Tag: NHL

No Olympics for Us

I was really looking forward to the NHL sending players back to the Olympics this year but I really should have known better. It’s no use getting our hopes up about anything anymore. Here in Covid-land it’s all gone to shit and we’re just going to tread water in said shit for the rest of our days.

One year ago today I wrote this:

“Now we just have three work days, and a Christmas Eve to go before our first and hopefully last ever Covid-19 Christmas. Here’s hoping the little bastard goes down in history as a unique little blip on the universe. HoHoHo.”

Nope. It was most definitely not a unique little blip on the universe. It was a solid kick, square in the balls. Fuck you, universe.

Fuck. You.

Okay, so that got more dramatic than a handful of hockey games deserves, but on the scale of life, the universe, and everything… yeah, fuck you.

Hockey Takes an Early Christmas

The NHL was supposed to go on its Christmas break after the end of play on the 23rd. There would be no activity, including travel, until the 26th.

As it turned out, all of the games on the schedule for the 22nd had already been postponed due to the league shutting down individual teams for Covid outbreaks.

So the league and the players did the smart thing and decided to start the Christmas break early. It now starts at the end of play tonight (the 21st) and all of the games on the books for the 23rd, there are five of them, will be postponed.

I got my info from the players association’s news site.

Now while I think that their hearts are in the right place, I think they are coming up short. Personally, I think they should shut down until New Years Day. Let the infected players recover and then come back on 1/1/22 with the Winter Classic.

But that’s just me.

No Surprise Here

The Bruins were added to the list of NHL teams that are shut down until after Christmas. That brings us up to four postponed games.

No surprise here. This is a good thing. Get everyone through this. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks or so and all will be well.

The NHL is Falling Apart

The NHL is falling apart. Last night the Montreal Canadiens played a game without fans in the building. I believe it was at the Province of Quebec’s request but I am not sure of that.

Today, the NHL postponed Saturday’s scheduled game between the Bruins and the Canadiens. I don’t know if Montreal was going to close the building for that game too, but I do know that seven Bruins players and one staff member have been put into the Covid-19 protocol. The Bruins were allowed to play last night so I am curious if the postponement had as much to do the differing quarantine rules in the US and Canada. If I have things straight, players testing positive for Covid in the US need to quarantine for 10 days. In Canada it’s 14. So was the game postponed so that any newly positive Bruins players wouldn’t be stuck in Canada for an extra four days? I guess it’s possible. I also wonder if maybe the Province of Quebec pulled the plug. The Bruins are playing in Ontario on Sunday and that game has not been mentioned yet.

Now we get the news that the NHL has postponed all games involving the Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, and Colorado Avalanche through Christmas. Eight days. According to the article, the Panthers have the same number of cases among players as the Bruins, and they both have more than the Avs. Calgary leaves everyone in the dust. If the Bruins have as many cases as one of these three teams, why aren’t they included? Why hasn’t Sunday’s game in Ottawa been axed too? Is a longer shut down for Boston imminent? I would think so. For the sake of everyone’s health I would hope so.

What a mess.

The Olympics are looking less and less likely, especially if I am right about the issues with the lengths of quarantines. Word is that athletes testing positive during the games will be subject to China’s quarantine process which can run for up to five weeks. I don’t know the specifics, and I could have details wrong (I am basing this off of hearsay from half-listening to hockey podcasts while I work), but being stuck in China for a month would be a seriously tough pill to swallow for NHL players.

Again, what a mess.

Here’s hoping all of the positive testing players recover quick with a minimum of symptoms. Everyone involved so far is twice vaccinated so hopefully the vaccine is doing it’s job and keeping people from getting too sick. No hospitalizations, please.

Also, here’s hoping it doesn’t get worse.

Outbreak on Ice

The NHL shut down the Calgary Flames for Covid the other day. Today the Bruins, after playing Calgary a few days ago, had two players, including Brad Marchand, go into the Covid protocol. Then later the league postponed the Carolina vs Minnesota game for, you guessed it, Covid.

The debate is raging over whether or not the NHL is going to participate in the Olympics. How are they going to keep everyone safe in the viral incubator known as the Olympic village if they can’t keep everyone safe during normal operations?

They are talking about keeping everyone home. You know, I was really hoping for some NHL/Olympic hockey this year. It’s going to suck if they back out.

The depleted Bruins are playing Vegas tonight. Here’s hoping no one else gets sick. Covid is a prick.

ADDENDUM: Vegas is kicking the shit out of the Bruins. We are down 3-0 after one. Crap.

Finally in a Playoff Spot

The Bruins beat the Calgary Flames last night. On a three game Western Canadian road trip they took five out of a possible six points… even though they did get stuck with a loser point in a loss to pathetic Vancouver. However lame losing to Vancouver is, they had themselves a very successful little road trip and they have finally managed to get themselves into a playoff spot. As of last night they are in the second wild card spot in the East. They are the eighth and final spot.

Somehow having the Bruins in a playoff spot makes the air smell a little fresher and the sun feel a little warmer. Thanks, Bruins. Good work.

Worse than Lock Down

Next week we will hit the one year and nine month anniversary of my company sending us all home for Covid. Our 1.75th lock-down-aversary.

As bad as that is, do you know what is even worse?

Being in lock down at a time when the Boston Bruins lose to Vancouver. Talk about making things worse. They lost to the Canucks last night in a shootout. They are playing Edmonton tonight and it’s scoreless in the first.

Losing to the pathetic-as-hell Canucks isn’t bad enough to push me off the bandwagon, but it does suck out loud.

Here’s hoping for happier results tonight.

Lock Out

Did you hear that Major League Baseball locked out the players union? The first work stoppage since 1995 I think. Is this another case of billionaires bitching that millionaires are taking too much money?

At least the Bruins have a 2-0 lead over Nashville in the third. That’s something at least.

Sportsball Bummers

I didn’t see the Bruins game yesterday. I know they played Vancouver and somehow did not win by 20, which is sort of telling as to how the season is going so far. Vancouver is having a really, really bad time this year and we didn’t slaughter them. We’re not that good either, I fear. I didn’t want to admit it, but there it is.

Anyway, I didn’t see the game, so I didn’t see the play in question, but Brad Marchand was suspended for three games today. Now I don’t want to see the play because… crud. Just what we need.

So hockey is frustrating these days. What about baseball? Baseball can’t be frustrating. It’s the offseason, right? Well, here’s how out of touch I am. I learned today that we’re a couple of days away from a lock out. Oh, lovely.

Both of the sports I am following are bumming me out, big time. Crud. Again. Crud.

NHL Thanksgiving

The traditional belief around the NHL is if your team is in a playoff spot on US Thanksgiving then there is a very good chance they will still be holding a playoff spot when the regular season ends.

Thanksgiving day (US) is therefore thought of as a sort of magical day.

At this moment, with Thanksgiving mere minutes (90, to be exact) away, the Boston Bruins are two points out of the second wild card spot in the East.

Shit.