SCF: Colorado Avalanche (C1) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (A3)

[4EVRLEAFAN]

Woohoo, go Avs!!

[L K]

Tampa has come back from deficits before but this game really looked like a tired older team with miles on their bodies up against a relentless powerhouse.  I think this one isn't going to be a long series.

[herman]

Playing mile high probably didn't help them either

[Nik]

The sort of general disinterest in this series really has me wondering, what percentage of hockey fans do you suppose are the sort who just love the game and would watch the finals no matter which teams were in it? People who generally have an interest in the wider sport and who are, say, interested if a team like Dallas improves their defense next year if they're not a fan of Dallas. Like, is it 10%? 15%? Lower? People who generally have an interest in the wider sport? Is it prevalent in younger fans?

Because in my twitter feed hockey media pops up of people who cover hockey like the NBA in that regard and I know, like, zero fans who follow the game that way.

Is anyone here, at a board devoted to following this sport and a team in this league, really watching the finals?

[CarltonTheBear]

I watched game 1, it was great hockey. Tuned in late to game 2 and decided to do other stuff when I realized it seemed out of hand. But I think you're pretty right in that among the big sports hockey fans are more likely to just watch/follow their specific team than the league as a whole.

I know lots of people who will drop everything on Sunday's to watch football all day long, regardless of who is playing. I'm a lifelong hockey fan and I genuinely don't know if I've ever watched an entire regular season NHL game that didn't involve the Leafs.

[4EVRLEAFAN]

I watched game 1, it was great hockey. Tuned in late to game 2 and decided to do other stuff when I realized it seemed out of hand. But I think you're pretty right in that among the big sports hockey fans are more likely to just watch/follow their specific team than the league as a whole.

I know lots of people who will drop everything on Sunday's to watch football all day long, regardless of who is playing. I'm a lifelong hockey fan and I genuinely don't know if I've ever watched an entire regular season NHL game that didn't involve the Leafs.

Back in the eighties I did, The Islanders and Oilers were must watch hockey, my favorite Stanley Cup final was the Islanders Oilers first series, man what a series. This year I'm watching just to see if the Bolts get beat, I still maintain and always will that we should have won that series, sorry to keep going on about it, but man we are so much better than the way we played, could you imagine a Leafs Avs series, Kaboom!! LOL

[AtomicMapleLeaf]

The sort of general disinterest in this series really has me wondering, what percentage of hockey fans do you suppose are the sort who just love the game and would watch the finals no matter which teams were in it? People who generally have an interest in the wider sport and who are, say, interested if a team like Dallas improves their defense next year if they're not a fan of Dallas. Like, is it 10%? 15%? Lower? People who generally have an interest in the wider sport? Is it prevalent in younger fans?

Because in my twitter feed hockey media pops up of people who cover hockey like the NBA in that regard and I know, like, zero fans who follow the game that way.

Is anyone here, at a board devoted to following this sport and a team in this league, really watching the finals?

I love hockey and for some reason I'm watching most of the games this year, probably because I'm especially using these two teams as a measurement or
comparison to my beloved Leafs as I think we are close to winning the Cup. Usually I check out after the Leafs are eliminated.

[Bender]

I had a lot of interest in the first game, but had a wedding to attend on Saturday and had a few things to do tonight, so missed it. I definitely would catch an elimination game.

[Arn]

The sort of general disinterest in this series really has me wondering, what percentage of hockey fans do you suppose are the sort who just love the game and would watch the finals no matter which teams were in it? People who generally have an interest in the wider sport and who are, say, interested if a team like Dallas improves their defense next year if they're not a fan of Dallas. Like, is it 10%? 15%? Lower? People who generally have an interest in the wider sport? Is it prevalent in younger fans?

Because in my twitter feed hockey media pops up of people who cover hockey like the NBA in that regard and I know, like, zero fans who follow the game that way.

Is anyone here, at a board devoted to following this sport and a team in this league, really watching the finals?

Obviously the trans-Atlantic perspective and time zone thing kicks in, but it's an "effort" to watch NHL hockey a lot of times over here, so for me it's very much Leafs only. In saying that, on a Sunday particularly we do tend to get 3 or 4 games from around 5pm UK time and if I remember it's on and put it on, it tends to be in the background to other stuff I'm doing rather than actively giving it 100% attention.

But then I'm actually the same when it comes to my team here in the UK. If Belfast aren't playing and something like Cardiff v Sheffield is on TV I've no real interest in watching and wouldn't go out of my way to tune in.

If I'm travelling to a city that has a hockey team I do tend to try and go watch though, so I've managed to see New Jersey, Rangers, Washington, Boston, Montreal and then teams in Germany (Berlin), Sweden (Skelleftea) and Finland (Oulu) too.

For football (soccer) I would tend to watch the big games on TV most weeks even if it isn't my team or pick out a Champions League game between say Juventus and Barcelona or something though and actually sit and watch it.

This post season I have been more invested post Leafs exit than usual in actively going to check the scores and watch highlights first thing I wake up. Also been reading the stuff from Tampa and Colorado writers on The Athletic. Probably because I think the Leafs are as close as they've been in a while.

[Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate]

The sort of general disinterest in this series really has me wondering, what percentage of hockey fans do you suppose are the sort who just love the game and would watch the finals no matter which teams were in it? People who generally have an interest in the wider sport and who are, say, interested if a team like Dallas improves their defense next year if they're not a fan of Dallas. Like, is it 10%? 15%? Lower? People who generally have an interest in the wider sport? Is it prevalent in younger fans?

Because in my twitter feed hockey media pops up of people who cover hockey like the NBA in that regard and I know, like, zero fans who follow the game that way.

Is anyone here, at a board devoted to following this sport and a team in this league, really watching the finals?

Not me.

I spend way too much time  — an unhealthy amount, really — watching the Leafs to bother once they are eliminated.  I am rooting for the Avs here — screw Cooper — but don't really care either way.

[L K]

Tampa gets burned for their after whistle shenanigans in Game 1/2.  Go home and magically Tampa gets more powerplays at home.  It's this stuff that has me lose interest in the NHL when the Leafs aren't playing.  I have an emotional attachment to the Leafs.  My interest in hockey in general went down quite a bit when the owners cried poor during both lockouts while despite enabling a system that put the team I cheer for at a competitive disadvantage relative to their revenue power. 

The excessive balance of officiating that favours teams that bend the rules drives me nuts and I find it hard to watch when there are next to no consequences for constant rule infractions

[Bill_Berg_is_less_sad]

The sort of general disinterest in this series really has me wondering, what percentage of hockey fans do you suppose are the sort who just love the game and would watch the finals no matter which teams were in it? People who generally have an interest in the wider sport and who are, say, interested if a team like Dallas improves their defense next year if they're not a fan of Dallas. Like, is it 10%? 15%? Lower? People who generally have an interest in the wider sport? Is it prevalent in younger fans?

Because in my twitter feed hockey media pops up of people who cover hockey like the NBA in that regard and I know, like, zero fans who follow the game that way.

Is anyone here, at a board devoted to following this sport and a team in this league, really watching the finals?

Regular season I watch the Leafs only. I watch at least a game a night when the Leafs are in the playoffs, but once they are out I watch nothing. So if the Leafs made the conf finals, I would watch their games and probably all the games of the other conf final.

NFL now I'll watch two 2-14 teams play on a Thursday night if that's who's playing.

[bustaheims]

The excessive balance of officiating that favours teams that bend the rules drives me nuts and I find it hard to watch when there are next to no consequences for constant rule infractions

Officiating is probably the biggest issue with the on-ice product. It's the worst I can remember it being in my 35 or so years watching the NHL. There's not even the appearance of consistency these days.

[Heroic Shrimp]

2-2 in overtime. Tampa can't afford to give this one up.

[4EVRLEAFAN]

And who scores the winner? Maybe it shouldn't of counted but par for course this year, the officiating has been terrible, lets see it Tampa can bounce back from this one.