Penalties, penalties, penalties. And Power Plays!
Damn! Did everyone in the NHL forget the new rules in the offseason? In the last two days I've heard nothing but conga lines headed to the penalty box and consequently teams being eviscerated by their opponents power plays.
Last night saw the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres combine for 18 penalties! Of course the Sabres capitalized on 4 of those power play opportunities, and the Maple Leafs went 0 for 7. The Leafs also debuted their new number one goalie Andrew Raycroft who was shelled in his first outing. Raycroft is apparently the first Leaf to wear the #1 in over a decade. His number may be #1, but the Leafs played like #2.
The Dallas Stars were another team to benefit from their opponent's lack of discipline. The Atlanta Thrashers allowed the Stars to bury two powerplay goals enroute to a 5-2 win. The Thrashers were able to score on one of their chances, but squandered 5 others.
So much for Anaheim's defense. Well, in fairness the Ducks Dynamic Duo of Neidermayer and Pronger were scratched for todays game, and the team that played tonight proved that they will certainly need them to provide quality minutes this season. The Los Angeles Kings torched the Ducks 7-1, scoring 3 goals on the powerplay in another penalty filled game.
Hooking and Tripping appear to be the most popular infractions early in the pre-season, with the occassional seasoning of interference and holding. Everyone is going to have to brush up on the basics, or it could be another slow frustrating start for many teams out of the gate. Goals will certainly be in abundance, especially for teams with monster power play units.
Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh
Comments
I remember being so excited about hockey last year and so excited about going to a preseason game just to see hockey (let alone my favorite team) after the lockout. All that excitement vanished about ten minutes in as it was apparent that there was going to be about three seconds of five-on-five hockey during the entire game due to the constant penalties. I actually came away quite frustrated and concerned that these new rule changes were going to make for a horribly slow game. As such, I haven't made any effort to get tickets to any preseason games this year.
You'd think they would have figured it out from last year, yes, but I'm sure a lot of these players are new to the league and the refs are probably a little trigger happy too. Having said that, I do think these preseason games can't be looked at as simply glorified scrimmages because of this. The teams that adapt/remember the rules the quickest stand a better chance of getting off to a good start when the regular season begins. Somebody can double check the stats on me here, but I distinctly remember one team being praised during the pre-season last year for the low number of penalties they took in comparison to everyone else. And that team was...
The New York Islanders.
Kidding, it was the Hurricanes.
Check out this article (and you'll have to scroll down) on some of the worst team logos in hockey, isnpired by the new Buffaslug Sabres look. Very funny stuff:
http://mirtle.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Playoff Moustache | September 19, 2006 07:39 AM
Seems like most teams have forgotten the old / new rules....however, the powerplay of some teams is already clicking....Dallas, Buffalo, L.A.....they are gonna make teams pay.
I love the Ice Dogs logo. They should have just used a shot of Megatron's head.
Posted by: bosh | September 19, 2006 12:14 PM