21 Years Ago Today - Fight Night at the Joe

[quoipourquoi]

Come to think of it, Nicklas Lidstrom was so steady and precise compared to the previous year's WCF, he wasn't the factory worker; he was the $8 million machine built on the assembly line. They just broke the mold after they made him!

 

[danincanada]

The best example of brains vs. brawn in that game 2 video is at 25:25 where Eric Lacroix takes a run at Lidstrom and gets side stepped. Smashes his own face into the glass. The Avs got outskilled and outworked in that series and even Roy couldn't save them.

 

[JackSlater]

Great rivalry, that spring was the apex of my hockey fandom.

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

I figured you were all in tears.

This is hockey, you know. Not figure skating. They didn't just goon it up. They fought for their teammates, fair and square.

it's hockey, not bar room brawling

the 90's nostalgia is out of control, though in your case i understand missing it because your favorite team now stinks

 

[cupcrazyman]

Not sticking up for the Wings but Lemieux was absolutely gutless

 

[quoipourquoi]

it's hockey, not bar room brawling

Physicality and aggression and earning respect even if it meant beating that respect out of an opponent were significant parts of hockey throughout most of its history. Claude Lemieux knows that, and Darren McCarty earned Claude Lemieux's respect. In Lemieux's words, Darren McCarty was "the ultimate teammate" for what he did.

 

[sandysan]

Not sticking up for the Wings but Lemieux was absolutely gutless

yeah the guy who GOT suckered and who when subsequently offered to settle by punching up, DID yeah HE's the gutless one.

I didn't know today was bizzarro day, and knowing is half the battle.

 

[Merya]

Best. Era. Ever.

Today's softy players wouldn't stand a chance. To think, only 20 years has passed, yet all that was hockey (read: passion, soul) has basically been squeezed out of the sport. Those were real men, and that's what I call real men's ice hockey.

It's been scientifically proven that cultural things from the persons second decade of existence will mostly remain as favorites for their entire life. It's hardcoded into the dna. As such nostalgia, eyetests, etc. are proven false. I should know, I adore 80s movies on a very deep level even tho I try not to. I even listen to duran duran sometimes... >_< Sports at least was mercifully good. Gretzky, Maradona, Finland was still good in individual sports, and so on.

Real mens Ice Hockey... does your entertainment require bloodmoney in general? Soul, passion and dedication are higher than ever, result of professionalism.

 

[Sentinel]

Real mens Ice Hockey... does your entertainment require bloodmoney in general? Soul, passion and dedication are higher than ever, result of professionalism.

Actually, there is less soul and passion now in NHL than ever before in history.

 

[Sentinel]

it's hockey, not bar room brawling

the 90's nostalgia is out of control, though in your case i understand missing it because your favorite team now stinks

I don't know what your favorite team is, but

(1) teams go through cycles

(2) chances are my team has more Cups than yours, unless you are a Habs fan, in which case, your team sucks just as much

(3) that 90s Red Wings team would destroy each and every team in today's NHL without breaking sweat.

(4) today's NHL is boring.

 

[Merya]

Actually, there is less soul and passion now in NHL than ever before in history.

That's your perception, I think largely affected by the lack of many great Russian players. Perhaps by the lack of passion by the said few Russian stars as well. Finnish players otoh are much more dedicated to their NHL dreams and teams than they were 20-30 years ago.

e: Or even ten years ago, with proven talents like Peltonen and Nummelin not bothering to do the work needed. Or the notorious Niinimäki, not bothering anything at all.

 

[Doctor No]

Actually, there is less soul and passion now in NHL than ever before in history.

Well, no. There were just as many games in eras past that had no passion and no soul, just as many "boring games" then as there are now.

You're just not living through it now. When you think back to past eras, you're remembering the great games. Those are the ones that people talk about and remember today, for a reason. And everyone usually remembers the era in which they started watching hockey as the best era, because they don't get the opportunity to ever compare it to prior eras.

It's the same reason that people always view the music that they grew up with as the best era and say that "today's music sucks". Yesterday's music sucked just as much as today's music. (Except for the 1980s - 1980s music is and always will be awesome.)

 

[Doctor No]

And I run a nostalgia based Twitter page (Doug Norris (@GoalieHistory) | Twitter) so I'm obviously both susceptible to it, and deliberately promote it. I don't intentionally post lousy things from the 1980s, for instance.

 

[Leafblooded]

It's been scientifically proven that cultural things from the persons second decade of existence will mostly remain as favorites for their entire life. It's hardcoded into the dna. As such nostalgia, eyetests, etc. are proven false. I should know, I adore 80s movies on a very deep level even tho I try not to. I even listen to duran duran sometimes... >_< Sports at least was mercifully good. Gretzky, Maradona, Finland was still good in individual sports, and so on.

Real mens Ice Hockey... does your entertainment require bloodmoney in general? Soul, passion and dedication are higher than ever, result of professionalism.

I hear your point. I don't enjoy humans suffering for my entertainment either. But, there's something to be said in regards to cultural double standards still in place. Why is it okay to watch UFC fighters beat each other to death, yet enjoying hitting and fist fighting in hockey is looked upon as some kind of breakdown in cultural ethics?

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

I don't know what your favorite team is, but

(1) teams go through cycles

(2) chances are my team has more Cups than yours, unless you are a Habs fan, in which case, your team sucks just as much

(3) that 90s Red Wings team would destroy each and every team in today's NHL without breaking sweat.

(4) today's NHL is boring.

my team is the pens

nobody cares about cups won when there were only 6 teams, my team has more cups than every team since 1991

no they would not and you are stuck in the past because the present stinks and the future looks bleak for your team

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

I hear your point. I don't enjoy humans suffering for my entertainment either. But, there's something to be said in regards to cultural double standards still in place. Why is it okay to watch UFC fighters beat each other to death, yet enjoying hitting and fist fighting in hockey is looked upon as some kind of breakdown in cultural ethics?

because hockey is hockey, and ufc is fighting

what is hard to understand about that?

 

[Leafblooded]

because hockey is hockey, and ufc is fighting

what is hard to understand about that?

Because fighting was always a normal, every day part of hockey?

 

[c9777666]

Save for a few years of Chicago/Vancouver, when was the last time the NHL had anywhere close to a rivalry like this between two great teams not in the same division?

 

[Harry Waters]

What I really don't get in this thread and in general are the people using this game/rivalry as an argument for hockey today being worse than 20 years ago. That may have been one of the most heated games/series of all time between two rosters filled up with Hall of Famers and no cap. Of course that was great hockey; no matter what you like about it, you'll find great stories and scenes along the way and top notch hockey going along with it, I totally agree with that. But this is NOT your typical (late) 90ies game. That would be like taking the 2009 PIT/WSH game (or series for that matter) where Ovechkin and Crosby hat duelling hat tricks and claiming that this was the better era of hockey. That's not how it works. Perhaps it's better for everyone to take a step back and not push an agenda with the use of questionable narratives.

I'd argue that the game can be appreciated for what it is then and now, and that doesn't change when the game changes over time.

 

[Sentinel]

my team is the pens

nobody cares about cups won when there were only 6 teams, my team has more cups than every team since 1991

no they would not and you are stuck in the past because the present stinks and the future looks bleak for your team

Why did you draw the line in 1991? Oh, I see. Because cherry-picking data is easy. To say "nobody cares about the Original Six era" while mentioning 1991 (quarter of a century ago) is, of course, ridiculous. But then again, ridiculous is the name of your game. The only reason why you love today's bland league is because your team happens to be good now. "That too shall pass."

 

[Sentinel]

What I really don't get in this thread and in general are the people using this game/rivalry as an argument for hockey today being worse than 20 years ago. That may have been one of the most heated games/series of all time between two rosters filled up with Hall of Famers and no cap. Of course that was great hockey; no matter what you like about it, you'll find great stories and scenes along the way and top notch hockey going along with it, I totally agree with that. But this is NOT your typical (late) 90ies game. That would be like taking the 2009 PIT/WSH game (or series for that matter) where Ovechkin and Crosby hat duelling hat tricks and claiming that this was the better era of hockey. That's not how it works. Perhaps it's better for everyone to take a step back and not push an agenda with the use of questionable narratives.

The fact that you couldn't find anything more recent than a 2009 Pens-Caps series (indeed, a great one) to counteract the 90s "narrative" is pretty telling.

90s hockey had more talent in every position: forwards, defense, and goalies. Plus the passion.

 

[Sentinel]

That's your perception, I think largely affected by the lack of many great Russian players. Perhaps by the lack of passion by the said few Russian stars as well. Finnish players otoh are much more dedicated to their NHL dreams and teams than they were 20-30 years ago.

What? Today's NHL has plenty of terrific Russian players. Ovechkin, Malkin, Kucherov, Panarin, Tarasenko, Kuznetsov, Bobrovsky, etc. are not worse than Fedorov, Bure, Mogilny, Zubov, Zhamnov, and Yashin. The only position where 90s Russians were better than 10s Russians is defense.

 

[Melrose Munch]

What? Today's NHL has plenty of terrific Russian players. Ovechkin, Malkin, Kucherov, Panarin, Tarasenko, Kuznetsov, Bobrovsky, etc. are not worse than Fedorov, Bure, Mogilny, Zubov, Zhamnov, and Yashin. The only position where 90s Russians were better than 10s Russians is defense.

The two best guys on that list are over 30.

 

[Doctor No]

90s hockey had more talent in every position: forwards, defense, and goalies. Plus the passion.

Again, you're looking back at history in a distorted fashion. We disproportionally remember the best forwards, best defensemen, and best goaltenders of past eras, and if we ever forget, highlight shows will do the job for us.

Meanwhile, we're living through the current era and have access to all levels of play on a nightly basis.

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

Why did you draw the line in 1991? Oh, I see. Because cherry-picking data is easy. To say "nobody cares about the Original Six era" while mentioning 1991 (quarter of a century ago) is, of course, ridiculous. But then again, ridiculous is the name of your game. The only reason why you love today's bland league is because your team happens to be good now. "That too shall pass."

your team has one less cup since 91, you were under the assumption my team has been worse and my team was great in the 90's which means i should have nostalgia for it like you right?

there have been tons of great series in the league recently, you just don't watch because you have no incentive as your teams season was done for weeks

the league is far from bland today, the problem for you is your team is bland today