NHL’S ‘dead puck era’ is no more, numbers suggest
Dramatic rise in scoring ramps up excitement for fans
Forget about making the nets bigger or the goalie equipment smaller. With the frequency in which players are scoring these days, the NHL might consider the opposite. We’ve lived through the dead puck era. Now, we’re back to the glory days of goals, goals and more goals.
David Pastrnak is on pace for 70 goals. Leon Draisaitl is on pace for 160 points, while 10 others are on pace to finish the season with 100 or more points. Only six reached the 100-point mark last year, while only three accomplished the feat in 2017-18.
Things can obviously change. We’re only a quarter of the way through the season. The expectation is that the games will become tighter and lower scoring.
Still, it’s promising that this is the fifth consecutive year that we’ve seen an increase in the number of goals per game. In 2003-04, the average was 5.1 goals per game. Ten years later, that number rose to 5.5. This year, after 317 games, it’s up to 6.2.
At the same time, the league is seeing more comebacks, more overtime games (28 per cent of the games) and, according to Colin Campbell, far more excitement.
“That’s been our theme ever since 2004-05 to reward as much offence as we can,” said Campbell, the NHL’S executive vice-president and director of hockey operations. “And you’re seeing it with lead changes. That was one of our hopes and goals back in 2004-05, when we took an ‘extended holiday.’ In a way, (a labour lockout) is never worth it. … We came out of that, the dead puck era, and one thing that scared me at the time was players were saying they weren’t having any fun playing the game. … Now, we’ve got teams overcoming four-goal leads in the third period. So a fan doesn’t have to say, ‘this game is over.’ ”
INJURY OR EMBELLISHMENT?
Days after Colorado’s Matt Calvert took a puck to the head but was then forced to lie on the ice with what turned out to be a concussion while the play continued and a goal was eventually scored, general managers discussed what could be done to ensure the safety of an injured player. Should on-ice officials have blown the play dead? According to the NHL, it depends on the situation.
“Of course, we would have liked the play to been blown down earlier,” said Stephen Walkom, vice-president and director of officiating.
On the one hand, the league wants to ensure injured players get immediate medical attention and are protected from further injury. But the league also doesn’t want to implement a rule where players might be tempted to embellish an injury just to get a stoppage in play while in the defensive zone.
SPITTING MAD
Campbell said a fine or suspension would be levied to Washington’s Garnet Hathaway, who received a match penalty in a game on Monday for spitting in the face of Anaheim’s Erik Gudbranson. Just don’t ask him what that will be. After all, it’s not like there’s a precedent for this sort of thing.
“I’m not new to this area. It’s been a while, but I did suspend 450 players. I’ve heard every possible reason why a player did what he did. I’m sure if you talked to Gudbranson, he wouldn’t be happy about it.”
NEWS AND NOTES
NHLPA head Don Fehr briefly met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at the NHL offices on Tuesday, but it was more of an informal greeting than anything. In other words, don’t expect news of a new CBA anytime soon … The GMS voted unanimously to rename the General Manager of the Year Award in honour of the recently deceased Jim Gregory, who was a former GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs … Why are there more comebacks in the NHL this year? According to Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka, it’s because the defencemen are more active on offence. “There’s a lot of puck-moving defencemen back there that can skate and make plays and when they’re activating, it’s like having five forwards on the ice.”