Playing tough, but not dumb

Following up on the earlier item, and Wayne Simmonds’ comments about team toughness, here’s what Terry Murray said today about playing the correct way, with toughness, but also doing it in a smart way…

Question: How fine is the line between playing with toughness, and not getting pushed around, but not taking bad penalties either?

MURRAY: “It’s a fine line, but it’s about group toughness. We have a heavyweight, in Raitis. Maybe at times you go through your lineup and compare it to other teams. We might not be as gritty, throughout, compared to other teams in the league, but the group’s competitive attitude and toughness is just about getting in there. It’s five guys and everybody is hanging on, pushing, shoving, tighten the scrum up. Nobody is going to get injured out of that. Nothing bad is going to happen. Nothing dangerous is going to happen. You’re showing great support for your teammates and that team camaraderie, the feeling that you’re playing for your teammates. That’s the attitude, that’s the kind of enviornment, that we want in our locker room.”

Question: Was last night’s game a good example of that?

MURRAY: “It was a great example. Handzus jumping in right away, after the hit on Simmonds, early in the game, set the tone. For a veteran player to jump in like that, it says, `OK guys, everybody is on board here tonight. We’re all going to battle for each other.’ That was clearly obvious to me, throughout the game.”