Defense... or a more defensive forward?

I was about to post this at tbo but I know where my bolt bloggin’ loyalties lie.

Something I gripe about often but have somehow forgotten during this current player spec.

I’m starting to get a little fed up with all the personnel speculation. What’s missing is what Modin and DeMaio did that no one seems to be addressing,… the complete and I mean complete lack of checking. Save me the “this is a game of speed now” and “the new rules do not allow for it” crap, throw a friggin’ check. Sending Roy out for 30 seconds a game is not a solution to the lack of physical play. If I see one more guy go out of their way to avoid an obvious opportunity to check then they can have my season tickets back. What happened to standing up at the blue line, shit, it’s hockey 101. This is a conscious coaching decision. The blame lies with Torts. If you have any doubts have a good look at the last Stanley Cup, game after game of bone crushing hits AND blinding speed. Checking, fans love it, opponents change game plans to deal with it, and we all know if they make it to the playoffs it will be a major part of winning.

You know, while we are at it — if you wanna talk checking and bring up DiMaio and Freddie Mo… What about Artoo? I mean, the guy was demanding way too much money and it was going to screw up the Lightning’s payscale but remember LAST season? The Lightning had no life to them until Artoo was called up and started throwing hits through people.

Going back to the TBO post and some of the comments — the one that hit me the most was the complaint about Sarich not being a stick-figure D-man. He’s a hitter. One of the Flyer goals the other night went right past him — you can blame it on him having a poor shot blocking ability or perhaps just not being ready for a shot (in position) but having the defense playing against their nature is affecting things as much as anything else.

But back to your point — hitting is a key, I totally agree with you there that a lack of physical play is hurting the Bolts and limiting intensity…

oh, and Thanks for the kind words, Tiny :)

How could I forget. Artoo really lit up the forum when he stepped on the ice. Yeah, that’s some harsh crit on Sarich, I think his “out of position” play and high PIM’s is a reflection of the team not getting back and poor weak side help from the D. Boyle is going to get out of position too far up because they are using him in such an offensive manner, add to that his playing time is so huge it’s bound to happen a few times during a game. Again, a few checks in the offensive zone and it keeps the opposition from breaking out cleanly as a team.