Hey there, me and my girlfriend have been getting into the NHL recently and wanted to read up on some of the essential hockey ‘lore’, if you will!
Since we’re based in the UK we picked a team that we have a good connection with and that ended up being Vegas as we’ve been a few times and love it. We started supporting pre Stanley Cup, so pretty good timing! 😂
If anyone has any suggestions, that’d be amazing!
Edit: We watched the Quest For The Stanley Cup series too, which was amazing! Really enjoyed that.
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Just finished watching the documentary. Wow, what a rivalry! Also super sad to hear about Konstantinov, but what an amazing moment for the Red Wings to bring him onto the ice! 🥲 Thanks for the rec!!!
Damn… And I thought watching Radko Gudas was intense! 😂 Thanks for the suggestion, will watch these!
Hey fellow Brit. Can’t help too much with your question I’m afraid, just wanted to see if you knew about British hockey (EIHL, NIHL)? If not, it’s definitely worth a go
Yes deffo, one half of my family are all Basingstoke Bison fans - who I’ve seen a few times now. Funnily enough one of my relatives has been selected to play for England!
Since they’re not playing this season we’re gonna switch teams and support Guildford Flames as they’re somewhat local to us! :)
Watch “The boys on the bus”. It’s about the extremely stacked and crazy good Edmonton Oilers of the 1980’s. It also features the greatest hockey player of all time during his prime. Another good one to watch is “Mr. Hockey: a Gordie Howe Story”. As well even though it isn’t NHL (the Canadian players were all NHL players which was unheard of at the time for international competitions) the 1972 summit series Canada vs. the Soviets is also good.
Amazing, thanks for the suggestions! I imagine this GOAT is Wayne Gretzky? I’ve yet to see him play tbf, so that’s a great shout!
The Stanley Cup is, in my opinion, the most interwsting cup in North American sports. Just reading up on the history of the cup is entertaining in and of itself, nevermind the battles teams have made to win one.
It is “the people’s cup”. The stories of winning team’s time with the cup ranges from the early days of teams forgetting on the side of the road and trying to drunkenly drop kick it over the Rideau Canal, to more modern day shananigans of denting it from tossing it into rockstar’s pool.
Its both supremely revered by the players, but its also one of the boys.
British fan here (Let’s Go Caps). You’re going to want to know about the ‘Miracle on Ice’. The US loves that one.
And welcome. As a British fan, it’s not always easy following the NHL but when it’s good, it’s really good.
Ooh I shall check that out!
For sure, we had it quite difficult following the Stanley Cup, luckily we were jet lagged so able to actually stay up to watch it live! Still working out a way to watch the Golden Knights Games when they start again.
Otherwise we’ll be getting our fix from going to see the Flames!
I used to work nights so it actually worked pretty well; I’d watch the games after my shift.
Switched to a normal person shift last year however and now I only get to watch maybe 2 games a week if I’m super lucky.
haha that’d be perfect! Where did you go about watching the games?
NHL TV is available in the UK but it’s utterly kneecapped by blackouts so I’d recommend giving Viaplay a look.
I used them last season and never had any issues. Zero blackouts and they’ve got apps on consoles, smart TVs, web and mobile.
They just had an offer on, £59 for 12 months, but iirc that’s ended now.
NHL.tv has blackouts in the UK?!?! How? Do they count all the New England area teams as “local”?
Technically we’ve got a ‘national broadcaster’ in Premier Sports. The product is garbage, and it can be impossible to access if you’ve not got the right set up. And to make matters worse they sub-contracted out one game a week to another channel that requires a subscription (also atlast one game from each round of the playoffs).
So I said eff that, and went with Viaplay (who I think owns the entire thing). All the games, all online, no blackouts. It’s absolutely awful, and a more… serious league would make a fairer option, but I long since stopped thinking the NHL gave a shit about its European fans.
Even in the US the entire playoffs are blacked out because they have network coverage. But at least this year there wasn’t any over-the-air broadcast network coverage, only paid cable subscription. And all home games are blacked out if they have network coverage (which they usually do via paid cable channels) even ones they play away. My “home” team is >4 hour drive away.
