HYBRID ICING. ?

Well, it's that time of the year again.

The time when I sit at my desk each morning with a 'big cup of Joe' and dial up last night's hockey games to catch up on events. At the end of the week I then bore my bemused friends (best type to have) with stories of strange central european names who have been heroes or pussies this week. Who scored what and where, etc.

As I'm in England my friends have no clue about hockey - except those I keep up with on facebook who I used to play with and against in my earlier years - and never seem to tire of my incessant stories. Well, not much anyhow.

So, this short post is as much a thank you to them for putting up with me as it is an attempt to start writing more often again - let it slip a bit didn't I - work commitments and all.

Best game this inaugural (very US word) week (if you're interested) was:

Buffalo Sabres v Detroit Redwings
Detroit won in a low scoring 2-1 game with goals from Samuelsson and Datsyuk (see central europeans abound!)

source: nhl.com

Mrs P will be happy as she's a fan - not of the hockey you understand, just one player in particular. ;-)

One more thing to bore people with - and if you are really not into learning about hockey then you can skip this bit!

This year the NHL have decided to amend the rule book and changed the icing rule - this is one conversation that seems to enthrall my football-oriented friends as they like to go on about the complexity of offside rules (which appears simple in comparison).

The icing rule is a bit of a mystery to most when they first start watching hockey - especially people here in the UK.

Basically, the attacking team cannot simply shoot the puck from their half of the ice (behind the centre ice red line) way into the attacking zone as this would have the effect that each time it happens the other team has to skate all the way back, go and get it and start their attack again. Wastes time if the team doing it are in the lead.

So if the puck is fired in this way but an attacking player can skate like crazy and beat a defending player to it before it passes the goal line, then the icing is waved off. If a defending player can get to it first, the ref blows the whistle, icing is called and the play is resumed with a face off back in the attacking teams defensive zone.

This is called the Touch Icing rule

The new rule change effective in NHL season 2013/14 is termed Hybrid Icing. Now, the linesman or referee does not have to wait for a defending player to touch the puck when the icing happens. Instead, they can make an icing call (stop play) if they feel the defending team will definitely get there first. This stops the race for the puck and danger to the players of both crashing into the end boards with serious force in their attempt to touch it - i.e. the new rule is deemed a safer rule.
One of the most quoted events where a player was injured due to the race for the puck going wrong happened last season (2012/13) when Carolina Hurricane's Joni Pitkanen was seriously injured.. 



In summary, an official can now make an icing call based on where the players are on the ice, but the overall basis of icing still remains intact.

Check out rule 81.1 in the NHL's official rulebook for a full explanation.
Want more? There's a really good blog here that goes into a lot more depth..
   

TO THE MADHOUSE..

We have to wait until this evening for the first face off between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. It's going to be a rough, tough fight between those two old time rival teams.

Last night, Wednesday evening, saw the first of the second round games for the NHL Stanley Cup involving the other two of the four 'Original 6' teams - Chicago Blackhawks v Detroit Redwings. In Chicago. Welcome to the Madhouse..

Detroit didn't show much promise it must be said! Chicago went 1-0 up within 10 minutes of the game start as the Czech $63.3 million signing Marian Hossa (read "star player, major power shooter") made sure his slapshot went straight into and nearly through the back of the net.

Detroit managed to even up two minutes later but that was one of the only high points in their forwards game all night to be honest. Their saviour - if you can call it that given the end score - was Jimmy Howard, their 6 foot netminder who seemed to fill every space possible to stop more pucks going in the net.

The second period didn't happen. Still 1-1 by the end of it. Enough said.

Then Chicago turned it on and dominated the Redwings throughout the third period, two more goals coming at 8:02 and 11:20 minutes in. Oduya snapping up a rebound and then Kruger with a cheeky backhand shot.

3-1 into the final minutes and in a move of desperation Detroit pulled their Jimmy out of the net and played 6 men up front. That didn't work out though as Pat Sharp found an opening and outskated Detroit's Franzen to put himself in front of the net with nobody there to save the last shot. In the net. 4-1. Game over.

Best of seven though. Early days yet.

The 'Shots on Goal' stats show very clearly the uneven nature of this game: