# Hockey Fans! Help me out. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 14, 2020, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-fans-help-me-out/846413 "2020-01-14T16:44:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-fans-help-me-out/846413/1 "2020-01-14T16:44:47Z")
Last night I went to an NHL hockey game for the first time in a long, loooong time, and I noticed quite a few changes from what I remember back then. So, I have several questions. Has the game become cleaner? There were only 2 penalties and no fights. I seem to remember more. Very few icing calls. Has this changed? I had never paid attention before, but I noticed the line changes were quite frequent. Then I noticed that they posted average shift times, which were in the 45 to 50 second range. Is this consistent over NHL history, or have shifts become shorter over the years? There are now 4 referees vs the 3 I remember. (The organist used to play “Three Blind Mice” when the refs came onto the ice.) When and why did the league make this change? There used to be a red light behind each goal net that would come on when a goal was scored, but it is no longer there. When did they eliminate it, and more importantly, why? It seems to me that goalies’ sticks used to be wider, or is this just my imagination? In addition to the Zamboni resurfacing between periods, they now shovel off the ice several times during the period. This one I figured out myself. I suppose now all games are televised, so they do this during commercials. Finally, I imagine there are even more changes that I didn’t notice. Can you name any other changes in rules or other aspects of the game and tell me when and why the changes were made? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-fans-help-me-out/846413/2 "2020-01-14T17:49:41Z")
> [@jebert](#): > > Last night I went to an NHL hockey game for the first time in a long, loooong time, and I noticed quite a few changes from what I remember back then. So, I have several questions. > > Has the game become cleaner? There were only 2 penalties and no fights. I seem to remember more. Fights are WAY down. It’s just not useful to have guys who fight a lot. It never was, but analytics proved it. Penalties are down a little but you saw a very lightly penalized game. > [@](#): > > Very few icing calls. Has this changed? The NHL did away with the rule prohibiting two-line passes, which cuts down on whistles. I’m not sure if pure icing is down. > [@](#): > > There are now 4 referees vs the 3 I remember. (The organist used to play “Three Blind Mice” when the refs came onto the ice.) When and why did the league make this change? They changed it because a single ref (the other two guys are linesmen) just wasn’t enough to catch all the calls. > [@](#): > > There used to be a red light behind each goal net that would come on when a goal was scored, but it is no longer there. When did they eliminate it, and more importantly, why? I’m confused - it’s still there. Perhaps your view was obscured? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-fans-help-me-out/846413/3 "2020-01-14T18:04:27Z")
> [@jebert](#): > > Has the game become cleaner? There were only 2 penalties and no fights. I seem to remember more. Penalties last year averaged about 7 per game, so you saw a fairly clean game. Fighting is way down and has been for years. The NHL has made a concerted effort to remove most fighting from the game. > [@jebert](#): > > Very few icing calls. Has this changed? There was a change in the 2005 season that prevented a team that committed icing from switching out players on the stopage of play. That removed a big incentive for icing to take a break and get a clean line change. > [@jebert](#): > > I had never paid attention before, but I noticed the line changes were quite frequent. Then I noticed that they posted average shift times, which were in the 45 to 50 second range. Is this consistent over NHL history, or have shifts become shorter over the years? That seems about right to me, I don’t think they were ever appreciably longer although situations may dictate a longer shift from time to time. > [@jebert](#): > > There are now 4 referees vs the 3 I remember. (The organist used to play “Three Blind Mice” when the refs came onto the ice.) When and why did the league make this change? They introduced the extra ref in the 1998-99 season. So there are 2 refs and 2 linesmen. > [@jebert](#): > > There used to be a red light behind each goal net that would come on when a goal was scored, but it is no longer there. When did they eliminate it, and more importantly, why? The light is still there. You may have just missed it from your angle. It may be up higher than you’re used to. > [@jebert](#): > > It seems to me that goalies’ sticks used to be wider, or is this just my imagination? I don’t think they’ve made the sticks smaller, but the rules have made all the pads smaller to stimulate more goal scoring, so maybe they changed the stick as well. > [@jebert](#): > > Finally, I imagine there are even more changes that I didn’t notice. Can you name any other changes in rules or other aspects of the game and tell me when and why the changes were made? There have been major changes to overtime, with 3 on 3 play before the shootouts. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-fans-help-me-out/846413/4 "2020-01-14T18:05:42Z")
Yeah, teams can’t afford to carry a goon these days. The physical players who get in the most fights are still talented hockey players. I think the death of Derek Boogaard put the nail into the pure goon. Two refs were an experiment around the 2000-2001 season or so and adapted soon after. I don’t particularly like it, but it’s here to stay. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-fans-help-me-out/846413/5 "2020-01-14T20:12:33Z")
> [@jebert](#): > > Can you name any other changes in rules or other aspects of the game and tell me when and why the changes were made? It is ok now to use “the crutch”: placing the blade of your stick between an opponent’s legs and then lifting up, _HARD_, with a vigorous sawing motion. The One-time-being-allowed-to-birdflip-the-ref Rule. You may hold down a goalie from getting back up again in a scramble if one of his teammates is in the blue paint. Flying Brian Trottier boarding slams on defensemen are allowed again in icing chase-downs. In overtime you can incur a two-man penalty infraction (making it 3 on 1) if you can pass a quarter under the curve of your blade. The Pylon Rule: if both your goalies get injured in the same game, just stuck a pylon in front of the net as a target. (If no pylons, the team’s owner has to dress up.) ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-fans-help-me-out/846413/6 "2020-01-14T21:07:57Z")
Lower minor leagues like the ECHL still have fights, very few guys at that level will make the NHL. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-fans-help-me-out/846413/7 "2020-01-15T00:18:23Z")
Coaches challenge to review for offsides or goaltender interference on scoring plays is a big one. No touch icing to avoid dangerous races to the end lines - just have to gave the official think you are going to be first. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-fans-help-me-out/846413/8 "2020-01-15T19:43:30Z")
There’s now video review. I think referees can review anything they want, at any stoppage (but don’t quote me on that) Which allows referees to get over the line calls more correct, etc. Controversially, they can also review whether the initial entry leading to the goal was offside, even if it happened long before the goal. Coaches can initiate video review (for a set of potential issues), but I think if the play is not overturned, their team is assessed a minor penalty. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-fans-help-me-out/846413/9 "2020-01-15T23:22:21Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > There’s now video review. I think referees can review anything they want, at any stoppage (but don’t quote me on that). As far as I know, true, however, if it’s a coach’s challenge: (from [link](https://media.nhl.com/public/news/13452)) > [@](#): > > **Rule 38 – Coach’s Challenge** > > Rule 38.1 – General > > The video review mechanism triggered by the Coach’s Challenge can only be utilized in GOAL/NO GOAL situations and is intended to be extremely narrow in scope… Other than that, though, I’ve seen reviews after many different stoppages, like reviewing if a player (while in his own zone) sent the puck over the glass (I’ve been meh over that one, sometimes) or if the goalie played the puck outside the trapezoid, etc. > [@Quercus](#): > > Coaches can initiate video review (for a set of potential issues), but I think if the play is not overturned, their team is assessed a minor penalty. Yippers…and then some: > [@](#): > > **Rule 38.8** : – Results of an Unsuccessful Coach’s Challenge > > If a team initiates a Coach’s Challenge for any of the enumerated scenarios in Rule 38.2 above and such Challenge does not result in the original call on the ice being overturned, the team exercising such Challenge shall be assessed a minor penalty (2:00) for delaying the game. > > If a team that has already initiated one or more Challenges that were unsuccessful, initiates a Coach’s Challenge for any of the enumerated scenarios in Rule 38.2 above and such Challenge does not result in the original call on the ice being overturned, the team exercising such Challenge shall be assessed a double-minor penalty (4:00) for delaying the game.