a 6.2 overnight rating, and the overnight rating for the Pittsburgh area was astronomical at 28.2. It’s a shame that so few people are watching the Final, because through three games, it’s been one for the ages.

[Mike]

I stopped reading at "instant classic". Unfortunatey, I need to change the oil in my lawn mower beginning at 8:00 tonight.

[Prime2]

LOL OT.

If the Detroit Red Wings were in the final, I'd bet you'd hire a couple of illegal Mexicans to cut your lawn, if the need arose.

[Hannibal]

... through three games, it?s been one for the ages.

LMAO

[Prime2]

I get it, you boys are a little upset. Hometown heroes up for GM of the Year with different, even foreign Clubs.