NHL makes rule changes for 2014-15 (2024)

FAQs

When did NHL change rules? ›

2005-06The NHL adopted a comprehensive package of rule changes that included the following: Goal line moved to 11 feet from end boards; blue lines moved to 75 feet from end boards, reducing neutral zone from 54 feet to 50 feet. Center red line eliminated for two-line passes.

The NHL adopted the trapezoid behind the goaltenders' net during the 2004-05 lockout. The trapezoid limits the goaltenders puck playing ability, by giving them a limited amount of space behind the goal line.

During the 2004–05 lockout, the league removed the "two-line offside pass" rule, which required a stoppage in play if a pass originating from inside a team's defending zone was completed on the offensive side of the center line, unless the puck crossed the line before the player.

The Gretzky rule

The rule change became known as the "Gretzky rule." The rule was reversed for the 1992–93 season.

#Islanders' Ed Westfall recalls his winning goal in Game 7 of 1975 QF round that knocked the #Penguins out, after #Pens had been up 3-0 in the series. The next 3-0 comeback didn't come until 45 years later. The Flyers shocked the Bruins with four straight wins and eventually made their way to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Rule 42 of the NHL rulebook dictates that charging "shall mean the actions of a player or goalkeeper who, as a result of distance traveled, shall violently check an opponent in any manner.

'Six and Seven Hole': the six and seven holes are relatively new terms to identify the areas under either armpit of the goalie. Goaltenders who hold their trapper high or blocker further out to the side of their body are said to have six and seven holes.

In ice hockey, butterfly style is a technique of goaltending distinguished by the goaltender guarding the lower part of the net by dropping to the knees to block attempts to score. The butterfly style derives its name from the resemblance of the spread goal pads and hands to a butterfly's wings.

Rats and Panthers started going together in 1995-96. That was when a player saw a live one in the locker room and took care of it with his stick. With the Panthers going on to the Stanley Cup Finals that season, the rat became the symbol of success. Fans tossed them on the ice after goals and victories.

It hasn't happened since 1936, but a reminder that if an NHL game goes to a sixth overtime, they drop...the second puck.

Can a goalie cross the red line? ›

(c) If a goalkeeper deliberately participates in the play in any manner when they are beyond the center red line, a minor penalty shall be assessed.

A three-peat is incredibly rare in any of the major professional sports in the United States. In fact, it's so rare, it's not been done since 2002 in any major sport. In the National Hockey League, no team has won three straight Stanley Cup championships since the New York Islanders won four straight from 1980-1983.

Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 is retired throughout the NHL not only because he is considered the greatest player in League history, but because the number and his name are synonymous. Though there is no debate over who the best player to wear that number is, there are 98 other numbers with more than one worthy candidate.

That would be the extent of his NHL playing experience as he played out the rest of his career in the CHL, IHL, and AHL. He retired following the 1987–88 IHL season. Bill McCreary is most remembered for his open ice hit on Wayne Gretzky on January 3, 1981.

Realistically, Ovechkin needs to average a goals per game pace of . 383 over the next four seasons to hit the 115 goals necessary to break Gretzky's record. Based on historical and recent context, that certainly seems achievable. Ovechkin has never had a season where he had less than a 0.4 goals per game production.

What's even rarer than the double-zero is the single zero in the NHL. Only one man has worn this number, and most likely you've never heard of him. Neil Sheehy wore the No. 0 in 1988 with the Hartford Whalers.

Since its inception in 2005, there have been 25 times that a team has won a scoreless game by virtue of the shootout -- an average of 3.57 times per season. To put this in perspective, there are 2,460 regular season games played each year.

In the NBA's 75-year history, 146 teams have faced a 3-0 series deficit in a seven-game postseason series. Of those teams, 14 have won at least two games while three have won three straight games to force a decisive Game 7. None have come back to win the series.

Fun fact: Desjardins and forward Melvin Angelstad (two games with the Washington Capitals in 2003-04) are the only players in NHL history to wear No. 69.

In 1922, the NHL introduced Rule 56, which formally regulated fighting, or "fisticuffs" as it was called in the official NHL rulebook. Rather than ejecting players from the game, as was the practice in amateur and collegiate hockey, players would be given a five-minute major penalty.

What is Rule 48 in the NHL? ›

Rule 48 formally appeared in the NHL rulebook for the 2010-11 season. Illegal checks to the head were now defined: "A lateral or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted."

Flamingo: when a player lifts one leg, standing like a flamingo, to get out of the way of a shot.

If the score remains tied after three periods, the game goes to overtime. Overtime is a five-minute period where the first team to score wins the game. The overtime period is played three-on-three, with each team having three skaters on the ice.

A hat trick as hockey fans know it comes when a player scores three goals in a game, usually earning him a cascade of hats thrown onto the ice by fans (especially if the player is on the home team). A natural hat trick is when a player scores three consecutive goals in a game.

Having eight arms, the octopus symbolized the number of playoff wins necessary for the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup. The practice started April 15, 1952, when Pete and Jerry Cusimano, brothers and storeowners in Detroit's Eastern Market, hurled an octopus into the rink of Olympia Stadium.

Turtle: To avoid a fight by dropping to the ice and covering your head with your gloves, resulting in a position resembling a turtle.

puck bunny (plural puck bunnies) (slang, ice hockey) A female ice hockey fan, often one whose interest in the sport is primarily motivated by attraction to the players rather than enjoyment of the game itself. Puck bunnies exhibit similar traits to those of groupies toward musicians.

Al the Octopus is the mascot of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. During many games, octopuses are thrown onto the ice by fans for good luck, this usually occurring after the national anthem is sung or after a goal is scored.

Between the pucks, sticks, skating and body checks, hockey players have enough to worry about on the ice. Mouthguards keep you from biting your tongue, smashing your teeth together, and potentially chipping or breaking them due to collisions.

The NHL put out a statement early this afternoon, outlining their decision to move away from the pucks with embedded tracking chip technology, and back to the pucks they used last season.

Are NHL pucks kept frozen? ›

Pucks are typically stored at around 14 degrees Fahrenheit in a small freezer within the penalty box area. Typically, 15-20 are used in a game. Between whistles the linesman may head over to the penalty box for a replacement puck from the freezer.

Therefore, a team-mate can deliberately pass the ball to the goalkeeper by using the knee, leg (above the ankle) or any other part of the body (head, chest etc.), provided that the foot and/or the ankle has not been used at any stage.

In all cases in which an attacking player initiates intentional or deliberate contact with a goalkeeper, whether or not the goalkeeper is inside or outside the goal crease, and whether or not a goal is scored, the attacking player will receive a penalty (minor or major, as the Referee deems appropriate).

Goalkeepers are allowed to handle the ball if the ball is played back to them by an action other than a kick or throw-in (such as a header), but defenders are not permitted to attempt to use a deliberate trick to pass the ball to the goalkeeper with a part of the body other than the foot to circumvent the rule.

On April 14, the Canadiens shut out the Maple Leafs, 4-0, to sweep the series and take home their fifth Stanley Cup championship in a row. No other team in hockey had ever won five straight Stanley Cups and the record still stands today.

No player has won four Cups in a row, with either one team or multiple teams, in nearly 40 years. The last time it happened was in1983 when the Islanders completed the four-peat, with multiple players on each of those Cup-winning teams.

Pittsburgh Penguins: 17 (NHL record) The Penguins, who had won the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992, were even better during the 1992-93 season. They won 17 in a row before ending their season with a 6-6 tie against the New Jersey Devils.

After that I always played up, always one year behind. And I definitely took a lot of pride in being the youngest in the league, so much so that I decided to wear 97, and that's stuck with me.

No. 66 isn't retired League-wide like No. 99 is for Wayne Gretzky. Two players have worn it since Lemieux retired from the NHL in 2006: Ho-Sang and Calgary Flames defenseman TJ Brodie in 2010-11.

80, 84 and 94 are the three numbers not worn by any player that would be available. 85, 87, 96 and 97 are each worn by one player, but it is unlikely any player will request 87. In a few years it seems like 97 will be off the table as well.

Did Gretzky drink co*ke? ›

Wayne Gretzky's Beverage Ritual

The Great One would drink a Diet co*ke, an ice water, a Gatorade and a second Diet co*ke before getting back onto the ice for the next period. It certainly is a unique way to consume beverages, but it obviously worked for Gretzky.

I don't like my hockey sticks touching other sticks, and I don't like them crossing one another, and I kind of have them hidden in the corner. I put baby powder on the ends. I think it's essentially a matter of taking care of what takes care of you.

2: Wayne Gretzky. "The Great One" is actually right handed, but since he accomplished his NHL records using a lefty stick he makes the list.

1. January 23, 1944: Detroit 15, New York Rangers 0. The most one-sided game in NHL history took place in Detroit on January 23, 1944, when the Red Wings blanked the New York Rangers, 15-0.

The fewest NHL games required to reach the mark was 424, set by Wayne Gretzky. Second quickest was Mario Lemieux, achieving the mark in his 513th game.

Connor McDavid has dazzled, dangled and left us speechless countless times on his way to 600 career NHL points. His 421 games required to reach the milestone bests Sidney Crosby (430 GP) for the fewest by any active player.

The NHL changed its overtime format ahead of the 2015-16 season, adopting 3-on-3 OT. The AHL and ECHL had used this format before the NHL decided to implement it in place of 4-on-4.

The NHL's expansion of 1967, the biggest one-time expansion in any major sport, doubled the size of the league. East and West Divisions were thus created.

Players can now continue to run with the ball while keeping their protective equipment on but they must remove that same equipment immediately after, at the first opportunity to do so and always inside the 23 m area. No player using PC protective equipment can play the ball outside the 23 m area at any time.

1) The game was played with a block of wood for a puck. 2) The puck was not allowed to leave the ice. 3) The stones marking the place to score goals were placed on the ice at opposite angles to those at present. 4) There was to be no slashing.

Can hockey end in a tie? ›

Overtimes and tie games.

Non-conference games tied after the initial five-minute OT will end as ties. Regular-season tournaments may use a shootout to break ties after the initial five-minute OT. Each team receives an additional timeout in overtime if it had already utilized its timeout in regulation.

In the 35 seasons since all playoff rounds were expanded to best-of-seven series in 1987, 29 teams have comeback from a 3-1 deficit to win their series.

The Brooklyn Americans was the last team to become defunct in the NHL. The franchise was struggling financially and, due to the lack of players because of World War II, was suspended prior to the 1942–43 season. The franchise formally ceased in 1946.

A traditional superstition that is prevalent among many of today's NHL players is that no player should either touch or hoist the Campbell (Western Conference champion) or Prince of Wales (Eastern Conference champion) trophies after they have won the conference playoffs; these players feel that the Stanley Cup is the ...

Why the decline? There were many reasons, experts said: astroturf (there were very few artificial turf pitches in India then), changes in the rules, physical fitness, internal politicking and tactical improvements that made India's line up with 5 forwards and 2 defenders vulnerable.

The worst loss in NHL history belongs to the New York Rangers when they lost 15-0 to the Detroit Red Wings on January 23, 1944. This loss was so outstanding that the record has stood for 76 years, despite tens of thousands of NHL games having been played since.

Kings-Oilers (1982)

Downing Edmonton in five games, the series was highlighted by Game 3's “Miracle on Manchester,” which saw the Kings overcome a five-goal third-period deficit en route to earning a 6-5 overtime victory – the largest comeback in NHL playoff history.

Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 is retired throughout the NHL not only because he is considered the greatest player in League history, but because the number and his name are synonymous. Though there is no debate over who the best player to wear that number is, there are 98 other numbers with more than one worthy candidate.

What is the golden rule in hockey? ›

1. Always back your partner — on the offensive blue line, in the neutral zone and especially in the defensive zone. 2. Always one defenseman in front of the net when the opposition has the puck in your zone or there is danger that they may gain possession.

But in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, there was no special teams advantage to be had. There were no penalties called on either team, so the entire game was played at even strength.