Playfair vs Nilan all 5 fights!

[2,5,10GameMatch]

They did fight more than this, the ones that are missing were wins for Larry, I use to watch Sabres games all the time in the 80's and Playfair wanted Nilan every game, half the time Nilan didnt want to try him.

[weave]

I seem to recall more fights between these two than just 5 as well.

The big reason I hated Nilan was his style. It was maddening for me to watch Nilan hang on for dear life every time he fought. I just new that IF Playfair could get that right arm loose the fight would be over early.

Soooo frustrating.


Nilan was great at tying people up. If you want to call that a technical fighter, OK. I hated to watch it though.

[brad houghton]

DYG has 8 fights listed between these two.......7 when they played for Buffalo and Montreal over a 4 year stretch

i believe Battleship might have seen another fight on TV that hasn't been discussed yet that he said LP won decisively? BS25?

i agree with BW.....1 1 and 2 this was a pretty even series with LP getting the "big win" but Nilan more than holding his own in the other fights....rat ba5tard that he was

SJ#1 i would still give the edge in this series to LP due to the fact he had the big win and i think it carries allot of weight......i do hold out the fact that i might have my Nilan hating blinders on

[battleship25]

Time to "overANALize". As mentioned I have another fight (I think ) the 3rd fight displayed may've been the one I recall....it was short, near center ice and the fight I have shows the beginning where LP just blows Nilan down quickly with 2-3 big rights.... I haven't seen it in probably more than 10 yrs...I remember being surprised how quickly LP dispatched Nilan. I'll hook up my vcr this weekend ( gotta go thru a whole crappy tape- mostly QMJHL stuff and NHL stuff- MTL mostly that I already had). Also there was that Dave Brown fight on there - those were the only 2 fights that I didn't have. I 'll give a full report.
As the series that happened...Nilan did pretty damn well, he got blown out twice, won 1, and drew 2...not bad. In a few of the fights Nilan exposed LP inability to adapt to Nilan 's tying up ...(ie: switching hands, getting more distance- the way Wilson did). Nilan 's series vs Semenko was actually much more impressive( although I feel LP was a better fighter than Sammy) ...even after being jumped twice Nilan still manged to battle back and make Sammy look foolish. Nilan 's a top 50 guy for me, he was durable, had stamina, technical master, and was mean. He beat most of the bigger guys he fought. I did hate him but after a while I just had to respect a guy who'd pound tatoo's on much bigger guys like (Dykstra, Semenko, Curran, etc).
In the same breath I'll say he was a gutless, cheapshot artist, at times ...but did turn into a damn good hockey player. I remember Nilan on Cherry's the Grapevine and Cherry was ribbing him about being like the last player that yr to get drafted...he really did work hard to improve his game--- I just wish he wouldn't have done the cheap stuff.

Too analytical.....sorry.

Oh, 2,5,10....I did have a bowel movement that thought that Brown was overrated

[Stan Jonathan#1]

Been waiting for the Battleship25 "anaylsis" and he did not disappoint. Thanks. Top 50? You can make a case that Nilan is wayyyy higher than that if you want. I think he is in the top 1/2 if that four sure. He found a way to win most and he fought a great great card too. This guy is underrated. His style hurts him because he was not exciting but he had a lot going for him, stamina, uses both hands, great card, adapted to different styles, beat some great fighters for sure, longevity, and more. I agree he was a bully and cheap fighter at times but at the same time he fought them all. He did enjoy going after Nevin Markwart, suckering Paul boutelier, and butt ending Rick Middleton but fought them all such as Dave Brown and Larry Playfair who he fought about 15 times between them. YIKES. He won many against these two despite giving away a lot of size.

Guys, here is another myth. Please give me your opinions. The myth is that Jay Miller dominated or at least beat Chris Nilan most of the times. I did not see it that way. I have it like very even. Nilan did well and I see some of those fights that Miller is being said to win but I have it even or maybe even Nilan. Nilan again very much held his own against Miller. I maybe give him a little edge too in some of those fights. I might post them and get some opinions.


In this series, it is tough to call and some of you have it Playfair 2-1-1 while admitting you hated Nilan. Everybody hates Chris Nilan. LOL. I got no problem with a close decision for Playfair here but Nilan was right there. Playfair was a great fighter at this time and one of the all time great too. I remember Nilan during an interview say that some fans yell at him but most of the time it is from across the street. The he stopped as if to say...Say it to my face instead of across the street. I cannot believe he was challenging fans almost to a fight on the local news in his hometown. That is Chris Nilan. He was so hateable. He was chippy and dirty and was a bully and had that "**** you: attitude on his face all the time.

[BENNETTWOLF]

The thing i forgot to mention about Nilan in my first post is that he deserves credit for being a pretty good player as well as providing "toughness/instigating" etc. A cut above many of our legends skill wise. He was an integral part of the famed montreal checking line that lasted so long and featured so many defensive aces like Gainey, Jarvis and Carbonneau etc.

Makes me think of Bzane's post and a fightcall vs Greg Smith (i think) about Nilan being a departure from the Habs general style. A true irritant/enforcer. The call went something like "The Canadiens have so many fine players.....and chris is a good player too but he can provide an aggressive style as well"

[Carkner]

Originally Posted by brad houghton

great post BW

Nilan just hung in and tried to keep his beating minimized against the oft suprising Tin Man

YouTube - Mark Tinordi vs Chris Nilan

Whoah!!!! What's with the ref helping Nilan get his helmet off his eyes in the middle of the fight!!!! I've never seen that. While he was at it why didn't he throw a few uppercuts on Tinordi as well.

[battleship25]

Originally Posted by brad houghton

great post BW

Nilan just hung in and tried to keep his beating minimized against the oft suprising Tin Man

YouTube - Mark Tinordi vs Chris Nilan

Couple of things about the Tinordi fights:
1. This was when Nilan was waaayy past his prime, like the Jim Mac fight- I don't think this was a prime Nilan at all.
2. More interestingly ( I hadn't seen this one before) I don't think Nilan lost this one by much at all- Tinordi was busier, but really never landed anything of significance. In fact Nilan probably landed the better punches. Notice at the beginning Nilan got a hold of Tinordi's right arm in a good spot where as MT grabbed Nilan by the shoulder...which allowed Nilan to get inside and score . Tinordi was never great at the defensive aspect...it's funny how many guys grab the shoulder and wonder why they're eating shots....

[Juha82]

L.Playfair would win this serie.
I don't get it when you are calling fighters for bully or not sure.
They are like mean guys when they are punching each other to the skull but outside of the rink many fighters arent bullies though.

[brad houghton]

Makes me think of Bzane's post and a fightcall vs Greg Smith (i think) about Nilan being a departure from the Habs general style. A true irritant/enforcer. The call went something like "The Canadiens have so many fine players.....and chris is a good player too but he can provide an aggressive style as well"

ok BW this one had me laughing.....it reminds me a bit of my dad on report card day as a kid......"keep up the fair work Brad"

BS25 i watched the Tinordi fight again and i didn't view the best feed but from what i saw Nilan's shots came up short as well IMHO (i think only his very last punch landed)....i would still give Tin Man the cheesy Tim Hunter type pitter patter love tap decision (couple of week over the top reaching shots that lost gas) although i will say Nilan was a master at the lock out.......i also agree why the he11 as a fighter you wouldn't focus on grabbing the other guy by bicep on his throwing arm and then lock your arm out strait??? i mean its basic defense 101.....i can see a non fighter being a bit overwhelmed by the moment but a big guy like Tinordi should have worked on it.

also BS25 if you go back and look at where Mulvey's left was when he fought Delorme....it was behind his head right on the neck???? WTF....he had the height and was a fighter and yet he grabs Delorme in a spot that shortens his reach and has zero defensive purpose??

[bzane]

Originally Posted by Carkner

Whoah!!!! What's with the ref helping Nilan get his helmet off his eyes in the middle of the fight!!!! I've never seen that. While he was at it why didn't he throw a few uppercuts on Tinordi as well.

"....why didn't he throw a few uppercuts on Tinordi as well?"

God, that's funny!

[ewen21]

Originally Posted by bzane

(although it must be admitted that it's pretty easy to sit pecking at a keyboard and criticize a man for protecting his face from fists in a hockey fight. Had I played in the NHL back then I might have invented the pee-your-pants-and-faint method of fighting, confronted with a rampaging Wensink, who knows?)

I were to superimpose myself into a into a real-life mano y mano conflict against Wensink I'd probably go for it. Hatred works wonders in erasing fears. The same thing goes with a prime Gary Busey.

[bzane]

Originally Posted by ewen21

I were to superimpose myself into a into a real-life mano y mano conflict against Wensink I'd probably go for it. Hatred works wonders in erasing fears. The same thing goes with a prime Gary Busey.

Well, Ewe-Man, you're feistier than I am, and that's for sure. Wensink, I'd probably lay a cruel and highly-personal insult on him ("Whudja do, get a bush-transplant on top of your head?") and break the World's Speed-Skating Record in the opposite direction.

Uhhhh- Gary Busey? What's with that? -He speaks highly of you!

[nighthawk]

Originally Posted by bzane

Well, Ewe-Man, you're feistier than I am, and that's for sure. Wensink, I'd probably lay a cruel and highly-personal insult on him ("Whudja do, get a bush-transplant on top of your head?") and break the World's Speed-Skating Record in the opposite direction.

Uhhhh- Gary Busey? What's with that? -He speaks highly of you!

I hear ya Zane and if I had to contend with a rampaging Rod "The Beast" Seiling I'd probably react the same way. Just the thought of it is sending chills up and down my spine with my hair standing on end, sort of resembling Shemp in a Three Stooges episode after he saw a ghost.

Also may I say that I'm totally astounded that The Beast didn't make Barry Melrose's Top 5 list!!!!!!!!!!! Definately some prejudice overtones there!!!!!!!

[bzane]

Originally Posted by nighthawk

I hear ya Zane and if I had to contend with a rampaging Rod "The Beast" Seiling I'd probably react the same way. Just the thought of it is sending chills up and down my spine with my hair standing on end, sort of resembling Shemp in a Three Stooges episode after he saw a ghost.

Also may I say that I'm totally astounded that The Beast didn't make Barry Melrose's Top 5 list!!!!!!!!!!! Definately some prejudice overtones there!!!!!!!

Aaaaah, don't sell yourself short!

Best-of-10, I see you going 8-1-1 against Seiling. I still have lying around somewhere his Hockey News column, "The Best of the Beast", wherein Seiling admitted, "Nighthawk! That's the one dude I would NEVER mess with. Even MY weak little chin would start to tremble when I'd see THAT freak come onto the ice!"

You, and maybe a prime Probert, are the only two guys who could take The Beast, IMHO. Of course, I don't mean the 'roided-up Beast who got up to like 167 late in his career.

Shemp be Da Man.