SBNation.com - From Our EditorsBlog Posts

John Tortorella Doesn't Know What You're Talking About

2012-05-15T14:26:35Z

Rangers coach John Tortorella gave an absolute gem of a press conference after Game 1, and it was in stark comparison to his 31-word session with reporters earlier in the day.

Not only did Torts talk, though, he made one reporter look downright silly for a question that made absolutely zero sense. It was as deadpan and funny as you'd expect, as long as you're not that reporter.

The question, which begins at 1:17 of the above video:

Q: Coach, with respect to Chris Kreider's game tonight, I know Jerry York tells his BC guys about playing to take the sticks away at this point of the season when you're trying to knock a team out. That they're not going to give you their sticks. That you have to take them away. Is that the kind of mentality why a kid like Chris can come in right out of college and have the kind of game he had last night?

TORTORELLA: I have no idea what you're talking about.

[pause]

He played good, though. He played a good game.

Los Angeles Kings? Sacramento Kings? Ah, What's The Difference ...

2012-05-15T03:07:55Z

The Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Kings have a lot in common. They both play in California, they both have purple, black and silver as their colors, they're both called the Kings. But there's also a lot they don't have in common.

For example: One plays basketball, one plays hockey. These are different sports, you see. You'd think the local Los Angeles NBC affiliate would understand that the two teams are completely different, and that their local hockey team is actually the favorite at this point of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but alas ...

Via @LAKings, who continued to prove they're the best by actually tweeting this themselves:

Hey @NBCLA. Can we talk about everything that is wrong with this: lockerz.com/s/209070756
— LA Kings (@LAKings) May 15, 2012

Whoops.

POLL: Is The New York Rangers Goal Song The Worst In Hockey?

2012-05-15T02:50:15Z

I don't want my very strong bias to get in the way here, but after conferring with colleagues in the SB Nation Virtual Newsroom, we've come to the conclusion that this poll is necesssary.

We must decide, once and for all: Is the New York Rangers goal song the most obnoxious in the NHL? We challenge you to make it the full 1:43.

Poll

Well, is it?

NO BLUE: Devils Make Appeal To Protect Prudential Center From Rangers Invasion

2012-05-14T20:09:34Z

After the Rangers beat the Capitals in Game 7 on Saturday night, I made a joke on Twitter about how the Rangers would have seven home games in their Eastern Conference Final series against the New Jersey Devils.

It was just a harmless jab, really. I've actually been pretty impressed with Devils crowds at The Rock this spring. They've been red -- even when the team hosted local rival Philadelphia -- large, loud and all of that playoff stuff. The old jokes about New Jersey's fan base have been pretty inaccurate this season.

Oh, but then this happened. Prepare for more jokes.

Via the Devils website:

Through exclusive presales, the majority of the seats at The Rock for all Devils home games this series, are in the hands of Devils fans. However, seats remain on the secondary market for purchase and to ensure the we "Protect Home Ice" below are some ways in which you as Devils fans can ensure the Rock is PACKED in RED.

The Devils then tell fans to go on the Internet -- hey, In Lou We Trust shoutout! -- in an attempt to sell their tickets to friendly fans instead of those from across the Hudson.

It's a noble effort from the Devils, but unfortunately, it's probably not going to work all that well. There will be plenty of Rangers blue inside Prudential Center for Games 3, 4 and likely 6 of the Conference Final, no matter what the Devils do to try and stop it.

An Open Letter To Professional Sports Teams' Marketing Departments

2012-05-14T13:00:41Z

Dear professional sports franchise marketing departments,

I know you guys mean well. I know your job is to come up with quirky, enticing campaigns to not only get fans to games, but encourage their participation. Your slogans may need some work -- OK, some need a lot of work -- and your ideas can be hit-or-miss, but you serve a purpose.

But please, consult with the team before planning one event that's all the rage: The color-out.

It's a cute idea to hand out shirts and have fans all dressed in the same color for the playoffs. It really is cool, and looks well when executed correctly. A uniform crowd whipped into a frenzy looks awesome on television.

Know what doesn't look awesome? When that color doesn't match the uniform of the home team. And I'm not talking about the wrong shade or whatever. I'm talking about the color being uniformly worn by the crowd matching the jersey of the visitor.

For example this was Game 1 of the Thunder-Mavs series:

The Thunder are in white. This looks like a Mavs home game. And speaking of ... here's Game 3.

This is a Mavs home game. Oklahoma City is in blue. Dallas is in white. This makes no sense.

Now, let's detour to hockey. Here's Game 1 of the Coyotes-Kings series:

The crowd is in white. The Kings are in white. The Coyotes are in red.

And before you stop me, I know about the whiteout tradition that dates back to the Winnipeg Jets. And it still makes no damn sense when the home jerseys are red. This looks like an L.A. crowd.

So please, when planning these out, match them to your team's home colors. Use some logic and make it really intimidating. You think the Kings, wearing white, were looking at the crowd thinking it was closing in on them? Or were they thinking, "Wow, a lot of our fans came to visit us?"

Just coordinate a little bit. Trust me, it's totally worth it, and the tradition that results will be even better.

Larry King Teaches Us The Perils Of Bandwagoning

2012-05-14T02:38:33Z

I grew up rooting for the Rangers. I then rooted for the Capitals. Last night my Rangers beat my Capitals. I don't know how I feel.
— Larry King(@kingsthings) May 13, 2012

Phoenix Coyotes Tickets Still Cheap, Available Hours Before Game 1

2012-05-13T22:01:56Z

We're a little over two hours from puck drop in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final between the Kings and Coyotes at Glendale's Jobing.com Arena, and while the bandwagon has certainly filled up in the desert (the Diamondbacks are even on board!), tickets are still pretty darn cheap for the first game of the series.

You can currently grab a Game 1 seat on the secondary ticket marketplace for just $34, according to Coyotes blog Five For Howling and their ticket partner, TiqIQ. The average ticket price is $96 on the 274 remaining tickets (as of this writing) via TiqIQ. Compare that to the rest of the teams remaining in the playoffs:

Coyotes vs. Kings Game 4 tickets at Staples Center in Los Angeles next Sunday are available starting at $136 as of this writing. The average ticket price on the 1,386 tickets remaining is $384, via TiqIQ. Numbers for Thursday's Game 3 in L.A. aren't available.
Devils vs. Rangers Game 1 tickets at Madison Square Garden on Monday are available starting at $184 as of this writing. The average price on the 1,676 tickets remaining via TiqIQ is $509.
Devils vs. Rangers Game 3 tickets at Prudential Center on Saturday are available starting at $225 as of this writing. The average price on the 2,562 tickets remaining for that one is $603.

I'm not sure this is an indictment on Coyotes fans, necessarily. The game will be sold out and, in fact, the game is almost officially sold out through the team's official ticket provider, Ticketmaster. But it's certainly fodder for those who still fail to believe hockey can work in the desert.

An American-Born Captain Hoisting The Stanley Cup? Chances Are High

2012-05-13T19:53:10Z

The last time an NHL team with an American-born captain won the Stanley Cup was 13 years ago, when the Dallas Stars beat the Sabres. Derien Hatcher of Sterling Heights, Mich. was their captain that season, and you shouldn't talk to people in Buffalo about it.

Hockey in the United States has grown exponentially since 1999, and it looks as though there's a pretty solid chance of an American-born captain accepting the Cup from Gary Bettman this June.

Of the four teams remaining in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, three of them have American captains. The Los Angeles Kings are led by Dustin Brown of Ithaca, N.Y. New York Rangers captain Ryan Callahan is from Rochester, N.Y, and New Jersey Devils captain Zach Parise is from Minneapolis, Minn.

The only team left without an American captain is the Phoenix Coyotes, which is just a biiiiiit ironic. Shane Doan is by far the oldest captain remaining in these playoffs, and this Conference Final berth is the deepest the Halkirk, Alta.-native has ever gone in the postseason.