Originally Posted by
MTek
All NHL GM's should be officially put on notice that the "clutch and Grab" style of Hockey has returned.
The free-wheeling, remove the 3 line pass days that were supposedly gone forever but have returned with a vengeance
The Rangers, Capitals, Devils and Kings are all playing the same way...
*Puck gets dumped in deep - stand up the attacker at the blue line, and drive him into the boards, although this is textbook interference
*Puck along the backboard of the offensive zone - Pin your opponent against the boards and keep him there - even thought the puck isn't near him
* Offensive transition from the defensive zone to the offensive zone - Hook his waist, hold his stick, pull his jersey restrict his speed
I'm truly witnessing 90's hockey all over again. It is not coincidence that high scoring teams are being held to 1 or 2 goal consistently, the whole reason of teams building smaller, faster teams was to take advantage of the new freewheeling style that we enjoyed for a few years, now slowly but surely converting back to clutch and grab, slower bigger defense men simply hold, grasp and tackle in front of the net preventing any 2nd and 3rd chances
Yes, by my avatar, I'm a Flyers fan, but I also have seen this done to the Canucks and the Blues by LA and the Capitals by the Rangers
All is fair in playoff hockey, it just sucks that there's 2 separate seasons and 2 separate sets of rules and the best "team" does not always win because whats a penalty October through March isn't a penalty April through June