To be fair, that between the legs goal was more impressive than a 5-game win streak.
SeattleKrakenTroll
Sadly it’s pretty standard for them to be anti Kraken, especially Buccigross
That said the Zegras goal was highlight reel worthy.
AlienMutantRobotDog
I thought they made up for it in the post game show and to be fairrrr, it was an impressive shot
All that said it was not a good broadcast team, I really dislike it when the Kraken are not on Root
rksd
ESPN can’t call a hockey game to save their lives. I tend to give those games a miss.
beef_cannon
Majority of their broadcasts across all sports are just talk show/podcast material with some gameplay filtered in between. Not meant for die hard fans
Rythmicism
I didn’t think they were particularly biased or anything, I just thought they sucked
InfadelSlayer
I thought it was good, simply because holy shit Leah Hextall is just torture
cdsixed
BORKSTRAND
Dgolden711
ESPN doesn’t care about Hockey in general, so their coverage sucks. Most of their hosts couldn’t even follow a game without help the people behind the scenes. NHL games need to get picked up by another network that actually cares about the game.
Architeuthis_McCrew
No. I mean Zegras did score an amazing goal. I thought it was good. Mostly good because Leah Hextall wasn’t calling the game.
FreshOutOfTheAsylum
I miss root!
BastardBrody
The last time that kid had a crazy goal, it went viral. That’s the kind of thing that’s going to bring new eyeballs. I thought they were pretty complimentary of the Kraken. It’s an expansion team that’s in good position to make the playoffs beating up on a lower tier team, not sure how crazy they were supposed to go with the praise.
RepresentativeOfnone
Zegras is supposed to be the next face of the NHL because it’s really hard to market guys like McDavid when he has the same emotional range as Kawhi Leonard. I will say though I’m getting sick and tired of all the Zegras Jerkoffs
TredHed
I mean they said multiple times that the Zegras goal was gonna make the highlight real but ‘let’s not forget the final score..’ or words to that effect. So I don’t feel it was that pronounced.
I honestly don’t mind ESPN broadcast occasionally. I feel like I get new information/perspectives from folks like PK and AJ Mleczko.
EwoksEwoksEwoks
There’s never any fan base out there that thinks their team gets enough love from the national broadcasters.
spineapplepie
Turn the sound down and put on 93.3 FM. Our TV team gets most of the love, but our radio team is rock solid too.
TripleBicepsBumber
At least it wasn’t Leah. And no, the broadcast actually seemed a little biased toward us the majority of the time. Beside the zegras goal but honestly that goal was really awesome. The second it happened I said oh shit that’s gonna be on a goal of the year highlight reel.
They sure seemed to hammer home that we are still looking for good goal tending though. Throughout the whole game. 😐
idiotguru
The ESPN Plus crew is pretty bad, but the way they rationalized the non-call on the hit that may have given Dunn a concussion was absurd. I’m still livid about that situation.
PandarenNinja
The post game show and intermission shows were pretty dominated by “the Kraken are for real and could contend for home ice in the west” conversations.
Safe_Ad5951
They are a truly awful game calling team. We turned the sound off. My wife was used to the Root team and was like “who the hell are these clowns?”
LiberalTugboat
No
SublimeErudite
The shot was incredible, but yes EVERYONE wants Zegras to be a star SO bad. The league, sportscasters, podcasters, EA Sports, you name it.
JLCpbfspbfspbfs
I noticed the same thing in last year’s game against the ducks. ESPN’s hockey coverage is garbage.
Odd-Equipment1419
Odd, the folks on the Ducks thread were complaining the feed was biased towards us – though there were only three people participating over there.
TBarretH
TLDR, ESPN doesn’t care about teams, or really even sports. ESPN cares about telling stories about individuals who happen to play sports.
In a previous role my team partnered with ESPN to broadcast some sports stuff. We got to talk to them pretty extensively about what they looked for in a broadcast and how they thought about sports and they basically said “Teams don’t matter, we need individuals that we can build narratives around that people can connect with.”
Extend this to last night’s broadcast and you can see why they care much more about a single individual on a kind of dog shit team (Zegras) than a team that is performing well but has no real standout stars or individuals to tell stories about. If you pay attention to their coverage of the Kraken you can also see them trying to establish those stories, they’ll focus on Beniers and try to make a story about him, but he’s too workman like and consistent and low drama, they’ll try to make a story about Gru and his contract and our goaltending woes, but then he won’t play for a while, or it just isn’t that interesting a story because there really isn’t much drama from the team there. Basically low-drama teams that succeed through whole team contribution not specific stars (The Kraken) are antithetical to ESPN’s entire model.
you_are_unhinged
It was so biased that it was laughable. Then they railroaded us on the Dunn thing. If it weren’t so paranoid of me, I’d swear that the league is out to get us.
Mr_Hamster01
The only goalie that could’ve stopped it is retired, the great Patrick Roy. Otherwise, I can’t hate the goal cause it’s just so sick.
Specialist-Title9502
Had the wife put on the game on ESPN plus while I organized my cards. I thought she accidentally put on the ducks broadcast 😂
JPhrog
To be fair that shot was nasty, especially when they slowed it down. He made it look so easy.
Any_Discussion_1611
Honestly the ducks are in a tough spot. Give them some love I say. They certainly don’t have any numbers lol
duckafan
I happen to be poking around the ducks subreddit last night to see what they were saying and there was a few that thought the broadcast team was rooting for the Kraken. I did not see the broadcast, so can’t comment either way.
Zegras’ goal was legit though.
lurkerfromstoneage
Ugh. Everything Zegras. Sure, he’s definitely got pizazz and some nasty goals, is an asset to the team and is a young viral video star. But he just seems like a cocky punk and the announcers even discussed “maturity issues” with him spouting off, behavior and losing his cool. When Dunn smacked his stick against the glass following the Comtois hit to his face, announcers said something like “that’s something Zegras would have done and has been told to contain it.”
TL;DR: I hate Zegras lol.
Jimberwolf_
Super biased! I had to mute the tv it was so bad! They were awful
samhouse09
Buccigross kept calling him Borkstrand. Did he not even prep for proper name pronunciation?
JasonEAltMTG
I have been a Hawks fan since 1991 which means I have had a lot of Edzo over the years and I want him to cover everything I watch, not just hockey
subtractvoid
ESPN sucks and also does not give a shit about hockey. Also, national sports media as a whole does not give a shit about Seattle sports even if they are doing well in the standings. Goes against their narrative and understanding of the world. Always been this way.
adrianp07
To be fair, shots like that is what is going to help grow the sport overall. Kraken win streak maybe helps boost our ego?
MoonlightRonin
Better than listening to the nails on a chalkboard that is otherwise known as Leah Hextall
CakeSnake
It felt like ESPN was calling a HS hockey game. Low energy.
Zealousideal-Lie1911
Let it be. Underdog mentality
cozy_sparks
ESPN has no idea what to do with hockey. Like, can we stop pretending that ESPN actually gives a shit about any other sport besides football, basketball, and baseball? They just see one fancy hockey move, which happens more often that they know, and pop it up on their Top 10 Highlights and then close the books on hockey discussion for the rest of the day.
RandyGodson
Zegras is like the Shohei Ohtani of hockey
jonesy289
Was a pretty sweet goal though tbh
YoooCakess
First time being a pnw sports fan I see
Spectre483
Hi, I see you’re new to Seattle sports! Welcome aboard!
JoeMac02
That was the First Kraken game I have been able to watch and I didn’t think there was any biases other then that trick shot goal.
ZealousidealRiver476
Root broadcasters are much better imo
Was not enjoying the ESPN commentary
Will gladly pay 120 a month for fubo so I can watch on root. First year watching hockey and I’ve learned a ton from the commentators at root. Also love the quips!
“PICK UP THE PHONE ITS ANSWER TIME”
l2ooster
The ducks subreddit said the same thing but for their side. This is a universal thought that pops into peoples heads. Everybody thinks the refs are screwing then and only them too.
49 Comments
It was not a good broadcast team.
To be fair, that between the legs goal was more impressive than a 5-game win streak.
Sadly it’s pretty standard for them to be anti Kraken, especially Buccigross
That said the Zegras goal was highlight reel worthy.
I thought they made up for it in the post game show and to be fairrrr, it was an impressive shot
All that said it was not a good broadcast team, I really dislike it when the Kraken are not on Root
ESPN can’t call a hockey game to save their lives. I tend to give those games a miss.
Majority of their broadcasts across all sports are just talk show/podcast material with some gameplay filtered in between. Not meant for die hard fans
I didn’t think they were particularly biased or anything, I just thought they sucked
I thought it was good, simply because holy shit Leah Hextall is just torture
BORKSTRAND
ESPN doesn’t care about Hockey in general, so their coverage sucks. Most of their hosts couldn’t even follow a game without help the people behind the scenes. NHL games need to get picked up by another network that actually cares about the game.
No. I mean Zegras did score an amazing goal. I thought it was good. Mostly good because Leah Hextall wasn’t calling the game.
I miss root!
The last time that kid had a crazy goal, it went viral. That’s the kind of thing that’s going to bring new eyeballs. I thought they were pretty complimentary of the Kraken. It’s an expansion team that’s in good position to make the playoffs beating up on a lower tier team, not sure how crazy they were supposed to go with the praise.
Zegras is supposed to be the next face of the NHL because it’s really hard to market guys like McDavid when he has the same emotional range as Kawhi Leonard. I will say though I’m getting sick and tired of all the Zegras Jerkoffs
I mean they said multiple times that the Zegras goal was gonna make the highlight real but ‘let’s not forget the final score..’ or words to that effect. So I don’t feel it was that pronounced.
I honestly don’t mind ESPN broadcast occasionally. I feel like I get new information/perspectives from folks like PK and AJ Mleczko.
There’s never any fan base out there that thinks their team gets enough love from the national broadcasters.
Turn the sound down and put on 93.3 FM. Our TV team gets most of the love, but our radio team is rock solid too.
At least it wasn’t Leah. And no, the broadcast actually seemed a little biased toward us the majority of the time. Beside the zegras goal but honestly that goal was really awesome. The second it happened I said oh shit that’s gonna be on a goal of the year highlight reel.
They sure seemed to hammer home that we are still looking for good goal tending though. Throughout the whole game. 😐
The ESPN Plus crew is pretty bad, but the way they rationalized the non-call on the hit that may have given Dunn a concussion was absurd. I’m still livid about that situation.
The post game show and intermission shows were pretty dominated by “the Kraken are for real and could contend for home ice in the west” conversations.
They are a truly awful game calling team. We turned the sound off. My wife was used to the Root team and was like “who the hell are these clowns?”
No
The shot was incredible, but yes EVERYONE wants Zegras to be a star SO bad. The league, sportscasters, podcasters, EA Sports, you name it.
I noticed the same thing in last year’s game against the ducks. ESPN’s hockey coverage is garbage.
Odd, the folks on the Ducks thread were complaining the feed was biased towards us – though there were only three people participating over there.
TLDR, ESPN doesn’t care about teams, or really even sports. ESPN cares about telling stories about individuals who happen to play sports.
In a previous role my team partnered with ESPN to broadcast some sports stuff. We got to talk to them pretty extensively about what they looked for in a broadcast and how they thought about sports and they basically said “Teams don’t matter, we need individuals that we can build narratives around that people can connect with.”
Extend this to last night’s broadcast and you can see why they care much more about a single individual on a kind of dog shit team (Zegras) than a team that is performing well but has no real standout stars or individuals to tell stories about. If you pay attention to their coverage of the Kraken you can also see them trying to establish those stories, they’ll focus on Beniers and try to make a story about him, but he’s too workman like and consistent and low drama, they’ll try to make a story about Gru and his contract and our goaltending woes, but then he won’t play for a while, or it just isn’t that interesting a story because there really isn’t much drama from the team there. Basically low-drama teams that succeed through whole team contribution not specific stars (The Kraken) are antithetical to ESPN’s entire model.
It was so biased that it was laughable. Then they railroaded us on the Dunn thing. If it weren’t so paranoid of me, I’d swear that the league is out to get us.
The only goalie that could’ve stopped it is retired, the great Patrick Roy. Otherwise, I can’t hate the goal cause it’s just so sick.
Had the wife put on the game on ESPN plus while I organized my cards. I thought she accidentally put on the ducks broadcast 😂
To be fair that shot was nasty, especially when they slowed it down. He made it look so easy.
Honestly the ducks are in a tough spot. Give them some love I say. They certainly don’t have any numbers lol
I happen to be poking around the ducks subreddit last night to see what they were saying and there was a few that thought the broadcast team was rooting for the Kraken. I did not see the broadcast, so can’t comment either way.
Zegras’ goal was legit though.
Ugh. Everything Zegras. Sure, he’s definitely got pizazz and some nasty goals, is an asset to the team and is a young viral video star. But he just seems like a cocky punk and the announcers even discussed “maturity issues” with him spouting off, behavior and losing his cool. When Dunn smacked his stick against the glass following the Comtois hit to his face, announcers said something like “that’s something Zegras would have done and has been told to contain it.”
TL;DR: I hate Zegras lol.
Super biased! I had to mute the tv it was so bad! They were awful
Buccigross kept calling him Borkstrand. Did he not even prep for proper name pronunciation?
I have been a Hawks fan since 1991 which means I have had a lot of Edzo over the years and I want him to cover everything I watch, not just hockey
ESPN sucks and also does not give a shit about hockey. Also, national sports media as a whole does not give a shit about Seattle sports even if they are doing well in the standings. Goes against their narrative and understanding of the world. Always been this way.
To be fair, shots like that is what is going to help grow the sport overall. Kraken win streak maybe helps boost our ego?
Better than listening to the nails on a chalkboard that is otherwise known as Leah Hextall
It felt like ESPN was calling a HS hockey game. Low energy.
Let it be. Underdog mentality
ESPN has no idea what to do with hockey. Like, can we stop pretending that ESPN actually gives a shit about any other sport besides football, basketball, and baseball? They just see one fancy hockey move, which happens more often that they know, and pop it up on their Top 10 Highlights and then close the books on hockey discussion for the rest of the day.
Zegras is like the Shohei Ohtani of hockey
Was a pretty sweet goal though tbh
First time being a pnw sports fan I see
Hi, I see you’re new to Seattle sports! Welcome aboard!
That was the First Kraken game I have been able to watch and I didn’t think there was any biases other then that trick shot goal.
Root broadcasters are much better imo
Was not enjoying the ESPN commentary
Will gladly pay 120 a month for fubo so I can watch on root. First year watching hockey and I’ve learned a ton from the commentators at root. Also love the quips!
“PICK UP THE PHONE ITS ANSWER TIME”
The ducks subreddit said the same thing but for their side. This is a universal thought that pops into peoples heads. Everybody thinks the refs are screwing then and only them too.