Blackhawks vs Ducks Playoffs

[eriksat1]

Originally Posted by poultryman

Also, if you are the Ducks and you get your rear handed to you at the faceoff dot, you cry and cry and cant understand why you lost the series because zomg Keith plays zo many minutes and zomg we hit them so hard and zomg Corey Perry is a douchenozzle. Oh wait. That last one was just me projecting a little...

And if we keep hitting them so hard they will quit!

[pjshorthorn]

I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed the Blackhawks vs. Lightning thread hasn' t been started yet ?????

What gives.? ?

[Karloutdoors]

4..........
; )

[Sportdog]

Originally Posted by Nimstug

Sport,

Before we go on to another thread, I'll try to answer.

At the NHL level, shifts are generally around 40-45 seconds. The entire 5 skaters don't usually change at the same time, but they can. It depends on where the puck is. Defensemen usually change when the wingers and center are carrying the puck into the offensive end or shooting the puck into their offensive end. Offensive players usually change when the opponent is getting control of the puck and are moving out of their defensive zone.

Players stay on the ice as long as their team has the puck or they are on defense in their defensive end.

A fresh player does not have to wait until the tired player is off the ice. But the tired player has to be within 5' of the bench, clearly not participating in the play, such as having his back to the play and moving toward the bench. Referees usually don't call "too many men on the ice" unless in their judgement it puts one team at an advantage or disadvantage.

Defensemen sit on the end of the bench closest to their defensive end of the ice. All the players and the head coach have to pay attention to the play as the coaches try to get certain line match-ups. As I understand, the head coach calls out who goes out and it's not always in a certain order. Or a line can be assigned different player during the game.

At any face off, the visiting team has to put their line out first. Then the home team coach decides who goes out. If you watched game 7, you saw some players immediately leave the ice and come on the ice for the Blackhawks after a faceoff. Q was trying to get the match-ups he wanted. Having the last choice is an advantage for home team.

Couple other tid-bits:

On the face-off, the visting team player has to put his stick on the ice first before the puck is dropped. This is a disadvantage for the visiting team.

Pucks are kept on ice as this reduces the amount they bounce, which is not a disadvantage to anyone.

A player who has his stick broken must immediately drop the stick or a penalty will be called. He may go back to the bench to get another stick or play without one. If a defensman breaks a stick, an alert forwad will give him his stick.

In the NHL, if a player loses his helmet, he may continue to play. International play and Olympics, a helmetless player must immediately leave the ice.

Hope this helps.

Nimstug

Yes that helps a ton! Thanks for taking the time and giving me such an in-depth look at how it works. I tip my hat to you for sure!