Am I Alone?
Posted 7:18 PM ET | Comments 0
I just got done reading Damien Cox's piece on ESPN.com , and it made me think. Why can't people just enjoy the playoffs and hockey in general? Everywhere you look, you can find someone complaining about the lack of goals being scored in the playoffs, but what's wrong with a hard fought 2-1 game? Of course goals are going to be at a premium in the post-season because with each passing game and round, the stakes are higher and higher and the competition is better and better. Guys are going to make more sacrifices with their bodies to get in the way of shots. Guys are going to focus more on their responsibilities in their own zone. In my opinion, you should have to work and grind and pay a price to score a goal. God forbid a guy makes an effort to keep the other team from scoring. If you want to watch a game with no defense watch an NBA game.
I'm not saying I want to see teams go out and play the trap. I just want to watch a game and feel like every goal scored means something. Sure you can get the same thing in a 6-5 game, but how well played could that game really be?
Cox makes the point that to avoid comparisons to soccer that there needs to be a minimum level of scoring in NHL games, at least six goals, but that's quite a bit to ask. Just as you have guys that are skilled with the puck with the ability to score, there are also guys that work hard on being the best defensemen, and goalies that daily hone their craft to keep pucks out of the net. It's not like it was 20 years ago where you are going to see a goalie staying upright for a shot on the ice only to do the old running in place routine for a couple seconds and ending up on his ass.
In the end, you can have a great game with end to end play, excitement and all the stuff the "new" NHL has to offer without putting 10 goals on the scoreboard.
Take the game for what it is as a whole, not solely the final tally.
I'm not saying I want to see teams go out and play the trap. I just want to watch a game and feel like every goal scored means something. Sure you can get the same thing in a 6-5 game, but how well played could that game really be?
Cox makes the point that to avoid comparisons to soccer that there needs to be a minimum level of scoring in NHL games, at least six goals, but that's quite a bit to ask. Just as you have guys that are skilled with the puck with the ability to score, there are also guys that work hard on being the best defensemen, and goalies that daily hone their craft to keep pucks out of the net. It's not like it was 20 years ago where you are going to see a goalie staying upright for a shot on the ice only to do the old running in place routine for a couple seconds and ending up on his ass.
In the end, you can have a great game with end to end play, excitement and all the stuff the "new" NHL has to offer without putting 10 goals on the scoreboard.
Take the game for what it is as a whole, not solely the final tally.