Happy Wednesday everyone, and happy Weekly Update day! The NHL season is now two weeks old and still going strong! Over the past two weeks, I have seen some seriously great hockey games! These teams are playing better than ever, and it’s incredible to watch! Here are the five things that caught my eye this week!
Don’t you EVER underestimate the Pittsburgh Penguins!
Last week, we were all crying about the injuries that have plagued Pittsburgh. Hell, while writing this post, I got the notification that Jared McCann is now out day-to-day. But here’s a tip for all of you out there (and remember, this is coming from a Penguins fan): don’t you ever, ever, EVER underestimate the Pittsburgh Penguins! Because even when most of their forwards are injured, they’ll still find a way to win! Also, two words for you: SIDNEY CROSBY. Yes, everyone who is not a Penguins fan loves to give him shit, but even when giving him shit, you cannot deny that that man is still one of the very best, if not the very best, player in this league! Sure, there will be times when Crosby doesn’t perform as well or the team has a huge lists of injuries and aren’t winning games, but you cannot deny that the Penguins can always seem to pull it together and surprise everyone. Special shout out to their incredible performances this weekend – two wins in back-to-back games with a total of 14 goals! An extra special shout out to the “AHL guys” who are killing it on the team this season!
Are we forgetting about the Boston Bruins?
Hello. You remember the Boston Bruins, right? Went to game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in June 2019, and quite honestly, should be the reigning Stanley Cup Champs right now? I feel like everyone has forgotten about them. The Bruins fans are probably reading this and thinking “We didn’t forget!”. I hear y’all. (Also, I want to talk to y’all for an upcoming blog series I’m working on – hit me up!) But I feel like the Bruins aren’t getting the league coverage they deserve! This team is FIERCE! I kind of saw it when I saw them play Dallas on opening night, but Dallas wasn’t playing that great that night, so it was a situation where I was trying to figure out if one team was playing poorly and/or one team was playing very well. I was able to confirm those suspicions when I watched the Bruins and Ducks matinee game on Monday. I was blown away by the Bruins (and Pastrnak’s) performance! The Ducks put up a fight, and should be very proud of that game, but the Bruins came in there and dominated! So why aren’t we talking about them more? Why aren’t they showing up on the “best chance of winning the Cup this season” lists? If I had to put my money on it, I’d bet we’ll see them in the Finals again this season.
The Los Angeles Kings vs Taylor Swift
I won’t lie – this is being mentioned only because I find it hilarious. For the past almost decade, the Los Angeles Kings followed the Chicago Blackhawks in the tradition of winning a few Cups and then going downhill immediately after. While that’s totally okay – we don’t want the same team winning the Cup every year (yes, I said that!) – I can understand that the team and its fans want to see some more wins in a season! So they automatically go to the stereotypical, superstitious behavior that is common in the hockey community and claim that it’s the Taylor Swift curse of her banner being hung in Staples Center that is hurting their chances at doing well. I’m not superstitious, but I love hearing about the things that people are superstitious about, and this one really cracks me up! Hide that banner!
Patrick Marleau is back! And, apparently, he’s exactly what the Sharks needed.
Patrick Marleau, who played for the San Jose Sharks for close to 20 years, returned to the Sharks last week after playing with Toronto for two seasons, being traded to Carolina during Summer 2019, and then being bought out of his contract. On social media, I saw mixed reviews on Marleau’s return. I kind of understood the mixed feelings, since Marleau did decide to sign with another team in 2017. However, I learned during my trip to San Jose for opening night, that Sharks fans seem to be more upset with a team when a player decides to sign with them (they hate Dallas now) instead of with the player. That’s just a few people’s opinions, but interesting to hear. It seems like Pat was exactly what they needed because they’ve won both games since he’s been back. Plus, he got a standing ovation during his first game back in the Shark Tank. Whatever mixed feelings Sharks fans have about his return, they are overall happy to see him back in teal! #TealTogether
Why is the NHL so confusing?
I was obsessed with Wild Card Madness during the Playoffs in 2019. These teams that barely made it in to the playoffs were doing very well, surprising everyone, and seemed like they were having a fun time during the whole thing! Very fun to watch! During the offseason, more specifically during the month or so leading up to the beginning of the season, people were throwing around the Dallas Stars and the New Jersey Devils as teams that could potentially do big things this year because of their moves during the offseason and/or the progress they showed last season. And yet those two teams specifically are doing terribly right now. Then we have teams like the Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres, and Anaheim Ducks who are killing it in the league right now! This just all goes to show how confusing and surprising the NHL is! This is kind of one of the reasons why I love this sport and this league. Sure, I would love for my team to win all the time. But I love seeing teams that I’ve never noticed come out of the wood work and absolutely kick ass! While I hate seeing teams doing terribly – real talk: I’m a nice person and I don’t like seeing people upset – I also know that it’s so easy to overcome a lot of losses with hard work and determination. That sounds like such a motivational speech, but it’s legit! Those teams that are in last place right now could easily be in first place this time next month! The NHL is confusing, and yet oh so entertaining! I hope to be writing about one or all of those teams in a future weekly update as a team who is on fire with wins!
Special shout out: Congratulations on 1,000 games to the 2x Stanley Cup Champion, Phil Kessel! #OnceAPenguinAlwaysAPenguin
Teams I’ll be watching closely this week: Pittsburgh Penguins and Dallas Stars (they’ll play each other twice in the next week and a half and I get to go to one of those games!), Arizona Coyotes (excited to see how they’ll celebrate Phil’s 1000th game at their next home game)
If the Stanley Cup was won today, I think this team would be winning it: Boston Bruins
That’s your weekly update for week two of the NHL season! How is your team doing so far? What games are you excited to see this upcoming week? Is anyone going to see any games live soon? Answer these questions and/or tell me your thoughts on this past week in the comments section! You can also reach out to me to chat on social media: Instagram – @life.of.alana | Twitter – @thelifeofalana
Happy Hockey!
-Alana
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