Fighting not included

Any NHL fan will tell you that playoff hockey is better than the regular season. The defense gets tighter, the game gets more physical, and rivalries are born and reborn. Through the first round of the playoffs there have been late game comebacks, overtime game winners, upsets, and multiple game sevens. But one thing has been missing, fighting.

If the game is so much better in the playoffs and there isn't any fighting, why have it during the regular season? Players of past and present will argue that fighting is needed to defend teammates, but if it so important to the game why is it left out during playoff season? I'm not going to say I don't enjoy the fighting, it can be exciting and at times it can ignite the crowd, but most of the time it's just two guys pulling on jerseys and landing one or two glancing blows before someone falls and the ref steps in. If the officials did their jobs no one would need to be defended.

If that isn't enough, what about the product? Hockey is a great sport and millions of kids are playing and watching it everyday. There isn't fighting in peewee, junior, high school, college, or even Olympic hockey, yet there is fighting in the NHL. With the fighting gone parents and families would be even more inclined to attend games and allow their kids to become fans from a young age. Parents wouldn't need to worry about what to do if there is a fight and their 4 year old is watching the game. They wouldn't need to change the channel.

The NHL is the top hockey league in the world with the highest skilled players and could bolster an already growing popularity by making this change. Yes, some people would be angry and would complain if the fighting were gone but it wouldn't hurt the game at all. Ticket and merchandise sales would only improve over time and the game itself would be better. Teams could focus on scoring and defending instead of which meat head to look out for and which one to send out to battle. The flow of the game would only become better by reducing the sometimes untimely fights. I know fighting is part of hockey and there is some tradition so isn't going anywhere, but I think it's something the NHL should consider.

Why the Wild need the Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are a highly skilled team, they have a great goaltender, and they are the defending Stanley Cup champions. Some fans will say these are negatives for the Wild, that a matchup with a weaker, less heralded team would have been better, and some don’t give the Wild a chance. 

During round one, the Wild continually fought back against the Avalanche. They adjusted to slow down the high scoring blur that is Nathan MacKinnon, they peppered Semyon Varlamov with shots until they went through, and they answered every goal to come away with a much deserved series win. They beat the team with the second best record in the Western Conference during the regular season and at times thoroughly outplayed them. Beating an inexperienced team with no playoff experience is an accomplishment, but in order to take the next step and to establish themselves as contenders, the Wild need to face the Blackhawks.

Last season the Wild found themselves in a first round matchup against the Blackhawks and were dominated. The Blackhawks skated circles around them and beat them handily in five games on their way to the Stanley Cup. History could repeat itself this season, the Wild might lose this series, but they won’t be dominated, they won’t back down, and they won’t give up. The playoff experience of 2012 and coming back to win game seven on the road against the Avalanche shows they are ready. They have passed their first test, they belong here, and there is no greater measuring stick to see where they are as a team than facing the defending champs.