Duke Silver
Truce?
I'll re-post something I wrote in October:
To add to this: I thought it was insane that Tavares did nothing to Svechnikov last night after he boarded Barrie. He's supposed to be setting an example for these younger guys. If we're not playing for each other, we're playing for ourselves.
But when it comes to board battles, we need more from almost everyone (Timashov, Moore, Gauthier, Kerfoot, Mikheyev, Kapanen, Muzzin aside). We need shoulders into chests, pins against the boards, cross-checks. We need to not fear getting into scrums or possibly getting punched in the face. We need to pick up for our teammates when another team takes liberties. I'm not saying fight, I'm saying give a guy a shove. Make them think twice.
Just watch how opponents aren't afraid to turn their backs to us, or they hold on to the puck longer because of the lack of pressure. There's no panic in their games because we don't scare them. It's a game of shinny to a team like Boston or Tampa.
I'm not suggesting becoming the 1970's Flyers, but we need some level of physicality so our opponents aren't treating games against us like public skates. Some of our best hockey in recent years has come with guys like Kadri, Komarov and Martin out there causing a ruckus. And while I don't miss guys like Komarov and Martin because of the net negative impact they had overall, I miss one aspect of their games: their swagger. It's time to reclaim our swagger and get our noses dirty.
Look at a team like Vegas or San Jose or St. Louis or Boston. Those are teams where a culture has been instilled of having your teammate's back. Until we find that in ourselves and show it outward, teams will continue to look at us as skilled but meek.
To add to this: I thought it was insane that Tavares did nothing to Svechnikov last night after he boarded Barrie. He's supposed to be setting an example for these younger guys. If we're not playing for each other, we're playing for ourselves.
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