- Aug 19, 2005
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I don't view it as scummy. The defenseman is trying to tail and tie up a guy who's charging his crease. If he doesn't engage the guy physically, he's letting him in a dangerous area for free. But coming from behind, it's hard to play him physically in a way that doesn't tend to push him into the net.
I don't know exactly how you want defensemen to play forwards like that, unless it's to let them get in and have first grabs at any puck thrown that way while they try to recover position. You could make an argument for that, actually. It just might not be popular.
This seems a bit too rational and objective for my taste.
I'll stick to my "gentle slew foot" theory. It fuels my Bruins hate.