The Reds Have It

Vol. I, No. 54

On May 6, the red teams came out flying. 

Down 3 games to none, the Detroit RED Wings (hey, they even have the color in their name) decimated the San Jose Sharks by a lopsided score of 7-1, including an amazing four-goal, four-point, natural hat trick effort by Johan Franzen.

Franzen's performance was spectacular. He scored four points in the first period (tying previous NHL playoff records), scored three goals in succession without any other intervening scores (the natural hat trick) and capped things off with a third period power play goal, making it four goals in one game (tying another NHL record). He was a one man wrecking crew.

With the onslaught, Detroit chased Sharks netminder Evgeny Nabokov from the goal, at the end of the first period.  By that time, Detroit was ahead 5-0. The next two periods were only a 2-1 game, with the Wings on top. San Jose has been taken apart before, and the question for 2010 is how tough the Sharks are this year.  They still have a 3-1 series lead, and the next game returns to the Shark tank in San Jose.  Expect the Sharks to come out with a perfect game.

The other red team also played in front of a home crowd. At the Bell Center (or Centre Bell) in Montreal, the Canadiens found a way to come from behind and eke out a 3-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Over the past two games, these teams are tied at 3 total goals apiece. The series is tied at 2 games apiece. The #8 seed Canadiens have won six of the past ten games against two Eastern Conference powerhouses, Washington and Pittsburgh. These Habs are for real.

The Habs and Wings aren't the only teams that play in red.  A few others come to mind, including the Washington "Rock Your Red" Capitals, the New Jersey Devils, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Phoenix Coyotes, the Ottawa Senators, the Calgary Flames, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Russian national team and Team Canada.  That's a lot of red jerseys.  Why so much red?

It boils down to human vision.  Red lights and red flags get our attention better than any other color. That is because the human eye sees light more effectively at 6500 Angstroms than at any other wavelength.  In non-technical terms, we see red better than any other color.  And that is because the sun emits its maximum power at, you guessed it, 6500 A (after being filtered through our atmosphere).

So, let's say you are a team "designer" and want to give your players an edge.  You put everyone in red, and players can see each other in their peripheral vision, can sense each other's presence faster, can see more players silhouetted against the white ice.  By seeing better, the team members play better.

If you skate, the next time you are on the ice, try looking at people who are wearing red or white.  You will see the red people in the corner of your eye first.  

There is one other color that works well on the ice - although not quite so well as red.  Black contrasts against the white ice too.  So which teams wear black?  The Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Then there are teams which combine red and black. The New Jersey Devils. I wonder when the Devils will bring out black jerseys edged with red highlights. Changing jerseys is a tradition in the NHL, because the teams know that modified or changed designs will bring in more revenue. Sometimes the changes are minor, and sometimes they are mindboggling. For a history of jersey designs and team colors, go to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.  

Pittsburgh and Montreal - black against red.  All tied up.  Look for black and gold to be bringing the fire on Saturday at the Mellon Arena. And, on Saturday, the Wings returns to San Jose. Can they win two in a row? Detroit has history on their side.  San Jose has hunger. Nabokov won't give up 5 goals again.

Hockey Rules.