NotOpie
"Puck don't lie"
Make all the assertions you want. There are literally dozens of possible reasons we can cite for the Hurricanes' lack of competitiveness, and you've provided zero evidence that player fitness is one of the top 50.
You also don't help your case by hollering "DERP MOAR STEAKZ" and implying that if only our hockey players ate a little less like elite athletes and a little more like Art Donovan, they'd suffer fewer groin injuries.
--hank
But I bet Art was a tough one to move off of the puck or win a board battle against.
That, however is one of the most serious issues with this team. More times than not we don't win the tough puck battles. To me there's some technique involved but that's primarily the "strength" part of "strength and conditioning". One thing that both Staals do is win their share of puck battles....another guy who is very good is Nathan Gerbe (a notorious gym rat). I'd be a lot more satisfied with this team if they just got stronger - move guys out of the crease, win the board battles, make it hard to get out of your zone. Personally I agree w/Bleed's implication...we need to get tougher. In fact I'd rather be a tough fast team and willingly would sacrifice size for scrappiness, skill, and speed.