Playoff Hockey

     I want to take some time today to salute the NHL playoffs. I am in the midst of watching the Bruins and Penguins series and I just can't hold in my excitement any longer. Ever since I started to have an ambition to be a sports writer I have been paying a lot more attention to every sport. I am from Boston, (well 45 minutes south of Boston) so I have been following the B's my whole life but lately I have been paying closer attention and I have decided that playoff hockey is infact the most dramatic, exciting, and anxiety filled sport in the world.

      I have been considering this since my freshmen year of college and I have watched numerous football, baseball, basketball and hockey playoff games. Nothing has captured my attention and put me on my feet more then NHL playoff games.

    There is just something extra about the NHL playoffs. In football, you get one game and done and you have to wait until next Sunday to see what happens, but with the three other sports you get 7 game series that you can be excited for with maybe a day or two at the most in between.

     Now even thought basketball and baseball play seven game series, there are just things about them that make them less exciting then hockey. First off with basketball, there are just too many points, there is no need to watch anything but the last two minutes, unless a team takes a 30 point lead in the first half, there's really no need to watch the whole thing unless you're a die hard basketball fan. 

    With baseball its sort of similar, the game just moves so slow. I could change the channel for three minutes before the pitcher sets for their next pitch, then they throw a ball or a foul tip keeps the at bat going. I guess I just don't have the attention span for two and a half to three hours of that.

   With hockey though, every trip down the ice is a compelling story. Every shot on goal gets you out of your seat because that one shot can mean the difference of winning or losing the game.

  You also get games like this years Bruins series against Toronto where  the Bruins came back from a 4-l deficit and took the game to OT and won the game. This game, I believe gave them the confidence to get past the Rangers, and to now be holding a 3-0 series lead over the penguins after a double OT game last night.

  SO to recap, there is nothing like the NHL playoffs no sport has had my stomach in knots like it gets during these games. I have never yelled at my TV as much as I do, and I have never felt as satisfied after a win like game 7 in Toronto while watching any other sport.

  So if you have never watched an NHL playoff series, I suggest you make it a point to watch the Stanley Cup Finals when they come on and treat yourself to an awesome sporting event matched by no other.