Seconds before Dan Girardi scored the first goal of the Eastern Conference Final, he was sitting on the bench.
It was heaven for a Rangers fan, hell for a Devils fan, and one of the most challenging parts of a hockey broadcaster’s job.
“You have to be ready for that and identify the fact that Girardi is on the ice where he wasn’t just two or three seconds ago,” Rangers MSG play-by-play man Sam Rosen (inset) said.
“That is what is unique to this sport and you have to just stay sharp and in-tune to the changes going on.”
With the NBC networks having taken over the playoff coverage, Rosen, along with Devils play-by-play man Steve Cangialosi, watched Monday night’s game from the MSG studio, preparing for the network’s 90-minute postgame show. The pair found time this week to discuss what goes into calling a hockey game.
“That is to a tee what makes calling this game different from any other sport,” Cangialosi said. “I have a lot of respect for people that call baseball, and there’s a lot of clever storytelling that goes into what they do in addition to the nuts-and-bolts part of the broadcast. But more often than not, No. 2 [Derek Jeter] will be the starting shortstop for the Yankees and if they are still playing in the 12th inning, you’ll still find him in that same position. The game we are talking about is the 180-degree opposite of that.”
It’s not only the constant line changes that occur as play continues, but the changing line combinations coaches utilize, often demoting and promoting players on the fly.
“All of a sudden, if Marian Gaborik is benched or dropped to the third line, or that regular-season game at the Garden, which Steve and I both did, where the teams started with their tough guys on the ice, you have to be ready for that,” said Rosen, referring to a game that saw players for each team drop their gloves seconds after the puck.
Hockey has fewer breaks in the action than basketball, football and baseball, which means less time to squeeze in the anecdotes and information the announcing team prepared before the game.
“It’s very hard to explain,” Cangialosi said. “You pick and choose your times … I don’t think there are any rules, just a pace or feel.”
The play-by-play men were quick to say the key to calling the games revolves around the chemistry between themselves, their analysts (Joe Micheletti for the Rangers, Glenn “Chico” Resch for the Devils) and the producers in the truck. That especially comes into play when there is a penalty or fight breaking out behind the puck.
“Chico is not shy of whacking me on the shoulder several times a game to say, ‘Let me in, I saw what happened.’ Or physically telling me with hand signals what happened,” Cangialosi said.