This is the show I've been looking forward to. Last year, the Caps/Pens game, at Verizon Center before the Winter Classic, was absolutely amazing. It seemed like an hour long look into one game.
Another year, another family skate and bad sweater party ... this year for the Rangers (and yes, the Flyers one was before in the 24/7 series). Some amazing sweaters and outfits for the party. You have to love any time someone has a sweater that lights up ha.
I really like Claude Giroux. Glad to see that things weren't too bad, gets right back into the mix, and has some nice banter at the faceoff dot. Laviolette gets to show he's that asshole I talked about last post. Still a fucking joke. It's not like Ott did anything wrong, and Laviolette proves to be a dick yet again. There's no need for him to bust through and go to the locker room ... then to laugh it off at the end of the game proves what a fucking joke he is.
Again, HBO does a great job bringing hockey players to the fan as people. Seeing Gaborik pick out a tree, and then carry it home was pretty funny. There's a bit of the Islanders/Rangers, cross town, rivalry, but too much time has gone by in this episode. Bring on the Flyers/Rangers game ... all cameras on deck.
This game starts with the teams walking into MSG, and dives right into the game. It's time like this where I wonder why Shop.NHL.com doesn't sell any team issued gear. There are some really nice tops that fans can't buy. I'd like to pick up a nice Caps jacket, just like the players wear, but I digress. The hitting in this game is intense, and the HBO cameras are right there to capture it all. Something I've noticed throughout the three episodes so far though is the addition of the coaches being mic-ed up. I don't really like how HBO drops them into situations ... it's a bit distracting actually. Rupp is great, his talk is spot on and right to point. Then, another look into the war room. Just like last year, a look into what goes on during reviews. It's awesome to see that, and see what gets looked at to check those goals. I also love how HBO goes back and forth between coaches at 2nd intermission. Both coaches working on their teams, imploring them to work harder and to score the next goal. Then the Rangers come right out and make it happen ... 3-0 Rangers. The game ends up 4-2, just like Laviolette said, only it's the Rangers that win this one. HBO didn't seem to do as much on this game as they did in the Caps/Pans game last season. Maybe there's more to talk about, or the game wasn't like last year's. Who knows.
Christmas at the Bryzgalov household shows his husky, and then another interview ... talking about the many faces of Iyla. Bryz doesn't seem the happy-go-lucky person he was over the previous two episodes though. The last couple games seem to be getting to him a bit. They haven't turned out great for the guy. Then they go from there to Brian Boyle and his 12 siblings. 13 kids ... that's amazing. It appears that HBO was more about putting together the Flyers and Rangers as "people that just happen to play hockey", instead to putting more into the Flyers/Rangers game. I'm guessing this is the reason.
Then we get to see the rink going in at Citizens Bank Park. This is the point where "Welcome to the Black Parade" became an opening that most Caps and Pens fan equate to a camera getting into Heinz Field. This year also shows some awesome pictures of the rink and the beginning of construction. Going into the Winter Classic, the Rangers are the team that's playing well ... and the Flyers are a bit up and down. One more episode, that concludes with the Winter Classic.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Flyers/Rangers 24/7 HBO Series - Ep. 2
Ok ... so I'm late to this. Moving from place to place, not having HBO, or not having the internet makes it pretty hard to update things. With that being said, I have a place to watch some 24/7 and now updating with my thoughts.
Episode 2 opens up with Henrik Lundvist jamming out with John MacEnroe, for a charity concert. Lundvist seems like an all around great Swede, and not just a great goalie. Much nicer to see him giving to charity and not just giving to his teammates (read: lost credit card roulette in episode 1). Then we get a look at an old friend ... the Capitals losing streak. We saw a lot more of it last year on 24/7, but this year it was just one big loss against the Flyers.
I really like the road trip portions of this show. It shows the watcher how teams get together. Jagr's dry humor is spot on when he asks Bryz to sit somewhere else, and then picks up his food and moves away. Ilya is still fantastically quirky. I really hope next year is just "Ilya Bryzgalov 24/7". Episode 2 has showed me why I have a bit more respect for John Tortorella. His intermission speech helped his team out ... maybe not in the end, but they picked it up and listened to him. Episode 2 also showed me why I can't fucking stand Peter Laviolette. He's an asshole. He's every whiney high school coach. He's a fucking joke. Maybe a good coach, but still a fucking joke.
We also get to see a different side of Torts ... something far different than most fans see on TV. The moments with Liam are pretty cool. You can actually see that Tortorella is happy to talk about this young guy. Plus Liam's room is badass. It's all Rangers in there. It was awesome to hear Torts talk about giving Liam and his family tickets to the Winter Classic. Another reason to think this guy is better than most people see.
Ok ... just when I think Bryzgalov can't get better, he comes off with another interview. He's dead on though, who's more crazy ... him or defensemen ha. Then the next question and subsequent pause, smile, and laughter from cameramen was just hilarious. HBO does the Coyotes/Rangers game like it does. A lot of emphasize on a hard fought game, some referees talking in between periods, and a goal with 0.1 seconds on the clock. HBO turns right around and does the same thing with the Bruins/Flyers game, and more concussion testing on the show. That's pretty interesting to me, to be able to see that kind of stuff. Sucks that this keeps happening throughout the NHL though.
I've left Episode 2 looking forward for Episode 3. These episodes are the ones where HBO gets everything right ... when the two Winter Classic teams play a week or so before the outdoor game. There's nothing better than having 12 or so cameras in one arena, showing fans the game within the game.
Episode 2 opens up with Henrik Lundvist jamming out with John MacEnroe, for a charity concert. Lundvist seems like an all around great Swede, and not just a great goalie. Much nicer to see him giving to charity and not just giving to his teammates (read: lost credit card roulette in episode 1). Then we get a look at an old friend ... the Capitals losing streak. We saw a lot more of it last year on 24/7, but this year it was just one big loss against the Flyers.
I really like the road trip portions of this show. It shows the watcher how teams get together. Jagr's dry humor is spot on when he asks Bryz to sit somewhere else, and then picks up his food and moves away. Ilya is still fantastically quirky. I really hope next year is just "Ilya Bryzgalov 24/7". Episode 2 has showed me why I have a bit more respect for John Tortorella. His intermission speech helped his team out ... maybe not in the end, but they picked it up and listened to him. Episode 2 also showed me why I can't fucking stand Peter Laviolette. He's an asshole. He's every whiney high school coach. He's a fucking joke. Maybe a good coach, but still a fucking joke.
We also get to see a different side of Torts ... something far different than most fans see on TV. The moments with Liam are pretty cool. You can actually see that Tortorella is happy to talk about this young guy. Plus Liam's room is badass. It's all Rangers in there. It was awesome to hear Torts talk about giving Liam and his family tickets to the Winter Classic. Another reason to think this guy is better than most people see.
Ok ... just when I think Bryzgalov can't get better, he comes off with another interview. He's dead on though, who's more crazy ... him or defensemen ha. Then the next question and subsequent pause, smile, and laughter from cameramen was just hilarious. HBO does the Coyotes/Rangers game like it does. A lot of emphasize on a hard fought game, some referees talking in between periods, and a goal with 0.1 seconds on the clock. HBO turns right around and does the same thing with the Bruins/Flyers game, and more concussion testing on the show. That's pretty interesting to me, to be able to see that kind of stuff. Sucks that this keeps happening throughout the NHL though.
I've left Episode 2 looking forward for Episode 3. These episodes are the ones where HBO gets everything right ... when the two Winter Classic teams play a week or so before the outdoor game. There's nothing better than having 12 or so cameras in one arena, showing fans the game within the game.
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