Anybody watch NHL Network Classic Series?

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

Ah, what can I say, its been a slow off season so I figure i'd post something.

Last night they showed the Oilers, Flames series from maybe 1991. Let me just say a couple of things

1. goalies sucked back then, holy cow did they suck on a fundamental level. No wonder there was so much scoring. And this is 91. How bad were they in 85 or 83, etc...?

2. The goalies have to suck b/c if you watch the games, you have absolutely no clue how anybody could ever score at all considering all the clutching, holding, hooking and obstruction going on that was ok.

3. You will never see physicality, toughness, meanness and downright brutal play than you'll see in these older games. I swear every single check, the hitter went in with his elbows and stick up. And every single hittee put his stick right into the mouth of the hitter. NO CALLS! Unreal!

Here's a clip I managed to find of the man, Dave Brown just unloading on poor Jim Kyte. I mean, really, has any fighter ever been KO'd more than Jim Kyte was in his career?

This is from maybe game 3 or 4 of the series as it started to get real nasty at the end.

PS: If you don't know the players from this series here's a sample of why it was one of the best series ever played:

Oilers

Messier

Tikkanen

MacTavish

Simpson

Klima

Anderson

Fuhr

Lowe

Flames

Fleury

MacInnis

Niewendyke

Gilmour

Vernon

Suter

Roberts

If you get a chance, you should tivo/watch this series if they air it again.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Jim Kyte was actually a damn good fighter, so it's a shame that he'll always be remembered for a few brutal KO's. I've always wondered why his teammates never came in to help him in that particular fight?

Hockey was definitely more exciting back then. More scoring, more wide open play, worse goaltending, more hitting, more fighting and no annoying advertisements on the boards. Call it nostalgia, but I would trade what we have now in the NHL for those days easily.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Any of the old battle of Alberta series were always great. Tough play, scoring, overall entertainment, everything.

[CrossoverThrash 0]

I saw the oilers blackhawks one last night and every time there was a breakaway they all pulled the same move it was an automatic goal every time, the five hole was always wide open for them to just slide it in, nothing ike today.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

Jim Kyte was actually a damn good fighter, so it's a shame that he'll always be remembered for a few brutal KO's. I've always wondered why his teammates never came in to help him in that particular fight?

Hockey was definitely more exciting back then. More scoring, more wide open play, worse goaltending, more hitting, more fighting and no annoying advertisements on the boards. Call it nostalgia, but I would trade what we have now in the NHL for those days easily.

Really? I always thought of Kyte as a great team guy in that his willingness to go was there. Plus, wasn't he deaf or partially deaf? My most vivid memory of him though is getting absolutely KO'd by Rob Ray. That was one of the cleanest knockouts ever. Not too mention Joey K doing a severe number on him. But hey, who didn't get cleaned out by KO Kocur?

I love the Kyte was willing but he had mediocre punching power and got put to sleep way too much for me to think of him as a good fighter. Some of Kyte's not so glowing moments:

[Guest Dump-N-Thump]

Yah i love watching the old school games.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Kyte beat a lot of good fighters, including a win over Kocur, Brown and multiple wins over McSorley. Of course he'll always be remembered for the bad losses, but he was far from being some punching bag who guys wailed on consistently.

I guess I shouldn't have gone so far as to call him a damn good fighter, but he was certainly a capable heavyweight.

Edited August 22, 2008 by GMRwings1983