The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Game on! NHL hockey is back with an exciting grand-opening that themed debuts and the new rules. With the mention of debuts, Wayne Gretzky made his coaching one with the Coyotes, and several rookies made theirs by being on the scoresheet. Most notably, attention was directed to Sidney Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins, who were slaughtered by the New Jersey Devils. Crosby earned an assist on Mark Recchi's goal, but it was Washington Capital rookie, Alexander Ovechkin, who stole the show scoring two. One of them on a beautiful slapshot from the point and the second one an early Christmas present as he tapped a rebound into the open net. Also, Philadelphia's Mike Richards scored in a losing cause against the New York Rangers. That's right, the team from the Big Apple actually won a game. For the Islanders, it was rookie Chris Campoli who scored the first Islander goal in their game. After watching the double-header, it's evident the game quality is faster and improved. With the two-line pass removed, hockey now has football's shortened version of the Hail Mary pass. What is obvious is that star players are able to display their skills without opponents hanging off their back. IF the officiating goes as planned, it's possible every game will be more like playoff hockey. Is there really anything better than that? With most of Canada watching the double-header with Toronto and Ottawa, then Vancouver and Phoenix, fans couldn't ask for a better start. The Leafs and Senators gave fans an example of the excitement a shoot out can bring, too bad for the Leafs as they lost despite leading the game with just over a minute remaining. The game was fun, it was like watching playoff action and fans in Toronto were crazy as usual about their team playing again, but it was taken to a playoff level. Aside from losing the game, the Leafs' biggest loss comes with the injury of Mats Sundin, who took a puck in the face and didn't return. After that game, it was off to B.C. where the Vancouver Canucks sold out their 87th consecutive home game and upset Gretzky in his coaching debut with the Phoenix Coyotes. The Great One was seeking another milestone achievement against the Canucks. If you're a fan of the Nucks, which I'm told there's only a select few in Flin Flon, then watching Naslund light up Curtis Joseph was beautiful. On Sportsnet, Brendan Morrison said that the atmosphere was incredible and felt like playoff hockey. HmmÉis there a theme developing. I was so excited to watch the Canucks I could barely keep my butt glued to the floor (I don't own a couch yet). There are people out there who love watching playoff hockey, but not the regular season because they say it's meaningless. To a point that is true, but their reasoning for only watching the playoffs is because the hockey is that much better. Wednesday's start for the NHL was fantastic, hopefully it remains. One thing the media talked about that would be a concern is fans coming back. If the first day of games was any evidence, Canadian fans, anyways, will silence those concerns.
