[thefoss1957]

Steam..."playing on the edge" seems to be a quality DESIRABLE in "grit" players, and is often admired, by media types...it is often not too far to go "over the edge"...

As far as comparisons to Avery...Shaw, really, has negligible skills...his main asset is tenacity, not size, not hands, not really even physicality...he is a yapper in the Esa Tikkanen mode, and his terrier like focus on yapping, clearly, got him in trouble last night.

I really don't think that he thinks strategically...Shaw seems to play "in the moment"...head butting in pucks, scrumming in the crease, chasing bigger guys to chirp at. Poor judgment sometimes will occur when emotions take over...not an excuse, just his nature, and he goes with his emotions often enough... and if he draws a suspension, it is deserved, but, the 'Hawks have Weise, who can also step into a "grit" role, to replace him.

Shaw's indiscipline did cost the 'Hawks an opportunity to tie, but, that alone, is not why they lost, the truth is, that the main reason for this loss, and the last one, has been the inability to defend Tarasenko

As far as a compressed (every other night) series vs. a fierce rival, this series, hasn't been as chippy as might be expected. The first major flare up, was Crawford going Billy Smith on Fabbri...and even that wasn't as bad as line brawls that have occurred elsewhere.