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Is Interference Making A Comeback?
by Paul on 11/02/09 at 03:33 PM ET
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from Darren Eliot of Sports Illustrated,
Speaking of justice, no one has it tougher than the NHL officials when it comes to sorting and meting it out. The game is fast. The players are big. They now cluster and bunch together like never before. Maintaining clear sightlines is harder than ever—even with two sets of eyeballs. Yet, while taking all that into consideration, it seems to me that the referees are tolerating more contact away from the puck. Defensemen are sticking and pinning players on the boards once the puck has moved a beat or two longer than was the case when the league declared the new standard of enforcement in 2005-06.
In open ice, I’ve seen more moving and subtle picks than I can ever remember. The focus on such face-off infractions seems intact, but defensemen screening off for their partners, wingers taking a route to the boards that impedes a forechecker’s progress and proximity, picks at the blueline that open up lanes for zone entry, all appear to be more prevalent. Part of it is certainly coaches and players coming up with ways to be as successful as possible now that they’ve operated under these conditions for the past four seasons. Maybe it is just part of the natural cycle whereby it is now back on the officials to adjust to the adjustments made by the teams.
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I also agree completely. Its not a egregious as it used to be, but they are letting defenders subtly shift into forecheckers skating lanes, hold players up a bit longer and set other subtle picks.
I was at the Flyers-Canes game on Saturday and sat right behind the net. Pronger in particular was very, very aware of his position to pick players and change their lines, without making contact. It was very obvious to me. Its not that its so bad right now, but I hope it doesn’t signify trend back to the clutching and grabbing game of pre-lockout.
Posted by dip on 11/02/09 at 05:35 PM ET
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I agree completely. Defensemen can steer players without pucks into the boards again, and players do a lit more than simply skating into other players’ lanes these days. The league has gone from calling obstruction penalties on a very regular basis to only calling the usual horizontal-stick fouls, and that’s a huge concern.
Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 11/02/09 at 04:10 PM ET