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Can Hockey Overtake the NBA in the USA? NHL’s Golden Opportunity!
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Mar 7, 2025
The 4 Nations Faceoff tournament was a massive win for the NHL, capped off by a thrilling overtime victory for Canada. Damon Amendolara breaks down why this could be a turning point for hockey in America, as the sport gains momentum while the NBA struggles with declining TV ratings, a lackluster All-Star Game, and growing dissatisfaction with its style of play. With the NHL coming off a record-breaking Stanley Cup Final and the power of ESPN’s promotional machine behind it, could hockey carve out a bigger piece of the American sports landscape? D.A. makes the case for why the NHL has never been in a better position to grow its fan base. #NHL #4NationsFaceoff #HockeyBoom #NBADecline #HockeyInAmerica #StanleyCup #DamonAmendolara #WatchDALive #NHLonESPN #SportsDebate --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✅ Subscribe! ✅ https://www.youtube.com/@damonamendo 🙌 “Watch D.A. Live” airs Sunday nights on YouTube 🙌 ✅ Follow D.A. on Social! ✅ ☑️ D.A. on Twitter: / DamonAmendo ☑️ 📸 D.A. on Instagram: / DamonAmendo 📸 📲 D.A. on Facebook: / thedashow 📲 💻 D.A. on LinkedIn: / https://www.linkedin.com/in/damon-amendolara-b65688105/ 💻
View Video Transcript
0:00
the four nations faceof was phenomenal
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in every single way it lived up to the
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hype and created its own hype which is
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pretty special in today's day and age
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and yeah I think this is a jumping off
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point for hockey and for the NHL to have
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a really big spring and summer maybe
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bigger than the NBA's more on that in a
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moment just a reminder to subscribe to
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below me and
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subscribe this was an event that
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happened organically this was not a huge
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promotional item spread out through all
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of the sports landscape because of what
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happened on Saturday in Montreal because
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of the fighting because because of the
1:00
intensity of that game between Team USA
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and Canada it built its own hyp and so I
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think just by virtue of that it's a sign
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that hockey itself when it's at its best
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can be so good that it creates its own
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momentum and has the general public
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paying attention and that says a lot
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about the sport because if you love the
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sport you already know this but a lot of
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people grow up in areas where hockey is
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not a first or second love of the sports
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community so it takes you having to get
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sucked into it because of something and
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this four nations face off and
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specifically the US versus Canada in
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these two games did exactly that and
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once you get eyes on the product I think
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the product sells itself now this is
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unique because you had the Nations on
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the chest and of course there's
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International animal
2:00
right now and that kind of ratchets up
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the pressure at the same time hockey
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players just love playing for Country
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they love it and because of the
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abundance of talent that now America
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creates and birs as a hockey country
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versus the tried andrue Canadian culture
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of creating hockey stardom they are
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equals they are truly equals in 2025 so
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it means it's not Little Brother Big
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Brother so much when you're on the ice
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yes history of course but when you're on
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the ice these are two equal countries
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and there's something really special
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about that there's something very
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special about World Cup soccer versus
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MLS or versus premier league and there's
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something really special about World Cup
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of Hockey Olympic hockey or in this case
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you know your four nations hockey versus
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the NHL but it can be a springboard and
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I think for the NHL look a couple of
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things are going their way right now
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number one the style of the game is very
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very palatable they've eliminated the
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goonery they've eliminated the neutral
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zone trap stuff and they've given space
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to Playmakers and athletes and the skill
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of hockey players is now on display now
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combine that with I think a real boredom
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when it comes to the way the NBA is
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played the papa shots a three-pointers
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and aesthetically speaking I think unbi
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observers would say yeah it's just
3:36
better to watch a hockey game now than
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it is to watch an NBA game secondly for
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hockey they're in the ESPN ecosystem and
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that is just an important part of this
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you know this week a game being played
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at
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ESPN gets to have all of the internal
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promotion of ESPN's multiple levers and
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channels and Outlet
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so on ESPN Radio you're hearing them
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talk about the the four nations final
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espn.com it's all about the four nations
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final ESPN social media feeds where they
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have millions of followers they're
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pumping out content for the final ESPN's
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app it's all about the final all of
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these things and then of course the
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television station itself the television
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channels and shows are talking about the
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four nations final once you're in that
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ecosystem it really really helps promote
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the product because they have so many
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platforms and so many platforms that are
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the number one most watched or most
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consumed so that helped build this into
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a thing and the Stanley Cup playoffs are
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going to be once again on ESPN so you
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can help leverage that that's been a big
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win I think for ESPN and TNT's done a
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really good job of handling hockey with
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I think the significance and respect it
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deserves and so I think it that's a fun
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show it's a fun broadcast it always is
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very well done I think hockey fans
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appreciate it so the NHL has that going
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for it it also has the momentum of last
5:14
year's postseason I mean in the Eastern
5:16
Conference Final between you know the
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Rangers and and Panthers three
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consecutive overtime games that was a
5:23
great series and then we get to the
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Stanley Cup Final where you have a 3oh
5:26
series lead by the Panthers and then the
5:29
Oilers come roaring back to tie things
5:31
up and force a game seven and even
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despite a series loss Conor McDavid kind
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of stamps his place in the pantheon of
5:40
of alltime great by winning the K Smite
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despite not winning the Stanley Cup so
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you have that is a kind of a lifting
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board as well coming into this season
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and now the four nations final Once Upon
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a Time in
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1994 there was a thought that we were
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going to see the NBA and the NHL flip
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when it comes to significance
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in the culture of American Sports
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because the Stanley Cup Final was This
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brilliant seven game series between the
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Rangers and Canucks and the Rangers
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their first Stanley Cup since 1940 and
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every game was dramatic and the whole
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playoffs was dramatic and messier's
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guarantee and the Eastern Conference
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Finals against the Devils all of that
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built into this great
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Crescendo and then you had the NBA
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finals and there was no Jordan that year
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he had been tired it was rockets and
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Knicks and it was kind of a boring final
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it went seven but most of America at
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least aesthetically was not all into
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that and there was this idea that we
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were going to see the two flip obviously
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that never happened Jordan comes back in
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'95 he then wins 96 97 98 I don't
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predict that we will see the NHL flop
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spots flip spots with the NBA here in
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terms of Pop Culture significance and
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relevance but I do think it's a moment
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in time where hockey can take advantage
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what are all the storylines right now
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about the NBA they're all negative
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television ratings down the NBA Allstar
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reformatting was a bust as well one of
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the lowest rated All-Star games ever
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Stars don't compete in the slam dunk
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contest aesthetically nobody likes the
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way the game is being played even
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current players like Draymond Green is
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saying it's accidental basketball
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everyone's just chucking up shots in the
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NBA your best teams are not traditional
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powerhouses or big markets Cleveland OKC
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Memphis now we might still get uh a
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Celtics Knicks Eastern Conference Final
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we might have the Lakers in the NBA
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final or a traditional power but the
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point is we could have an NBA Finals
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that has Cavs and
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Grizzlies versus a Stanley Cup Final
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where maybe you have some a big star
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like Conor McDavid maybe you have big
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markets maybe you have a traditional foe
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whatever that might be you have some
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momentum because in the NBA everything's
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have been about how to change the game
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what's wrong with the game even the Luca
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trade it was what's wrong with the
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Mavericks why are they selling him for
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pennies on the dollar what's going are
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they're trying to drive away fans Mavs
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fans saying that this that the franchise
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have been stolen from them
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everything has been a negative seemingly
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for the NBA and now the NHL is coming
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off this massive high this massive Sugar
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High and the game itself lived up to the
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billing an overtime win incredible goal
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tending by Bennington in overtime to
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save the bacon of the Canadians you have
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the anthems you have the intensity you
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had the great crowd you had great goals
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I mean all of it the the night of hockey
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for this game lived up to the hype so I
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think you have some real momentum for
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the NHL going into the postseason going
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into the spring and summer and I think
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they can ride this and they can't
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probably flip spots with the NBA but
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they can absolutely get a tow hold I
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think into the sports Consciousness at
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large I think this four nations Faceoff
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was a huge indicator of what it looks
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like when your guys are fully engaged
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they want to be there and they're
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playing for the crest or they're playing
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for the nation or they're playing for
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their team and hockey is all about team
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and not about I and sometimes that hurts
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branding for the NHL because it's so
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anti what they stand for but you know
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when you when you put it up against an
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NBA which can often times feel like it's
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about I I don't want to play too much
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load management I don't want to compete
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in the slam dong contest I don't want to
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play defense of the all star game I want
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to trade when you put those two up you
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juxtapose the two there's a lot to love
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about the NHL and I think they can take
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advantage of it with this four nations
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faceof being a springboard into their
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playoffs into their postseason I'd love
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to know what you think okay do you think
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going into this spring and summer the
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NHL can grab a tow hold from maybe
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sports fans that have become I don't
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know bored or apathetic for the NBA do
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you think this is a a moment where they
10:34
can take advantage of it leave the
10:36
comment below I would love to hear from
10:37
you guys hey thanks for listening thanks
10:40
for watching Everybody once again
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