Once again, the NHL has tweaked the rules of play. It may be hard to keep up with the slew of changes being thrown our way lately, so here’s a little guide of what you should look for.
TV Timeouts
One of the most significant changes is TV timeouts are handled. Now, instead of a TV timeout happening after the first whistle at set times in the period, the timeout will not happen during an icing call. This is to prevent teams from abusing the TV timeout to get rest after icings.
What you’ll notice: Commercial breaks may start to bunch up, causing a broadcast that more resembles the NFL, where there’s ads after every field goal. The rule that prevents line changes after a team ices the puck will also carry more weight.
Face-offs
There are two changes to the positioning of face-offs. First, when a power play starts, the first face-off will happen in the penalized team’s defending zone. Also, if a puck is shot off of the crossbar, post, or frame of the goal, the subsequent face-off will remain in the zone where the puck went out of play.
What you’ll notice: These two rules were clearly put in place to increase and maintain offensive pressure, which is right in line with the NHL’s campaign to also increase scoring. Expect a few more scoring chances, especially on the power play.
Icing
The rush to a puck that has been iced has led to some of the diciest battles on the ice, and also some of the worst injuries. To help prevent any more players getting plowed during these races up the ice, any “unnecessary or dangerous contact could result in penalties.” What does that mean exactly? A player may only make contact with another player on an icing race to play the puck and not to eliminate his opponent.
What you’ll notice: Icing races are going to be much more subdued, and critical injuries should decline. This is one more step towards no-touch icing, whether you like it or not. But hey, at least your favorite team won’t lose a player on a silly icing call. And if that doesn’t make you happy, then you have no soul.
You can download a PDF of the latest rulebookat the NHLOA Website.