Lol, I really do wish I could tell you the answers to which you seek. I simply do not know...except that a win is a win and a loss is a loss, other than that....sorry lol. It is fun to watch live though, I have gone to a few Blues games and it is far more entertaining than what it shows on T.V. I want to thank you for your kind comment on my Payne Stewart article, I was not interested in feedback numbers, I just wanted to vent and let my feelings be known, thanks again.
One? If you get a chance to stop by my blog I'd like your opinion on it. I think this is a guy thing that most sports fans could relate to. Tell me if you think I'm right?
Hey there OSL hockey is a very demanding sport--it takes alot to be more than a good player.
The teams that have the most points in their division and confrence wins a playoff spot for the Cup finals.
I am limited on time this morning I would visit nhl.com and look for the rules link, and the Stars are a real good team, Marty Turco is not the best playoff goalkeeper though.
Teams skate for three 20 minute periods called "regulation time". Teams skate with 1 goalie and 5 skaters. Usually a center, two forwards and two defensemen.
At the end of regulation, if one team is leading in score, the winning team receives 2 points.
If the game is tied at the end of regulation play. Two things happen. First: Each team receives 1 point for the tie. Second: The two teams will skate with 4 skaters and the goalie for a 5 mintue sudden-death overtime period. If either team scores, they recive 1 point for the overtime win.
If neither team wins in the overtime period, there is a "Shootout". Each team chooses three shooters who are allowed to take the puck from center ice and attempt to score on the opponents goalie. The team winning the "Shootout" recieves 1 point for the overtime victory.
If the shootout is tied after three shooters have had their attempt, teams will then send one shooter at a time to break the "Shootout" tie.
Now if you think that there is a lot of fighting in hockey, you should have watched as recently as 6-8 years ago. Fighting has gone way down however it is a part of the game which will remain forever. However the rules have changed quite a bit to deter teams from sending GOONS to the ice to muscle the finesse players.
Ice hockey allows players to deliver body checks (using the body to bump the other player off of the puck or force a turnover). Very often these body checks are hard and brutal. The physical play can often frustrate the opposing player and when that frustration level reaches a certian height, players can drop their sticks and gloves to settle their score on the ice. Each fighter receives a 5 minute penalty and often, one of the fighters will receive an additional 2 minute penalty for provoking the fight.
I know that there are opponents to the fighting rules in hockey but as an ex-hockey player...it is necessary. With all of the stick action and agression, nullifying the fighting rules in hocky would make the smallest/fastest skater on the ice, the most dangerous. He could whack your shins and wrists all game long without fear of any repercussions. With the fighting rule, the 160 lb forward will think twice before using his stick on the 220 lb defenseman.
Last edited by FlyingPig on November 5th at 7:38 AM.
Wing, Pig, thanks for the input. I'll definitely check out NHL.com. I am a proponent of sudden death overtime, so the overtime formula you mentioned seems like going around the block to get next door. In hockey, like football, a team has had sixty minutes to get the better of his opposition, so sudden death just makes more sense. In fact, I think overtime is one of a few things that are definitely wrong with college football. Thanks again for the help.
One - LGRW, FP and The_Dan can lead you very well. Watch as much as you can and try not to get frustrated with things like offside or icing. They are fairly easy to understand. Once you visit the NHL website LGRW led you to it will be a lot easier. My wife initially used football to help her understand hockey. Her first hockey game was when I took her to one of my brother's games. When his team went on a power play she called it a blitz. When they connected on a long pass she called it a long bomb. It worked. Have fun and enjoy the game. It is awesome!
My suggestion is that if you want to understand hockey.....WATCH hockey. Its the only way you will be able to.
Its the most exciting sport to watch live. The game is just soo fast. If you can't go its almost as fun to watch on TV. Good luck, Go Sabres, Stars can kiss my ####!
You'll learn later on why Sabres fans hate the Stars...
Last edited by LetsGoBuffalo on November 6th at 8:27 AM.
Oh come now, the Stars aren't -that- terrible. Admit it, you Sabres fans just hate Brett Hull and the ref's for blowing that call.
About the fighting ... I'm going to call an example here. Donald Brashear of the Washington Capitals. He's big, can play, and can definately throw a few punches. His teammate, Alexander Ovechkin is, by comparison, a scrawny, high-scoring winger with speed, who hits harder than his smaller frame might indicate. Last season he was on the wrong end of an absolute pounding in which I don't recall ever seeing him throw a punch. Brashear was brought onto the team for exactly that reason. See, the big checks are the most frustrating. It's often times the cause of fights. Ovechkin checked this guy pretty hard, and so the guy turned around and K. O.'ed him. Guys like Brashear are on teams for that reason. If a smaller guy lays you out, you might think about beating the tar out of him. But if you see a big ole tank o####uy like Brashear, you might think twice. Or maybe not. That's why Brashear's on the team. For the wingnuts that might go after Ovechkin in the future, even if it's not to fight him, they ought to remember who they -will- be fighting later in the game. So along with frustration, it's also got to do with intimidation. If you can get your opponents thinking, "Hey maybe I better watch my step," you've got a huge advantage on them. As a player, I've seen it happen, and I've been victim of it. The big guy protecting the little guy, maybe makes you think twice about really finishing that check on the little guy.
Just a note about overtime. It is sudden death, but it is only up to 5 minutes long, then they use the shootout if the teams can't break the tie in overtime. The reason they do this is to not have ridiculously long games in the regular season. In the playoffs it is 5 on 5 sudden death overtime with no time limitations, so you can get games than go for an extra 60 minutes almost sometimes.
It seems like in football, they generally score points in overtime faster, so thats probably the main reason for the difference.
Hey there OSL thanks for the kind words and hope that the site was of help the NHL is all right there on nhl.com so enjoy the season and let's talk hockey. GO NHL.
