Playing in the NHL is about making a difference, whether it is on the ice or off the ice. Whether or not athletes want to be role models isn’t a choice they get to make. In the case of the Bruins and Canadiens, we get a taste of some of their exploits off the ice around Christmas time.
The episode opens up on Brad Marchand doing a dramatic reading of the “Night Before Christmas” with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Montreal Canadiens giving out gifts at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. It is a nice opening to the episode, establishing a narrative that the players realize that hockey is only a game. That the need to give back is an important part of being a hockey player.
We also get a glimpse into Jimmy Hayes’ family life and it is pretty much what you think every Boston family in the world is like. Accents, the love for hockey, it is all there. Those are the type of moments you cherish on this show. You aren’t going to see it anywhere else.
While Brendan Gallagher looks as if he is a bully from an 80’s teen movie, he is actually one of the better interviews on the team. I am particularly interested in his fandom of TV shows and professional sports teams. He discusses fandom and gets a call from Andy Dalton, which overall is not a bad day whatsoever. He may be charging up the Winter Classic power rankings as one of my favorite players.
The Bruins and Canadiens are two teams going on separate paths approaching the Winter Classic but as this episode states their is so much more going on that it cannot be worried about. It is a season of ups and downs after all. This episode being one of the better editions coming from Epix. Let’s all hope for more of the same.
