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Due to their appreciation for the recent two posts about hockey on this blog, the NHL has decided to do me the honour of starting the Stanley Cup Finals today. I know, I know, what an epic honour! I’m pretty impressed too. When they first called* to tell me, I nearly fell of my chair.

So, why am I bothering you with it? Well, it’s only likely to be the best matchup all year. Let me give you some background.

At the end of the 07/08 season, these two teams met in the finals. Pittsburgh was the younger team — their two biggest stars hadn’t been to the finals before. Detroit was the veteran squad. And you could tell. Detroit won in six games. Pittsburgh acquitted itself nicely, though… to go six games of a possible seven is impressive, especially when your two biggest stars are not only experiencing the pressure of the final for the first time, but also both injured or recovering from injuries.

The season ended. One of Pittsburgh’s other top players (a gentleman named Hossa), decided to jump ship and go to a team with a better chance of winning a cup. Where’d he go? Detroit. Blech. Pittsburgh’s brightest star did an advertisement in which he stated that he never wanted to experience losing the Stanley Cup finals again.

So, now, at the end of the 08/09 season, it comes down to these two teams again. Pittsburgh, more experienced, healthier, and featuring a great, big chip on their shoulders. Detroit, most experienced, a juggernaut really, looking to hoist the cup again.

This is going to be great hockey. While I would absolutely love for the Penguins to win four games in a row and sweep the Red Wings out of the final, I know it’s unlikely. This is going to be a battle. I hope the Pens come out on top. Either way, it’ll be the best hockey to watch all year.

*they didn’t actually call. I made it up. But it was really convenient timing.

On Saturdays, I’m aiming for a bit of a change of pace. Something not writing/art related, something that I’m interested in, something that I feel like I might be able to explain.

So today, this is hockey:

Hockey is basically this: two nets on either end of an ice surface that is 200 feet long and 85 feet wide. A guy in a ridiculously large amount of padding in front of each net. 10 guys in less padding (though still a lot), five on each team, who attempt to put a little, round, black, rubber disc, three inches in diameter, into each others’ net. (Hence the padding on the guy standing in front. He’s called a goalie, just like in soccer.) All of this while balancing on skates.

It is beautiful. Seriously. It is an incredibly fast game with tons of momentum and plenty of momentum shifts. It’s intricate — there are set plays that make the best diagrammed football play look like chump change. There’s improvisation in spades, thanks to the difficult nature of controlling a piece of hard rubber on a sheet of ice. There are times when, thanks to the bounce of the puck, two forwards (the term used for players who typically play on the offense side of the puck) get alone with the other team’s goalie. The goalie sometimes wins, even.

People are drawn to hockey for many different reasons — some like the fighting, some like the checking, some like the atmosphere. As for me, I like the speed and grace that a good game of hockey brings to the fore. There’s nothing quite like watching Sidney Crosby or Mario Lemieux confuse defencemen, sneak by them with the puck, deke the goalie out of his shorts, and put the puck soundly in the back of the net. When you see that siren light up at the end of a seemingly impossible play… there’s just nothing quite like it.

This is hockey.