Amazing that a Leafs / Habs game would get trumped by another game involving two Canadian teams.
I'm not going to bother going too much into it, but what you saw last night between Vancouver and Calgary may have been coming from a long ways away.
Vancouver was 23-11-6 on December 29. They beat Calgary that night for a 3-game winning streak. All was looking rosy. But then they proceeded to win one of their next nine games. Something had to be done.
The Flames were coming into last night's action with a total of 3 wins in their last 16 games. Something had to be done.
And I'm not about to get into a finger-pointing game here, because then you will not read the rest of the blog. Once someone's credibility has been lost, you don't read much more. But the point is, both teams had their 4th line out there. You actually don't have to be a hockey fan to know when the 4th line is out for both teams: all you have to do is be unable to identify all the players out there sans the goalies!
The truth is, though, both teams were ready to go at it because both teams were frustrated. See, a huge hockey fight is a welcome distraction from the rest of the game for both teams. The final score is not important any more. Rather, it's a sign of a team coming together and making a stand. Statement game. Bonding. What was the final score in that game, anyway? Anyone here know the final score in the game where Pat Quinn hit Bobby Orr and Forbes Kennedy took on the world?
At least, that's what you will hear. Do I agree with it? Yes and no, to be honest with you. Hockey is just so much more popular right now then when I was a kid. There was a Leaf game televised on Monday. Then Wednesday (on TSN, which was the only all-sports channel in Canada at the time) and finally, on Saturday on Hockey Night In Canada. It just isn't like that anymore.
LeafsTV, Sportsnet, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet West, TSN2, you name it. You can't get away from a hockey broadcast if you try. You're a team on a losing streak? It's all over the place! You're a hockey player? Great! You get reminded (read, "Shoved down your throat!") of it in the two or three days off. You get called names by your fan base. You've got to go out and do something.
This is where fighting comes in to play.
You just don't want to be missing the playoffs, or on the verge of it.
Toronto with that collapse against the Bruins last year. What have they become this year? If you count exhibition games, the Leafs have been involved in 55 fights so far this year (Jan 19th). Vancouver, trying to get back to the success they had in 2011, is 3rd with 51 fights. Ottawa, playing better now and trying to keep the ball rolling is 5th with 45. Even Calgary is 9th with 39. These teams are built tough!
But all of those teams I mentioned were either struggling or are struggling. But the theory of hockey is this: fighting is a building block in the game!
You may not win the game, but you showed heart. You cared. You've got grit. You won't let the opposition push you around. Even if, again, you lose the game, a coach will be happy with all that. At least, in theory.
And that's the other thing if you are a hockey coach. You've got to get the players to be better than they really are. Backcheck, forecheck, paycheck, right? Well, yes. But also, you need your players to be on the same page. Gotta stick up for a teammate. Gotta be ready to dish it out. That's what I've read. The theory of hockey violence, again.
So that is what happened last night. Oh, Tortorella? He has to be a bit peeved about his team's performances in recent games. Were they not blown out 9-1 by Anaheim on the 15h? He's mad that his team has been "mailing it in" the last little bit. So he, too, is making a statement.
I'm not going to bother going too much into it, but what you saw last night between Vancouver and Calgary may have been coming from a long ways away.
Vancouver was 23-11-6 on December 29. They beat Calgary that night for a 3-game winning streak. All was looking rosy. But then they proceeded to win one of their next nine games. Something had to be done.
The Flames were coming into last night's action with a total of 3 wins in their last 16 games. Something had to be done.
And I'm not about to get into a finger-pointing game here, because then you will not read the rest of the blog. Once someone's credibility has been lost, you don't read much more. But the point is, both teams had their 4th line out there. You actually don't have to be a hockey fan to know when the 4th line is out for both teams: all you have to do is be unable to identify all the players out there sans the goalies!
The truth is, though, both teams were ready to go at it because both teams were frustrated. See, a huge hockey fight is a welcome distraction from the rest of the game for both teams. The final score is not important any more. Rather, it's a sign of a team coming together and making a stand. Statement game. Bonding. What was the final score in that game, anyway? Anyone here know the final score in the game where Pat Quinn hit Bobby Orr and Forbes Kennedy took on the world?
At least, that's what you will hear. Do I agree with it? Yes and no, to be honest with you. Hockey is just so much more popular right now then when I was a kid. There was a Leaf game televised on Monday. Then Wednesday (on TSN, which was the only all-sports channel in Canada at the time) and finally, on Saturday on Hockey Night In Canada. It just isn't like that anymore.
LeafsTV, Sportsnet, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet West, TSN2, you name it. You can't get away from a hockey broadcast if you try. You're a team on a losing streak? It's all over the place! You're a hockey player? Great! You get reminded (read, "Shoved down your throat!") of it in the two or three days off. You get called names by your fan base. You've got to go out and do something.
This is where fighting comes in to play.
You just don't want to be missing the playoffs, or on the verge of it.
Toronto with that collapse against the Bruins last year. What have they become this year? If you count exhibition games, the Leafs have been involved in 55 fights so far this year (Jan 19th). Vancouver, trying to get back to the success they had in 2011, is 3rd with 51 fights. Ottawa, playing better now and trying to keep the ball rolling is 5th with 45. Even Calgary is 9th with 39. These teams are built tough!
But all of those teams I mentioned were either struggling or are struggling. But the theory of hockey is this: fighting is a building block in the game!
You may not win the game, but you showed heart. You cared. You've got grit. You won't let the opposition push you around. Even if, again, you lose the game, a coach will be happy with all that. At least, in theory.
And that's the other thing if you are a hockey coach. You've got to get the players to be better than they really are. Backcheck, forecheck, paycheck, right? Well, yes. But also, you need your players to be on the same page. Gotta stick up for a teammate. Gotta be ready to dish it out. That's what I've read. The theory of hockey violence, again.
So that is what happened last night. Oh, Tortorella? He has to be a bit peeved about his team's performances in recent games. Were they not blown out 9-1 by Anaheim on the 15h? He's mad that his team has been "mailing it in" the last little bit. So he, too, is making a statement.
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