CLASS ACTING

Down Goes Brown has a few goal celebration tips to remember.

Do Celebrate your 50th goal of the season by pretending that your hockey stick has caught on fire. Do not Forget to check your insurance company’s fire policy first, to make sure they’ll eventually replace your stick with one that can still score goals. Do Borrow the signature celebration of the Green Bay Packers by leaping into the first few rows of the stands after scoring. Do not Try this in Toronto during the opening 10 minutes of a period, since you’d prefer to land in an area that actually has fans. Do Celebrate enthusiastically when you record a hat trick. Do not Use up all of your energy on that celebration, since you’ll want to save some for your second shift against the Flyers defence. Do Save the over-the-top rink length celebrations for those once-in-a-lifetime moments when you’ve achieved

Edmonton Oilers rookie Nail Yakupov managed to make himself the talk of the hockey world last week when he celebrated a last-second goal against the Kings with an extended slide down the length of the rink.

While many chalked the moment up to youthful enthusiasm, others weren’t so kind. Don Cherry called him an idiot, and many fans of other teams were even harsher. But was the criticism justified? After all, has anyone ever actually documented what exactly a player is allowed to do when they score?

They have, as it turns out. But apparently Yakupov didn’t get the memo. So for the benefit of him and any other rookies who missed it, here’s the official NHL etiquette for celebrating. the ultimate goal that you’ve spent the last several years of your career working towards. Do not Expect your celebration to be well-received by all the other Islanders players at the practice who didn’t just find out they’ve been traded. Do Celebrate record-breaking goals by shooting your glove out of the air by pretending that your hockey stick is a gun. Do not Begin to worry that Obama is now coming to take your hockey stick away, no matter how convincing that chain email you got from Tim Thomas was. Do Occasionally react to an especially big goal by skating over to the boards and slamming your body into the end glass. Do not Attempt this move unless you’re sure that you’re leaping into actual glass and not just something that’s convincingly glass-like, such as Carlo Colaiacovo. Do Trust your judgment, and go with your gut when it comes time to choose an appropriate celly. Do not Ever reproduce, the rest of us are begging you, if you’re the type of person who calls it a “celly.” Do Have a much lower key celebration ready for any goals you score into an empty net. Do not Be distracted by the mild annoyance in Steve Mason’s voice when he points out that he’s actually been there the whole time. Do Consider celebrating a goal in a more dignified manner, such as by offering teammates an understated fist bump. Do not Be surprised when Patrick Kaleta reacts to the sight of a fist by immediately turtling out of force of habit. Do Remember to always be a fierce competitor who cares deeply about his team’s performance and reacts passionately to goals in crucial situations. Do not Do any of that while also being Russian, you no good selfish glory boy.