Since no one is planning to get married during the playoff series between the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning, both teams wondered why everyone was so obsessed with the chicken dance.
At the conclusion of Game 3, Tampa Bay forward Brian Boyle challenged Detroit forward Justin Abdelkader to a fight. When Abdelkader declined, Boyle broke out the chicken dance mid ice.
Monday, both sides broke it down and clearly, sought to move past the silliness.
“We’re here to play hockey,… Detroit forward Luke Glendening said. “It’s a hockey game. It’s not a dance off.
“I think it’s being blown out of proportion what he did a little bit. I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal.…
On that point, both sides seemed in agreement.
It’s really kind of a spur of the moment thing,… Boyle said. “There’s a lot of things that happen in a game, if you want to dissect them all.…
Abdelkader, who’d cut his hand in a Game 2 fight with Tampa Bay’s Mike Blunden, was under strict orders from his coach Jeff Blashill not to drop his mitts at the risk of further injury or perhaps even suspension.
“I would have liked to fight him,… Abdelkader said. “I’m not 100 per cent. I had my hand taped up from last game and from previous games.
“I asked the ref if I cut him, it is a (game) misconduct there and I’ve already got one, so I’ve got to be careful. “Obviously, I want to stand up for myself, too, but this time of year when you’ve got injuries and you’re banged up you’ve got to be smart, too, and that’s what I’m trying to do.…
As to Boyle’s antics, Abdelkader also declined to participate.
“I don’t need to really comment on that,… Abdelkader said. “If he needs to do that, good for him.…
Asked if he respects Abdelkader, Boyle was non-committal.
“We just have to respect our opponent,… Boyle said. “I don’t really want to talk about any individual guy.…
Push Me, Pull You It’s getting rough out there.
Facing each other in the playoffs for the second successive spring, the animosity between the Red Wings and Lightning has ramped up several notches from last season.
Through three games the two teams have combined for 215 penalty minutes, 106 of them being assessed to Detroit. Last spring, the Wings served just 82 minutes in penalties through the entirety of the seven-game playoff series between the two clubs.
“It’s the playoffs,… Boyle said. “Everybody’s stepping up. It’s very physical. There’s a lot on the line.
“Last year, that was hard battle for seven games. There wasn’t much ice. It’s guys that want to win. There’s a lot at stake. I think it’s just how it’s going to happen.
“It’s happening throughout the league.…
Powerless To Help Neither team is doing much good with their power play units. Detroit has gone one-for-17 with the man advantage over the three games of the series, managing 17 shots on goal, to sit 15th overall in the league.
“I think they have done a great job,… Detroit defenseman Mike Green said of the Lightning penalty killers. “They’ve definitely committed to putting their bodies in front of our lanes. It’s caused a little bit of a hard time for us to get pucks through.
“With some strategic movements and us moving more out of those lanes - and sometimes it doesn’t need to be a pretty shot - it just needs to get through.
“If we can establish that I think we’ll be just fine.…
The Lightning are only slightly better, owning a one-for-14 success rate on the power play, leaving them 14th in the NHL.
“They’re blocking a lot, they’re getting in the way,… Boyle said, paying his respects to the Detroit PK. “We’ve got to find a way to get shots through.
“When you get shots and create some traffic and get some scrambles, you can maybe get some lanes open. The tic tac toe right off the bat might not be there.…
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