# Should goals in hockey and soccer be enlarged? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** hockey-nhl\ **Created:** [February 27, 2026, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-goals-in-hockey-and-soccer-be-enlarged/1028063 "2026-02-27T21:32:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-goals-in-hockey-and-soccer-be-enlarged/1028063/41 "2026-03-06T06:37:41Z")
Back to hockey. Here’s the rule changes for goalies and their pads from 2018. Sizes were standardized with allowances for individual goalie body dimensions. Turns out this standardization was preferred to enlarging the goal. The intent was the same, more scoring. Note that coaches can challenge the opposition goalies gear and have it measured. Rarely done but it has happened. > **[NHL, NHLPA add new chest, arm pad rules for goalies | NHL.com](https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-nhlpa-add-chest-arm-pad-rules-for-goalies-300172856)** > > Guidelines aim to eliminate equipment advantages, increase scoring ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-goals-in-hockey-and-soccer-be-enlarged/1028063/42 "2026-03-06T07:28:56Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Small goals take skill, larger goals can have more lucky shots go in by less skilled players/less accurate shots. And that last part really defines hockey - shot accuracy which comes from skill. The other side of that coin is that if goals are relatively rare, then it increases the probability that a goal – and thus perhaps a game win – might be just the result of a single lucky bounce. There’s definitely an element of luck in hockey, as there is in all sports. That said, I’m absolutely opposed to changing the size of the hockey net, which has been standardized since forever. Such a drastic change would completely change the nature of the game. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-goals-in-hockey-and-soccer-be-enlarged/1028063/43 "2026-03-06T08:11:36Z")
The goals are fine when it comes to hockey…but it would much more interesting if you substituted a curling stone for that hockey puck. Of course, you would have to drop those wooden sticks and maybe use solid aluminum. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-goals-in-hockey-and-soccer-be-enlarged/1028063/44 "2026-03-06T08:16:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Of course, you would have to drop those wooden sticks and maybe use solid aluminum. It’s amazing how often hockey sticks break in pro hockey. It’s a testament to the speed and energy of the game, something that you can only fully appreciate with a seat close to the glass at an NHL game. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-goals-in-hockey-and-soccer-be-enlarged/1028063/45 "2026-03-10T02:28:37Z")
> [@borschevsky](#): > > Pretty boring - maybe a bit like how basketball is becoming a three-point competition to the exclusion of all else. I’m not a basketball fan. I enjoy the idea of the game and generally know the rules but whenever I watch it I get the feeling that it’s a game the players have outgrown. They’re all so tall, so fast, able to score from beyond the three point line, and they constantly step on each other’s toes. It seems to me that the court is too small for the players. As with the other sports being discussed, I’m not sure what follow on effects a larger court would have, but it’s an interesting idle thought. Watching the 3 on 3 basketball games at the Olympics is much more interesting, because it seems the players are actually having to think about what they are doing. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-goals-in-hockey-and-soccer-be-enlarged/1028063/46 "2026-03-10T02:47:10Z")
So, a new development in soccer that fans actually are talking about in the surge in scoring off set plays. One tactic on corner kicks or long throws is to get a “meat wall” of attackers to block off the keeper and just kinda knock the ball in during the ensuing scramble. If this sort of tactic is more efficient (seems to be) and is less appealing to fans (definitely is) then you have to figure out if a counter tactic is possible or a rule change is needed. FIFA is slow, but EPL fans are pretty annoyed so we might see something faster than usual. I’d reckon law interpretations to protect the keeper rather than something more drastic, but we’ll see. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-goals-in-hockey-and-soccer-be-enlarged/1028063.md?page=2)