The Olympic Games are over and the NHL is set to resume game action as early as tonite!!
And what more can you say about the culminating gold-medal game of the 2-week long tournament festival in Vancouver? It was a truly remarkable and memorable contest!! And the ratings for the game were off the charts! According to Sports Business Daily, the 67 minute, OT epic was the most watched hockey game in North America since the 1980 gold-medal game between the U.S. and Finland at the Lake Placid Olympics. An astounding number of US of Americans tuned in to watch; roughly 1/3 of all viewers tuned in to watch the game at its dramatic, climactic peak!!
Absolutely amazing.
(Image courtesy of Puck Daddy blog at yahoo.com)
Despite the unfortunate outcome for the U.S., the men's team showed that they were not just a cliche Cinderella story, but a legitimate force to be reckoned with for years to come. Simply put, the axis of hockey power has shifted more than just slightly away from our neighbors to the north. We as a nation are now seeing and enjoying the harvested fruits of the seeds planted by the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" team in the form of a young, talented and driven crop of U.S. born players. Bravo to that!!
Moving on...it's time to shift our focus to the Atlanta Thrashers and their prospects as a post-season playoffs' contender. While they may sit currently in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, the Thrashers, on paper, are a lot closer to a playoff spot than one may realize. But in reality, within the context of what is important to a hockey team fighting for respect and legitimacy, are the Thrashers truly on the cusp of a serious run to the playoffs? And if so, why and how?
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