In our last post, we gave you plenty of reasons why we thought that baseball was the best sport ever. And while we still feel that way, there is a lot to be said about hockey, especially playoff hockey.
Hockey is a popular sport enjoyed by New York resi
dents and fans around the world. It is a fast-paced and exciting game that is fun to watch. But when the playoffs begin, you really don’t want to miss a game. Here are a few reasons your New York Medicaid planning company loves playoff hockey.
The Anticipation
Even before the playoffs start. it is a guessing game as to which teams will make the playoffs and which teams will miss out. As a hockey fan, you never really know until the last few games of the season which teams will be moving on and which teams will go home. You can have a team who plays really strong all season long only to fall apart the last week of the year and miss the playoffs by one point.
The Intensity
All through the regular season, hockey is played at a very intense level, which is raised several notches when the playoffs begin. The playoffs start a journey that leads to the Stanley Cup, which every team desperately wants. This means the hits are harder, the defense is tougher and the shots on goal are that much more intense. Even the fans become more intense and it can be heard in their yelling and cheering.
The Rivalries
Over the course of the regular season, many teams will meet multiple times and there will be rivalries that form. When two teams that hold a disdain for each other meet in the playoffs, the series will be an epic one in most cases. And if the very same teams meet in future playoffs, the team who lost the previous year will certainly be out for blood.
Epic Goalie Play
As good as NHL goalies are during the regular season, you need a rifle shot and laser guide to score in the playoffs. The playoffs are when you will see goalies standing on their heads to make epic saves.
Toughness
While a slash across the face during the regular season might call for a quick exit and a few stitches before re-entering the game, the playoffs mean that very same slash across the face will be totally ignored until the player is pulled from the game. Playoff hockey means you play unless you break a bone, and then we are quite sure some players have played through broken bones in playoff hockey.
The Beards
Sure, you see other sports teams, baseball for example, whose players grow beards during the playoffs but is was started by the NHL in the 1980s. Athletes grow beards when the playoffs begin and they keep them until the team loses or until they raise the Stanley Cup.
Game 7
There is nothing more intense than the deciding game in a playoff series. There are hockey fans who live for game seven games due to their intensity and the fact that just one mistake could cost you the game, series and season.
The Prize
Trophies, rings and awards are great, but none of them have the history that comes with the Stanley Cup. Winning it means your name will be forever etched on its side. There is just something special about the fact that this shared reward, this symbol of a championship is not owned by one team, but will be passed along each year.
And there you have the reasons why playoff hockey is so awesome.
