dave Hodge is an idiot

[Rabbit151]

The problem with the NHL refs is when you allow them to use their discretion. If you open up the door for the refs to decide whether or not a player meant to shoot a puck over the boards, you may as well forget all about seeing that penalty ever called again.

 

The ref isn't there to interpret the rules, he's there to enforce them. If the NHL doesn't like a rule, change it in the off-season.

 

Refs "discretion" is what led to the garbage the league became in the 90's when slowly but surely a body check went from body check to hit and hold to hit, hold and tackle. You never ever saw a penalty. Go back and watch the Sabres Stars Cup Final. It was tackling, holding, mugging, hooking. After a check, it was legal to pin a guy against the boards for up to 15 seconds.

 

 

Dave Hodge, you want to know what the worst nightmare is in a Cup Final? Hint: It's not a penalty for shooting the puck over the boards. How bout this for a nightmare. It's OT on home ice and the visiting team scores a goal that has been illegal all year long, to win the cup. The refs "interpret" it to be a good goal, then the league changes the rule in a hidden memo to cover it's ass. There's your nightmare - oh wait, that really happened, didn't it.

 

 

LEAVE THE DAMN RULES ALONE HODGE AND ALL YOU OLD CRONIES. DON'T TALK ABOUT THEM, DON'T THINK ABOUT THEM, UNTIL THE OFFSEASON.

[Tom L.]

The problem with the NHL refs is when you allow them to use their discretion. If you open up the door for the refs to decide whether or not a player meant to shoot a puck over the boards, you may as well forget all about seeing that penalty ever called again.

 

The best part of his stupid rant was him convieniently forgetting that Sabres fans care because a playoff series was decided by an intentional putting of the puck into the stands to stop play.... 1992 Kasparaitis blatantly puts the puck in the stands... no call.... on the ensuing faceoff the puck lands on Mario's stick and they tie the game.

 

If that was called, the faceoff would have been out of the zone and the clock would have run out. Pens bumped off and the Sabres moving on to the Conference Finals.

 

The players do what they train. It's obvious to me that defensemen have trained themselves to lazily play the puck over the glass as opposed to making the harder play with the puck. Laziness should not be rewarded by the rules. The cheap icings to relieve pressure are a thing of the past, so too, should lazy puck clears.

 

Ta,

[Saber61]

LEAVE THE DAMN RULES ALONE HODGE AND ALL YOU OLD CRONIES. DON'T TALK ABOUT THEM, DON'T THINK ABOUT THEM, UNTIL THE OFFSEASON.

 

i agree rabbit... soon one day young people like me will rule the world... because when someone whos old and says they know better try to tell me what to do i tell them " thats ok because guess what... you'll be dead in 5-10 years and ill still be here running the show that you previously did..." People like dave hodge should be arrested... his humour is lackluster and his opinion is stupid... wait... arrested no... shot dead yes! :lol:

[Rabbit151]

That may be a bit harsh. Just a bit.

 

Can't we just get him interested in bingo?

 

 

By the way, does anyone else out there worry that slowly, slowly, the old NHL rules are creeping in just in time for the play-offs?

 

Maybe it doesn't matter anyway. I have to admit, my optimism for the Sabres chances has taken a big hit during this dry spell.

I look at our goalies and then I see Brodeur steal a game for Jersey last night and I wonder what chance do we have without elite caliber goaltending. That Jersey defense is no better than what we put on the ice. It's all about the goalie.

[scottnc]

By the way, does anyone else out there worry that slowly, slowly, the old NHL rules are creeping in just in time for the play-offs?

 

I have noticed this to an extent, but to me it's more inconsistency in the calls. It seems they'll call a game tight for a period or two, and then start to let everything go. I have also noticed differences in different officials. One thing I definitely don't want to start seeing is refs swallowing the whistle late in the third or overtime. A penalty is a penalty no matter when it occurs.

[Tom L.]

I have noticed this to an extent, but to me it's more inconsistency in the calls. It seems they'll call a game tight for a period or two, and then start to let everything go. I have also noticed differences in different officials. One thing I definitely don't want to start seeing is refs swallowing the whistle late in the third or overtime. A penalty is a penalty no matter when it occurs.

 

I was just watching the first period of CGY and COL, Bill McCreary and Blaine Angus. 3 power plays given... all by Angus. Multiple hooks, holds (a blatant one by Lombardi without his stick), and picks...does McCreary find his whistle? No.

 

He'll call everything in the 2nd and nothing in the 3rd.... he's been calling games that way for years... nothing's changed. This game is 'too important' for the Rulebook to matter.

 

Someone should rip that mustache off his face.....

 

Ta,

[PASabreFan]

The best part of his stupid rant was him convieniently forgetting that Sabres fans care because a playoff series was decided by an intentional putting of the puck into the stands to stop play.... 1992 Kasparaitis blatantly puts the puck in the stands... no call.... on the ensuing faceoff the puck lands on Mario's stick and they tie the game.

 

If that was called, the faceoff would have been out of the zone and the clock would have run out. Pens bumped off and the Sabres moving on to the Conference Finals.

 

That infamous incident was in 2001, and it was late in the third period of a tied Game 7 in Buffalo. Lemieux tied Game 6 in Pittsburgh late in the third.

[Taro T]

The problem with the NHL refs is when you allow them to use their discretion. If you open up the door for the refs to decide whether or not a player meant to shoot a puck over the boards, you may as well forget all about seeing that penalty ever called again.

 

The ref isn't there to interpret the rules, he's there to enforce them. If the NHL doesn't like a rule, change it in the off-season.

 

Refs "discretion" is what led to the garbage the league became in the 90's when slowly but surely a body check went from body check to hit and hold to hit, hold and tackle. You never ever saw a penalty. Go back and watch the Sabres Stars Cup Final. It was tackling, holding, mugging, hooking. After a check, it was legal to pin a guy against the boards for up to 15 seconds.

Dave Hodge, you want to know what the worst nightmare is in a Cup Final? Hint: It's not a penalty for shooting the puck over the boards. How bout this for a nightmare. It's OT on home ice and the visiting team scores a goal that has been illegal all year long, to win the cup. The refs "interpret" it to be a good goal, then the league changes the rule in a hidden memo to cover it's ass. There's your nightmare - oh wait, that really happened, didn't it.

LEAVE THE DAMN RULES ALONE HODGE AND ALL YOU OLD CRONIES. DON'T TALK ABOUT THEM, DON'T THINK ABOUT THEM, UNTIL THE OFFSEASON.

The refs did no interpreting on that play. The LEAGUE OFFICIALS upstairs did the interpreting, even though the RULEBOOK CLEARLY STATED that the REFEREES would make the final decision. Sorry, that one still ticks me off.

 

That infamous incident was in 2001, and it was late in the third period of a tied Game 7 in Buffalo. Lemieux tied Game 6 in Pittsburgh late in the third.

I would have given the SOB 4 minutes for that one. (2 for placing his hand around the puck and 2 for intentional delay of game. Doing something that stupid is worthy of more than just 1 minor penalty, IMHO.) The IDIOT Koharski (yeah, that is kind of redundant) not only didn't give him a penalty, he went over to him and told him that if he did it again he'd get a penalty. WTF?!?!?

 

PS for Tom, your version was much more dramatic. :blink:

[Rabbit151]

Have you noticed all the low scoring games lately? It seems there are more shut-outs and 1 goal games popping up, especially in games with play-off implications for both teams.

 

Some will say the defenses are playing better. How can that be? Did sluggish defencemen suddenly get fast enough to keep up with speedy forwards? Or could it be that our old friend, the clutch and grab is awakening from it's winter slumber.

[Taro T]

Have you noticed all the low scoring games lately? It seems there are more shut-outs and 1 goal games popping up, especially in games with play-off implications for both teams.

 

Some will say the defenses are playing better. How can that be? Did sluggish defencemen suddenly get fast enough to keep up with speedy forwards? Or could it be that our old friend, the clutch and grab is awakening from it's winter slumber.

I am not stating that the league isn't backing away from the obstruction crackdown, as I haven't been able to watch nearly as much hockey in the past month as I had earlier in the season so I simply can't make an objective observation on it, but the defenses CAN play better as the season goes on via a few mechanisms.

 

In the "new" NHL a defenseman can get into favorable position on a forward and does not have to relinquish it simply because the forward wants to be where the D-man is. While getting a positional advantage without removing a hand from his stick to "wrap up" a forward is new to almost all NHL defensemen, as it pretty much goes against what they have been taught for a long time, it is also something that they can learn how to do and have learned how to do. Some, like McKee, picked up the technique very early in the season; some like Boynton are too dumb to figure out that they can't grab or cross check opponents; but most fell into the middle of the spectrum and have figured out how to do it 6 months after they had to start doing it.

 

Another reason for an increase in shutouts and 1 goal games is (most) goalies are now comfortable with their new reduced sized equipment. There was definitely an adjustment period for the goalies who had to alter their motions, ever so slightly, to stop pucks that had previously been blocked that now were just out of reach of their pads. Also, some teams have gone from early season sieves (Theodore) to guys that seem to know what they are doing (Huet).

 

Finally, several players that are too slow for the NHL (Dan McGillis is one example, there are several others) that used to make a very good living by hooking and holding and were in the league at the start of the season, are now in the AHL or retired. They have, for the most part been replaced by guys who are better suited for the "new" NHL.

 

While I am concerned with the possibility of obstruction rearing its ugly head (and the THN article on the NHL "war room" does nothing to dispell the concern), I think it is more of a ref by ref thing as it has been all season. (Note, that is purely speculation on my part. As stated previously, I haven't seen enough hockey since the break to state definitively whether obstruction is coming back or not.)

[Tom L.]

That infamous incident was in 2001, and it was late in the third period of a tied Game 7 in Buffalo. Lemieux tied Game 6 in Pittsburgh late in the third.

 

Sorry for that. Memory's a fallible thing. :blush:

 

Still the actual point stands, that Kaspar's intentional throwing the puck out of the stands materially affected the outcome of a playoff game b/c it was left to the official's judgement.

 

Ta,

 

 

 

{good stuff about defensemen improving snipped}

 

Another reason for an increase in shutouts and 1 goal games is (most) goalies are now comfortable with their new reduced sized equipment. There was definitely an adjustment period for the goalies who had to alter their motions, ever so slightly, to stop pucks that had previously been blocked that now were just out of reach of their pads. Also, some teams have gone from early season sieves (Theodore) to guys that seem to know what they are doing (Huet).

 

 

Dont' forget as well the changed shooting angles with the much differently shaped offensive zone that the goalies (and penalty kills) had to get used to. That had a effect as well. Some oalies adjusted early, some never have.

 

Ta,

 

 

 

PS for Tom, your version was much more dramatic. :blink:

 

 

Yah... I thought so.... I think I'll keep remembering it that way. Makes a better story. Then again, I'm still trying to figure out how Mario scored that goal and how Koharski still has a job.

 

Ta,