Hockey thread

[SouprMatt]

I think I may have been the only hockey fan before, but we may have at least one more now!

I was feeling a bit depressed by all the political news, so I turned on my favorite team, the Sabres. They’re losing 3-0 and look terrible. I think my cure for doomscrolling just backfired… Oh well, maybe something good will happen at the trade deadline and next year will finally lead to their first playoff game after 14 years of missing them…

 

[SouprMatt]

Wow, I thought they’d lose for sure, down 3-0. But they just tied it with 1 minute left! Too bad they still lost in overtime. Still, salvaging a point after being down 3-0 is pretty good.

 

[SouprMatt]

Before the Vancouver Canucks game tonight, they honored indigenous tribes, and had a live performance of traditional music. The Canadian fans showed a lot of appreciation!

A couple minutes later, the Star Spangled Banner was sung, and booed loudly by the crowd.

If that’s what “woke” is, then sign me up!

 

[Pumbaa]

Ovechkin replacing Gretzky as NHL's all-time goals leader is certainly both notable and impressive.

Ovechkin becomes NHL's all-time goals leader with No. 895 | NHL.com

39-year-old Capitals forward passes Gretzky, sets record against Islanders

www.nhl.com

 

[SouprMatt]

Some of my friends are huge Caps fans, and they were hoping he’d break the record at home… But they are over the moon either way. I’m sure there will be a big celebration before the next game in Washington.

Meanwhile, my favorite team is on a bit of a winning streak. The Sabres might be out of playoff contention, but it’s good to keep winning nonetheless. And just today, the top scorer Tage Thompson got to 43 goals with a hat trick!

 

[Pumbaa]

 

[Pumbaa]

 

[Pumbaa]

Phew, pretty exhausted over here.

Semifinals nearing their ends. ”My” team is now up 3-2 in best of seven with the next game at home. Quite the rollercoaster ride.

Won 4-2 (Away)
Lost 3-7 (Away)
Lost 0-4 (Home), first home game without scoring this season.
Won 2-0 (Home)
Won 5-0 (Away), first back-to-back losses for the opposing team this season.

The home crowd started leaving early, and the home players focused on injuring their opponents. At least one is likely out for the remainder of the season. 😭

 

[Pumbaa]

A bit of a late update as I've been out of commission: The hockey season is formally over.

Game 6 loss at home, 3-8 after a disastrous beginning of the second period with three goals conceded between 20:14 and 22:38. Everything went in...
Game 7 loss away, 1-2 in OT. Multiple delays due to home fans repeatedly throwing confetti and stuff onto the ice. Idiots. Not unexpected, though, I refrained from attending any of the seven games due to their so called fans, simply not safe.

I am of course disappointed with the result, but very proud of the team. The opposing team had nearly double the budget for players (no salary cap here) and expected an easy win but had to suffer through seven games and only pull through in OT.

 

[SouprMatt]

A bit of a late update as I've been out of commission: The hockey season is formally over.

Game 6 loss at home, 3-8 after a disastrous beginning of the second period with three goals conceded between 20:14 and 22:38. Everything went in...
Game 7 loss away, 1-2 in OT. Multiple delays due to home fans repeatedly throwing confetti and stuff onto the ice. Idiots. Not unexpected, though, I refrained from attending any of the seven games due to their so called fans, simply not safe.

I am of course disappointed with the result, but very proud of the team. The opposing team had nearly double the budget for players (no salary cap here) and expected an easy win but had to suffer through seven games and only pull through in OT.

Congratulations on a somewhat successful season!

The season for the Sabres ends in a couple days. The NHL playoffs haven’t even started yet. This is year 14 of the team’s failure to reach the postseason. Not a record to be proud of… 😮‍💨

 

[Pumbaa]

So, about the finals I won’t watch…

No away supporters will be allowed at any game.

The referees will get extended police protection.

Several top referees have been removed from consideration proactively due to threats.

Makes me wanna puke.

 

[Pumbaa]

Well well... 4-0, 4-3, 4-1. Quite expected. The semi was the "real" final.

Chaos arupts as Djurgården wins and advances to the SHL: opposing fans try to enter the AIK bench before the game ends, following the buzzer fans storm the ice.

Animals.

 

[SouprMatt]

Well well... 4-0, 4-3, 4-1. Quite expected. The semi was the "real" final.



Animals.

They really take hockey fandom to the next level… NHL fans are pretty energetic, but they generally leave the fighting to the players. And I’ve never seen them come onto the ice!

 

[Pumbaa]

They really take hockey fandom to the next level… NHL fans are pretty energetic, but they generally leave the fighting to the players. And I’ve never seen them come onto the ice!

If you are in Sweden and want to see people express their feelings, go watch a game of hockey or association football. I once organized for a diverse bunch of foreign fellow phd students to attend a hockey game and they were flabbergasted.

NHL is amazing thanks to the ridiculously high quality of the players but it is more business than sport. Promotion and relegation where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system based on their performance is the shit.

 

[Pumbaa]

Geography of Hockeyallsvenskan (second highest division in Sweden) next season.

We welcome relegated MoDo (lost play-out 2-4 despite winning the first two games) and promoted Troja/Ljungby (won the playoff final 3-2) and say farewell to relegated Tingsryd (lost play-out 3-4) and good riddance to promoted Djurgården. The geographical center shifts slightly north.



I will probably make a post later about promotions and relegations. Third tier to second tier is quite convoluted but fascinating with several stops along the way to keep costs down (especially for lower performing clubs).

 

[Pumbaa]

Poor Team USA, getting booed in Denmark.

It's not something you like. It's really disrespectful, honestly, says American forward Cutter Gauthier

Well, how about asking your orange king to stop threatening to invade Denmark? 🤔

USA Faces Booing in Denmark During Hockey World Championship Opener | Sweden Herald

The American team was met with massive booing when it played its opening match in the World Championship in hockey against Denmark in Danish Herning

swedenherald.com

 

[Pumbaa]

Now for something different:

@Pumbaa attending an IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship game! Picked Slovenia-Latvia mainly due to cheaper tickets but also hoping for an exciting game between two minor nations.

The only familiar face was Blaz Gregorc in Slovenia, who played for ”my” team for a few seasons. Anze Kopitar would have been another, had he joined the team.

Anyways, four Latvian supporters spotted on the tram, plenty more visible closer to the arena.



Avicii Arena, the Globe, formerly the largest spherical building in the world, newly renovated and modernized.



Plenty of Latvian supporters hanging out close to the arena, drinking, eating, smoking, and occasionally chanting ”Lat-vi-ja! Lat-vi-ja!” accompanied by drums.



Less action inside the ”Fan Zone”, but I got to take a picture with Beaty, the official mascot, and the obligatory beer tent was present.

1 USD is about 10 SEK.



Entered the arena too early (due to the underwhelming fan zone) and tried something I never tried before: Popcorn at a hockey game. The medium sized bucket looked tiny so I went with a large one and dude was it large. Equally tasty, though!

BFF helped, but we were unable to finish it…



Around 3500 in attendance, roughly 10000 fewer than capacity. Guesstimating a dozen or two supporting Slovenia, a couple of hundred neutral, and the rest supporting Latvia.



Pretty entertaining game.

 

[SouprMatt]

Now for something different:

@Pumbaa attending an IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship game! Picked Slovenia-Latvia mainly due to cheaper tickets but also hoping for an exciting game between two minor nations.

The only familiar face was Blaz Gregorc in Slovenia, who played for ”my” team for a few seasons. Anze Kopitar would have been another, had he joined the team.

Anyways, four Latvian supporters spotted on the tram, plenty more visible closer to the arena.

View attachment 2101

Avicii Arena, the Globe, formerly the largest spherical building in the world, newly renovated and modernized.

View attachment 2102

Plenty of Latvian supporters hanging out close to the arena, drinking, eating, smoking, and occasionally chanting ”Lat-vi-ja! Lat-vi-ja!” accompanied by drums.

View attachment 2103

Less action inside the ”Fan Zone”, but I got to take a picture with Beaty, the official mascot, and the obligatory beer tent was present.

1 USD is about 10 SEK.

View attachment 2104

Entered the arena too early (due to the underwhelming fan zone) and tried something I never tried before: Popcorn at a hockey game. The medium sized bucket looked tiny so I went with a large one and dude was it large. Equally tasty, though!

BFF helped, but we were unable to finish it…

View attachment 2105

Around 3500 in attendance, roughly 10000 fewer than capacity. Guesstimating a dozen or two supporting Slovenia, a couple of hundred neutral, and the rest supporting Latvia.

View attachment 2106

Pretty entertaining game.

Nice - that Arena looks great!

The Washington Capitals looked completely outclassed by the Carolina Hurricanes so far in their playoff series. So maybe I can score a cheap ticket for the playoff game in DC the day after tomorrow… 🤔

 

[Pumbaa]

Nice - that Arena looks great!

Great for concerts. Works well for ice hockey if filled to capacity, but fans typically prefer the (literally) next door arena Hovet unless there is a playoff game between the two large clubs normally playing at Hovet, or something like Sweden-Finland in the world championships or a final. Casual fans on the other hand might prefer the Globe due to better (and more modern) facilities.

The Washington Capitals looked completely outclassed by the Carolina Hurricanes so far in their playoff series. So maybe I can score a cheap ticket for the playoff game in DC the day after tomorrow… 🤔

Fingers crossed!

I would love to attend a game over there some day. Followed Rangers a bit as a kid, mostly due to computer games, but given the current state of things it would have to be a game in Canada. Maybe in Toronto. We’ll see.

 

[Pumbaa]

Madness! Denmark just eliminated Canada!

Denmark eliminates Canada from worlds with stunning late comeback

The third period of the world hockey championship quarterfinal between Canada and Denmark was dominated by a team that outshot its opponent 22-10 and scored a pair of game-breaking goals less than two minutes apart.

www.sportsnet.ca