Ice Hockey

[Ting Ho Dung]

I haven't watched in several years. Now it seems the blue lines are not spaced as far apart as they were once. Did they change the placement in recent years? If so, why? Maybe it's just the Stanley Cup graphics that are throwing me.

Also, please explain "Icing" to me. I know it has to do with clearing the puck and no one else touching it. But seems I'm missing something.

Thanks Experts!

Go Lightning.

[MCChris]

I do think the blue lines have been moved, and the center line is now out of the equation with regard to the two-line pass rule. Both moves were designed to open up the game and create more offense.

Icing is when the puck crosses two lines (the center line and a blue line, I believe, but it might be both blue lines now as well) and the other team's goal line. That is in place to penalize a team from simply dumping the puck all the way into the other team's end while at full strength.

[cynic]

The offensive zone sizes where increased (neutral zone decreased) several feet sometime in the early 90s.

[cmatthes]

Yep...right around the time they added that red "comet trail" to the puck for broadcasts.

[Sugartune]

Yep...right around the time they added that red "comet trail" to the puck for broadcasts.

That was for the American market, by the way.... "too hard to follow the puck".... Thanks FOX for underestimating your audience...wait..that shouldn't have been a surprise.

What other types of "Hockey" are out there? Do we really need to add ICE?? You do that for Field Hockey, 'cause it's not HOCKEY.

How about American Football? You call it that? I don't!

Go Hawks!

[humfree]

You're right about the blue line.. in 1998 they moved everything two feet closer to the center, including the net.

Icing occurs when an offensive player shoots the puck from behind the center line, untouched by any defensive player, and unreachable by any defensive player, across the defensive team's goal line. Referees tend to allow a little cheating now and then, but the puck must touch the center line before being shot in, in order to be onside. They also will void an icing when the referee thinks that the defensive player could have reasonably reached the puck before it crossed the goal line, and just didn't try hard enough.

Hockey for me is the easiest game to understand with the fewest rules, but it helps to watch it with someone who knows the game - after 20 questions, you'll know more than 90% of the 'fans'.

Also, I believe it was a blue comet trail or maybe that was for the west coast feed.. but as I recall, we used to call it the Smurf puck.

Peace

[Sugartune]

The FoxTrax was blue for puck movement below 70 MPH, at which point the super fast red comet trail would appear.

[BTMN]

GO BOLTS!!!!

[Michael_B]

Go Bolts.

[Ting Ho Dung]

I remember the comet trail. I thought that was just for us newbies in the South. I thought it was dumb but I played little league ice hockey for 3 years. The last 2 were Center since I scored all the goals. So I am familiar with most of the rules. Just needed the 2015 updates. I tended one lightning game in the 90's. Ended up in the sky box. That was a crazy night. Also ended up at the 98 rock studio after the game for a Children's auction to bid live for a Monster Magnet autographed guitar.

Thanks for the info. I'll watch tomorrow with a little better understanding. I guess it's been 20 years since I watched a game.

ETA: For our Canadian friend. When I watched the game Saturday on my friends 80" super high-def TV I had no problem following the puck. But then again, I do know something about the strategies since I played in my youth. But remembering back when they first started televising the games here, we watched a 19 inch RCA with bunny ears. So, with the picture snow and small size average TV, it was a bit tough to see the puck.

[MCChris]

The comet trail was indeed a rather pandering gimmick. HD TV has rendered it useless (not that it ever really wasn't).

[aknapp]

I think the two-line pass was eliminated to generate more offense. One look at Callahan's goal last night seems to justify the decision.

GO HAWKS!!

[specialk]

Yep...right around the time they added that red "comet trail" to the puck for broadcasts.

Oh. Wow.

I thought I was the only one who could see that.

Jeez.....

[BubbaVO]

GO Hawks!

[Sugartune]

Yeah, I remember when we first got bowling on TV up here. The ball was hard to see. I'm glad they added FoxTrax for that. Made the game so much easier to follow...

I kid, I kid..

[Teh]

Go Hawks!!!

[Ting Ho Dung]

Didn't they add that trail when the Lightning came on the game? At the time I was under the impression they did it for the new Florida market. I remember them reporting it on the local news that they felt the "new" game would receive a better audience if the puck wasn't so hard to see. It didn't dawn on me it was televised nationwide with the trail until you guys brought it up.

[Sugartune]

It was close. TB started in '92. Fox won NHL broadcast rights in'94.

[crunchee]

Yep...right around the time they added that red "comet trail" to the puck for broadcasts.

That was for the American market, by the way.... "too hard to follow the puck".... Thanks FOX for underestimating your audience...wait..that shouldn't have been a surprise.

What other types of "Hockey" are out there? Do we really need to add ICE?? You do that for Field Hockey, 'cause it's not HOCKEY.

How about American Football? You call it that? I don't!

Go Hawks!

I was stationed in the UK when Joe Theismann broke his leg in 1985...Channel 4 (UK) used to have their NFL 'Game of the Week' back then as kind of a weekly 'novelty' sports TV presentation, and IIRC THAT game was the one they chose that week. Interest in American Football went up considerably in the UK after that, but they also probably didn't realize right away that injuries like that didn't happen every game or every week.

[stonge]

"Icing is when da puck come down boom and no one dere. Play den stops and start again..."

[zorrow]

Ice Hockey!? WTF!? It's HOCKEY, period!

[mrjamiam]

Ice Hockey!? WTF!? It's HOCKEY, period!

As pointed out earlier, there's also field hockey. And tonsil hockey.

[BTMN]

GO BOLTS!!!!

[Ting Ho Dung]

Ice Hockey!? WTF!? It's HOCKEY, period!

We have roller hockey here as well. Or we did 10 years ago. I broke my hip. Roller blades don't slide like ice skates when you try to stop. The one and only time I played. Or roller bladed for that matter. I was wondering why everyone was wearing pads except me.

ETA: Asphalt hurts worse than ice too. You don't slide.