I'm concerned because this time I actually have access to pretty high altitude windows
Step back from the window sill please...
News Article: Bruins' offense feels crunch of salary cap
- Thread starter smithformeragent
- Start date
Step back from the window sill please...
LSCII
Cup driven
Sure. Some guys get better, some regress, some get hurt. You can't ever tell. The one thing you can draw on though is that they're starting off this season with less depth on the roster than last year. Will other guys step up to fill the void of Iggy leaving and Eriksson being promoted to that line? You'd certainly hope so, but who that will be and what they'll give you is pretty much an unknown. The team should be fine, and I think they probably will be, but I get why the author wrote this story. It's a valid concern.
LSCII
Cup driven
I'm concerned because this time I actually have access to pretty high altitude windows
I will be the first to admit Rask didn't play very well against Montreal in the playoffs but in reality there is no goalie you count on to be at his 100 percent best at any time. As great as Quick has been and his two cups there has been series in the playoffs where he has struggled. As awesome as Thomas was in our cup run he was average at best against montreal rd 1 which included some just awful goals . Followed by average play against the caps the next season. Rask is right up there with the top goalies but the bottom line is the top goalies are all capable of outplaying each other for a series.
As far as Park goes just lol these guys are all so skilled today offensively its beyond real. Take A guy like Boychuk and put him in the 70s and he would light up the red light . The goalies rather they have bigger equipment or not do not let in any half ok shot from anywhere today . Everybody is just so gifted with offensive talent that the only way you can get ahead is to teach defense. Even an offensive juggernaut like the hawks cant get away with Oiler 80s hockey.
PlayMakers
Moderator
I love that the old players like Orr, Espo, and Park all believe that the current NHL is not offensively wide open as it could/should be. I HATE dump and chase hockey I LOVE breakways that go end to end. Give me more wide open high scoring hockey..
The problem with that is that in today's NHL everybody back checks and every team attempts to play defense without the puck.
I know some of the old timers will disagree with me here, but when I watch games from the 80's, it looks like squirt hockey. I'm shocked at how few players work to get back and help out. Instead, teams trade 3on2's until the "checking line" comes out (and then that group played determined two-way hockey, the Poulin's and Tikkanen's), but the rest of the time most of the guys coasted back hoping for a turnover that would send them the other way. You also see a lot of guys flying out of the Dzone early to try to get breakaway chances and leaving their teams temporarily shorthanded... Don't get me wrong, I also LOVED 80's hockey. Goalies had to be acrobatic back then and it was glorious to watch highlight reel saves and I loved seeing teams trading chances up and down the ice, but today's game is so much tighter. Players are guarded so much more closely. There isn't a team in the league that doesn't have some sort of trapping structure in the neutral zone, some sort of defensive zone system and a demand on players to back check. I don't know how you go back, but I'd be curious to hear some of Brad's ideas (Brad coached me for a bit so I can call him that
) on how to "teach" offense under today's tighter checking restrictions.
rudos1
Registered User
- Oct 22, 2009
- 884
- 10
Well to your point Orr says in his book that getting rid of clutch and grab ended up being to the detrement of the game in that it sort of forces more high speed collisions and heavy hits rather than an offensive player having to deal with having their jersey grabbed..The problem with that is that in today's NHL everybody back checks and every team attempts to play defense without the puck.
I know some of the old timers will disagree with me here, but when I watch games from the 80's, it looks like squirt hockey. I'm shocked at how few players work to get back and help out. Instead, teams trade 3on2's until the "checking line" comes out (and then that group played determined two-way hockey, the Poulin's and Tikkanen's), but the rest of the time most of the guys coasted back hoping for a turnover that would send them the other way. You also see a lot of guys flying out of the Dzone early to try to get breakaway chances and leaving their teams temporarily shorthanded... Don't get me wrong, I also LOVED 80's hockey. Goalies had to be acrobatic back then and it was glorious to watch highlight reel saves and I loved seeing teams trading chances up and down the ice, but today's game is so much tighter. Players are guarded so much more closely. There isn't a team in the league that doesn't have some sort of trapping structure in the neutral zone, some sort of defensive zone system and a demand on players to back check. I don't know how you go back, but I'd be curious to hear some of Brad's ideas (Brad coached me for a bit so I can call him that
DKH
The Bergeron of HF
- Feb 27, 2002
- 74,308
- 52,220
My view is that the more talented and creative the players are the better the game- skilled players havent spent much time cluthing and grabbing at least not on a hockey rink. As we saw a spike in offense in the playoffs last year its because teams like Chicago specifically and to a lesser degree the Rangers and Kings had actual hockey players on their fourth line.
There are 24 forwards in an NHL game- when half are there to stop the other team from scoring or are there to intimidate that takes away from the pace.
The Black Hawks are changing the game- four lines who go out to score goals is going to be the norm. Boston will soon enough have Spooner or Khokhlachev on the fourth line, and I'm sure the wingers will have an offensive element to their game.
The old model of a checking suffocating third line (Montreal's great teams had guys like Carbonneau and Gainey here) and a tough fourth line are fading away. You will see some elements of this on a team but more so the checkers who can be sprinkled around and ARE legit hockey players.
There are 24 forwards in an NHL game- when half are there to stop the other team from scoring or are there to intimidate that takes away from the pace.
The Black Hawks are changing the game- four lines who go out to score goals is going to be the norm. Boston will soon enough have Spooner or Khokhlachev on the fourth line, and I'm sure the wingers will have an offensive element to their game.
The old model of a checking suffocating third line (Montreal's great teams had guys like Carbonneau and Gainey here) and a tough fourth line are fading away. You will see some elements of this on a team but more so the checkers who can be sprinkled around and ARE legit hockey players.
PlayMakers
Moderator
I don't know. I wouldn't bet money that we score more than last year, but I would bet that we are more creative and entertaining offensively. Eriksson on the top line is going to change the way that line plays. There's going to be more passing, more finesse plays... I don't want to diminish what Iginla did but at the same time I think it's fair to acknowledge that it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. Through the first 55 or so games he was only on pace for ~18 goals and a lot of nights that line looked plain and predictable. Then Iggy got hot, that line and the team erupted offensively and everything looked great, but I still remember the long stretches when Iggy wasn't finishing and that line wasn't producing, and I remember questioning how effective they were going to be in the playoffs. So point #1 is that I think Eriksson is going to make that line a lot of fun to watch, and the hockey sense is going to ooze on every rush.
Point #2) If Spooner or Pastrnak can crack the top9 that gives us a lot of creativity and speed that we didn't have last year. These guys are going to push the pace, push defenders back, try things nobody else will... who wouldn't want to see that?
Point #3) The continued upward trend of guys like Krug and Hamilton. I love the skating and mobility these guys bring, they're willingness to join the rush and venture deep into the offensive zone. We could possibly have three defensemen with 40 points. You have to WAY back to think of a defense with that kind of offensive presence.
Point #2) If Spooner or Pastrnak can crack the top9 that gives us a lot of creativity and speed that we didn't have last year. These guys are going to push the pace, push defenders back, try things nobody else will... who wouldn't want to see that?
Point #3) The continued upward trend of guys like Krug and Hamilton. I love the skating and mobility these guys bring, they're willingness to join the rush and venture deep into the offensive zone. We could possibly have three defensemen with 40 points. You have to WAY back to think of a defense with that kind of offensive presence.
