What kind of game do you prefer?

[yave1964]

I was chatting with another member in here about coaching styles and how they can effect a team, a team like the Ducks for instance went from Boudreau and his protect the goalie first, try to score second mentality to Carlyle who plays a more wide open undisciplined game and it made me think of this question:

 

What type of game do you enjoying watching more, the 2-1 disciplined tough checking shutting down the lanes type of game that a Hitchcock insists upon  or the wide open, anything goes style that Ruff enjoys in Dallas?

 

The case for a tough checking game is compelling for the purist, watching players forced to the outside and take low percentage shots and every inch of ice contested can be thrilling if you understand the subtleties of the game but a lot of new fans are turned off by this style. Nonetheless a good forechecking game where everyone plays disciplined but hard hitting hockey can be very satisfying to watch.

 

 For me however my choice would always be a wide open anything goes game, the 8-5 rout by the Penguins over the Senators the other night was insane, nobody played much defense, Dion Phaneuf even apologized in print the next day to Craig Anderson for more or less leaving him alone back there to face the carnage on his own. And last night the Ducks and Canes were involved in an ugly 6-5 game in which both teams took undisciplined penalties and the Ducks rallied from two down in the third scoring both goals when the Canes through carelessness simply could not clear the puck out of their own zone.

  turnover, dumb penalties, a good fight. give me that kind of game any night of the week and twice on Sunday.

 

  For years, decades even as a Wings fan I watched disciplined smart and boring Hockey and enjoyed the winning but thought secretly to myself on more than one occasion, 'I am glad we won but that was as boring as watching paint dry.' It was smart high percentage hockey and it wins but it was winning for winnings sake, very little life. I always secretly envied teams with a goon or even a goalie in a cold streak because of the heart stopping thrills that went along with it.

  Now the Wings lose as much as they win and they have Steve Ott who I grudgingly admit as a hell of a lot of fun to watch, we have defensemen who forget how to play the game, forwards who when you mention backchecking reach for a dictionary because apparently they have never heard of it, goalies who play brilliantly one night and give up a five spot the next, make a earth shattering kick save one play and thirty seconds later give up a goal from just inside of the blue line.

 

 And do you know what? As much as I bitch about the players, it is actually a lot of fun to watch. It is not a subtle style of hockey, it is watching a slow plodding guy who can score, a fast guy who is afraid to shoot, a center who wins faceoffs like crazy but is a lousy passer, a defenseman who is playing on one good leg on a good night.

 

  So keep the 2-1 40 combined shot games, call me a rube, give me the ugly games any time.

 

Opinions? 

 

 

 

 

 

[Poulin20]

I fell in love with Hockey in November 1984 due to attending a Flyers vs Oilers game in which the Flyers defeated the Oilers 7-5.  The incredible nature of that game and 80s hockey specifically is what made me fall in love with the game.  The trapping 90s followed by the clutch and grab era of the early 2000s were brutal and really put me off.  I will never stop loving the Flyers and hockey but I still to this day have never quite loved it like i did in the freewheeling 1980s, that was truly something to see.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

I like the goal scoring like many do, however, goal scoring against an embarrassing defensive effort is a bit distasteful to me as well.

 

I mean, I think we all know the NHL has some of the best players in the world, so if any team shows up with no intention of playing defense (or any clue!), then of COURSE those wonderfully talented offensive players are gonna run up the score.

 

Have two teams show up like that, and that's when you usually have 8-7 games with  $#!% show defensive and goaltending showings.

 

I like a nice balanced game.

One where goals are scored (maybe something like 4-3), yet the defense is still pro quality, the goalies are good, but just got beat on spectacular offensive efforts, there is some chippiness (not outright thuggery), players show emotion, and there is ebb n flow to the game even when there ISN'T a goal being scored.

 

A good hockey game, to me, tells me a "story".

A story of wills, of determination to do the opponent just one better.

 

You see that when a team pushes, pushes, pushes the other to the brink, and the other bends but doesn't break, then pushes back, both doing all they can on both sides of the puck...then all of a sudden BAM, a team breaks through, the other suffers emotional letdown.........only to build it all up again because they know they are only ONE SHOT away from regaining balance in the scoreboard.

 

Mid level scoring, good defense/goaltending, a few "Why I outta's" (like Bill Clement used to say on ESPN back in the 90s!), and some flow to the puck possessions and takeaways from both sides.

 

Yep...sounds good to me!

[MadDevil]

I prefer games in which my team wins.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

15 minutes ago, MadDevil said:

I prefer games in which my team wins.

 

Brilliant!

 

 

[Puck_Pun]

Boring analogy that might not make any sense. In AFL (umm... the Australian league, not the Arena Football League) some years ago Sydney was criticised for playing what was dubbed "ugly" football. Since their home ground was small (Australian football doesn't have regulation ovals), they played man on man, ground level football that shut down any movement of the ball until they managed to gain possession and score where were some pretty impressive goals. They were even criticised by the head of the league for this playing style, which honestly was a bit silly. Especially when they won the Grand Final.

 

They were criticised for a game style that produced relatively low scores (games with 12 goals scored overall, which is pretty low), but the games were entertaining and highly skilled affairs that showcased a team that had a game plan that worked fantastically for their players. For me the playing style isn't as important as the issue of whether the game is played with a high level of skill, passion, and energy. That is what gets me as a viewer excited, as the energy just transfers over to the audience.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

@Puck_Pun

 

Not a "boring analogy" at all.

Though to be honest, in reading your AFL (the Australian Football League NOT the Arena Football League  ), team description, it almost sounded like you were describing the 90's NJ Devils or the early 2000's Minnesota Wild....  .

 

Although in the case of the Devils, they actually won championships by taking full advantage of what, at the time, were the ground rules in the NHL.

 

So, if I understand your point correctly, you don't really have a playing style/ game type preference....so long as whatever style IS being played projects energy and excitement onto you as the viewer....correct?

 

In that case, it sounds like in hockey, you can find something to like in even a 1-0 game.....probably similar to myself when I say that I like a good ebb n flow to a game.

Even if the score is low.

[Puck_Pun]

Pretty much, yeah. Ultimately a close game is tense, regardless of whether the score is 6-5 or 1-0. High scores, if they're incredibly common, can have the problem of causing blowouts to be more common- but it's not worse or better as a general rule. It's how much fun I had watching it that really is the determining factor.

[FD19372]

Any game not involving the shootout.

[BluPuk]

I don't have a preference. I love the game any way it's played. I love the fast, shifty players who can turn in a telephone booth (remember those?) and use their feet to move the puck up onto their stick when they get a bad pass. I love the players who can fly down the wing, head straight for the net and hammer a slap shot so hard you can't even see it. I love the stand-up defenseman who can make you cough it up, or suffer the consequences. I love high scoring games - I love low scoring games. I love the guy who can make a pass no one else even knew could be made. All the while being aware that every second out there you are a target. I love the sudden bulge of the back of the net when a surprise last second deflection finds a hole. I love the great glove save, the blocker into the corner, the stacked pads.

The spray of ice, the sudden noise of a face-off, the clang of the post or cross-bar from a well hammered shot. I love the elite skilled player and the plodder. The quiet leader, the guy who always makes the right play, and plays for the logo on his chest. Sorry I can't pick just one....