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At first I was loving the new NHL, and I still really enjoy the games....but Im seeing alot of high scoring games and Im not sure if I like watching 9-7, 8-0, 6-5 games over and over, its pretty run and gun so far. I love offensive hockey but maybe there is something that needs to be tweaked or changed I dont know, or maybe its the constant power plays thats to blame for the high scoring? How would you guys grade/rate the new NHL based on what you've seen so far? In the following areas..
Officiating/Penalites-too strict? Too many loose calls or wimpy calls?
New Rules-Like them, hate them? Needs changing..
Offence-high scoring games and blowouts
Defence- or lack of it, rules to hard on D-men?
The Goaltending problems-Great goalies looking mediocre for the most part, smaller pads to blame? Rules to blame? Goalies being exposed?
The Shootout-love it, hate it?
Lets hear it..
Imagine a world before the "beginning was the word.”
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Crack down on hooking, grabbing, interference: good.
Calling the slightest touch of the stick to the padding: bad.
I'm a minor hockey official and I'm all for freeing up the game for the skilled players. However, I have seen some things called that I would never even dream of considering calling. However, to allow the game to return to the no holds barred (pardon the pun) grabbing and clutching that was going on would not be good either.
Rule Changes - no offside passes: good.
Trapezoid area playing restrictions: bad.
The second rule really has had no effect other than making playing the puck by the goal confusing. Lose it.
Offensive hockey is great. Poor defensive play is very hard to watch. Disallowing players to battle for space in front of the net is no good. How could a defenceman ever properly do his job? Allow defencemen to remove players from the front of the net - without holding, hooking, etc.
The goalies aren't really mediocre, it's just increased offensive opportunity. The days of the GAA around 1.00 are gone. That's okay. I'd rather watch a 4-3 game than a 1-0 game...within reason. The rules emphasis has been particularly hard on defecemen.
Shootouts are okay..just get them going quicker. Instead of flooding the ice, just start it right up. I know they only flood down the centre but it takes 10 minutes. The fans are into it through OT, get it going right away - it will keep the fans excited about it.
That's all for now.
PS - JFJ should drive Aki Berg to the middle of nowhere and leave him for dead.
Jeff
June 21, 2003 Toronto, ON: SkyDome
July 1, 2004 Toronto, ON: Molson Amphitheatre
November 26, 2004 Toronto, ON: Air Canada Centre
June 24, 2006 Toronto, ON: Historic Fort York
May 10, 2007 Indianapolis, IN: The Vogue
July 14, 2011 Edmonton, AB: Northlands Festival Site
June 30, 2012 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON: The Commons at Butler's Barracks
January 23, 2013 Edmonton, AB: Rexall Place
July 28, 2016 Edmonton, AB: Rexall Place
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At first I didn't expect to like it, but I have to admit it is more entertaining to watch a game where one team has a two goal lead heading into the third and it no longer means that that game is pretty much over. Hell, the Flyers had a two goal lead last night with 2 mins to go and found a way to lose.
Gotta agree with Jeff though - that trapezoid nonsense has got to go. Anyone keeping a running tally on the number of times Eddie has coughed up the puck and it has ended up in the net because of that? Six? Seven?
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I agree that trapezoid crap has to go, I dont like it, and if I was still playing hockey (goalie) Id be hating that crap big time. I really enjoy the games thus far very fun to watch, the offence is great I can see some 120 point seasons this year and there's nothing wrong with that, the guys with the most skill will rise to the top and domintate which is the way it should be, and because of that maybe some guys will play longer, I recall Mario retiring with a bad taste in his mouth about all the clutching and grabbing, who wants that? I think some of the penalites that are being called are ridiculous, you sneeze on a guy in your own end and they call it, that needs to change, give the d-men some leeway in front of the net, Im not saying you should be able to kill the guy, but you should at least be able to move him out of the way and fight for your space. Goalies are taking a bit of a beating so far but like you said nothings wrong with 4-3 and never being sure if you lead is safe or not, before teams would get a goal or two in the first period and then collapse into a defensive shell...boring! As for the shootout, I hate to say I like watching it but I do, I think its a bad way to decide a game, but hey since its here and not going anywhere for awhile I might as well embrace it.
Jeff, I love the berg comment, he does stink, if Im JFJ I'd try to replace him if its possible, Belak too, he's useless in this NHL...well someone has to keep the bench from flying away I guess...lol.
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I hate all the penalties being called, its just ridiculous, you skate by somebody and they fall down and you get called. Also I'm not a fan of the shootouts either. I would rather see 10 minutes of 4 on 4 overtime than a shootout. In my opinion overtime, with all the end to end rushes, is far more exciting than a gimmicky shootout. I don't like how one team can dominate the entire 5 minutes of overtime and not be able to put one in the net, and then lose in a shootout. Also I agree with you guys that they need to loosen up on the d-men its like watching novice out there sometimes in front of the net.
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I basically fall in line with what Jeff says, except that shootouts are stupid. The people responsible for bringing them in should be shot, medically revived, and then shot again.
(And there's nothing wrong with a 1-0 game. It's scoring chances, not goals, that make a game exciting to watch. Rule changes to increase the number of goals, I'm neutral on. Rule changes to increase scoring chances are another matter.)
The faster flowing game is good, but the officiating is iffy -- you'll see them strictly call every little thing through three periods and then go to complete laissez faire in OT.
And frankly, if you're calling every little thing, why do you ever call someone for diving? Diving penalties belong to a league where there's no penalty unless someone falls down. When the refs are calling things much more strictly, they start to look like an attempt to even out the penalties, which doesn't exactly give you any faith in the refs....
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Went to the Pens-Flyers game last night at Mellon Arena and it was not what I expected it to be.
Overall I am impressed and happy with the improvements made as compared to last season and years past but there is still a bit to be desired.
I do like the shootout but the penalties are getting frustrating. I see a lot of diving going on out there. Crosby was guilty of it on a few occasions last night.
I think Buffalo (my hometown team) can compete better in the "new" NHL but being in a division with Ottawa, Boston, Montreal and Toronto doesn't help since we now have to play them 8 times each. There will be teams that we are better than possibly in the playoffs due to their division in the Eastern Conference and that doesn't sit too well. Not making excuses but I would like to see a home playoff game sometime soon!
There is A LOT of season left and I think it will be a great year for the league. Especially with all of the young talent out there.
Crosby, Ovechkin, Vanek, Staal, Horton, Stempniak, Richards, Carter, Malkin (when he gets here), Nash, Spezza...though not all rookies, the future looks bright.
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nutsac78 Wrote:fingernailsonhull Wrote:Shootouts are okay..just get them going quicker. Instead of flooding the ice, just start it right up. I know they only flood down the centre but it takes 10 minutes. The fans are into it through OT, get it going right away - it will keep the fans excited about it.
Actually, they only dry scrape the centre lane to prevent skipping pucks... so i don't think that's an issue
Is it only a dry scrape? I didn't realize that. I understand WHY they do it, I just think that the elapsed time in between end of OT and beginning of SO sucks some of the excitment out of it. That's all.
Jeff
June 21, 2003 Toronto, ON: SkyDome
July 1, 2004 Toronto, ON: Molson Amphitheatre
November 26, 2004 Toronto, ON: Air Canada Centre
June 24, 2006 Toronto, ON: Historic Fort York
May 10, 2007 Indianapolis, IN: The Vogue
July 14, 2011 Edmonton, AB: Northlands Festival Site
June 30, 2012 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON: The Commons at Butler's Barracks
January 23, 2013 Edmonton, AB: Rexall Place
July 28, 2016 Edmonton, AB: Rexall Place
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(IMO) i think that they should flood before the OT then just dive right in to the shootout afterwords
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Personally, I'm diggin' it. The only thing I can't really get behind is the shootout, for all the obvious reasons. Fortunately the Wings haven't had to "shoot" against anyone.
Speaking of the Wings, the general concensus about the lock-out here in Detroit was that the NHL had over-expanded and rather than admit the folly of their ways the NHL opted for a salary cap to penalize deep-pocket teams...like the Wings...so low revenue expansion cities could "compete".
With the exception of the last four games, the Red Wings have been seemingly unaffected and look like they'll be strong Cup contenders.
On a related note, I think it's hysterical that Federov got traded to Columbus. He won't be rubbing elbows with supermodels or "celebrity" sluts in that city, I'll tell ya! :lol:
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cferneyh Wrote:scottitude Wrote:Speaking of the Wings, the general concensus about the lock-out here in Detroit was that the NHL had over-expanded and rather than admit the folly of their ways the NHL opted for a salary cap to penalize deep-pocket teams...like the Wings...so low revenue expansion cities could "compete".
"Expansion cities" like Calgary, Edmonton, and Buffalo?
The point of the cap is simple: the owners with a clue (who are the majority) wanted to control the idiot owners - you know - like owners who give Mike Milbury a paycheque every week.
I hear your point cfern, but at the same time we could argue for pages about over-expansion and the dilution of talent. However, I honestly think the expansions to Atlanta, Minnesota, Nashville, and Columbus were mistakes. Granted, in the last couple of years we have seen some decent hockey out of a couple of these places, but the economics of the NHL were not such that expansion was warranted. Why create more teams that will lose money? Maybe they saw the salary cap coming...I don't know.
Jeff
June 21, 2003 Toronto, ON: SkyDome
July 1, 2004 Toronto, ON: Molson Amphitheatre
November 26, 2004 Toronto, ON: Air Canada Centre
June 24, 2006 Toronto, ON: Historic Fort York
May 10, 2007 Indianapolis, IN: The Vogue
July 14, 2011 Edmonton, AB: Northlands Festival Site
June 30, 2012 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON: The Commons at Butler's Barracks
January 23, 2013 Edmonton, AB: Rexall Place
July 28, 2016 Edmonton, AB: Rexall Place
