Observations From the First Night of NHL Action

How I should be characterized after spending 6 hours flipping between 15 NHL hockey games last night...

Hockey dork? Probably. No life? Perhaps.

Happy to finally get to see major league professional hockey after a year-and-a-half absence? Most definitely!!

After seeing bits and pieces of every game played last night, I observed some very positive things. First off, the rule changes appear to be working. There was considerable end-to-end action, and the flow of the games were very good despite all of the penalties that were called.

Compared to the opening two nights of the last season, scoring was up significantly...over two goals a game more. I realize it was only one night of hockey, but it looked like all of the changes made this year did their part to help increase goal scoring. Some of the goalies were obviously struggling with the smaller equipment. There were a few goals scored off of two-line passes. Power plays were dynamic with the extra four feet of room in the offensive zone. And most importantly, the buildings were packed. According to ESPN, the arenas were at 98.4% capacity last night, compared to 94% capacity over the same stretch last season. It all combined for an exciting night of hockey.

The Red Wings came out of the gate flying, although their opponent, St. Louis, looks like they would struggle against some minor league teams. I think the Wings will really benefit from the rules changes, and new coach Mike Babcock appears to be the perfect fit for this team. The Wings won their home opener 5-1.

Pittsburgh's superrookie Sidney Crosby looked awesome. He had an excellent scoring chance on his first shift and looked like he belonged on the Pens' first line from the very beginning. He ended the night with an assist on Pittsburgh's lone goal...the Pens fell to New Jersey 5-1.

I watched a good portion of the Toronto-Ottawa game. Eric Lindros looked very good (almost dominant), and I think he'll be huge for Toronto this year if healthy. The game ended in the first shootout in NHL history, which was fun to watch. Ottawa won the shootout 2-0 and the game 3-2.

Last night was also the opener for the NHL on OLN. I wasn't too impressed. The camera was zoomed in way too close on the players, and the brightness was so high that the image began to washout. I didn't see their pregame, postgame, or intermission productions, so I can't comment on those. It looks like they just need to follow the tried-and-true formula of the other hockey broadcasters and not try new in-game stuff...the reason ESPN's ratings were so low was promotion, not production.

There are three games on the schedule tonight, including Detroit vs. St. Louis again, this time in St. Louis in HD splendor. Hockey in high definition is something to behold. For those of you who complain about hockey on TV being unwatchable because you can't follow the puck (hint: follow the flow of players, not the puck)...well you can (if you're so inclined) on HD. The image is beautiful, it looks like you're actually in the stands!

I'm just happy it's back. There was such a tremendous void last winter, and now it looks like the game is better than ever.

And don't forget the NHL players will be participating in the Winter Olympics this winter!