Playoff Update: Toughness Still Matters

It was the spring of 1976. A pair of NHL titans were set to clash in the Stanley Cup Final.

Indeed, the rough-and-tumble, two-time defending Cup champion Flyers were on a collision course with Scotty Bowman’s vaunted Canadiens. Both teams had powered through the regular season at a blistering pace…Montreal at a stunning 58-11-11 clip (127 points) and Philly only slightly behind (51-13-16, 118 points). Each club had dispatched their Semi-Finals opponent in five games.

The matchup was viewed as a battle between good and evil. Darth Vader versus Luke Skywalker.

Boasting such legendary bad men as Dave “the Hammer” Schultz, “Wolfman” Jack McIlhargey, André “Moose” Dupont, Bob “Hound” Kelly and Don “Big Bird” Saleski and aided and abetted by second-tier toughies like bristling Mel Bridgman, Gary “Elbows” Dornhoefer and future Pens Orest Kindrachuk and Ross Lonsberry, the Broad Street Bullies were at the height of their destructive powers.

As if to underscore their utter disregard for gentlemanly play, the Flyers were whistled for an astounding 1970 penalty minutes, shattering their own league record. Almost angelic by comparison, the Canadiens served only 963 minutes in the sin bin.

To say the Flyers were intimidating didn’t do them justice. Totally psyched out, most foes…including our Pens…came down with a case of the “Philly Flu” whenever they visited the Spectrum to take on this raucous band of marauders.

But the orange and black weren’t just mean. They were a darn good team. Hart Trophy winner Bobby Clarke, who often wielded his stick in bayonet fashion to carve up opponents, tallied 119 points and was a plus-83. On his right flank, Reggie Leach sniped 61 goals. On his left, Bill Barber potted 50. Five other Flyers topped the 20-goal mark.

In the opposite corner, the “Flying Frenchmen” oozed class and skill. Cup winners as recently as 1973, the Habs were paced by elegant scoring champion Guy Lafleur (125 points), 45-goal man Steve Shutt and 30-goal scorers Yvan “the Roadunner” Cournoyer and husky Yvon Lambert.

Although not as over-the-top physical as their Final foes, the Canadiens weren’t pantywaists, either. They were a big team, with nine players tipping the scales at 200 pounds or more. They, too, featured a core of rugged skaters, including Pierre Bouchard, Rick Chartraw and their own “Big Bird,” 220-pound defenseman Larry Robinson.

Known more for his skill than his brawn, 210-pound defenseman Serge Savard had surprisingly bested Schultz in a scrap.

And so it was. With Robinson leading the assault, the Canadiens beat the Flyers at their own hammer-and-tongs game. The pivotal moment of the series occurred at 11:20 of the third period in Game 2, when Robinson blasted Dornhoefer into the side boards with what one observer described as the hardest check he’d ever seen. So hard, in fact, that the game was held up for several minutes while the maintenance crew nailed the boards back into place.

Having completely neutralized the Flyers’ terror tactics, the Canadiens swept the series in four straight games to usher in a new dynasty.

So why do I bring up a series from so long ago?

The current clash between Vegas and Florida reminds me an awful lot of that one.

As modern teams go, the Panthers are uber physical with the likes of Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, designated hitter Radko Gudas and pesty Ryan Lomberg. Tkachuk reminds me more than a little of the aforementioned Clarke with the way he uses his stick on foes. And the Panthers’ manic physicality is reminiscent of those Flyers teams of yore.

And yet, like that Canadiens squad from long ago, it’s the Golden Knights who are winning the physical battle. Their cadre of quiet-tough guys like Nicolas Hague, Brayden McNabb, William Carrier, Keegan Kolesar and Alex Pietrangelo have been more than a match for the Panthers. It’s helped carry them to a convincing 3-1 series lead.

There are those who believe physical hockey is passé, meant for another time and another era. That speed and skill and “process” are all that matter in this day and age.

I beg to differ. The proof is playing out right before our eyes.

Each of the past four Cup winners…the Avalanche, Lightning, Blues and Capitals…have combined a requisite level of skill with no small degree of muscle. Even the Avs, who most closely resembled our back-to-back champs in terms of makeup and style, featured rugged players like Josh Manson, Erik Johnson and Nicolas Aube-Kubel, not to mention a passel of skilled redwood forwards.

Pens coach Mike Sullivan regards toughness as an afterthought, wholly unnecessary. I say the evidence to the contrary is compelling. It’s a vital component if we want to have any type of impact in the postseason.

We’ll see if new Pens exec Kyle Dubas agrees.

Hey Ralphie

Speaking of Dubas, a silly observation. With his glasses, does he remind anyone else of a brown-eyed version of Ralphie from the holiday classic A Christmas Story?