Just about everybody who sits near me in section 403 has heard the rant. I blurt it reflexively every time I see the a puck loft over the glass from the defensive end.
I hate that stupid "delay of game" penalty.
I can't stand compulsory penalties in general (so you can pretty much guess where you can shove your trapezoid). There always used to be a thing known as "point of emphasis" by which teams could be put on notice that enforcement of certain elements of the rule book would be heightened or more closely scrutinized. Why isn't this approach used in delay of game?
Frankly, I've seen it botched too many times to forgive the mandatory nature of this call. Besides that, only about 10% of the delay calls actually have any merit. With pucks rolling, skittering, and bouncing the way they do, it's inevitable that some pucks will come off the blade in unintended ways. This, regrettably, only results in power plays and momentum shifts which get sprinkled randomly throughout games.
Just ask Alex Ovechkin.
There he sat in the penalty box, helplessly, as the zebras inverted the momentum. It makes me nuts.
You could just see the vengeance in his game when he got back on the ice. If it takes a zebra to take away momentum, it only takes a rabid phenom of a hockey player to steal it back.
Not a pretty win.... aw hell. They're all pretty.
1 comment:
It's easily the most frustrating penalty as a fan to watch a team get hit with. Get rid of it NHL.
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