4 Nations Face-Off

Okie dokie.
Gonna try to return this thread back to it's subject matter. Here goes...

...Connor Hellebuyck is the best goalie in the world today. There, I said it. His reaction time is fun to watch. Combine that with his natural instincts...he's like an ice mongoose dodging then catching a snakey puck. And our defense is amazing...they way we collapse in unison is like we've been practicing for weeks. Impressive.

And, of course, for us LA Kings/USA fans, there's The Conundrum:
To Root for Tkachuk or Not to Root for Tkachuk?

It's like cheering on Corey Perry. Not easy to do. But I'm gonna bite the bullet and hope the Tkachuks help us win Thursday. And by us I mean, um, America. I have some problems with our recent leadership, but I will always bleed Red, White and Blue.

And I sincerely hope I am not attacked for being patriotic. I will always root for my country. I served in the military twice, and was one of a handful of men that voluntarily went through boot camp twice. Right or wrong, I'm an American. And I'm rooting for Team USA.
 
Rog or Reg? said:
Okie dokie.
Gonna try to return this thread back to it's subject matter. Here goes...

...Connor Hellebuyck is the best goalie in the world today. There, I said it. His reaction time is fun to watch. Combine that with his natural instincts...he's like an ice mongoose dodging then catching a snakey puck. And our defense is amazing...they way we collapse in unison is like we've been practicing for weeks. Impressive.

And, of course, for us LA Kings/USA fans, there's The Conundrum:
To Root for Tkachuk or Not to Root for Tkachuk?

It's like cheering on Corey Perry. Not easy to do. But I'm gonna bite the bullet and hope the Tkachuks help us win Thursday. And by us I mean, um, America. I have some problems with our recent leadership, but I will always bleed Red, White and Blue.

And I sincerely hope I am not attacked for being patriotic. I will always root for my country. I served in the military twice, and was one of a handful of men that voluntarily went through boot camp twice. Right or wrong, I'm an American. And I'm rooting for Team USA.
Click to expand...
To be honest I did not like the Tkachuks antics the other night. While I do admire the way those two play a highly competitive game, I thought they crossed the lines and made it about themselves. Not to exclude Miller in this, who followed suit.
The behavior of all three made the game look like pro wrestling.
We can talk about making statements or sending messages, but I thought it was bush league. It was certainly orchestrated and choreographed, and in my opinion, very selfish.

This event is a showcase. Most of the top players in the world are competing on a very large stage. There is enough within the lines that makes the game of hockey entertaining.

I think most of us can see hockey as it is, a truly terrific sport, “mostly” immune to the big business of the major sports. It’s what I love about the game.
When I hear non-hockey fans talk about hockey it’s always about the goons and the fighting, which is thankfully becoming less a part of the current game. I try to tell them that hockey is way more than that. It’s at its best pure and honest. And I honestly believe winning the Cup is the most difficult thing to win, by far.

The spectacle the other night takes away from the game of hockey. And for full disclosure, I am not attempting to make an argument for growing the game. I don’t really want it to grow, because that’s how the sports gets corrupted by the big dollars.

As far as this thread goes, I fully support the need to get it back to hockey. We have a very diverse electorate. We have enough division already in this country called the UNITED States.
 
DoubleMinor said:
To be honest I did not like the Tkachuks antics the other night. While I do admire the way those two play a highly competitive game, I thought they crossed the lines and made it about themselves. Not to exclude Miller in this, who followed suit.
The behavior of all three made the game look like pro wrestling.
We can talk about making statements or sending messages, but I thought it was bush league. It was certainly orchestrated and choreographed, and in my opinion, very selfish.

This event is a showcase. Most of the top players in the world are competing on a very large stage. There is enough within the lines that makes the game of hockey entertaining.

I think most of us can see hockey as it is, a truly terrific sport, “mostly” immune to the big business of the major sports. It’s what I love about the game.
When I hear non-hockey fans talk about hockey it’s always about the goons and the fighting, which is thankfully becoming less a part of the current game. I try to tell them that hockey is way more than that. It’s at its best pure and honest. And I honestly believe winning the Cup is the most difficult thing to win, by far.

The spectacle the other night takes away from the game of hockey. And for full disclosure, I am not attempting to make an argument for growing the game. I don’t really want it to grow, because that’s how the sports gets corrupted by the big dollars.

As far as this thread goes, I fully support the need to get it back to hockey. We have a very diverse electorate. We have enough division already in this country called the UNITED States.
Click to expand...
I actually liked the fights. I think it diffused a lot of the tension in the air and got things focused back on hockey. It was definitely an old school throwback and speaks to the game of hockey that many of us miss. Part of the reason I started playing hockey as a kid was the physicality of the sport. Heck we had enforcers on our team in the 13-15 year old league. Those who have played it know it is a very emotional sport, and the opening to the USA vs Canada game was driven by emotions.

What I have taken away from these games is if the Tkachuck brothers even end up on the same NHL team, they will be lethal. Those two really elevate one another and are fun to watch together.

I also think every game of this tournament has been excellent and exciting to watch. Someone on here (sorry can't recall who) made the comment that the tourney should happen in the offseason and that's absolutely right as these player's bodies are really taking a beating ahead of playoff time. Maybe the NHL didn't realize the games would be so impassioned?
 
DryKing said:
I actually liked the fights. I think it diffused a lot of the tension in the air and got things focused back on hockey. It was definitely an old school throwback and speaks to the game of hockey that many of us miss. Part of the reason I started playing hockey as a kid was the physicality of the sport. Heck we had enforcers on our team in the 13-15 year old league. Those who have played it know it is a very emotional sport, and the opening to the USA vs Canada game was driven by emotions.

What I have taken away from these games is if the Tkachuck brothers even end up on the same NHL team, they will be lethal. Those two really elevate one another and are fun to watch together.

I also think every game of this tournament has been excellent and exciting to watch. Someone on here (sorry can't recall who) made the comment that the tourney should happen in the offseason and that's absolutely right as these player's bodies are really taking a beating ahead of playoff time. Maybe the NHL didn't realize the games would be so impassioned?
Click to expand...
I understand the sentiment. And I fully support the players policing the game and accept that fighting is part of it. Without fighting we would see some serious problems in the game.
What I have issue with is the staged fights. I hated seeing the enforcers and goons fight just for the sake of fighting. That said, I’m not opposed to enforcers. They are necessary, especially when the game is difficult to referee and there is a shortage of good referees. And to be honest the players contribute to the difficulty at times.

I do really appreciate the passion the brothers bring to the game, and how they force that on teammates. They bring it to every game. And IF they ended up on the same team…

As far as the scheduling I think we can view it both ways. While it might be best to not have it right before the playoff push and playoffs (and god forbid any injuries occur) I think the other side is seeing the elite players in top form is really something special. That is not typical of international competition.
This has been a really fun tournament and it is very clear how much it means to the players, which certainly translates to the fans.

Whether the NHL did not expect the intensity of not, I can’t imagine they are displeased at the product. Elite talent, emotion and determination are abundant. It’s been a great showcase. You can feel how much the players are invested. It is showing us why we love this sport.

I grew up playing the traditional sports, played baseball through college, etc. Those who know me best cannot understand how I have become detached from those sports and am really only passionate about hockey. To them it makes no sense, and I understand their point. But hockey is like nothing else, the playoffs are on a level far above any other sport, in my opinion.
I hear the talk of growing the game and I shudder. I’m fine with it being viewed as a niche sport by some. I could care less. I don’t need others to validate it. While it’s not immune, it is the purest form available. I just don’t want money to screw it up.
 
DoubleMinor said:
I understand the sentiment. And I fully support the players policing the game and accept that fighting is part of it. Without fighting we would see some serious problems in the game.
What I have issue with is the staged fights. I hated seeing the enforcers and goons fight just for the sake of fighting. That said, I’m not opposed to enforcers. They are necessary, especially when the game is difficult to referee and there is a shortage of good referees. And to be honest the players contribute to the difficulty at times.

I do really appreciate the passion the brothers bring to the game, and how they force that on teammates. They bring it to every game. And IF they ended up on the same team…

As far as the scheduling I think we can view it both ways. While it might be best to not have it right before the playoff push and playoffs (and god forbid any injuries occur) I think the other side is seeing the elite players in top form is really something special. That is not typical of international competition.
This has been a really fun tournament and it is very clear how much it means to the players, which certainly translates to the fans.

Whether the NHL did not expect the intensity of not, I can’t imagine they are displeased at the product. Elite talent, emotion and determination are abundant. It’s been a great showcase. You can feel how much the players are invested. It is showing us why we love this sport.

I grew up playing the traditional sports, played baseball through college, etc. Those who know me best cannot understand how I have become detached from those sports and am really only passionate about hockey. To them it makes no sense, and I understand their point. But hockey is like nothing else, the playoffs are on a level far above any other sport, in my opinion.
I hear the talk of growing the game and I shudder. I’m fine with it being viewed as a niche sport by some. I could care less. I don’t need others to validate it. While it’s not immune, it is the purest form available. I just don’t want money to screw it up.
Click to expand...
That makes total sense and I agree with you regarding staged fights as well as fighting just for fighting. I agree with the rest of your post too - well said. We need the game to be not so niche that it stays afloat financially, but no so mainstream that it loses its purity and gets corrupted by greed and money. It's a tough balance to find.

I still think it's sad how much quality hockey we have missed out on by the NHL not allowing their players to play in the Olympics. This tournament has given a valuable glimpse into how much these players want to represent their Countries and how passionate they are when doing so. Glad the 2026 Winter Olympics will go back to truly being the best of the best again.
 
I think some of these staged fights are gonna fit in a chair eventually.

Triple H Sport GIF by WWE


:lol:
 
Canada beat Finland in regulation, so the championship final is set. Why does USA even bother to show up and play Sweden, and risk injury? Do they even need another tune up game?
 
That Swedish National Anthem seems pretty hard to sing (melodically, not just because it's in Swedish, lol) - and people complain about ours!
 
DryKing said:
[snip]

What I have taken away from these games is if the Tkachuck brothers even end up on the same NHL team, they will be lethal. Those two really elevate one another and are fun to watch together.

I also think every game of this tournament has been excellent and exciting to watch. Someone on here (sorry can't recall who) made the comment that the tourney should happen in the offseason and that's absolutely right as these player's bodies are really taking a beating ahead of playoff time. Maybe the NHL didn't realize the games would be so impassioned?
Click to expand...
I definitely would enjoy seeing how the Tkachuk's play as a duo. They definitely seem to compliment one another's game like the Sedins did.
 
Madness20721 said:
Gotta stay sharp. Canada is gonna bring everything they've got on Thursday.
Click to expand...
This thing has all the pace of an all-star game. I’d be pretty pissed if I paid top dollar for tickets to watch this glorified intramural match. I’ll be tuning out and switching over to enjoy some Seinfeld reruns now, if anyone needs me.
 
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