Post by Friendly Destroyer on Jun 12, 2012 8:27:34 GMT -8
I'm not saying any of this to further an argument. Just for some consideration.
I think like many sports the people who have spent some significant time either playing the sport itself or grew up in a household where they learned, watched, and loved the game from childhood that you see things from a different perspective. I know that this may sound snobby, but I feel Davers and I have a totally different appreciation for the game. Not saying one is necessarily better than the other.
Here's why I see the Kings play as being ferociously intense:
Comparing the Canucks to the Kings is a good jump off point. The Canucks were a definite systems team and very skilled at doing so. During the regular season their elevated skill sets allowed them to destroy most teams, but like it or not in a season that has 82 games and a whole hell of a lot of travel not every team "shows up" for every game or is at their top level of focus on a nightly basis. The Playoffs are different. The Canucks may have played a tight systems game, but they completely lacked in any intensity, which is why they lost.
Being able to play a mistake free game like the Kings did on most nights is the definition of hockey and intensity. It requires each and every player to bust their ass to a breaking point to be at the exact position they need to be every second of the game. This means you need to be reading the play at all times. You are constantly making split decisions as the game is fast and tempts you to move out of position, but you need to stay the course and rely on the fact that your team mate is going at the same intensity level as yourself and will get to their position. This looks simple but it is fucking hard to do. When it is not done with intensity then, yeah, you'll see guys needing to get back on a foot race or diving to keep a puck in or taking it end to end or whatever. However, if those "exciting" things are regularly occurring (a la Pittsburgh vs. Philly series) you are watching a team struggling to work together and who are working off of uncontrolled emotion, which for me ends up being sloppy hockey and looks like a bunch of "kids" playing the game.
I think it is so important (and impressive) to remember that these are all human beings and pretty much think the same way as most human beings think and act when thrown together in a group situation. You can almost compare it to where you work if you are in a group setting. It is hard to get everyone on the same page (obviously there is a "passion" advantage in most cases here) and to trust one another and to work as a solid unit every day. As someone whose played and been in hockey dressing rooms since I was kid I will tell you that the most intense an individual will ever play is when they are playing 100% for their teammates. It means they will do whatever they need to do to win. To me, that is what I saw in the Kings and I haven't seen a team play like that for that long of a stretch in a long time.
I think like many sports the people who have spent some significant time either playing the sport itself or grew up in a household where they learned, watched, and loved the game from childhood that you see things from a different perspective. I know that this may sound snobby, but I feel Davers and I have a totally different appreciation for the game. Not saying one is necessarily better than the other.
Here's why I see the Kings play as being ferociously intense:
Comparing the Canucks to the Kings is a good jump off point. The Canucks were a definite systems team and very skilled at doing so. During the regular season their elevated skill sets allowed them to destroy most teams, but like it or not in a season that has 82 games and a whole hell of a lot of travel not every team "shows up" for every game or is at their top level of focus on a nightly basis. The Playoffs are different. The Canucks may have played a tight systems game, but they completely lacked in any intensity, which is why they lost.
Being able to play a mistake free game like the Kings did on most nights is the definition of hockey and intensity. It requires each and every player to bust their ass to a breaking point to be at the exact position they need to be every second of the game. This means you need to be reading the play at all times. You are constantly making split decisions as the game is fast and tempts you to move out of position, but you need to stay the course and rely on the fact that your team mate is going at the same intensity level as yourself and will get to their position. This looks simple but it is fucking hard to do. When it is not done with intensity then, yeah, you'll see guys needing to get back on a foot race or diving to keep a puck in or taking it end to end or whatever. However, if those "exciting" things are regularly occurring (a la Pittsburgh vs. Philly series) you are watching a team struggling to work together and who are working off of uncontrolled emotion, which for me ends up being sloppy hockey and looks like a bunch of "kids" playing the game.
I think it is so important (and impressive) to remember that these are all human beings and pretty much think the same way as most human beings think and act when thrown together in a group situation. You can almost compare it to where you work if you are in a group setting. It is hard to get everyone on the same page (obviously there is a "passion" advantage in most cases here) and to trust one another and to work as a solid unit every day. As someone whose played and been in hockey dressing rooms since I was kid I will tell you that the most intense an individual will ever play is when they are playing 100% for their teammates. It means they will do whatever they need to do to win. To me, that is what I saw in the Kings and I haven't seen a team play like that for that long of a stretch in a long time.
