Sometimes one finds oneself in a hotel with a crummy TV. Other times, one finds oneself playing a game at 9 p.m. ET. Here’s how NHLers cope.
ST. LOUIS — It was Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Colorado Avalanche, and San Jose Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon was avoiding social media at all costs. Not because the Avalanche defeated his team at the Shark Tank, which no doubt perturbed him. But because the living army was scheduled to battle the Army of the Dead outside of Winterfell that evening, and the last thing he wanted to do on that last Sunday in April was accidentally stumble upon the fate of the Night King.
Like millions of others — 18.4 million people watched the penultimate episode on various HBO platforms last Sunday, in fact — Dillon is a “Game of Thrones” fanatic, one of over a dozen in the Sharks’ dressing room.
“It’s not something I was necessarily into, with dragons and make-believe stuff. It’s not really my thing. But it was so well-written,” said Dillon, who began watching “Thrones” during his days in the American Hockey League, streaming it on the plane or bus.
But he’s a die-hard now. On the road, Dillon and a few of his teammates — Tomas Hertl and Martin Jones among them — would crowd into a hotel room, plug in their streaming device to the flat screen and watch the “Thrones” together.
Then, the next morning, they have to be respectful of the viewing habits of others.
“Some guys don’t watch it in the night [it premieres], so you have to be careful with what you say in the room the next day, so you’re not giving away too much information,” he said. “We have a pretty good setup in the hotel. We can plug in and stream it. If you wait too long, you’ve already heard this or seen a picture of that.
