24/7: A Success After Three Episodes

I must admit that I’m a fan of HBO’s 24/7 show “Road to the NHL Winter Classic.” And I have a pretty good feeling that I’m not the only one out there. The behind-the-scenes footage – coaches talking (or cursing wildly) to their respective teams between periods; coaches discussing lineups with their GMs; or coaches breaking down their opponents – is really cool stuff. Not only does it give the viewer insight into the game itself, it shows the inner workings of an NHL team.

The assorted player interviews – whether it’s Washington’s Mike Knuble speaking matter-of-factly about his broken jaw or Pittsburgh’s Ben Lovejoy getting emotional about his first NHL goal – are great, as are the mic’ed up players/refs during the games. It’s awesome to hear the refs go through the process of deciding whether or not a puck over the glass is, in fact, a delay-of-game penalty, as is the endless trash talk that goes on between the players. Not so awesome, however, is hearing superstars like Crosby and Ovechkin curse out the zebras mercilessly. Wow.

Personally, I could do without a lot of the staged in-home scenes. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of the coaches/GMs strategizing over their rosters and/or their opponents. I also wouldn’t mind more of the players interacting with each other off the ice. (The prank the Pens pulled on their own in the first episode was great.) The actual game footage is a nice touch and well done, but it should focus more on the pre-game setup and post-game reaction since everyone watching has already seen either the game itself or the highlights. (Did we really have to see the entire shootout in Washington?)

I’m thinking so far, so good with the experimental series. If HBO does this again next year (here’s hoping they do), I’m sure they’ll learn from this experience and make it even better the second time around. As a fan of one of the teams being highlighted this year, the show has special significance. But as a fan of the NHL, I would watch it no matter what teams were on.