Monday, December 27, 2010

2010 in Review: Hockey Version

It's only a few more days until 2010 walks away, so this week will be dedicated to some of the year's bests in different categories.  Today, the "best of" will cover hockey (Is there anything else that would begin a "best of" segment for this hockey loving heart?).  The first few months of the year were moving towards the 2010 Olympic Games, one that saw an improbable run by the United States hockey team that many thought wouldn't even finish in the top four, yet were a Sidney Crosby goal away from a gold medal.  Superstars were born that in that Olympics, as the likes of Ryan Miller, Drew Doughty, and Jaroslav Halak made names for themselves while guys like Crosby and Roberto Luongo only made their stars brighter than before.  The playoffs would follow in the Spring, as Halak announced his arrival in leading Montreal to the Conference Finals, upsetting Washington and Pittsburgh along the way.  The improbable Chicago-Philadelphia Finals matchup happened thanks to an even more improbable comeback by Philadelphia in the Conference Semifinals, winning the series against Boston 4-3 after losing the first three games.  I can tell you that it felt good seeing Boston fans in disbelief after the game 7 loss, and after all, they should know first hand this kind of feeling, as their baseball team did this, only they were on the right side of the ledger.  The NHL draft welcomed a potential superstar in Taylor Hall (emphasis on the word "potential") and the free agency period saw a prolonged drama named the Ilya Kovalchuk contract drag on for two months.

Once the season began, the Devils, the biggest loser in the free agency market, hit rock bottom, but not before the New York Islanders, as the Isles had a monumental losing streak that rubbed salt in their wounds (Can these guys ever catch a break?) and the Maple Leafs fans throwing waffles as the on-ice product once again, stinks up the joint.  Maybe it's time the Leafs follow the Isles and Devils' examples and start over in the coaching position.  The Blackhawks have shown some resilience in the wake of trading half of their team away due to salary cap issues while the Canucks are still looking to live up to the lofty expectations set upon them before the season (and believe me, those expectations include a big, silver Cup, and nothing short of that will do).

2011 will see the All-Star game, another great playoff run by some team, and perhaps, Crosby carrying his point streak into the new year.  Time will tell on all of these, but two games sure to generate interest will be the Caps-Pens on New Year's Day at Heinz Field and the Habs/Flames playing in McMahon Stadium in Calgary, and if you couldn't figure out from the above statement, both are outdoor games.

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