The trap

1
[cine]http://www.youtube.com/embed/3lpMxc4fZNU[/cine]

Is this an actual debate in the NHL right now? To ban 1-3-1 hockey? That's the most absurd thing I've heard in a long time. How anyone can even think of trying to ban a tactic is just mind-boggling. Look - if you hate "the trap" (and god knows it's boring to look at), then the solution is not to STOP FUCKING PLAYING! The solution is to get your hockey heads together and figure out a way to beat it. No tactic is unbeatable, just figure it out.

Re: The trap

2
i thought this was hilarious. it's not like the trap is new, but laviolette was just making a point since GM meetings are next week. i guess he wanted to highlight how this coaching style has devalued the product on the ice. it's one thing to run 1-3-1 as long as the forechecker is actually forechecking. when he's just sitting there waiting... i gotta side with philly on this. it's fucking awful. but, i don't know how you legislate a coaching/defensive style out of the game. apparently there is some rule in basketball where a certain defensive style is forbidden, but how to you do that in hockey? what would you say? the D in the defensive zone can't be below his own blueline? so then you force 4 into the neutral zone. the forechecker has to pursue the puck? don't know how you can force that, as that's not even smart. so i'm not sure what laviolette thinks a solution is, but i'm curious to see where this is going. watching pronger just stand there was hilarious. st. louis kept looking to the bench like shrugging, wondering wtf he was supposed to do. and it's not like this was late in the game - this was immediately after the puck drop. he also did it later in the game too, but damn. balls.

sure, everyone in europe is playing the trap, but they have much more ice to cover. tampa is literally the only one of 30 teams playing the trap in the NHL. it's not working for them quite as well as it did for NJ 10-12 years ago - look at their record. but even funnier? tampa won this game.