Subsonic Radio

Anyone else excited to see hockey is finally back? I was pretty upset that the players and owners had to argue the whole lockout over the issues of salaries, etc... I'm optimistic about the new rules that could help make the game better than before.

I was a Kings fan, and still am, but I'm not going to follow it for a few seasons.

what are the new rules? I don't have too much of a chance to read/watch the news on a daily basis, so I hear things mostly second-hand.

I'm a Sabres fan myself, and always have been. I'm with Club33hopeful, though. I probably won't follow the game too much for a while.

Although I still say No Goal...

Go ducks!

Not a fan of NHL but hope they've learned their lesson with the whole lockout business

I've been a Blackhawks fan for many years going back to when there were only 6 NHL teams. I did miss the games last season, but I no longer sleep and breathe hockey in the winter like I did as a kid. We had a nice creek behind our backyard so I skated almost every day after school in the winter.

I hate to say it Matt, but when those kind of dollars are involved neither side will remember the lesson of last year.

Jackets Fan here. Never liked the NHL until the Blue Jackets came to town. Now I love it. Still don't like watching it on TV though. Anyway we've got 1 day to go until they drop the puck once again. I think this could end up being like Hockey of old where goals will be up and defense will be punished.

Go Sharks!

New rules include the goalies not being able to play the puck in the corners (2-minute minor), the elimination of the two-line pass as a penalty (though icing still results in a faceoff), the increase of each offensive zone by 4 feet (therefore the neutral zone is four feet shorter, and there is 2 feet less ice between the back of the net and the boards), and, there are no more ties... if, after a 5-minute overtime period, the game is still tied, we go to shootout! The team that wins a shootout gets 2 points, the team losing a shootout gets 1... this means there will still be three columns in a team's record (wins, losses, and overtime losses), but, no more ties!

All in all, the two-line pass rule and the rearranging of the sections on the ice should make the game much, much faster... it, in many ways, eliminates the neutral zone trap defense that everyone adopted in the late 90s that slowed the game to a halt.

spaulo wrote:the elimination of the two-line pass as a penalty (though icing still results in a faceoff),

You still cannot make a two-line pass, however, the centerline does not count for a two-line pass. In other words, you cannot pass across both blue lines. However, that still opens it up quite a bit.

Yes but "passing across both blue lines" has always been known as "icing..."

I never understood the old rules, so I can't even follow the new ones!

My husband was SO excited on October 5th!! I, of course, naturally thought he was so excited because the 6th was my birthday, but, well, that wasn't necessarily the case!

I like going to a game every now and then (I like the music and the "commotion"). But all the "music and commotion" is what drives my husband crazy. He can't understand why the fans aren't paying more attention to the game!

He's a huge Bruins fan...

Judy °o°

spaulo wrote:Yes but "passing across both blue lines" has always been known as "icing..."

That's not true. Rule 65 from the NHL rule book:

For the purpose of this Rule, the center red line will divide the ice into halves. Should any player of a Team, equal or superior in numerical strength to the opposing Team, shoot, bat or deflect the puck from his own half of the ice beyond the goal line of the opposing Team, play shall be stopped and the puck faced-off at the end face-off spot of the offending Team, unless on the play, the puck shall have entered the net of the opposing Team, in which case the goal shall be allowed.

Ahh, touche`. My bad. Both red lines makes icing, don't it? Are you sure you can't pass across both blue lines now, though? I thought you could...

Nope. You can pass from anywhere behind your blue line up to the opponents blue line. You still cannot pass across both blue lines.

Life long Pens fan and my birthday just so happens to be October 5, OPENING DAY!

But man are the Pens bad this season?