More fights!

Have you ever heard the phrase 'I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.'?  It was a great way to encompass the game in the seventies and eighties.  It has always been a part of the game, and it is what has distinguished it amongst the four major sports.  There are the occasional fights in baseball, football, and basketball.  Well, not basketball.  A couple of guys swinging at each other and backing up at the same time does not constitute a fight.  It is the only sport that allows a fight and the player to return during the same game.  It's what makes the game great, primal, and neanderthalic. 

I bring it up because the past two games involving Pittsburgh and the New York Islanders there have been a rash of fights.  I'm talking hundreds of minutes of fighting majors and game misconducts.  Last night, there were three hundred and sixty plus minutes of penalty minutes because of all the fights and other penalties, but mostly fighting majors and game misconducts (which are five and ten minutes respectively).  At the end of the game, there were barely enough people for full line changes.  This isn't the only instance of major fighting taking place during a game recently and there are some sports reporters that are calling this a bit of a publicity stunt by the NHL.  And if it is, the job is getting done because people are talking about it.  Right?  Personally, I think it is not a publicity stunt and it is just some bad blood that is flowing from one person to the next on each team.  That's the way it goes.  Each person has his teammates back.  The glory of a team. 

It's a throwback to some old school hockey, or it's like watching Slap Shot (watch it if you have no idea what it is).  It slows the game down, but it also brings more tension to the games.  Not every team is throwing down every three periods though so it isn't a league wide thing.  The game is faster now and has more finesse, which is great, but I feel that it has gotten away from it's roots.  True enforcers aren't needed anymore and are relegated to minor league or independent teams.  There is a difference between a goon and an enforcer.  An enforcer protects the assets of the team.  Someone takes a run at a franchise player and the enforcer comes out and beats the holy hell out of them (see:  Probert, Bob; Williams, Tiger; McSorley, Marty).  A goon is someone that takes a run at a franchise player or a defenseless player (see:  Lemieux, Claude; Avery, Sean; McSorley, Marty).  Although there is a fine line between enforcer and goon, know the difference.  The players sometimes cross that line. 

It's good for the sport that fights are breaking out.  It adds a dimension to the sport which has been a little absent the past five years or so.  I enjoy the new, quicker game, but it is good to see players dropping the gloves.  More importantly, I'm happy to see the refs letting them fight.