Avyran wrote:Also have to wonder how much the lack of calls is affecting Boston's surge as well. It's not 90s hockey quite yet, but the amount of slashing, interference, and other such things is getting ridiculous again.
Definitely suits the defensive style of the Bruins as opposed to the more up-tempo style of the Pens and the Hawks.
Not trying to discount the defense of the Bruins or the goaltending of Rask though. Both have been good.
Chara plays a physical game. Not his fault Bickell fell underneath his fists....
Any goalie with over a .946 save percentage in the playoffs isn't just lucky.
When the other teams constantly miss the net or hit the post, it helps that number a great deal. Couple that with a defense that blocks a ton of shots...
[Stat guy cap is on]So Rask's save percentage got so high because of shots that are missing the net or being blocked...? Seems pretty unlikely given the formula for save percentage...
Back to me again...where was all this "it's the system!" talk when you guys were slobbering all over Tim Thomas...? Are we finally learning the effects of modern defending on goaltender statistics
Any goalie with over a .946 save percentage in the playoffs isn't just lucky.
When the other teams constantly miss the net or hit the post, it helps that number a great deal. Couple that with a defense that blocks a ton of shots...
[Stat guy cap is on]So Rask's save percentage got so high because of shots that are missing the net or being blocked...? Seems pretty unlikely given the formula for save percentage...
Back to me again...where was all this "it's the system!" talk when you guys were slobbering all over Tim Thomas...? Are we finally learning the effects of modern defending on goaltender statistics
Any goalie with over a .946 save percentage in the playoffs isn't just lucky.
When the other teams constantly miss the net or hit the post, it helps that number a great deal. Couple that with a defense that blocks a ton of shots...
[Stat guy cap is on]So Rask's save percentage got so high because of shots that are missing the net or being blocked...? Seems pretty unlikely given the formula for save percentage...
Back to me again...where was all this "it's the system!" talk when you guys were slobbering all over Tim Thomas...? Are we finally learning the effects of modern defending on goaltender statistics
Where all shots count toward save percentage, and posts or blocked shots or shots that miss the net do not count as shots, and quality scoring chances are mostly blocked or hit the post or miss the net -- therefore do not count as shots -- then quality scoring chances are not registering shots, and the shots that count toward save percentage are not quality scoring chances. Result, higher save percentage.
The NHL had a lockout for an entire year over what the Bruins are doing. The first 2 years after the lockout were great. Yes lots of penalties but penalties that should have been called. Slowly but surely especially in the playoffs the clutching, grabbing, hooking, interference has returned. It makes the product un-watchable. Yeah someone said above that "it wins" that is true but it doesn't grow the game and it surely isn't following the "rules" that are apparently set. The league is all but back to sludge garage league status in what should be the showcase of how awesome hockey is. Instead the playoffs are about "letting them play" and "subtle interference" and "stifling defense" even if it violates the supposed rules.
The NHL did not, have not and will never have a lockout because of penalty calls. Rule changes were a by-product of coincidental timing with the second lockout but were not at all its cause or its main point or anything of the sort...
mikey287 wrote:The NHL did not, have not and will never have a lockout because of penalty calls. Rule changes were a by-product of coincidental timing with the second lockout but were not at all its cause or its main point or anything of the sort...
If they did....
I'd be okay with it. The officiating is grossly undermining the growth and legitimacy of the game.
It could be shaped a bit certainly...but it's a hard job. Everyone is good at it when they see it at 10 different angles in slo-mo...reffing even mid-level hockey is tough...it's a fast game. This season I thought was one of the more inconsistent I've seen in my years watching the game, I'll say that much. But there's only so much you can do with it...
- You can't hire new guys (see: NFL).
- You can't review every play (see: you're an idiot...that would slow down the game to the point where it would actually be unwatchable)
- You can't use an "eye in the sky" (see: we all complain about Shanahan's calls and he sits there for a day or two and reviews it 100 times)
- You can't call everything all the time (see: 2006, everything was a PP...it was silly and it would just promote more diving)
- You can't not call anything at any time (see: well, everyone complains about it now, but this is nothing compared to how it used to be...but because "it ruins the game" or whatever)
It's easy to say "just be consistent" - you think they don't want to be? It's a freakin' hard job and it's faster than most of you could imagine. And that's just the gameplay. You have to call minute details of that gameplay at a second's notice...the game is getting faster but eyes aren't...
Slow the game down a little. And where, in part, does that start? Addressing player equipment. Sounds silly I'm sure, but let's start attacking things at a new angle...just yelling at people to do their job better can't be an effective management strategy over the long haul...
mikey287 wrote:The NHL did not, have not and will never have a lockout because of penalty calls. Rule changes were a by-product of coincidental timing with the second lockout but were not at all its cause or its main point or anything of the sort...
Are you kidding? #1 was surely no cap. #2 was making the game marketable and exciting which shocker meant new rules and enforcing current rules. 2006 was how the game is supposed to e called. Hooks aren't called anymore, free hands aren't called unless they pull someone down, even tomahawking a stick has been let go these playoffs. The product is garbage the way it's being played right now and that starts with the refs not calling it how it should be called. Of course you can't call everything and of course it's "hard" but guess what that's their jobs and it makes the game better. Instead of sticking with making the calls they decided the adjustment period was too hard and now the game is crap again. It's boring, it's not fun to watch, it might as well be Dodge Ball on Espn 8 The Ocho.
Rule changes and lockouts are not related, other than the fact that it's a good time to refresh things because you've had time to implement these potential changes at lower levels for an extended period of time. The lockout occurred because the monetary system was broken, period. It was a complete mess. Installing a salary cap on a free market league causes a lockout...hybrid icing does not...
To the rest of that, I didn't care much for 2006's officiating at all. I thought it watered down the game...too many power plays artificially inflated scoring, players could no longer battle in front of the net or in the corners and along the boards...it slowed the game down and didn't allow a good flow to be established...there wasn't enough ES time and it really disrupted the pace and tempo...of course, others might find power plays exciting and all that, and they certainly are entitled to that, but I did not prefer that method of officiating, personally...
Yeah obviously it was an adjustment for the players. If it was kept up the game would have adjusted and been better for it. Instead we have this garbage back because instead of committing to creating that faster higher scoring game the league went back to more discression, more let the boys play, and more of the old stuff that killed the product. Bruins hockey outside of those in Boston is awful and is a snooze fest.
I think this Final has been edge-of-your-seat fantastic personally. I don't find the league to be in that dire of straits...but it's certainly not perfect from a rules standpoint.
mikey287 wrote:I think this Final has been edge-of-your-seat fantastic personally. I don't find the league to be in that dire of straits...but it's certainly not perfect from a rules standpoint.
You're a hockey guy. Through and through you love the game. However the people that aren't hockey guys/people the "casual fan" although I hate that term find the current product displayed in the final to be boring and unwatchable.
Why am I seeing people bash Hossa for missing Game 3 and in the same breath, applauding Campbell for standing still for a shift with a broke leg? Why must we compare everything to everything else?
mikey287 wrote:I think this Final has been edge-of-your-seat fantastic personally. I don't find the league to be in that dire of straits...but it's certainly not perfect from a rules standpoint.
I'll admit... I hated the thought of watching this final, mostly because I was bitter, but its been great hockey end to end. I do wish that the Leagues unwillingness to penalize a guy like Chara was not so blatantly obvious, but everyone is playing top-tier hockey, without a doubt.
mikey287 wrote:It could be shaped a bit certainly...but it's a hard job. Everyone is good at it when they see it at 10 different angles in slo-mo...reffing even mid-level hockey is tough...it's a fast game. This season I thought was one of the more inconsistent I've seen in my years watching the game, I'll say that much. But there's only so much you can do with it...
- You can't hire new guys (see: NFL).
- You can't review every play (see: you're an idiot...that would slow down the game to the point where it would actually be unwatchable)
- You can't use an "eye in the sky" (see: we all complain about Shanahan's calls and he sits there for a day or two and reviews it 100 times)
- You can't call everything all the time (see: 2006, everything was a PP...it was silly and it would just promote more diving)
- You can't not call anything at any time (see: well, everyone complains about it now, but this is nothing compared to how it used to be...but because "it ruins the game" or whatever)
It's easy to say "just be consistent" - you think they don't want to be? It's a freakin' hard job and it's faster than most of you could imagine. And that's just the gameplay. You have to call minute details of that gameplay at a second's notice...the game is getting faster but eyes aren't...
Slow the game down a little. And where, in part, does that start? Addressing player equipment. Sounds silly I'm sure, but let's start attacking things at a new angle...just yelling at people to do their job better can't be an effective management strategy over the long haul...
