for those who say that Fighting has no place in hockey….

I may be accused of channelling Don Cherry here, but…

If you want proof that fighting CAN have a place in hockey and impact a game, all you need to do is check out Monday’s Pittsburgh/Washington game.

The game started out completely lopsided towards the Capitals, who stretched it to 4-0 early in the second. At 13:47, with the score 4-1, the fights kicked in, end result 33 minutes in penalties and 3 game misconducts (to Washington’s Muir, and to Pittsburgh’s Orpik, who got a double-game misconduct; enthusiastic guy…..).

After the fourth goal, the radio announcers declared Fleury shakey looking and were wondering when he’d be pulled. By the end of the 2nd. it was 4-3, Pittsburgh outshot the capitals 8-4 in the 3rd and tied it, and went on to win in a shootout. The fight was a turning point in the momentum of the game.

I’m not saying this is the only way for a team to change momentum in a game, or even that it’s the best way. But it definitely can work, can break up an opposing team’s rhythm and give your team something to get motivated over — assuming, of course, your fighter doesn’t get pasted…. When it works, it’s a LOT more effective than, say, pulling your goalie or calling time out, or simply threatening your team with two hours of parachutes and wind sprints if they don’t wake up and get their asses rolling….

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  • http://theoryofice.blogspot.com/ e

    okay, since nobody does a ‘fighting’ post without the vague hope of having an argument, here i am to facilitate one.
    coincidence.
    the ‘fighting changes the momentum of a game’ theory is the same as the ‘the white van is always parked on the corner’ theory- it seems like it’s true because you notice whenever it is the case, and don’t notice when it isn’t. the vast majority of hockey fights result in nothing, no clear ‘winner’ and no substantive effect on the game, and the vast majority of dramatic turnarounds don’t occur after a fight. there’s no causative relationship between the two, but because you want there to be one, you play up the few times when the two events occur together and ignore the many many more times when they don’t.
    i’m more inclined to believe that, if the cause of the win was some superlative effort on the penguins part, it was motivated by the embarrassment of being down that badly in the most over-promoted hockey game of the season thus far.