Many people were wondering before the game how the Red Wings would respond in game two, not only after a cheap blow to one of their best players, but also after a tough loss. Enter Todd Bertuzzi. Not even two minutes into the game Bertuzzi already started a fight with Weber, trying to send the message, "Don't mess with my team".
This catapulted the team's confidence and eventually lead them to a game 2 win by the score of 3-2.
My question is, does this type of revenge have a place in the world of competition? While we can see it can help confidence and team chemistry, are there any potential downsides to it? Sure it is dangerous to go after another player and can potentially lead to someone getting hurt, but is the risk worth the reward? What do you guys think?
-Kevin
I think that in this case it was appropriate for Bert to go after Weber. By doing this Bertuzzi is letting Weber and the rest of the Preds know that they can't go after someone on my team and get away with, because to be honest the $2,500 fine Weber was given was a joke. Now that being said I think it was just the right amount of retaliation. You don't want another situation were Bert takes a cheap shot and ends a guy's career but a friendly drop of the gloves was a good response.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a good example for a compelling argument of why fighting does in fact have a place in hockey. Obviously, officials aren't going to catch everything and sometimes taking a penalty for a cheap shot that takes out a key player may just seem worth it. The fighting in hockey allows for some self regulation by the players themselves. If someone tries to take out a key player, its the enforcer's job to kick that guys ass. This might make players less likely to try cheap shots, for fear of the enforcer's retribution.
ReplyDeleteBertuzzi is absolutely doing the right thing in this situation. Hockey is a brutal sport and supporting your teammates in the heat of battle is essential to win. Like Michael said, Bertuzzi did not cheap shot Weber, but rather fought him face to face. Fighting in hockey has been a highly debated issue, but according to ESPN in a poll of 200 NHL players, 199 supported fighting and 1 opposed it. This shows how important the aspect of fighting is in the NHL. Fighting allows players to settle disputes without having to cheap shot someone.
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