As the dust settles on the Tampa Bay Lightning-Philadelphia Flyers game, the debate over the 1-3-1 lives on. Pierre McGuire during the telecast last night said Martin St. Louis of the Lightning asked Guy Boucher, “What do you want me to do?” A player is questioning the coach’s decision to play that type of fore-checking system that early into the game. Players will get frustrated when asked to sit back and wait for the other team to make mistakes. Why the Devils were so good with their trapping system was that they attacked the puck as well. They created chances early on and then played strong defensive hockey to close the game. The New Jersey Devils did not play the trap right away.
During the telecast on Versus last night, it was mentioned that Scotty Bowman, legendary head coach of the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens, felt the NHL needed to create a rule where one forward was only allowed to skate backwards during the neutral zone. That is taking the 1-3-1 to the extreme. There has been a bit of overreaction to the game last night. Some for the right reasons and some that are wrong. We need to let the system play out over time. Did anyone have a problem last year during the Stanley Cup Playoffs when the Lightning were winning with the system? The Lightning have a great team offensively, but playing this style of hockey will hurt the stars on the team.
During the game last night people on Twitter were making comparisons to the New Jersey Devils style of play that won three Stanley Cups. While the best players on the Devils knew how to play the trap, it was the grinders and checkers that employed the system. The top two lines of the Devils were able to create chances. The one thing that is different with Tampa Bay is they will employ the system anytime. Then all of a sudden a switch will go on and they become aggressive. Once that happens, Tampa Bay is able to force turnovers and change defense into offense.
The 1-3-1 will be staying around for a while or until the NHL decides that it is against the rules to play good defensive hockey. According to TSN insider Darren Dreger, he was informed that the officials on the ice during the game were told not to interfere in the coaching tactics. The officials could not blow the play dead because the puck was not moving forward. This ruling may change after the general managers meeting next week. It will be a hot button topic that will be up for debate.
The way to beat the 1-3-1 is with speed through the neutral zone. The Flyers were trying to do that, but decided it would be best to make a mockery of the game. Both sides are at fault for slowing the game of hockey down. The rulebook states that the team with the puck must keep the puck in motion. That is unfair to the Flyers who were trying to exploit the 1-3-1. Instead of trying to break the trap, they decided to sit back and wait for Tampa to attack.
The NHL of today is different than before the lockout in 2004. The game was much slower then. Now there are a lot of skilled players in the league with speed. We need to see the speed and talent of players shown off. The game cannot be slowed down by these types of systems or the people who paid good money will not come back to another game. Should the NHL step in and outlaw these types of defensive systems? That is not my call to make. The game of hockey like any sport will have some coach trying to set up a good defensive system to win games.