THE PLAYOFF SKINNY
NO CANADA: NHL PLAYOFF RATINGS PLUMMET
With no Canadian teams in the NHL playoffs, TV ratings north of the border have plunged. Viewership is down by nearly 60 per cent through the first week of the post-season compared to last spring, when there were five Canadian teams competing. The numbers are a concern, but not a surprise to Sportsnet President Scott Moore, who played a role three years ago in securing the Toronto-based cable giant’s 12-year, $5.2-billion (Canadian) bid to secure Canadian NHL broadcasting rights. Moore is disappointed but not panicked seeing first-round playoff viewership decline from 1.3 million to about 500,000 in the second year of the deal. By comparison, Canadian ratings are still out-pacing those in the U.S.,
HATS OVER RATS: WHAT FANS CAN THROW ON ICE
Attention, Florida Panthers fans: Throwing those toy rats on the ice during a game means drawing the ire of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Days after fans in Philadelphia threw light-up wristbands onto the ice during a Flyers playoff loss, Bettman said the league strongly discourages throwing anything onto the ice except hats to celebrate a hat trick. That includes playoff traditions of faux rats in Florida and real octopuses in Detroit. “Putting aside the hat trick, we don’t think it’s a good idea for fans to be throwing things on the ice for a whole host of reasons.” Bettman said Friday.
OVIE VERSUS SID THE KID?
It’s a matchup that never lacks sizzle. But while fans might be looking forward to a potential second round matchup between Alex Ovechkin’s Capitals and Sidney Crosby’s Penguins, the Pittsburgh captain certainly isn’t. Up 3-1 in the first-round series against the Rangers entering Game 5 Saturday, Crosby is well aware the Penguins had that same lead against New York in 2014 only to lose the final three games. “We can’t look ahead,” Crosby said. “That was a different team, a different time. You learn from your mistakes of the past. The only focus is to win one more game, which will be the most difficult one. You can’t get too far ahead of yourself.”
THE ROAD TEAM HAS HAD AN ADVANTAGE
The road team has won every game in the Anaheim-Nashville series with the Ducks looking like the team that dominated the league the second half of the season in evening the series with two wins in Nashville. Now the Ducks’ challenge is to play that way back in Anaheim with a chance to take control. Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau doesn’t want his Ducks relaxing just because they won two games in Nashville. “You put yourself into too many holes, and you won’t dig yourself out,” Boudreau said. “We would certainly like to not do that too much more.”