Teach me how to watch hockey.

[Kontradiction]

Okay, so I'm growing pretty tired of the refs playing such a huge role in the NBA playoffs and will probably abandon the sport until changes are made or Stern is gone. As such, I've began to watch hockey. I've watched both games of the Blackhawks/Kings series and both games of the Bruins/Pens series. I never grew up watching hockey although a huge portion of my family lived and died by the Bruins in the football offseason. As a new hockey fan and someone that has just started watching, teach me the game. A few questions...

1. Besides highsticking and cross-checking, what are the common penalties?

2. What is an icing?

3. What are the positions and their roles? I think I know the defenseman is the enforcer type that isn't known for his offense, is this correct? What are the other positions?

4. After the Bruins won last night, the annoucners spouted off numbers like "winning 90-something to 80-something (paraphrased)". Granted I was about to go to sleep and maybe I heard something, but if I didn't, what did that mean?

5. How is Jaromir Jagr still playing at a high level?

6. Why is Crosby so soft?

 

[PatsSox363804]

Okay, so I'm growing pretty tired of the refs playing such a huge role in the NBA playoffs and will probably abandon the sport until changes are made or Stern is gone. As such, I've began to watch hockey. I've watched both games of the Blackhawks/Kings series and both games of the Bruins/Pens series. I never grew up watching hockey although a huge portion of my family lived and died by the Bruins in the football offseason. As a new hockey fan and someone that has just started watching, teach me the game. A few questions...

1. Besides highsticking and cross-checking, what are the common penalties?

2. What is an icing?

3. What are the positions and their roles? I think I know the defenseman is the enforcer type that isn't known for his offense, is this correct? What are the other positions?

4. After the Bruins won last night, the annoucners spouted off numbers like "winning 90-something to 80-something (paraphrased)". Granted I was about to go to sleep and maybe I heard something, but if I didn't, what did that mean?

5. How is Jaromir Jagr still playing at a high level?

6. Why is Crosby so soft?

1) hooking is called a lot, that's when your stick is parallel with the ice and impeding an opposing player. Holding is another one, that's pretty self explanatory. Slashing is called when you hit someone with your stick or break someone else's with yours.

2) when you're on the defensive side of the red line and shoot it all the way down the ice and te opposing team touches it first.

3) forwards are the left and right wings and centers. Generally the center had more defensive responsibility and collapses near the net to defend while the wingers are near the boards waiting to break out. Defenseman aren't "enforcers" per se they just always collapse down in front of their goalie and play near the blue line (the point) in the offensive zone. "Enforcers" are generally 3rd and 4th line wingers who can fight.

4) not sure what you're referring to

5) he's a first ballot hall of famer but that isn't nearly as good as he was in the 90s. He was a monster back then

6) he's an entitled douchebag

 

[signbabybrady]

1. Besides highsticking and cross-checking, what are the common penalties?

Other common penalties include:

Interference - impeding a players ability to play the puck before they have possesion either with a check or just cutting off their path.

Roughing - physical play that crosses the line. hits to the head and checks on players without possesion are the most common.

Tripping - Speaks for itself

Goalie interference - cant hit the goalie


2. What is an icing?

This prevents the defense from just slapping the puck the length of the ice to get it out of their zone and is legal during a penalty kill.

3. What are the positions and their roles? I think I know the defenseman is the enforcer type that isn't known for his offense, is this correct? What are the other positions?

Center plays the middle of the ice and has responsibilities on both sides of the ice offense and defense.

Wingers - play the left and right side of the ice and are primarily offensive players though all guys have responsibilities on both sides of the ice.

defense - I wouldnt necessarily call them enforcers though it is a large part of the job especially in the corners and in front of the net. Like in any other sport their job is to prevent the other team from scoring.

Goalie - speaks for itself protects the net.

4. After the Bruins won last night, the annoucners spouted off numbers like "winning 90-something to 80-something (paraphrased)". Granted I was about to go to sleep and maybe I heard something, but if I didn't, what did that mean?

I am not sure what exactly was said so tough to answer here.

5. How is Jaromir Jagr still playing at a high level?

Like in any sport experience can be very valuable and in his particular case he has a lot of skill in small spaces that allow him to keep the puck and create chances for his teamates. Think about the steal last night that set up the win while anything can happen even with a young kid that type of steal is something that is easy to equate to his years of knowledge and skill in small spaces.

In general the game is played on a small enough rink that it is not all about skill and speed. Olympic Hockey is played on bigger ice and I think the smaller rinks allow players to regularly play into the 40s. It really is pretty common in Hockey.

6. Why is Crosby so soft?
For starters he is a skill player kinda like comparing a Corner to Spikes or something. But also he has had several serious concussions that no doubt has made him even softer.

Hockey IMO is by far the second best sport to Football and I actually like playing it as kid much more than football but I love watching football more.

Hope this helps.

 

[The Brandon Five]

4. After the Bruins won last night, the annoucners spouted off numbers like "winning 90-something to 80-something (paraphrased)". Granted I was about to go to sleep and maybe I heard something, but if I didn't, what did that mean?

I think that was referring to faceoffs won by Bergeron. That trend ended last night.

 

[Kid~Brady]

This game was classic last night. I stayed up the whole time knowing I had to be up and at the office at 6AM.

 

[signbabybrady]

This game was classic last night. I stayed up the whole time knowing I had to be up and at the office at 6AM.

I couldnt blink not sure how anyone could have gone to sleep.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

you will be glad to make the switch. I never made a switch..always watched the Bs since i was younger. Always watched the Cs as well but the NBA is absolutely rigged.


Jagr is nothing like he use to be. But where he is still great is his puck control and knowing where everyone is on the ice. He is the major reason why they got that goal last night

 

[fair catch fryar]

No one can answer your questions about the rules better than Denis Lemieux:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyazTXDqiZw


In all seriousness, welcome aboard! Once you're in, you'll never go back and these are good years for the B's. Everyone else pretty much answered your questions, but one thing you should try to do while watching is to focus solely on the movement of the puck(assuming you have HD) and everything else pretty much falls into place. Things like how the positioning of players changes as the puck moves out of the zones and what roles and strategies come into play for different situations like the power play and penalty kill units and so forth. Go B's.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

1. Besides highsticking and cross-checking, what are the common penalties?
Interference (away from the puck, impeding a player by with a leg or a shoulder)
Tripping (stick hooks the skates/ankles and player falls to the ice)
Too many men on the ice (maybe during a shift change, player leaving the ice impedes another player or is inadvertently involved in a play)
A Minor penalty is 2 minutes. Some minor penalties causing blood go to a major penalty. it is 5 minutes for a major penalty and with a major penalty, the penalty is not over when a goal is scored (unlike a minor)


2. What is an icing?
A player on his own half of the ice (red line is the rink's middle line) sends the puck untouched all the way past the opposite team's goal line (the line that goes from side to side along the edge of a team's goal). Essentially they have sent it to the end of the ice (or just about). However if his own team touches it first it is not icing. Also, refs will call off icing for various reasons. Note, when a team is down a player due to a penalty, that team can "ice" the puck without it being called (to aid in killing the penalty).

3. What are the positions and their roles? I think I know the defenseman is the enforcer type that isn't known for his offense, is this correct? What are the other positions?
(Generally speaking) Defensemen, when their team is in the opposing team's zone play away from the goal/closer to the blueline. Wingers and the center play more to the forward corners/side/front of the goal/ behind the goal. It's a bit more complicated but that and as action happens things can switch up some......but that is the general idea.
Also, teams generally have 4 lines of players with, obviously, the #1 line their best (or theoretically their best). Lines/platers are subistuated as the line/player are tiring/have been out there too long/matchup against another line/better line is ready to come in/strategy. Changing lines is done during stopages (unless not allowed by rule like when you ice the puck) and teams will dump the puck into the opposition's end sometimes just to make a line change (or other things to give the team enough space/time to make a line change). It is believed that the Bruins have a superior #4 line and this has been helping their playoff success.


5. How is Jaromir Jagr still playing at a high level?
Some would argue he isn't. Ray Bourque was another guy who played until a ripe age. Conditioning, heart, genetics/injuries weren't too numerous is the likely reasons some guys can play until/after 40.

6. Why is Crosby so soft?
He suffers from being a punk

For stats, some numbers that have importance: Penalty minutes/power play opportunities. The number of goals scored on the Power Play compared to the total number of power play opportunities. The number of Power Plays killed compared to how many goals you allowed the other team to score on their power play opportunities. Number of face offs won compared to the total number of faceoffs (something the Bruins have been good at). +/- (for the total time a player was on the ice, how many goals did his team score minus how many were scored against his team. Obviously a negative number is bad).

Hockey is often about that individual battle. The ability to wrestle the puck away and/or simply create space from the defender(s) which allows the chance for a unmolested shot or for teammates to setup for a scoring chance and you can feed/pass them the puck. Crisp passing so that the receiver of the pass can receive in stride or shoot as a one timer is obviously important tpp. Punishing hits to make the other team just plain suffer and throw them off their game. Trying to keep the offensive pressure up by keeping it in their zone and keep the scoring chance possibilities alive. Blocking shots before they even reach the goal

You probably know some of this stuff already but I figure I would help as much as I can. I hope it helped.....

 

[Tunescribe]

One thing that's not clear to me is how often line changes need to happen and whether the line "lineups" remain intact throughout a game or if there's mixing and matching of players on the fly depending on opponents, situations, etc. Does the coach make line change calls from the bench based on what he sees or do the various lines know on their own when to relieve the line in play? Do they play in a standard rotation? What's considered the average amount of actual playing time for a player?

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

One thing that's not clear to me is how often line changes need to happen and whether the line "lineups" remain intact throughout a game or if there's mixing and matching of players on the fly depending on opponents, situations, etc. Does the coach make line change calls from the bench based on what he sees or do the various lines know on their own when to relieve the line in play? Do they play in a standard rotation? What's considered the average amount of actual playing time for a player?

Sometimes coaches will throw out different lines based on who is out there for the other team...their best players, their worst ect then the coach has to decided who to match them up against.

have to change so quick becasue 2 min in..their legs are gone

 

[dryheat44]

One piece of advice I always give to hockey novices is don't try to follow the puck. Follow where the players are skating to instead.

 

[fair catch fryar]

One piece of advice I always give to hockey novices is don't try to follow the puck. Follow where the players are skating to instead.

Funny. I gave the opposite advice. My wife likes to watch hockey with me and this is how I got her to follow the game. If you can train your eyes to watch the puck then eventually you'll start understanding the positioning of players and why the whistle gets blown. Other than that you're just watching the fastest and best skaters in the world "aimlessly" zip around the ice with an occasional whistle. I guess it's all dependent on one's personal learning style.

 

[dryheat44]

Funny. I gave the opposite advice. My wife likes to watch hockey with me and this is how I got her to follow the game. If you can train your eyes to watch the puck then eventually you'll start understanding the positioning of players and why the whistle gets blown. Other than that you're just watching the fastest and best skaters in the world "aimlessly" zip around the ice with an occasional whistle. I guess it's all dependent on one's personal learning style.

That is funny. Many times newbs have trouble following the puck, and often enough the puck is not on the screen. I find that if the watcher sees where the players are skating to, one can figure out where the puck must be.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Started following this Cup (actually started w/the Penguins series a little...) the wife is a die-hard Blackhawks fan.

First game of the Cup, I finally dozed off at the end of double-overtime, had to work the next morning. I woke up in the middle of the night and she was awake too, so I asked her what happened. She said "Hawks win! Hawks win!"

This time she went down to get a sammich when the winning goal got scored.

I'm a total newb too but looked up some penalties etc. on the interwebs. Was surprised that technically icing's not one... it just "is." You have a faceoff that I gather is pretty disadvantageous, but you didn't do anything wrong.

One thing I've figured out all by my lonesome is that Tuuka Rask is special and is elevating everybody. Agreed w/the announcer that "everything red is faster than everything white" right now (first period.) Noticed that it changed as the Broons got more physical (at least it seemed to me,) acquainting the hated Blackhawks with select panes of plexiglass.

I do like that 'Hawks thing where they play "Chelsea Dagger" and light the dang place up like Saturday Night Fever on ice when they do something right.

Do we have a song? I want a song.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

zombie nation after the horns