Well safe to say if it's not obscure comic references that the masses are too simple to understand, it won't go over well here. The usual salty genital crew shall poo poo it.
I thought it was good to get more insight into an nhl fighting role players mind. Even if only confirming what I know from junior and d1.
I took little of Prust trying to exaggerate that he was a heavyweight or an agent of mutually assured destruction. Ide take Prust over our 4th line any day of the week
I also believe the opinion he contributed to be more informed...u know as a guy who made it to the chel, than we who who contributes on here.
A team that responds aggressively as a complete group when opposition takes liberties means something. Must just be coincidence that our stars are injury prone. We lack emotion. And get roughed out of the playoffs consistently. It's prob just that we r missing jagr.....
Thanks for posting. Good stuff. Unfortunately, MOST of the Pens fans on this board have gone completely away from this mentality and line of thinking. Most are now into Corsi. They don't want to hear from guys in the trenches. They want to hear from nerds with abacuses. Most Pens fans have completely bought into the idea that a fourth line should be comprised of the most skilled players possible who don't make a lot of money.
While I do agree $2.5 million for Brandon Prust is simply too much coin, and I wouldn't want that much money tied to the fourth line, and he's not great value for the third line, he still brings quite a bit to the Habs organization. And while not a heavyweight, he can certainly fight and will take on ANYONE. I recall him going with 6-8 Jeff Finley, then of the Islanders. If you guys don't think THAT can electrify a bench, then there is nothing else that needs to be discussed on this matter. It's not always about the fight. It's sometimes about WHO you fight, and it's almost always about WHEN you fight him. The famous 'Shhh' momeny by Max Talbot is a PRIME example of this.
A few years ago, I remember going to see a Habs-Leafs game at the Bell Centre on a Saturday night. Those games are awesome from a fan standpoint. You don't even have to like either team (and I don't) to really enjoy those games. Anyway, the Habs were completely dominating this particular game, and I think the score was 2-0 or maybe even 3-0 in the first period. Brad May decides to drop the gloves with Georges Laraque. Mistake, right? On the surface, oh yes. Laraque dropped him pretty quickly. I mean, this was a total NHL mismatch. Well, when the fight was over, May staggered his way to the penalty box but his team got really charged up. They completely dominated the Habs the rest of the night. It was a game I will never forget.
Fights can change momentum. Fights can create energy when the arena is completely snoozing. Sure there's a deterrent factor too, but there's an entire strategy and psychology to the hockey fight. And believe me, it took me YEARS to figure this out. I used to be a huge proponent of no fighting...more skill on every line. But as you grow older, you learn more and more about the game. About the intricacies of it. About the psychology of it. And so I eventually gave in and realized this actually plays a role in how an individual player performs on the ice.
By the way, just because I really enjoy annoying a LOT of you here, John Scott scored his second goal of the season last night against Calgary. And he scored when it was 3-0 in the third period. And he did exactly what any good leader would do in that situation...got his bench fired up and going "come on guys!" repeatedly, both on the ice and when he got back to the bench. The Sharks were completely asleep before the goal. They wound up playing a much stronger third period, even in defeat.
But everybody is going to insist John Scott is useless. Despite the fact he now has as many goals in the NHL this season as Despres, Martin, Lapierre and Bortuzzo...and 1 behind Ehrhoff and Bennett.
Go watch Scott's goal last night and his reaction afterwards. We could only WISH Chris Kunitz had that kind of fire in his belly anymore. And we wonder why Sid seems to be sleepwalking this season.
