Every year, on March 17th, we all gather around at our local bars to kiss random Irish people, drink green beer, and celebrate one of the patron saints of Ireland, Saint Patrick. As great as that sounds, when you throw in hockey, it becomes quite the perfect day.
Unfortunately, from what I can tell, there is no IIHA game that day. That would be the Irish Ice Hockey Association. However, the NHL will give us three games that night! It won’t be the same, but we can make it work.
Here’s what you should look forward to from the St. Patrick’s Day games:
Yeah, thats right. Because you know you wish you had one of these...
New Jersey Devils vs Pittsburgh Penguins, 7pm Eastern.
Why it’s a good St. Patrick’s Day game: Crosby. He’ll be mentioned (and shown) early and often. You’ll want to be about 6 drinks in by the time the puck drops. Well played, NHL.
Why you should watch: The 41-23-5 Penguins will try and beat the 41-24-3 Devils for the first time this season and the teams are fighting for first overall in the Atlantic. If that’s not enough, New Jersey will be wearing their old “Christmas Tree” jerseys for the first time in 18 years. There’s also Crosby, Malkin, Parise, Kovalchuk, Brodeur…
Who you should root for: The Devils (like you’re surprised). They’ll be wearing green, and Matt Cooke is not on their roster. Don Cherry will approve.
Colorado Avalanche vs Calgary Flames, 9pm Eastern
Why it’s a good St. Patrick’s Day game: Colorado’s Ryan O’Reilly. Come on! That’s a pretty good name on St. Patrick’s Day, and the 19-year-old rookie is also fun to watch!
Why you should watch: The Flames are in ninth in the west, three points out of a playoff spot. The Avs are sixth, but are only four points up on eighth place Detroit. This should make for an interesting Northwest Division matchup.
It's green. It represents Chicago. Happy St. Patty's Day.
Who you should root for: The Flames. Who doesn’t love playoff race drama? Besides, wouldn’t it be funny to see all those former Leafs make the playoffs?
Anaheim Ducks vs Chicago Blackhawks, 10pm Eastern
Why it’s a good St. Patrick’s Day game: The Patrick’s, Kane and Sharp. What more do you need?
Why you should watch: The Blackhawks are two points behind the Sharks for first overall in the west. They also like to give up third period leads lately, so this game should keep you interested right until the end, which gives you a reason to continue drinking. Win-win.
Who you should root for: At this point of the night you’ll need some laughs to keep you going, so root for Chicago for the first two periods, Anaheim in the third. Just trust me on this one.
There you have it. Only three games, but they should fill up about six hours of your night…and now you know what to look for between green beers!
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Carlos Figueiredo can usually be found explaining the greatness of Marty Brodeur and David Clarkson over at Speaking of the Devils. If you’re up for upper-division Twitter, he can be found at @SpeakoftheDevs.
