Little things about watching live hockey that you enjoy that others might not notice to much or care

[PizzaAndPucks]

What are some things about watching NHL games live that you enjoy. It could be something simple like for instance I love watching goalies play the puck. I grew up watching Brodeur (devils fan) play the puck as much as he possibly could. Its fun watching all the goalies in the league play the puck whether they are good or bad at it , it always has me entertained. Just curious to see what little things you guys like about the game that maybe I never paid to much attention to or appreciated enough.

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[Prsut18]

Watching it with my brother

 

[Langdon Alger]

Making fun of Pierre Maguire.

 

[Legionnaire]

Sticking up for a teammates.

I love that almost as much as the game because ultimately that is bigger than the game. It is a code to live by. Defend those who need it and don't back down no matter the odds.

 

[Boud]

Positioning and blocking passing lanes. It's a lot easier to see the little details. The entire defensive part of the game, the anticipation of the players on the ice.

 

[Nickmo82]

It's a really small thing, but I feel it showcases how much of a team sport hockey is. It's the broken stick "hierarchy", where if X player breaks his stick, his teammate will give him theirs. G < D < F.

 

[Bounces R Way]

You really develop an appreciation of how fast the NHL game is watching it live. On TV I don't think you get the same sense of how little time and space these guys have out there.

 

[CookiesAndMilk]

Watching players with good playmaking and passing abilities.

Not necessarily good players on their respective team itself or even good players by NHL standards but players who can deliver constant good passes. I've always liked a good pass more than a beautiful goal. Not sure why though. Just stuck with me after playing hockey for almost 20 years.

 

[maroon 6]

A team can be dominating the whole game and still lose because the other teams goalie stole the game.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

1 thing i wish we had was the rink and benches mic'd better so we could hear the trash talking

 

[Brownies]

Watching a powerplay is more intense and fun live. You see the passing and shooting lanes better. Some of my best live hockey memories was watching those incredible slappers from Souray and those nice passes from Markov from LD to RW around what, 2008 ?

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Two things I enjoy the most watching NHL hockey live.

1. These guys can absolutely rifle the puck. You can tell how hard they can shoot during the warmups and realize that if they were to show up at one of your Sunday league games, they could probably snipe any amateur goalie from the blue line without a screen easily with a wrist shot.

Even their passes are harder than most people’s snap shot.

2. Fatigue becomes apparent when you watch a playoff game that goes to 2OT. You can obviously see that players are tired on TV when playoff games run long, but in person, you realize that the average human would’ve passed out from fatigue if they had to skate that hard for 3 hours or more. Their conditioning is outstanding, 1st liners and 4th line grinders alike. On top of it, you can see how tiring it is to fight another athlete in the middle of it.

 

[JabbaJabba]

Intercepting passes. It is so satisfying when a defending forward for example anticipates a pass from opposing defenceman and intercepts the pass and gets a breakout. It is exciting to see even if it doesn't lead to a scoring opportunity. I probably enjoy them so much because I like doing them myself. It's so great when you watch what the opponent is doing and anticipate where he'll pass. Sometimes I intentionally leave space for him to make a pass in a certain direction where I want him to pass so I can intercept it. It doesn't work always but when it does, it's feels awesome. Almost as good as scoring a goal.

 

[Oddbob]

1 thing i wish we had was the rink and benches mic'd better so we could hear the trash talking

Why? You don't get enough profanity and other such nonsense low grade talk in the real world already?

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Watching how players play without the puck. Back in his prime while in Ottawa, I saw a live game and I was blown away how good Erik Karlsson was away from the puck. Sure he was tearing up the league on the stat line but the way he always got himself open and could read the play and anticipate what was going to happen and where to be was unbelievable.

I have seen many many live games since I was a kid and i still say that EK was one of the best players i have ever seen play live

 

[tony d]

I always enjoy watching them go into the dressing room after a period. Cheesy I know but still something I enjoy.

 

[banks]

Three of them for me:

Hearing the ice sounds. You hear the skate blades and can feel the shots, hits, and the ring of a post so clear when it's live. It's just a different feel.

The buzz of a full rink near the end of a game. It's cool t share something like that with other people. I like giving/getting high fives with strangers after a game, or maybe even some light hearted jokes. Man, COVID has been tough.

The realization that the game is really a game of inches, and has a lot of random built in. Players have no room on the ice, and have to make a play in moments. There's a lot of random bounces, lost possession, and stuck-on-the-boards time. You kind of ignore it on TV. But live, you see that there's so much time with no one really controlling the puck.

 

[holy]

It’s mad expensive to watch my team play, even more expensive if I want to watch them in the city I live in. Therefore what I better notice is them winning. And if I could notice it more than everyone else that would be nice.

 

[Calad]

The speed of the game is much more apparent live, especially as you sit closer to the ice

 

[tenken00]

2 halftimes = 2 alcohol/bathroom runs

 

[Sgooter]

Watching an NHL game in a packed arena is always far more exciting, more colorful, and more physical compared watching it on TV.
That said, I could do without the bombardment of music, ads, and promotional/community service announcements that loudly fill every stoppage of play.

 

[Just Linda]

I find player engagement much easier to spot live rather than on video. You get to see who actually backchecks and who gives up and glides when things go back deep in their zone.

You get to see positioning and lanes far more. I find TV cams don't do shooting lanes any justice, it's hard to see just how much traffic guys see

It's easier to see player intensity live. On TV, I find the pressure a player feels just doesn't come across the same way.

 

[Mickey Marner]

The different perspective allows you to see what is happening off the puck.

TV cameras follow the puck around, but miss a lot of important information. You can't see who's in position, making bad line changes, anticipating the play etc. A player only has the puck on their stick for about 1-5% of the ice time, what they're doing when they don't have it is most of their job.

 

[LeafGrief]

In the building it's so much easier to see just how insanely good these guys are. On TV you know that they're fast and skilled, but when they're whizzing around right in front of your face the scale of the speed is so much more apparent. Sitting in the stands watching NHL'ers scream up and down the ice full speed is absolutely insane. I got to watch the Avs in Ottawa last year and holy balls Mackinnon is something else. Holy balls Zadarov absolutely terrifies me. Holy balls how did the goalie actually save that???

I play beer league and I love watching bits of the game before mine (not this year, screw you covid) but it's hilarious just how slow we are. That slick ringer who torched you for four goals last week looks like a slug crawling up the ice compared to the fourth line that you've been ranting are too old and slow.

 

[Rebels57]

No sport compares to live NHL Hockey

It's f***ing spectacular