[das_hips]

Alfie! Alfie!

I think this is the only night of the year that the Senators garnished Hockey Night in Canada with a coast-to-coast appearance (excluding, of course, the Toronto-Ottawa affairs; while those aren't necessarily 'bad' games, I am usually left feeling cheated and unsatisfied, much like a Texas truck-stop hooker working out of a Taco Bell... summer of 2005... bad time in my life).

A lot of hype surrounded this game, and I suppose that is justified. How Ottawa can lose 3 of 4 to the Washington Capitals, yet handily handle the heroic haven of the 'Best in the West' (NHL tag; obnoxious alliteration) blows my mind. Good game though. Even Renee, working out of the Fort Worth, Texas Taco Bell gave her one good thumb an 'up' when she had the chance. I know the Hipbase Sens Army (myself) is hoping Heatley doesn't miss much time, because that would be a blow to even the best team in the league.

Either way...

Alfie! Alfie!

[fingernailsonhull]

Okay, I'm taking bets on what day this week JFJ gets fired. Anyone think he might survive the week?

[tigerthelion]

I had a good chuckle Saturday night when I learned that it's the LEAFS who wouldn't hire Bowman. Apparently, he wanted to have complete control, but doesn't that make sense? Bowman is a knowledgeable hockey man. I'd rather have him running my team than Tannenbaum and company.

If JFJ is fired, who will replace him?

As for my Canucks, I was disgusted with AV the other night. Cowan got a penalty by pulling down Jovo (Jovo pretty much dove but that's besides the point). So, after the game, AV is talking about how he punished (didn't play another shift) Cowan for not being disciplined. Vigneault is an idiot. The Ducks won last year in large part due to overall team toughness and grit. AV can't be punishing guys who are tyring to go out and be tough and tumble every time that they get a penalty. He needs to have a longer leash. I'd rather the Canucks try to show some toughness and go overboard and get some penalties than see them sit back and act like pussies, like they usually do. Now, Cowan probably shouldn't even be playing in the NHL anyway. It's not that I'm sticking up for Cowan because he's so important to the team, because pretty much anyone could replace him, but I'm just saying that I don't like to hear that the coach is so friggin strict about getting the odd penalty. Lighten up, AV! :rambo:

[daylight]

Woo! Four in a row, and three of those in regulation! I'm certainly not getting my hopes up with regard to the playoffs, but it's nice that we might be able to screw the Ducks out of a great draft pick.

[skippy the wonder dog]

I'd say both JFJ and Maurice need to dust off their resumés.

This is painful to watch. And I'm a Habs fan.

[laliber]

Okay, I'm taking bets on what day this week JFJ gets fired. Anyone think he might survive the week?

Wednesday after the Buds blow a late 3rd. period lead to Carolina the night before

[fingernailsonhull]

Okay, I'm taking bets on what day this week JFJ gets fired. Anyone think he might survive the week?

Wednesday after the Buds blow a late 3rd. period lead to Carolina the night before

Sounds about right.

[opiated]

Where have all the Canucks' viewers gone?

by WILLIAM HOUSTON
Globe & Mail

January 12, 2008

The NHL's television audiences in Canada this season are a mixed bag of surprises and contractions.

Regionally, only one team, the Ottawa Senators, has increased its audience.

Nationally, the numbers are down or about flat.

The good news for the league is, since the prelockout season of 2003-04, the audiences, for the most part, have grown.

The Vancouver Canucks rank as the biggest surprise.

Despite leading the Northwest Division, Canucks regional audiences are down 20 per cent. Rogers Sportsnet is averaging 242,000 viewers a game compared with 303,000 at this point last season.

Networks pay closer attention to long-term trends than year-to-year measurements, but the Canucks numbers also have declined 29 per cent from the prelockout season of 2003-04.

What's gone wrong?

"You can drive yourself nuts trying to analyze ratings," Sportsnet president Doug Beeforth said. "It's like the stock market. It is the long term that counts."

The Canucks' weak audiences may be an example of a winning record failing to mitigate the tedium of dull hockey. Goalie Roberto Luongo, not the goal scorers, is the team's star.

The Canucks' viewership decline may also explain why the national audience for the Western based Game 2 of the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada is down from last year. Limited interest in the home market will pull down the national number.

Hockey Night's Game 1 audience of 1.181 million is down 10 per cent from last year and 7 per cent from 2003-04.

Game 2 is averaging 686,000, a drop of 8 per cent from last year and a 15 per cent decline from 2003-04.

TSN, on the other hand, is averaging 463,000 viewers for its NHL telecasts, up 3 per cent from last year at this time and a whopping 49 per cent over 2003-04.

To explain Hockey Night's drop-off on Saturday nights, look no further than the decline on the ice of its leading property, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

At this time in 2003-04, the Leafs had the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference. A year ago, they slipped to ninth. This season, they're down to 14th.

The weak Leafs also affect the Hockey Night Game 2 audience. After watching a bad Leafs performance in Game 1, the Eastern audience is less inclined to stay tuned for Game 2.

Another factor that has reduced Hockey Night's Game 2 audience is the increased TV exposure of the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. In 2003-04, not all Flames and Oilers games were televised. Now they are, on either on CBC, TSN, Sportsnet or pay per view.

"Saturday night is still special," Scott Moore, the head of CBC Sports, said. "But when every game is on TV, Hockey Night isn't the only game in town any more."

Moore says that Hockey Night, because it draws more than twice the average audience of TSN, has a larger number of casual fans watching. And they're more likely to switch channels if the game is boring or their favourite team is losing.

TSN president Phil King attributes his network's increases to the success of teams outside Toronto. A Canadian team has competed in each of the past three Stanley Cup finals. The playoff races are close and competitive. And the paucity of prime-time entertainment programming, caused by the Hollywood writers' strike, has increased TSN's week night hockey viewership.

Other regional audiences:

Flames: Averaging 117,000 viewers, down 3 per cent from last year at this point, up 3 per cent from 2003-04.

Oilers: Averaging 116,000, down 30 per cent from last year, up 22 per cent from 2003-04.

Leafs: Averaging 411,000, down 3 per cent from last year at this time, up 7 per cent from 2003-04.

Ottawa Senators: Averaging 102,000, up 17 per cent from last year, up 38 per cent from 2003-04.

Montreal Canadiens: Averaging 643,000 on Reseau des Sports, down 9 per cent from last season, but up 65 per cent from 2003-04.

[ryan93]

Another loss for the Rangers, way too many undisciplined penalties in the 1st, which lead to 3 Penguin powerplay goals...way too many giveaways...Chris Drury was invisible yet again...things definitely aren't going well.

I gotta give props to Evgeni Malkin though, that was one of the most dominant games i've seen him play, him & Crosby were running wild together out there tonight. And Ty Conklin continues to shine, he was fantastic in the 2nd & 3rd periods, improving his record to 10-0-1.

The Rangers have to get things turned around in a hurry before they slip too far back. They have only 1 win in their last 7 games, and just 6-11-2-1 in the last 20 and currently sit in 9th spot, 1 place out of 8th. Not nearly enough secondary scoring from the likes of Chris Drury, Petr Prucha, Marcel Hossa, etc. The defense, which was so strong the first couple months of the season, is making too many mistakes. But the biggest difference has got to be the play of Henrik Lundqvist. Through the first 25 games of the season, he was hands IMO hands down the best goaltender in the NHL and a legit MVP canidate. Since December 1st though, he's been struggling for the first time in his career. He's been letting in way too many soft goals, and has been just too inconsitent. I have full faith in Lundqvist though & am confident he'll get back on track. Whether his struggles can be linked to his fathers health troubles or what, i don't know....i do know if the Rangers want to salvage their season & get this thing turned around, he's gotta be better.

[ryan93]

And let me be the first to say it's great to see Curtis Joseph back - especially in Western Canada! He should provide great depth for the Flames in the case of a Kiprusoff injury/struggles.
With Iron Mike behind the bench who knows...

[tigerthelion]

Another loss for the Rangers, way too many undisciplined penalties in the 1st, which lead to 3 Penguin powerplay goals...way too many giveaways...Chris Drury was invisible yet again...things definitely aren't going well.

I gotta give props to Evgeni Malkin though, that was one of the most dominant games i've seen him play, him & Crosby were running wild together out there tonight. And Ty Conklin continues to shine, he was fantastic in the 2nd & 3rd periods, improving his record to 10-0-1.

The Rangers have to get things turned around in a hurry before they slip too far back. They have only 1 win in their last 7 games, and just 6-11-2-1 in the last 20 and currently sit in 9th spot, 1 place out of 8th. Not nearly enough secondary scoring from the likes of Chris Drury, Petr Prucha, Marcel Hossa, etc. The defense, which was so strong the first couple months of the season, is making too many mistakes. But the biggest difference has got to be the play of Henrik Lundqvist. Through the first 25 games of the season, he was hands IMO hands down the best goaltender in the NHL and a legit MVP canidate. Since December 1st though, he's been struggling for the first time in his career. He's been letting in way too many soft goals, and has been just too inconsitent. I have full faith in Lundqvist though & am confident he'll get back on track. Whether his struggles can be linked to his fathers health troubles or what, i don't know....i do know if the Rangers want to salvage their season & get this thing turned around, he's gotta be better.

Yeah, that Malkin sure sucks, doesn't he? Marc Savard deserves to be an All-Star ahead of Malkin, doesn't he? What a crock. cratch: Did you hear Don Cherry on Saturday night? He was doing pretty well until Malkin was brought up by Ron. Ron mentioned that maybe Malkin was deserving of an All-Star game while Don was on a rant about the greatness of old bones Recchi. While the clip showed Malkin missing on a shootout attempt, Don remarked that THAT was why Malkin isn't an All-Star. Yep, great job, Grapes. :roll: Malkin isn't deserving of being an All-Star because he missed a shootout attempt. Nice logic there. :?

[tigerthelion]

Where have all the Canucks' viewers gone?

by WILLIAM HOUSTON
Globe & Mail

January 12, 2008

The NHL's television audiences in Canada this season are a mixed bag of surprises and contractions.

Regionally, only one team, the Ottawa Senators, has increased its audience.

Nationally, the numbers are down or about flat.

The good news for the league is, since the prelockout season of 2003-04, the audiences, for the most part, have grown.

The Vancouver Canucks rank as the biggest surprise.

Despite leading the Northwest Division, Canucks regional audiences are down 20 per cent. Rogers Sportsnet is averaging 242,000 viewers a game compared with 303,000 at this point last season.

Networks pay closer attention to long-term trends than year-to-year measurements, but the Canucks numbers also have declined 29 per cent from the prelockout season of 2003-04.

What's gone wrong?

"You can drive yourself nuts trying to analyze ratings," Sportsnet president Doug Beeforth said. "It's like the stock market. It is the long term that counts."

The Canucks' weak audiences may be an example of a winning record failing to mitigate the tedium of dull hockey. Goalie Roberto Luongo, not the goal scorers, is the team's star.
The Canucks' viewership decline may also explain why the national audience for the Western based Game 2 of the CBC's Hockey Night in Canada is down from last year. Limited interest in the home market will pull down the national number.

Hockey Night's Game 1 audience of 1.181 million is down 10 per cent from last year and 7 per cent from 2003-04.

Game 2 is averaging 686,000, a drop of 8 per cent from last year and a 15 per cent decline from 2003-04.

TSN, on the other hand, is averaging 463,000 viewers for its NHL telecasts, up 3 per cent from last year at this time and a whopping 49 per cent over 2003-04.

To explain Hockey Night's drop-off on Saturday nights, look no further than the decline on the ice of its leading property, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

At this time in 2003-04, the Leafs had the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference. A year ago, they slipped to ninth. This season, they're down to 14th.

The weak Leafs also affect the Hockey Night Game 2 audience. After watching a bad Leafs performance in Game 1, the Eastern audience is less inclined to stay tuned for Game 2.

Another factor that has reduced Hockey Night's Game 2 audience is the increased TV exposure of the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. In 2003-04, not all Flames and Oilers games were televised. Now they are, on either on CBC, TSN, Sportsnet or pay per view.

"Saturday night is still special," Scott Moore, the head of CBC Sports, said. "But when every game is on TV, Hockey Night isn't the only game in town any more."

Moore says that Hockey Night, because it draws more than twice the average audience of TSN, has a larger number of casual fans watching. And they're more likely to switch channels if the game is boring or their favourite team is losing.

TSN president Phil King attributes his network's increases to the success of teams outside Toronto. A Canadian team has competed in each of the past three Stanley Cup finals. The playoff races are close and competitive. And the paucity of prime-time entertainment programming, caused by the Hollywood writers' strike, has increased TSN's week night hockey viewership.

Other regional audiences:

Flames: Averaging 117,000 viewers, down 3 per cent from last year at this point, up 3 per cent from 2003-04.

Oilers: Averaging 116,000, down 30 per cent from last year, up 22 per cent from 2003-04.

Leafs: Averaging 411,000, down 3 per cent from last year at this time, up 7 per cent from 2003-04.

Ottawa Senators: Averaging 102,000, up 17 per cent from last year, up 38 per cent from 2003-04.

Montreal Canadiens: Averaging 643,000 on Reseau des Sports, down 9 per cent from last season, but up 65 per cent from 2003-04.

I reckon that's the main reason. :rambo: Of course, they were boring as hell last season also. What was the viewership like two seasons ago compared to the viewership last season? Maybe the fans were excited to watch Luongo and how he would fare last season. Now, they're just used to him carrying the team and realize that the rest of the team is a bunch of hacks that are too scared to play a physical game. :?

[daylight]

Ty Conklin continues to shine, he was fantastic in the 2nd & 3rd periods, improving his record to 10-0-1.

Man, I was hoping he'd go away forever after screw-up-of-the-year '05.

I can't forgive him until we win another cup. So basically ever.

[direwolf74]

Man, the Flames are like Jekyll and Hyde this year. They look unbeatable for an entire month, and now suddenly they're stuck in a 4 game losing skid and playing some of their worst hockey of the season. They completely embarrassed themselves against the Preds tonight.


:nooooo

[fingernailsonhull]

Not to harp on the Toronto situation because it's all over every sports website, but does anyone else think that bringing back Cliff Fletcher is a terrible idea?