style in hockey

[OLD51JOHN]

Bored in hockey.. I love hockey BUT 82 games of playoff style in a season is getting hard to take..Maybe because I have seen hockey evolve from slam bang thru clutch and grab to excuse me for hitting you. The game seems to be a judgement game determined by the refs more than the players on the ice.. Or am I wrong again??

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[eightspokedb]

No - you're right. I miss the 'fire wagon' type games. So often I find myself just having the game on in the background. I have the TV delayed behind the radio broadcast so if anything exciting happens I won't miss it.

And the diving? It just cheapens the game so much...

just my opinion -

 

[BruinDust]

When you hear whispers of outlawing zone defense and ways to reduce shot-blocking, you know the style of the game is headed in the wrong direction entertainment wise because the collapsing D-systems and shot-blocking are taking the entertainment out of the game.

I'd start with moving the blue lines back to where they were pre-lockout. The idea was to open up the offense zone with the idea it would create more offense.

But it has back-fired.

For years wingers were taught to cover the point-men. It was more of a man-to-man D than the collapsing-to-the-slot zone D we see today.

Once the blue-lines got move back the D-men moved back with it. Instead of covering the D-men who were now an extra 4 feet away from the goal, they decided it was more effective to have all 5 defenders collapse down into the slot and take away the point shot through deflections and shot-blocking. The extra 4 feet gave wingers more time to get squared up to the oncoming point shot. Combine that with advances in equipment and protection(extra glove padding, skate-protectors, etc. and shot-blocking became the norm rather than the exception. And shot-blocking goes hand-in-hand with collapsing zone defense. Moving the blue-lines back to where they were won't solve all the problems, but at least it's a start.

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

662 posts, and 400+ are new threads.

Don't ever change OJ, stay golden.

 

[Sheppy]

I miss nasty hockey.

 

[VanIsle]

I miss 100+ point players, and line brawls.
Too much focus on the system and not enough on the skill and flow.

I'm with you on this one.

 

[Sheppy]

Player A lines up with Player B on a faceoff and have words
Whistle Blows
Player A and B both receive a 10 minute misconduct

That ****ing annoys the hell out of me.

 

[sarge88]

Bored in hockey.. I love hockey BUT 82 games of playoff style in a season is getting hard to take..Maybe because I have seen hockey evolve from slam bang thru clutch and grab to excuse me for hitting you. The game seems to be a judgement game determined by the refs more than the players on the ice.. Or am I wrong again??

I agree. I'd love to see the stats between % of goals scored at even strength in 1985 vs. today.

my guess is that that number is much higher today, which puts more importance on the calls the referees make.

 

[ODAAT]

It`ll never happen as it`s the way it is these days but the game has become so system oriented it`s rare I flick the TV off and say "what a game"

 

[Dreghorn2]

Click on the St.Patricks day massacre link.

Scott Stevens and Dave Manson, wow.

 

[smithformeragent]

I'm not bored at all. It's the best product out there, IMO and I'm sad it's over for the season. I'm fine with low scoring as long as there are scoring chances.

FWIW, give me a well pitched 2-1 National League baseball game over 10-7 any day.

 

[Donnie Shulzhoffer]

Fighting in its current state should be banned. I miss the days of one breaking out because of antagonising and someone blowing their stack instead of the staged wrestling that we have now.

 

[smithformeragent]

Fighting in its current state should be banned. I miss the days of one breaking out because of antagonising and someone blowing their stack instead of the staged wrestling that we have now.

This.

Give me Ference or McQuaid sticking up for a teammate.
No interest in seeing the 12th fwd on each team go at it.

 

[Fenway]

I was at this game - players on ice were watching the fans

 

[eightspokedb]

I miss nasty hockey.

this ftw.....

 

[Baddkarma]

player a lines up with player b on a faceoff and have words
whistle blows
player a and b both receive a 10 minute misconduct

that ****ing annoys the hell out of me.

heelllll yeeessss!

 

[DBL]

Hockey use to be so badass. It's still badass by todays standards, but definitely nothing like it use to be...

 

[ODAAT]

For a game that`s never been quicker, had better conditioned athletes, I should be more entertained on a far more consistent basis

I still love the game, believe a 1-0 game can be electric, don`t see this game being half as entertaining as it once was and at the end of the day, I watch to be entertained and I`m not on the majority of evenings

 

[Fenian24]

I miss 100+ point players, and line brawls.
Too much focus on the system and not enough on the skill and flow.

I'm with you on this one.

Emotion and passion, can't have that in Bettman's NHL. Think about the children. Only thing missing is Zac Edwards crying about the mayhem and demanding that everybody on the ice be charged with attempted murder.

 

[OLD51JOHN]

I wonder ??

If the fans today would have enjoyed the game as it was when I started going to the hockey games???? The clock ran backwards You had to keep your own time.. Chicken wire for keeping the puck out of your face.. benches to sit on .. I ref The ice was resurfaced by guys with mops and pails..No numbers on the players.. No helmets..You had to pay attention to the game.. No replays No scoreboards to tell you when to cheer.. No organs playing during the ice time to instruct you how loud to boo Big brawls .Great fights .. Its a wonder anybody went ..

 

[kytem2]

If the fans today would have enjoyed the game as it was when I started going to the hockey games???? The clock ran backwards You had to keep your own time.. Chicken wire for keeping the puck out of your face.. benches to sit on .. I ref The ice was resurfaced by guys with mops and pails..No numbers on the players.. No helmets..You had to pay attention to the game.. No replays No scoreboards to tell you when to cheer.. No organs playing during the ice time to instruct you how loud to boo Big brawls .Great fights .. Its a wonder anybody went ..

Poet laureate of hfboards ?

 

[wintersej]

When you hear whispers of outlawing zone defense and ways to reduce shot-blocking, you know the style of the game is headed in the wrong direction entertainment wise because the collapsing D-systems and shot-blocking are taking the entertainment out of the game.

I'd start with moving the blue lines back to where they were pre-lockout. The idea was to open up the offense zone with the idea it would create more offense.

But it has back-fired.

For years wingers were taught to cover the point-men. It was more of a man-to-man D than the collapsing-to-the-slot zone D we see today.

Once the blue-lines got move back the D-men moved back with it. Instead of covering the D-men who were now an extra 4 feet away from the goal, they decided it was more effective to have all 5 defenders collapse down into the slot and take away the point shot through deflections and shot-blocking. The extra 4 feet gave wingers more time to get squared up to the oncoming point shot. Combine that with advances in equipment and protection(extra glove padding, skate-protectors, etc. and shot-blocking became the norm rather than the exception. And shot-blocking goes hand-in-hand with collapsing zone defense. Moving the blue-lines back to where they were won't solve all the problems, but at least it's a start.

Great post.

 

[BruinDust]

Great post.

Thanks.

 

[Dreghorn2]

For a game that`s never been quicker, had better conditioned athletes, I should be more entertained on a far more consistent basis

I still love the game, believe a 1-0 game can be electric, don`t see this game being half as entertaining as it once was and at the end of the day, I watch to be entertained and I`m not on the majority of evenings

Have to agree with Odaat here.

I also love the game but i feel myself drifting, and i hate it.

 

[Aeroforce]

First off, I, too, thought the posts by BruinDust and ODAAT were excellent.

I agree with the sentiments of this thread, even if purists think that makes me less of a hockey fan.

I'm willing to concede that part of the blame likely lies with me. With all the marvelous technology that has become part of our lives, I do feel as if my attention span is shorter and it takes more to stimulate me.

For example, I used to listen to entire symphonies even at home on CD start to finish. When I try that now, I find myself fidgeting or even skipping the 'boring' parts.

I'm 47 and remember the days when it was an absolute treat to be able to watch the NHL on television, even once a week or once a month. For the last several years, I've watched literally hundreds of games.

So I accept some of the blame.

However - I do find the entertainment value of the game - as a television product and a live product (I did catch the Bruins in Dallas this year) to be lacking, and not worth either the financial commitment or the time commitment.

I understand the ramifications of concussions and am OK with the NHL phasing out the fighting - in principle. But they better be able to replace the passion and energy. The thread on Boston/Vancouver is interesting, because while that was only four years ago, watching the highlights is like watching a different sport.

I'm of the belief Bettman is trying to grow the sport in non-conventional markets with utter confidence that the NHL's extremely die hard fans won't jump ship as the product gets watered down. He's likely basing that on how willingly we return after lockouts, compared to other sports (remember baseball fans were slow coming back after '94, and it took a steroid-fueled home run derby four years later).

Speaking only for myself, he's wrong. I'm not renewing NHL Center Ice, nor will I be making the trek to Dallas next year. I'm not doing it out of protest, but because I truly don't find it entertaining, nor do I find it worth either the financial or time commitments.