Three fights in nine seconds. I hated it. I went crazy on X in the wake of the brawl-filled spectacle that opened Saturday’s game between Canada and the U.S. in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
That’s not what I believe hockey should be, let alone in a summit meeting of two superpowers.
1980’s “Miracle on Ice” didn’t need fighting.
The Olympics don’t tolerate fighting in their hockey tournament.
I don’t see the value. But I appear to be in the minority.
The melees were planned by the Tkachuk brothers and J.T. Miller, who had discussed it in a group text. The U.S. used fighting as a tactic. It wasn’t a spontaneous discharge of intensity. It was a return to the dark days of the ’70s.
But then they stopped fighting, and the game was great. Fast, skilled and physical. Hockey for the ages diminished by the first nine seconds.
Here’s the problem moving forward:
Before Canada and the U.S. play for the 4 Nations championship in Thursday’s rematch at Boston, the buildup to that game will be about escalation and revenge. Will Saturday’s violence continue and be topped? That will especially be the theme in Canada, where their players will be expected to initiate and retaliate.
The idiots in Boston will boo Canada’s anthem. (Maybe not. There were only scattered boos Monday when Canada beat Finland at the TD Garden. But that might change when Canada’s foe is the U.S.)
The morons in Montreal booed the U.S. anthem Saturday.
Canada and the U.S. shouldn’t be enemies. It certainly shouldn’t carry over to sport. Every national anthem should be respected. (Although I think playing them at games is passe and should be eliminated.)
None of this benefits hockey.
Expect the U.S. to win again. The U.S. is clearly the superior team. The score was close on Saturday: 3-1 including an empty-net goal. But the U.S. had the edge in play by a shocking margin.
It was good to see ex-Penguin Jake Guentzel net twice for the Americans. A stupid minority credited too much of Guentzel’s success in Pittsburgh to being Sidney Crosby’s linemate. But Guentzel has done nothing but excel since leaving Crosby’s wing at last season’s trade deadline, first with Carolina and this season with Tampa Bay.
I liked the hockey.
I hated the fighting.
That’s why hockey ranks seventh among the four major sports.
Most of you loved it. The vulgar love what’s vulgar.
My initial online criticism was probably overstated. But the gist still stands.
I hate politicizing sports. The “Miracle on Ice” was presented as a “morality play on ice.” But its architect, U.S. coach Herb Brooks, didn’t see it that way. Brooks said it was a hockey tournament.
Canadians are different.
Hockey is their lifeblood, perhaps to an unhealthy level.
Canadian media encouraged fans in Montreal to boo the American anthem Saturday. That won’t win you any favors when you’re the 51st state.
The 1972 Summit Series was the first meeting of the Canadian pros and Soviet “amateurs,” an eight-game series split between Canada and Moscow. Canada won partly because Bobby Clarke intentionally broke the ankle of Valeri Kharlamov, the Soviets’ best player, with a vicious slash.
It was dishonorable, but the entire nation approved. Canada won. The end justified the means.
Consider that, and consider what the U.S. did at game’s open Saturday, and it’s obvious that Thursday’s rematch has the potential to go horribly sideways.
Consider, too, that whoever wins is merely the champion of a tournament that Russia was excluded from.
A monster TV audience of 4.4 million watched Saturday’s game on ABC.
But interest in international hockey has never translated to increased viewership of the NHL afterward.
The NHL can’t match international hockey for quality and intensity. Not even in the Stanley Cup Final, where participants are worn down by an 82-game regular season and three prior rounds of playoffs. International hockey makes the NHL look inferior.
Pittsburgh faces a big choice March 2.
Toronto visits Pittsburgh.
Will Penguins fans boo the Canadian anthem even as Sidney Crosby stands on the ice wearing a Penguins sweater? What will he think and say?
Thousands of Maple Leafs fans will attend that game. How will they react? Will they boo the American anthem? Will brave words lead to bloody knuckles?
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Why can’t we all just get along?