Leafs vs Bruins – Having to Watch NESN’s Coverage as a Leaf Fan Makes Me Very Angry

Living in Spain, I am forced to stream hockey games because unfortunately, La Sexta – which sounds a lot more erotic than it actually is – does not offer the NHL playoffs.

As anyone who has had to stream a game knows, you are not blessed with the gift of choice. Sometimes, the only available option is the feed from the opposition’s regional network.

As much as I love Hockey Night in Canada on CBC, and the new outstanding team of Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, at various times throughout the Toronto Maple Leafs – Boston Bruins first round series, due to very poor quality or unavailability of the CBC broadcast, I have been forced to watch the North Eastern Sports Network’s telecast with the ornery commentating of Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley.

Edwards and Brickley are not bad at what they do. In fact, they are quite knowledgeable about the game and at times can offer some very interesting insight. Their downfall for me, is how annoyingly biased they can be, almost to the point where they seem like overprotective and irritatingly vocal parents at a peewee hockey game.

I understand that they work for a regional network whose audience is predominantly made-up of Boston Bruins fans in the New England area, however, they are so partial, that I wouldn’t be surprised if instead of suits and ties, they were working in Bruins jerseys and one of them had a “We’re #1” novelty foam finger on one hand.

Their bias has been embarrassingly prevalent throughout the whole series.

If Boston picks up momentum and slightly dominates play for a short time, Edwards and Brickley make it seem as though Zdeno Chara is doing cartwheels down the center of the ice and Milan Lucic is lifting Maple Leafs over his head and throwing them into the crowd.

At one point in game 5, there was a scrum in front of the Leafs goal. Like every other scum in this series it was followed by some light pushing and cross-checking. Leaf’s defenceman Carl Gunnarsson took exception to a particular Bruin and put him in a light headlock, resulting in the opposing player’s helmet falling off.

Now those helmets are usually not done up too tight – most tend to fall off if a player skates too fast.

Edwards and Brickley’s reaction to this was utter shock. They couldn’t believe Gunnarsson was not going to get a penalty for something that was harmless and had been happening all series. They then went on to insinuate erratically that if the referees were not going to discipline such behaviour, the Bruins should take note and do the same in their own end. Basically, they sounded petty and offended - as if the referees had harmed their precious little Bruins and everything they hold dear in ugly black and yellow.

Essentially they blow everything out of proportion in the Bruin’s favour, wherein if you’re a Boston fan, you love them, and if you’re a Leafs fan, you hope that after the game, they trip and fall over. You know, not one of those falls where they hurt themselves, just one where they look really stupid and awkward in the process.

I appreciate that they are simply providing their audience with the type of home team backing that’s expected, but as a Leaf fan, it pisses me off more than a bee sting to an awkward area of the body like the knee, nose, or elbow.

I understand what they’re doing but it doesn’t mean I like it. I’m not asking for them to change - I just wanted to complain a little.