It's the day after Thanksgiving & after spending the morning hanging the outdoor Christmas lights I decided to relax for the afternoon on the couch and watch the Isles vs. Bruins.
First - hate the Bruins uni's - what happened to the "B" on their chest? Is this their version of a 3rd jersey? Anyway - like the turkey in the attached cartoon - I think the Isles are "done" Yeah - I know its only 21 games in - but they have not shown much growth or development. They are STILL making the same mistakes they made in the first dozen games. Playing on 40 minutes of hockey (see the result of the Penguins game); still sloppy with the puck and having difficulty scoring (see the Bruins game); they are still taking stupid and careless penalties (see Tambellini in Bruins game). I think we are going to watch as this team wins a few, then loses more than a few, then wins a couple, then loses more than a couple - for the rest of the season.
They still have not established a consistent and sustained offensive attack. They are good on special teams -- Weight with lots of PP goals and the PK is still playing fine. They are just not potent enough.
Last blog I remarked that I wasn't buying the feces that some bloggers were selling about them getting better --- and I was right. I do think, however, that after 9 games Bailey has shown himself worthy of staying in the NHL. I've seen him live in a few games and on TV the rest - and I am impressed with his poise, his maturity, and definitely his gift with the puck. Now he just needs to find the back of the net. As we get deeper into December and then the new year, I wouldn't be surprised to see Garth start moving some bodies & collecting draft picks. In fact, I think that is the smartest strategy at this point.
On to the topic I promised: Fighting.
All 3 of my boys play both ice & roller hockey. Right now - they are playing roller (in the spring comes ice hockey). Anyway - the roller league they play in -- St. John of God CYO Roller Hockey in Central Islip -- is a fantastic league. This is my boys' 4th year in the league. It is FULL CHECKING and NHL rules play. So my boys all know how to deliver & take a hit - and they have taken & delivered their fair share of gorgeous hits. But the one thing the league does NOT tolerate is fighting. Many of the non-hockey or casual hockey fans point to fighting in the NHL as a reason to hate the sport - or call for a ban on fighting altogether. As Charles Barkely once said -- he can't believe you can get into a fight, sit out for 5 minutes, and then play the rest of the game. Yet, amazingly it works.
It's now the "new" NHL - so gone are the days of my childhood when each team had their resident goon who was no more than a glorified boxer on skates. Guys like - Dave Shultz, Joey Kocur, Marty McSorley, Tie Domi, Tiger Williams, Rob Ray, Chris Nilan... and others. Granted, some of these guys could play too - but many just earned a roster spot with their fists. That is really not the case anymore. Yeah - their are some goons left - but they are rare, and most can at least skate, pass, and not embarrass themselves. I think a guy like Mitch Fritz is an old-time tough guy - a/k/a he ain't being put on the ice for his offense, his defense, or wonderful puck handling skills. He dropped the gloves in the Pittsburgh game - and it was largely a draw.
Anyway - kids understand more than we give them credit for - well, at least the one's who possess at least a minimum of intelligence & discipline (and I know the number of those is dwindling). Yes, my boys stand, cheer, hoot & holler when there is a fight. But they understand why there was a fight and not one of them desires or dreams of mimicking the experience. They "get it" and quite honestly I think what they see in the movies and on video games is MUCH MORE harmful to their psyche than watching 2 guys drop the gloves and "have at it" during a hockey game.
Just my 2 cents on the issue.
Next up: Bringing my home equity checkbook to games!!
MLD
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