I sometimes have a moment of clarity when watching a hockey fight. “This is bloody absurd,” is what usually comes to mind.
An explosive spur of the moment dust-up between two middleweights isn’t the kind of bout that invokes such thoughts. It’s usually a pair of long-standing heavyweight goons who casually challenge each other [...]
Archive for the 'Rules and Officiating' Category
NHL Hockey Fights: Visors and the Unsportsmanlike Conduct Rule
January 17, 2008NHL Hits and Suspensions: Derian Hatcher, Alexander Steen, Joffrey Lupul
January 6, 2008The Philadelphia Flyers are at it again. This time, however, the attempt to inflict damage on an opposing player backfired.
The hit was delivered by the Philadelphia Flyers’ Derian Hatcher, fresh off accusations that he bit the finger of the New Jersey Devils’ Travis Zajac when the two teams played on January 4th at the [...]
NHL Overtime and Shootout Points: Claims of Artificial Parity are Exaggerated
December 31, 2007With the bunched up standings in both conferences in the NHL this season, talk has been about so-called “artificial parity.” This is usually attributed to the frustrating overtime and shootout system that sees one point given to the loser in either post-regulation game situation, while the winner receives two.
Together with the more even distribution [...]
NHL Suspensions: Chris Simon Attack on Jarkko Ruutu
December 17, 2007It’s hard to commit an act of violence in the NHL that receives universal condemnation. A player can pour every ounce of energy into an explosive, premeditated, pivoting two-handed slash to the face of his opponent and someone, nay, a legion of people, will come screaming to the defense of the piece of filth.
It [...]
Performance and Mindset: The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Shootout
November 29, 2007The shootout is currently an important part of the NHL. Rip it all you want (and it is rip-worthy) but the ability to do well in the one-on-one tie-breaker represents the number of points that will decide whether many teams reach the playoffs.
With a dozen or so opportunities for most clubs in the regular [...]
NHL Suspensions: Randy Jones Hit on Patrice Bergeron
October 29, 2007There’s widespread relief at the news that Patrice Bergeron suffered nothing more than a concussion and broken nose after the nasty hit from behind by the Flyers’ Randy Jones in the Bruins/Flyers game Saturday night. The fact that a head injury and broken nose are met with relief is a sign of how bad [...]
NHL Officiating: Let ‘Em Play
October 20, 2007Growing up in the frigid wasteland known as Winnipeg, a common occurrence to alleviate the boredom was for someone in our group of friends to pull an outrageous stunt. In the process he would provide some entertainment for the others, create instant local legends to be re-told and embellished and gain the approval of [...]
