What'd I Miss? A Stanley Cup Finals Primer for Those Who Have Missed Anywhere Between The Last One Day To The Last Thirty Years of NHL Action

Sidney Crosby smiles at a grizzly bear named Brent. Courtesy of Zimbio.

In this edition of MN Sports Emporium, Dr. J—a former college netminder—talks to himself about the NHL playoffs. Let’s listen in. CAUTION: If you keep reading, you will learn about physics, and it will be fun and interesting and you won't fall asleep.

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So Dr. J, why should I be watching the NHL playoffs? Isn’t hockey less popular than NASCAR?

Well, if you are going by the 2014 Harris Poll of favorite American sports, then yes, hockey (6% of poll) is below NASCAR (7%). Just for reference, the NBA is also at 6%. The NFL still has a stranglehold on this poll, as it is the favorite sport of 32% of the American population. Doesn’t mean any of the sports mentioned here aren’t exciting.

Drive fast, turn left!

Yeah something like that. Anyway, how about we talk some ice hockey?

I mean, if we have to…

We have to. This is Minnesota.

Return to Normalcy: A Gopher Hockey Analysis & Frozen Four Preview

Freshman Kyle Rau (18 goals, 25 assists) and sophomore Nick Bjugstad (25 G, 17 A) are two of the top reasons the Gophers have re-emerged this season from a brief spell of mediocrity.

Disclaimer: I know very little about hockey. I know even less about Minnesota Golden Gopher Hockey. The highest level hockey game I have ever attended was the MIAC championships at Gustavus Adolphus. My only connection to Gopher hockey comes from that one time I hung out with former center Patrick White at college. So keep this in mind as we delve, together, into some relatively new (for me) territory of Minnesota fandom.