SEATTLE — The city of Vancouver erupted in violence after the Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals to the Boston Bruins.

Fires broke out, riots and looting spread, and hundreds were either hurt or arrested in the melee.

The Vancouver Police Department gave the Bruins a police escort to get them to the airport and back home safe.

After the game, many people were left very dissapointed in Vancouver. The city had set up giant televisions on the streets so people could watch the game outside. At the previous games, the crowds had dispersed safely and quietly, even after the games where they had lost. This wasn’t the case last night. The Canadian Broadcasting Company showed a live feed from their building in Vancouver, and some footage from their on-street reporters. The video’s showed a few interesting things. The reporters noted the fact that a lot of the rioters had face masks already so when the police started to use tear gas, its evident from the films that they just pulled them up. This makes it seem that at least some of the rioters planed for a riot when they went to the game.

The video’s showed the rioters flipping cars, and burning them, including two police cars. They also broke into multiple stores including The Hudson Bay Center, a department store, stealing bags and starting fires in the store. Looting was also reported at Future shop, Sears, and London Drugs, with people running out of stores with armfulls of products.

Police could be seen throwing teargas and concussion canisters at the crowds to get the people to move. Officers then just slowly walked forward a few feet to move the crowd along, paused and then repeated.

In 1994 the police caused problems during the Canucks’ Finals loss to New York. Police were accused of being too aggressive, and this time they might have been too lax, as they showed a lot of patience, trying not to instigate the crowd.

The Mayor of Vancouver Gregor Angus Bethune Robertson said that four fires were burning in the downtown area several hours after the game ended.

He called riot the work of a small group of troublemakers who were intent on trashing the party right from the beginging. He said it was “shameful and despicable for a world class city like Vancouver.”

He said the rioters “came down here looking for trouble, and have really turned it into a mess.”

Bradley Ouellette is the Blast West reporter for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.

Head on over to YawkeyTalkies.com for original photography and coverage of the 2010 Beanpot hockey tournament.

Media credit/Smart Decisions via Flickr

Winter is in full swing, and if you’re anything like me you’re likely counting down the days until you can head outside without looking like the Michelin Man.

However, the one thing that makes these cold months bearable (at least for me) is the abundance of winter sports. New to the area, or maybe you’re simply interested in checking out a new winter sport? Here’s a little something to get you started.

Cross Country Skiing: You’ll see people cross country skiing on the Esplanade after any major snow storm, but for more assured conditions head to the Weston Ski Track (a convenient 15 minute drive from downtown) for groomed trails, rentals and lessons. Bored after work? Give night skiing a try. Not so sure on your skis? Snowshoe rentals are also available.

Ice Skating: Opportunities abound in the city. Each winter, the Frog Pond on Boston Common is transformed into an outdoor skating rink. Billed as the city’s "coolest gathering spot" it’s open for public skating everyday and offers rentals. The Skating Club of Boston in Allston also offers public skate sessions on Saturday and Tuesday afternoons, as well as rentals and lessons. And Bay State Skating School has a number of locations, including in West Roxbury, Cleveland Circle and Southie. The Massachusetts’ Department of Recreation and Conservation also runs a number of skating rinks across the city. Go here for locations and public skate hours.

Hockey: Looking to fulfill your own Bruins fantasy? Check out the Greater Boston Hockey League for information on joining a rec team. Or check to see if your local skating rink offers a neighborhood league.

Downhill Skiing: With great skiing just a quick drive away, there’s no reason not to gather up a few friends and head north for a day or a weekend on the slopes. No car? No problem. Several companies run bus services that leave from the city. The Boston Ski and Sports Club offers day and weekend trips to some of the best spots in New England. At $79 for a bus ride and lift ticket, these trips are a veritable bargain. Also, New England Action Sports does slightly cheaper weekday trips that leave from South Station. If you’re just starting out, you might want to get a few lessons under your belt before heading to the big stuff. Consider a trip to Blue Hills Ski Area in Canton, which offers weekend and evening lessons.

Snow Tubing: Hankering to relive your childhood sledding days? Head to Nashoba Valley or Amesbury Sports Park. Whirling down groomed slopes will bring that same old rush, minus the grueling climb afterward (yes, there’s a lift to carry you up).

Rhode Island artist Brian Fox put together an incredible portrait for the NHL Winter Classic going on today at Fenway Park.

As the Flyers take on the Bruins, it’s Fox’s impeccable style and attention to detail that stands out for the art buffs here at Blast.

His portrait will be featured on the limited edition gameday program, and the original will be auctioned off to fight cancer.

Brian has painted some of the brightest stars around, including the late Jackie Robinson, Keith Richards, Michael Phelps, Johnny Depp, Ray Charles, and Mixed Martial Arts Champion Georges St-Pierre.

In a rematch of last year’s finals, the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins are slated to face off for the Stanley Cup. Last week, the NHL said the Cup finals wouldn’t begin until June 5, but the series was moved up six days, after the conference finals lasted only four and five games, respectively. The league hopes to draw in nontraditional viewers and generate excitement about the first Cup rematch in 25 years. Below is the series schedule.

Saturday, May 30: Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8 p.m.

Sunday, May 31: Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8 p.m.

Tuesday, June 2: Detroit at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m.

Thursday, June 4: Detroit at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m.

Saturday, June 6: Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8 p.m.*

Tuesday, June 9: Detroit at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m.*

Friday, June 12: Pittsburgh at Detroit, 8 p.m.*

* If necessary

Games 1 and 2 and 5-7 will be broadcast on NBC. Games 3 and 4 will be broadcast on Versus. All games will be broadcast on CBC.

With our sports editor hailing from Boston University so many years ago and our editor in chief graduating from Northeastern a bit more recently, Monday’s Beanpot championship game had special meaning for the Blast Magazine family.

Whether it had the intended result or not, Blast had a reporter at the TD Banknorth Garden and worked with two photographers, Kristyn Ulanday of the Daily Free Press, and freelancer Peter Keeling, to visualize the game as best we could.

Here are the photos in high resolution:

Reported live from the TD Banknorth Garden

Fans trickled out of the Garden. They were either elated or in the dumps — justified or mortified.

A Boston University 5-2 win over Northeastern left many frustrated that the game — pitting No. 1 versus No. 3 in the country — really wasn’t even close.

At the beginning of the third period BU, already leading, went at it hard and left the Huskies struggling to play catch up. NU’s Wade MacLeod’s seemed simply unable to take the shot after he had an opportunity, letting the puck loose causing one of several pileups at the BU goal.

BU’s David Warsofsky scored fourth goal and Colin Wilson followed about a minute later with the last nail.

Northeastern had a chance, but they were just not aggressive enough to attack and take the shots needed. The Beanpot and the pride of Beantown has been given to BU once again, with BU Sophomore Nick Bonino being named MVP.

Northeastern University students arrived pumped and fiery, chanting “BU Sucks,” but the game was the first serious letdown of perhaps the best hockey season this school’s struggling athletics program has seen in more than 10 years.

In the first period, Boston University managed to score the first goal. The Huskies fought back with a goal in the last minute of the period and have been fighting back BU’s plays since the start.

The rowdy fans got a little bit of drama early on when an official got hit in the face by a puck during the fourth minute. He was taken off the rink by paramedics.

BU played clean and fast, and the Huskies just didn’t have an answer all night. Most frustrating of all may be the fact that BU scored two shorthanded goals, topping off NU’s failure to capitalize on opportunities.

Bessie King reported from the game. Blast Magazine editor John M. Guilfoil contributed to this report with analysis.

Reporting from the TD Banknorth Garden

The players are warming up and the fans are crowding the Garden for the 57th annual Beanpot Championship.

“Execute our game plan and come up high, there’s no more pressure than any other game,” said‚ Albie O’Connell Northeastern assistant coach.

After a decisive win against Boston College, the third-ranked Huskies are ready to go for the cup. Top ranked Boston University though is ready to reclaim its title for the 29th year.

Although a Massachusetts event, this year’s game has reached nationwide‚ attention‚ because‚ Northeastern has not made it to a final in more than 20 years.

So far the expectations are high and the tension is tangible.

In tonight’s consolation game Boston College beat Harvard 4-3. For some this was a good enough prize.

“Its a little depressing that we didn’t make it and its my last year, but we’re rooting for Northeastern because there’s been such a rivalry with BU all these years,” said Keith Malado, a senior at Boston College.

Next Monday, Boston University and Northeastern will face off in the Beanpot hockey finals.

No, that isn’t a mistake. Northeastern.

The Huskies haven’t won the Beanpot since 1988, but don’t be fooled; this is a much different NU team. Last night the Huskies pulled off a 6-1 beating of Boston College, the defending national champions, when even powerhouse BU struggled against a pathetic Harvard team.

The Beanpot has been held each year since 1952 and features four Boston area college hockey teams: BC, BU, Harvard and Northeastern. The women’s hockey teams from each of the schools compete in their own Beanpot. Their qualifying rounds will take place tonight.

BU (20-5-1) is now ranked first in the nation, with Northeastern ranked third after compiling an 18-6-2 record. Seeing how they didn’t even get 18 wins through all of last season, their record is a vast improvement over their 16-18-3 finish last year. A Beanpot win would be the icing on the cake for a team that has something to prove.

The Beanpot hockey final will be held at T.D. Banknorth Garden on Feb. 9. The consolation game between BC and Harvard will be held at 5 p.m. with the final at 8 p.m.

The Flyers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals last night for the first time since 2004 with a 6-4 victory over the Canadiens in Montreal. After losing the first game of the series in OT, the Flyers rebounded by winning four straight and taking the series in five games.

After never trailing in any game of the entire series (in regulation) the Flyers found themselves behind 1-0 and 3-1 in the first and second periods. RJ Umberger erased the first deficit with his eighth goal of the playoffs (seventh of the series) at the 10:20 mark in the first period. Amazingly, Umberger scored the first Flyers’ goal in each of the five games of the series.

Montreal was able to respond right away after Umberger’s goal when Alexei Kovalev scored 1:08 later to make it 2-1. After Christopher Higgins scored his third goal of the playoffs 8:15 seconds into the second period, the Flyers faced their first two-goal deficit of the series 3-1. But again, a resilient Flyers team in a span of 2:58 were able to erase the difference and take the lead with goals from Mike Richards (4), Umberger (9), and Scott Hartnell (3) The Flyers headed to the second intermission up 4-3.

Montreal answered 2:13 into the third period when Andrei Kostitsyn tied up the game with his fifth goal of the playoffs. The period remained tied for a little more than 14 minutes with both teams having a shot to take the lead. Daniel Briere had a scoring chance on a clean breakaway, but slid the puck wide right and Canadien Guillaume Latendresse rung one off the post with under five minutes left in the third period.

Finally, with 3:04 left, Scottie Upshall redirected a Jeff Carter shot with the blade of his stick sending it past Carey Price for the game-winning goal. Mike Knuble added an empty-netter at the end giving the Flyers a 6-4 victory.

Scottie Upshall’s game-winning goal was an example of the great hand eye coordination that NHL hockey players have. I once had a friend tell me that redirecting a puck was all luck. I won’t name any names, but his name was Chad. Chad couldn’t have been more wrong. This is an amazing skill that hockey players possess. A hockey puck can be driven to the net up to and over 100 mph. I’m aware that Jeff Carter’s blast was not traveling nearly that fast, but to be able to change the direction of the puck and put it on the net is something that should be admired. There are many hockey players that have mastered this skill (San Jose’s Jonathan Cheechoo to name one) and Upshall’s goal exemplified the perfection of this art.

Upshall had this to say about his game-winner, “It was a great feeling. A tie game with three minutes left, it’s anybody’s game, it’s one shot, it’s one bounce. [Carter] made a great shot on net. I was in the lane to see the puck and I thought I could get a stick on it and redirect it, and to get a big goal like that is pretty uplifting for your spirits.”

Marty Biron didn’t have the best game of the series, but came up with huge stops in the third period and turned away 31 shots overall. Marty leads all goaltenders in the playoffs with eight wins and remains the only netminder to have played in every single minute of every game.

And how huge has RJ Umberger been for the Flyers? Umberger scored two more goals and leads the Flyers with nine playoff goals. Last night was his 26th birthday and he played like a man possessed and he clearly is playing to capture the Cup, “I’m just going to take a moment, enjoy it but stay focused. There’s plenty of time after it’s over to celebrate it and enjoy it, but right now we have one thing on our minds.”

This season for the Flyers has been an amazing turnaround. Philadelphia finished the 2006-07 season last overall in the NHL with 56 points, the lowest total in team history. They finished this year with 95 points and it even came down to the last week of the regular season before they were able to clinch a playoff spot. And now they await the winner of the Penguins/Rangers series to see who they will play in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Penguins lead the series three games to one.

Nothing is more exciting than the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If you haven’t already, jump on board.

The sky of the modern NHL shines brightly with many young stars. Players like Evgeni Malkin, Patrick Kane, Paul Stastny, Pavel Datsyuk, and Jordan Staal are some of the fresh faces that hockey fans are getting to know via highlight reel footage on their local sports news program.

Amidst all of these burgeoning studs, there’s one young player whose skill and playing style places him at the top of the pile. Just like the actual night sky has Polaris (the “North Star”), which shines more brightly than any other star, the NHL’s “sky of youthful talent” has a Polaris as well. Sit down, Sidney Crosby, I’m not referring to you. The best young player in the NHL (and best overall skater since Mario Lemieux, in my opinion) is obviously the dynamic and prolific Alexander Ovechkin.

Ovechkin was drafted 1st overall by the Washington Capitals in the 2004 entry draft, but didn’t skate in his first NHL game until the next year as the 2004-’05 NHL season got locked out. Before being drafted, Ovechkin had been projected as the 1st overall pick for two years, and was billed as the next Mario Lemieux. Out of sight and out of mind due to the locked-out season, many hockey fans, including myself, forgot all about the coveted young Russian sniper that the Caps had landed… but not for long.

After the lockout, most hockey fans were focused on the pending draft lottery that would give a lucky team the opportunity to draft another projected superstar, Sidney Crosby. Crosby had been touted as much, if not more than, Ovechkin was prior to being drafted. Canadians, easily the most devoted and knowledgeable ice hockey fans, saw “Sid the Kid” as their next Wayne Gretzky-an athlete that would dominate “their” game and restore their historic reputation as the country producing the most talented ice hockey players.

As it turned out, the Pittsburgh Penguins wound up winning the lottery to draft Crosby, which they promptly did. Two years earlier, these Penguins had chosen Evgeni Malkin, another highly touted Russian star with the second-overall pick following Washington’s selection of Ovechkin. Crosby’s ability was apparent as he jumped right into the NHL game with a great deal of fanfare and attention, and his presence, along with Malkin (who was literally smuggled out of Russia to play his first NHL season after the locked out ’04-’05 campaign), instantly returned the struggling Penguins franchise to relevance and respectability.

Over the past three seasons, as most ice hockey pundits and announcers (many of which happen to be Canadian) have drooled over and praised the play of Crosby, Ovechkin’s game and presence has been gaining momentum like a snowball rolling down a mountain slope. The son of former professional soccer player Mikhail Ovechkin and two-time Soviet basketball Olympic gold-medalist Tatyana Ovechkin, Alexander’s play, even in the sleepy market of Washington D.C., was demanding attention. He broke the record for most shots on goal by a rookie in the ’05-’06 season with 425, and set the record for points by a Russian-born NHL rookie with 106.

However, it was an unbelievable goal (since dubbed “The Goal”) scored on January 16th of the 2006-2007 season that catapulted Ovechkin into the awareness of hockey fans everywhere. Driving to the net against the Phoenix Coyotes, Ovechkin got checked to the ice in the slot. Sliding on his back across the slot, Ovechkin hooked an incredible blind shot past Coyotes keeper Brian Boucher with the blade of his stick. One of the most incredible goals in hockey history by many accounts, Ovechkin began solidifying his title as the best player in the NHL.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, there are many young players in the league with ability that is comparable to Ovechkin’s. However, none of these fresh stars-not Malkin, Kane, Staal, and especially Crosby-plays the game with the intensity and edge that Washington’s number 8 brings to the ice every shift. As with most NHL superstars, Crosby and the others are great for a clutch goal, lightning skating speed, incredible passing, and superb ice vision. Unlike the other superstars, however, you can count on Ovechkin for a huge hit, a spirited fight, and defensively responsible play.

 Sidney Crosby has built a reputation for crying to the refs after being obstructed or taking a cheap shot on a play; Alex Ovechkin has built a reputation for taking numbers and effectively handling his own business on the ice.

Although Ovechkin has Donald Brashear for protection, just as Crosby and Malkin have the fierce Georges Laraque in the Steel City, Ovechkin often protects himself with a physical, hard-nosed game seldom seen in players of his caliber. He skates like a young Eric Lindros, only Ovechkin’s offensive ability is much more dynamic than the hulking Lindros’s was.

Watching the Washington Capitals this season has provided the treat of seeing Ovechkin fly around the rink every shift he is on the ice. Every time he gets control of the puck, it seems like something magical is about to happen. He picks up a head of steam in a heartbeat, and goes coast-to-coast for scoring chances almost at will. This isn’t to indicate that Ovechkin is a glory-hounding stat hog; he often uses his status as the most dangerous player in hockey to draw the defense’s attention and thread a pass to Alexander Semin or Nicklas Backstrom for an easy tap-in goal. It’s no accident that he currently leads the league in two of the three scoring categories with 65 goals and 112 points.
Consider that for a moment… 65 goals! That’s a Washington Capitals record, boys and girls. He’s 22 years old, and it seems like his game improves exponentially with each passing season. He’s the first player to put the biscuit in the basket 60 times in an NHL season since Lemieux did it as a seasoned vet in the ’95-’96 NHL campaign! By the way, there’s two games left to play and it’s not unrealitstic to consider the possibility that this kid could get five more for an even 70.

Whether or not the upstart Capitals, who are in the playoff race after a dreadful, coach-firing start to this season, make the post-season this year, Alex Ovechkin should easily be the league’s Hart Trophy winner for MVP. Some hockey pundits are penciling in Malkin as the MVP, likely due to his ability to carry the soaring Penguins to their division lead in the absence of a frequently injured Crosby (and, perhaps, also due to his proximity to “Golden Boy” Sidney Crosby), but this option is giving the award to a less valuable skater based on the performance of a team that is much more talented overall.

I’ll say it one more time…Alexander Ovechkin is the best hockey player in the NHL today. There are many excellent choices in young, talented players to follow and revere, but for me the choice is easy. I want the guy who will beat you in the stat sheet and against the boards. I want the kid that gets so excited for every goal, you’d think he never scored before. I want the player that takes over games and wills a sub-par club into the “W” column.

Give me Alexander Ovechkin any day of the week.

It’s been a rough time to be an NHL ice hockey fan since the turn of the century.

Although hockey has always been the fourth of four major sports in America in terms of popularity, the hockey-following minority has always displayed a tremendous devotion to their sport. The past decade has seen our league’s rapid (over?) expansion southward cause a lag in overall player talent, and big market General Managers’ penchant for late-season “rental” trades set a bad precedent of inflated player salaries. These two factors became major causes of the 2004-05 NHL season lock-out as the league and players’ association hammered out the current CBA.

The NHL returned after the lock-out with many adjustments made to the game — from fundamental changes in league rules and season scheduling to a fresh approach of clubs’ management under the new CBA and league salary cap. In an attempt to win back their small but rabid fan base, the league tinkered with its product to bring us a “new and improved” NHL. With the trade deadline recently passed, and the league entering the final run to the playoffs, it seems like an ideal time to reflect on this “new” NHL and consider which adjustments to the game are winning with fans and which have not gone over so well.

The elimination of the two-line pass infraction/ the return of delayed (tag-up) offsides:

These changes, like most of the adjustments, were made by the NHL to open up the game for faster, more offensive play. In my opinion, both of these rule changes (which had been in discussion long before the locked out 04-05 NHL season) have been very good for hockey.

Elimination of the two-line pass allows teams the option of hanging a sniper in the neutral zone and trying to send him on a breakaway with a long pass out of the defensive zone. Just as intended, the result has been more breakaways and odd-man rushes (hence, fast-paced offense). Teams run a risk by gunning for cherry-pickers with these long passes-if the pass is intercepted, they’re trapped and outnumbered in the defensive zone. When the pass does connect, it gives the trailing team great opportunities to get back into the game.

The return of delayed offside calls has also helped improve the game’s flow and speed as intended. For non-hockey fans, delayed offside means that if an attacking team has a man in the offensive zone when the puck gets sent in (a man “offside”), the attacking player(s) who is offside has a chance to vacate the zone before play is stopped for the infraction.

Before the return of delayed offside, the play was whistled dead as soon as the puck crossed into the zone when an attacking player was offside. The result is less whistles and more opportunity to salvage a broken or mistimed play. Less whistles is a great thing for fans; we call ice hockey the fastest game on two feet for a reason, and non-stop action is something unique hockey holds against the other three “major” team sports.

Football fundamentally has a constant start/stop/start pace. Baseball, as we all know, doesn’t exactly overwhelm viewers with action (it’s a slow game that relies on nuances, situations and brief bursts of athleticism). Pro basketball, while smoother and faster than both football and baseball, has the constraint of the shot clock, and almost as many rules and regular stoppages as a JV high school field hockey game. Also, I have to mention that the NBA and its product are terrible.

Teams called for Icing can’t change lines:

This rule was a real winner that effectively caused the intended result of more offense and more scoring. Back when, if your team was trapped in the defensive zone and getting peppered, all you had to do was get puck control long enough to ice the puck to the other end of the rink. When the icing was whistled, you made a line change, got fresh legs and regained composure to stop the offensive assault.

Now, when defensive teams ice the puck, the same five players have to stay out for the defensive zone draw. If you’ve ever played an organized game of ice hockey, you know how tired you become 45 seconds into a shift. When you’re trapped in your own end, scrambling to fight off an assault, you get even more tired. Icing is no longer the easy way out of this situation, and dogged skaters getting lit up after an icing has greatly boosted offensive hockey.

Changes to the rink/ rules restricting puck-handling by the goaltender:

These related changes have had a very understated impact on the new NHL product. First, let’s look at the often overlooked adjustment to the spacing of the three zones and goaltending area on the hockey rink. The NHL made a subtle change by slightly decreasing the neutral zone (simultaneously expanding the offensive zones). That’s four additional feet in each offensive zone-slight enough to be overlooked glancing at the rink but more than enough space to impact play.

Teams have more room to work the puck on the powerplay and create offense. It’s also four less feet in the neutral zone to get trapped in and a shorter distance to overcome when attempting to get a puck deep or on net. This slight adjustment has seen a positive result in play with faster breakouts and more sustained offensive assaults.

In addition to changing the zones, the league also trimmed the goaltending crease and placed a goofy trapezoid behind the net to restrict goaltenders from handling the puck and slowing down play. A smaller crease means less cheesy goaltender interference calls and (thankfully) fewer calls to the “war room” in Toronto on “blue-collar goals” scored in front of the net.

Hockey needed this badly. Before the lockout you couldn’t sneeze near the keeper’s big blue crease and have a legitimate goal stand.

The inclusion of the trapezoid (keepers who touch the puck outside of the trapezoid get a penalty for delay of game) was, in my opinion, an unnecessary and silly move. Starting with Ron Hextall, the goaltender has evolved into a 3rd defenseman who can retrieve a hard dump and send it to a teammate for a breakout. What’s so bad about that? If you don’t like it, then dump it in softer and use a little touch! The most bothersome part of this rule to me is that the intended result could have been accomplished without the trapezoid rule by simply making ‘keepers “fair game” outside of the crease.

That’s how it was in the days of ‘Old Time Hockey’ and that’s how it should be now. All this “protect the goaltender” junk … protect him from what? He’s protected with equipment, literally, from head to toe! If Martin Brodeur, the best puck handling (and overall) keeper in the game, knew that he could get legally trucked by a big winger in the corner or behind the net, he wouldn’t handle a dump-in unless he was sure he had plenty of time. ‘Problem’ solved! Also, c’mon… a trapezoid? Couldn’t it be a rectangle? It looks stupid painted on the ice, but again, the more important point is that this rule was not necessary.

The Shootout as a tie-breaker after the five-minute Overtime Period:

This new format to decide tied games had been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. The breakaway in ice hockey has often been called the most exciting play in all of sports, and rightfully so. The move by the league to use a breakaway shootout after the 4-on-4, five-minute overtime period was instilled to be both a gift to fans of the NHL as well as an answer to casual hockey fans who couldn’t accept that there were “so many tied regular season games.”

Now that the breakaway has become part of the NHL game, I would advise my boyhood self to be careful of what he wishes for. Although these breakaways are still very entertaining and beautiful (that’s right, beautiful) displays of pro hockey ability, the new frequency of the shootouts has killed much of the excitement in ‘the most exciting play in sports.’

Those rare mid-game breakaway penalty calls don’t seem as important and exhilarating as they used to, and it’s very frustrating to watch your team lose the extra point in a shootout loss when they had dominated, yet not come out on top of the regulation play.

Side Note: Did I mention that I root for the Flyers? I have ten bucks that says a handicapped 13-year old girl can deke Martin Biron out of his jock and score on a breakaway nine out of ten tries!

The crackdown on interference calls by refs:

A strange adjustment, the “new” NHL ordered its officials to re-interpret the interference and hooking calls in a much stricter fashion. This very subjective shift has had a dramatic change on the style of the game, and, although it has surely resulted in more speed, power plays and overall offense, I’m not certain that the change has been a total success. Basically, instructing refs to be more stringent in calling the same rule that had always existed has created some confusion and inconsistency on both the players’ and refs’ parts.

For one, players who had been trained all of their lives to slightly (and, before the change in interpretation, legally) hinder puck-carriers using their sticks have had to re-teach themselves how to play solid defense without putting their team in a shorthanded situation. Secondly, the refs’ obligation to crack down on these infractions has spurred them to call many “ticky-tack” penalties. No longer free to call what they professionally deem to be illegal interference or hooking, refs call everything that might be illegal interference based on the stick position of the defender and the posture of the puck carrier.

While this plan to eliminate the obstruction slowing down the game was a good one in theory, but the execution has ultimately forced refs to frequently blow the whistle on quality defensive hockey. Worse yet, it has influenced puck-carriers to actively draw cheesy calls by pinning defenders’ sticks under their arms and taking dives like European soccer players.

The new CBA salary cap:

As a Philadelphia Flyers fan, the new salary cap of the NHL was billed to hurt my team, as well as deep-pocketed, free-spending hockey markets such as Toronto, Detroit, New York, etc.

Needless to say, when the Flyers suffered their worst season in club history last year, it was at least partially a result of the ownership’s new inability to purchase the missing pieces of talent as they had in the past. Despite my team’s recent struggles, I’m really excited to see the parity that currently exists in today’s NHL. Teams are forced to build their rosters from within and through the draft. Teams that could never afford to pluck high-priced, big-name free agents at the deadline for a boost toward the Cup are now on a level playing field with the Red Wings, Rangers, and Flyers.

Best yet, with the cap in place and the talent spread around the league, teams are not running away from the pack and others are not falling into irrelevance come playoff time. In conjunction with the schedule adjustments, this means that all 82 regular season games count more than ever. It also means that the St. Louis Blues and L.A. Kings of the world could, just maybe, spank the hell out of Ottawa on any given night.

The new NHL schedule loaded with Division match-ups:

The NHL’s decision to alter the regular season schedule to create more divisional matchups was a brilliant move. Teams now face their closest rivals eight times in the regular season, and this format has revved up the many bitter rivalries that already existed throughout the league.

With all of these divisional games, as well as the parity-inducing salary cap, the very best teams don’t miss out on the playoffs because they meet their rivals in an unfortunate part of the season (perhaps during a month in which key players were hurt).

If your squad belongs in the playoffs, you’ve got plenty of division games sprinkled throughout your regular season to prove it. Match-ups such as “Detroit vs. Colorado” or “Philadelphia vs. New Jersey” that bring out the best in player competition, fan involvement and regional relevancy are allowed to cook up throughout the year, and their direct effect on playoff qualification only heats things up further.

The fighting Instigator Rule:

Okay, NHL, you’re now entering the “no-fly” zone. It’s no secret that the sport of hockey has been frequently criticized for allowing fistfights to remain as part of the game. Criticism is fine and good-how else are Mr. and Mrs. Worrisome going to fill the hours they could spend actually raising little Johnny Worrisome? The fact is that fighting has always been a part of the game, and will (should) always remain as such.

There’s no competition like ice hockey, as anyone who’s played the game will tell you. Tempers flair, cheap shots are taken and talented skaters are always in the crosshairs of the opposition. For that reason, every team keeps at least one “goon” on the roster. The opposition has to know that there’s a rabid, monstrous, son-of-a-lumberjack from Western Canada that’s willing and able to put a public whooping on anyone that steps over the line. Players often police themselves by dropping the gloves, and they always have.

However, the new NHL has instilled an instigator rule stating that any player “instigating” (another subjective crackdown) a scrap in the final five minutes of a game gets a one-game suspension. The coach of the suspended player gets fined $10,000. Worst of all, the suspension and fine get doubled for each additional instigator call throughout the season. So what’s the big deal? Players can still scrap in the preceding 55 minutes of the game, right? Sure they can, and they often do. However, when there’s 10 minutes left in the third, what’s to stop someone from getting dirty on a star player in an attempt to injure him?

Chances are Knuckles McGoonman won’t be on the ice at the same time as the dirty player between then and the 5:00 mark. Hockey fans can attest to the
noticeable rise in head injuries or cheap shot injuries that have occurred throughout the league recently, and gradual attempts to cut out fighting (such as this rule) are a major factor. Players don’t have respect for one another anymore, and, if fighting ever gets completely eliminated, they won’t have to. I consider this rule to be the first step on the slippery slope to get fighting out of the game.

That’s very bad for hockey, and the league should consider its longtime, passionate fans before catering to a market that doesn’t exist and (thanks to the league’s pitiful television contract) likely never will. I’ve rolled with the phantom interference calls and I’m living with that stupid trapezoid, but-mark my words, NHL-if you keep prodding to cut out the fights, we’re over. I’ll watch my local NBA take six steps and dunk 30 times a night, thank you very much.

As you can see, I have a very mixed take on the many changes made by the NHL in an attempt to win back fans and create new ones.

Some of these changes (elimination of the 2-line pass/ no defensive changes after icing/the glorious new schedule) were long overdue. Others (the flipping trapezoid/the shootout/the instigator rule) are unnecessary and sometimes harmful to the product we hockey fans love so dearly.

In my case, I take the good with the bad and continue to tune in and watch every second of NHL ice hockey I can get my eyes on. I hope the people that control the league remember to value the opinions of their longtime fans over the potential new fans they are vainly trying win over.

Hockey fans fall in love with the game at a young age, and remain faithful to it forever (kind of like high school sweethearts celebrating a 50 year anniversary). Like I mentioned before, we hockey folk are a passionate and loyal breed, and I hope the league doesn’t seek any additional, unnecessary “fixes” for a game that was never really (aside from the financial and business side of the sport) broken.

Oh well … should they continue to tinker and wind up destroying the professional version of my favorite sport, I’ve always got the NBA.