New rules force teams to change
In Montreal on Sunday, only four minutes of the first period were played at even strength. By the end of the game, the Canadiens and Atlanta Thrashers combined for a whopping 32 penalties. On Saturday, the Calgary Flames and Chicago Blackhawks logged 43 minutes of man-advantage hockey, and in Edmonton a day earlier there were 22 power plays.Much of this was to be expected.
Prior to training camp, the NHL’s competition committee recommended changes that would open up the game and make it more exciting. This time, the league has promised that referees will stick to the rule book even after the all- star break.
“In the past, we lost patience with the way it was being called, because we didn’t like the results,” Leafs coach Pat Quinn said. “ Some teams, going back in history, they fought it because they wanted to play the hook- and- hold and interference game, and they did it very successfully.
“When it came to playoff time, it was put away and so the advantage went to them.”
While the Leafs tried to play an up-tempo game offensively, they were also guilty of impeding players in the defensive end. Bryan McCabe struggled when officials started penalizing his can-opener move — putting his stick between an opponent’s legs before knocking him to the ice — during the last NHL crackdown. He and Belak are among the players that will have to adapt again. Quicker rearguards such as Tomas Kaberle and Carlo Colaiacovo should adjust more quickly.
Still, Quinn believes his players will not be casualties of the new NHL when the season opens Oct. 5.
“Clearly it’s going to cost you hockey games if you don’t change,” Quinn said.
“We have a team that is capable of changing. We’ve got size and mobility. Our defence skates well. So it will be the mental side of breaking the habit that you need to break.”
Those habits appear to be more of an addiction for some.
Nine different Toronto and Ottawa players were penalized for some form of obstruction — hooking, holding, tripping, interference — on Sunday, not including the ones who broke a new NHL rule for shooting the puck out of play while in the defensive zone.
Quinn said the delay of game penalty, which was called twice against the Leafs and once against Ottawa, is a “ silly” rule.
“ I don’t understand what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said. “ Everybody who has been around the game knows when you’re trying to do that deliberately, and that’s the guy who should be penalized.”
Eric Lindros, who served two minutes in the box when he accidentally flipped the puck over the boards, agreed the rule should be tossed.
“They want to keep the flow of the game going,” he said on Sunday. “It’s just kind of ironic when you’ve got two-minute timeouts for TV.”