[Archived] NHL?

[ABBEY]

Is it on espn ? Sky? Anywhere?

[superniko]

Is it on espn ? Sky? Anywhere?

It's on Premier Sports on Sky.

I think ESPN were originally going to broadcast it but decided they wanted more NBA instead (a decision they may well be regretting right now).

[ABBEY]

True ha. Is prem sport a pay channel?

[superniko]

True ha. Is prem sport a pay channel?

Yeah it's a pay extra, like ESPN but not really sure what it shows other than NHL and Blue Sq football.

[ABBEY]

no nhl it is then

[American Rover12]

Shame, great season with some great games already.

[ABBEY]

I thought it was on espn that's one of reasons I signed up.

[OhmiBRFC]

Premier Sports shows Gaelic games too I think.

[ABBEY]

Someone said its 8 a month , gotta draw line with espn being good

[Steve Moss]

NHL is good. Much better than the NBA, in my opinion of course.

[American Rover12]

Figured I'd give this a bump and see if any forum members following the NHL at all. Or does England/Europe have a top hockey league of it's own that acts as a substitute?

[superniko]

Figured I'd give this a bump and see if any forum members following the NHL at all. Or does England/Europe have a top hockey league of it's own that acts as a substitute?

I follow it fairly regularly, Penguins fan myself so not having the best time of it at the moment. Think the atlantic division is turning into a 2-way fight unfoturtunately.

Must say I have been very impressed with the Rangers this season. Shame it's on Premier Sports overhere, damn ESPN screwing up!

[cn174]

Figured I'd give this a bump and see if any forum members following the NHL at all. Or does England/Europe have a top hockey league of it's own that acts as a substitute?

I have an interest in NHL, but not enough that I would pay extra to watch it on that Premier Sports (though in a few years when Rovers are in the conference we might have to buy it!). Chicago are my team.

England does have a hockey league but it is nowhere on the scale of NHL. The mid 90s to early 00s was ice hockey's main time here. I used to watch Manchester Storm a little, they drew some fairly decent crowds - around 10-15,000 per game. The whole thing folded in 2003 when the MEN Arena decided they didn't really want ice hockey there anymore and put the rent up to ridiculous levels, players weren't being paid etc.

The league also folded and was replaced after by another one. That league is still going but I don't think that games are even shown on TV.

[American Rover12]

Well Im a massive rangers fan and they're having the best season they've had in years so watching this season has been highly enjoyable. I'm a hockey fan in general though too, and one thing I love about the NHL is still finding games between neutral teams enjoyable, the parity of the league is pretty entertaining.

[hollowsr]

I follow the Senators, I got interested through a Canadian Family fried of ours.

Having a better than expected season, its very true that the NHL is a million miles better than the UK hockey. UK Hockey does have highlights on Sky Sports I think but the standard doesn't seem even close, looks so slow most of the time.

Such a shame that we can't get the NHL on TV over here without paying more

[T4E]

I went to see the Rangers when I was in NY a couple of years back so kinda follow them but don't pay too much attention. I have a jersey with Lundqvist on the back and one of those big foam fingers though

[American Rover12]

I went to see the Rangers when I was in NY a couple of years back so kinda follow them but don't pay too much attention. I have a jersey with Lundqvist on the back and one of those big foam fingers though

Solid choice, King Henrik is having a career year this season.

[Audax]

I often enjoy the action, teams I like some or a lot: Nashville Predators, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, I liked the Lightning's attack, if they did not have these players, I probably would not care too much for the team. Blackhawks are okay too. Haven't seen much this year. Boston is so-so with me but I think they deserved last year's Cup and full congrats to them.

I tend not to cheer the favoured teams, Penguins, Redwings, but only cause they've won a lot.

[American Rover12]

You're right about that Audax, it's easy to root for teams in neutral games because you like their style or certain players. Makes watching non rangers games all the more enjoyable.

[RoyRover]

I thought it was on espn that's one of reasons I signed up.

It was on ESPN last year. It was great. I became a real night owl, between watching that, college football and college basketball.

I'm a huge Buffalo Sabres fan myself. They are having a pretty mediocre season. After the new owner came in, they spent a lot of cash on the likes of Ville Leino and Christan Erhoff, but things haven't worked out. Ryan Miller has been his MVP best and despite finally getting some big scoring out Thomas Vanek, the team has been leaking goals and has looked weak defensively.

[Audax]

Sidney Crosby is hurt, I don't know the details myself. ESPN was running the banner headline "Did Crosby break his neck and nobody knew it??", so this is pretty bad. They do show one film clip where he got checked from behind. I only know the vague details about this.

For the record though and from what I read it was something about his vertebrae so please, don't let me sound "alarmist", it was ESPN's headline that looked a bit "sensationalist". Still, this is the basics of what I heard. Maybe not as bad as ESPN said but I don't believe he's playing but I don't think he's in a hospital bed or a cast for his neck.

[Audax]

Sidney Crosby has been skating recently. Seems he suffered a "soft tissue" neck injury, NOT a fracture.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/story/2012-01-31/sidney-crosby-update-expected/52904860/1

The Pittsburgh Penguins said Tuesday that a doctor's review found no past or present neck fracture in star Sidney Crosby, but there's a soft-tissue injury that could be contributing to his concussion symptoms.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/sports/57685-crosby-case-shows-what-we-dont-know

When the Sidney Crosby concussion story first broke, I wrote that perhaps the one blessing from his misfortune was the huge amount of publicity it would bring to a serious ailment.

That has proven to be the case.

North American hockey followers are undoubtedly more educated than ever about concussions. Crosby’s condition has not only increased awareness of this growing problem but has educated everyone in the world of sports about the seriousness of these head injuries.

We’ve now learned, however, that in addition to the concussion, Crosby also suffered soft-tissue damage in his neck — not fractured vertebrae as was reported on the weekend.

Crosby for those who do not know is, along with Alex Ovechkin, perhaps a few others, the "Stars" of the NHL, perhaps the way Messi is in La Liga, so it is significant when he gets injured and you hate to hear of an injury of this sort. I don't believe they know for sure what shot definitely caused him getting hurt but they think it was probably this one back-check that did it.

So on a personal note, let's hope Sidney Crosby gets better soon.

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Edit on: Weekly Power rankings are interesting. There are many sources, one webpage even shows difference news-agencies ratings side by side.

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/powerrankings

Again, they don't mean a whole lot but kind of give a general idea as to how teams are doing.

1. Redwings

2. Rangers

3. Canucks

4. Bruins

5. Nashville Predators, good for them, I kind of like them.

6. St. Louis Blues, that's a club that has been down for a number of years.

Go to the link to see the complete rankings.

Of course, these rankings change drastically, so I often take a peak every week and unfortunately, do not see much of the NHL.

[American Rover12]

It was on ESPN last year. It was great. I became a real night owl, between watching that, college football and college basketball.

I'm a huge Buffalo Sabres fan myself. They are having a pretty mediocre season. After the new owner came in, they spent a lot of cash on the likes of Ville Leino and Christan Erhoff, but things haven't worked out. Ryan Miller has been his MVP best and despite finally getting some big scoring out Thomas Vanek, the team has been leaking goals and has looked weak defensively.

Tough loss to the Rangers tonight. Hard fought game that could have went either way.

[RoyRover]

Tough loss to the Rangers tonight. Hard fought game that could have went either way.

Just another one to go with the countless examples from this season I'm afraid. I don't see us making the playoffs. One thing that can't happen though is that Lindy Ruff gets the can.

The Rangers finally seem to have gotten it together. For too long they've spent big and badly, made knee jerk decisions, traded off former glories and had bad management. Torterella doesn't take any crap and you need a coach like that when you are in charge of a group of highly paid young men living in New York City. I'm a huge fan of Marian Gaborik. He's just lethal and is really make an impact now. Lundqvist is an absolute rock in goals. I really enjoyed watching them on 24/7 Road To The Winter Classic. Like most hockey players, they came across as down to earth, likable guys, apart from Sean Avery who was a complete douche. Good thing they got rid.

[Audax]

Rangers will make the playoffs with ease, 8 of 15 teams in each conference always do.

The playoffs, postseason really is another season. That first round of playoffs when there seems to be as many as 4 or 5 games a night is always real exciting when so many teams are still in it.

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/standings/playoffrace

I'd think there would be a good chance for Gaborik to lift the Stanley cup, really. For the record, not really my team.

Just another one to go with the countless examples from this season I'm afraid. I don't see us making the playoffs. One thing that can't happen though is that Lindy Ruff gets the can.

The Rangers finally seem to have gotten it together. For too long they've spent big and badly, made knee jerk decisions, traded off former glories and had bad management. Torterella doesn't take any crap and you need a coach like that when you are in charge of a group of highly paid young men living in New York City. I'm a huge fan of Marian Gaborik. He's just lethal and is really make an impact now. Lundqvist is an absolute rock in goals. I really enjoyed watching them on 24/7 Road To The Winter Classic. Like most hockey players, they came across as down to earth, likable guys, apart from Sean Avery who was a complete douche. Good thing they got rid.