And none of it will help at all - from the perception of a fan of a team that has to win 2-1 games because they have a good goalie, good defense, and play the trap like crazy because they can’t score worth beans.

I don’t think fans look at league-wide trends as much as they look at what their own team is doing.  If your team is winning games 5-3, at least they ones you remember seeing, then you are happy with the scoring.

If your team is losing 2-1, then your opinion is totally different.

Not to say these are bad ideas, but don’t think that if scoring goes up league-wide it will go up for all teams and improve attendance at all venues.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 03/24/08 at 07:51 AM ET

Al’s an average writer with old ideas. Sorry, we’ve heard all these 100 times.

Posted by moore00 from Columbus, OH/Grand Rapids, MI on 03/24/08 at 08:09 AM ET

Al’s an average writer with old ideas.

My goodness, that’s kind.

I watched portions of three games on CBC on Saturday, the final scores were 7-5, 5-4, and 5-4.  Even my poor math skills indicate an average of 10 goals per game.  Geez, that’s almost approaching lacrosse averages.

Give it a rest, Al.

Posted by dash_pinched on 03/24/08 at 08:53 AM ET

Mickey and Ken were discussing goalie equipment not long ago and Mickey made the point that it was the upper-body area that needs to be addressed. He said something like, “You see these guys in their equipment and they look huge. You see them in street clothes and they’re a bunch of scrawny guys.”

It’s like those sci-fi movies where the huge alien is finally killed and they discover that inside that huge body was just a shrivelled-up shell of a being. Actually, come to think of it, some of those aliens look a lot like Dom.

Obviously the goalies need upper-body protection, but the Michelin Man outfits that some of these guys wear are ridiculous. They put the skaters in more form-fitting uniforms this year. Next year, it should be the goalies.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 03/24/08 at 09:27 AM ET

How To Increase Scoring

Play the Atlanta Thrashers.

Posted by Alan from Atlanta on 03/24/08 at 09:55 AM ET

Even my poor math skills indicate an average of 10 goals per game.  Geez, that’s almost approaching lacrosse averages.

That’s what I mean - with the high variability from one game to the next, a fan isn’t going to notice that goals per game have increased 0.12 from one season to the next - and if the team keeps losing, he isn’t going to much care, either.  The same team can win by 2-1 one game, lose 5-2 the next, and win 7-4 the next.  Depending on how the games go, the 2-1 win might be the most entertaining of the three.

There is no quick and easy, one-size-fits-all solution - no matter how hard they keep looking for a magic bullet.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 03/24/08 at 10:11 AM ET

“It’s a problem that has existed almost as long as Gary Bettman’s tenure as commissioner: There isn’t enough scoring in the National Hockey League.”

Snore. I just gotta say: reading about this topic bores me far more than any low-scoring game has ever bored me.

Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 03/24/08 at 12:03 PM ET

Snore. I just gotta say: reading about this topic bores me far more than any low-scoring game has ever bored me.

Coming from a Canuck fan, that’s really saying something!

Posted by shep from california on 03/24/08 at 12:28 PM ET

Why don’t we have the refs securely tie one of the goalie’s arms behind his back, forcing him to play with his stick hand only?

Or..

Maybe goalies are too focused. Hey, goalies have a lot of idle time during a game! Why don’t we give goalies a jigsaw puzzle and force them to have it solved by the end of the game? While in the crease. While wearing their gloves.

I seriously don’t understand why this topic keeps coming up. Hockey is exciting the way it is. Because seeing a dazzling save is 100% more fun than watching a soft goal, even if it’s your team that scores. One of the most memorable and exciting plays I ever witnessed was an impossible save Ryan Miller made on Erik Stall. Miller was so far out of the crease, he might as well have been in line at the concession stand, and he still rushed in to make the stop. And I’m a Hurricanes fan.

Posted by Mike D. from Raleigh, NC on 03/24/08 at 12:44 PM ET

1. I once thought that Al Strachan had retired and now I wish he had.

2. I have no problem with the number of goals scored. It’s the game not the goals that I like. The goals are added value.

3. If you want increased scoring, go ROLLERBALL. Six skaters and no goalies. Most goals win.

What a pile of crap. One nothing is an excellent score with both teams going all out.

Posted by Ted from Innisfil, Ontario on 03/24/08 at 01:43 PM ET

If the NHL is so preoccupied with number of points put up on the board why not just make every goal worth six points and an OT goal worth 1 to make the game look close like they do in the NFL. Look at the offensive explosion at the Super Bowl (17-14), everyone outside of New England thought the game was a classic.
In hockey that translates to 2.5 - 2 game and would be considered low scoring and therefore boring.

Wouldn’t a game that ends 2-1 be that much more exciting if it were instead 12-6? Assists are easily worth 3 points under the new system. Gretzky’s scoring records could easily shattered every season and by a defensemen no less!!  Then every shot on goal should also be multiplied by six since every save stops 6 points. Wouldn’t a 180 save night be more memorable than a mere 30 shots on goal?

Isn’t this how the attendance figures are determined around the NHL already?

Posted by Hockey1919 from Montreal on 03/24/08 at 01:54 PM ET