
Two things I wanted to mention. 1) Hybrid icing. I have discussed icing before. To the naked eye an icing call can seem out of nowhere. This year the NHL is testing out Hybrid Icing. I will explain more later but basically hybrid icing is suppose to remove a tough check into the boards when players foot race to the puck to negate or get the icing call. On the CBC Don Cherry seemed to have his own opinion on the new rule: confused players, inconsistency with refs and a free for all during playoffs.
2) Next up the new rule: no removing helmets for a fight. Last night in Montreal, Canadien George Parros and Leaf Colton Orr duked it out a few times with their helmets on and Geroge Parros still left the ice on a stretcher. Fights happen in hockey. No matter what, the league will never eradicate them completely. Sure the NHL tries to avoid the fight with the instigator penalty, being kicked out of a game after 3 fights in a night, and now leaving helmets on. But it still doesn't mean a player won't hit the ice at an awkward angle like last night. George Parros hit his head (with his helmet still on) on the ice and was out like a light. The most interesting part for me watching was when Colton Orr realized Parros was out. He was going in for a punch realized Parros was defenceless and immediately waved over medical personal. Parros began talking to medical staff and did try to leave the ice on his own two feet with the help from teammates. Eventually he was taken off the ice on a stretcher and given a round of applause (in true sports fashion) before being taken to a nearby hospital. This is not the type of injury you ever want to see in professional sports. Any hockey fan would be happy with a couple punches, maybe a little blood, penalty and ice pack to the player's hand while serving his time in the box. Not a stretcher and hospital.
Below I have uploaded Mason Raymond's goal, a quick bit on hybrid icing and the NHL's reasoning plus an episode of Hockey Talk with Courtney where Arpad and I discuss "commonly used terms in hockey" the perfect refresher for the start of the season! Till next time keep enjoying hockey!