Who in the NHL knows what is and isn’t blocking a goaltender? No one. Even the judges don’t seem to have any idea about it. And neither the coaches nor the players have a clear understanding of that.
Over the course of the spring, unimaginable situations have been seen, which have definitely confused the head regarding the jungle of rules. The worst example was seen in the recent match between Boston and Florida.
A Florida forward getting the puck to the back post Sam Bennett first pushes the Florida defender over the goalkeeper and only then the puck into the net. Finally, after this situation, many people lost the last understanding of how to block the goalkeeper and what not to do.
– It felt like Bennett himself was laughing that that goal was accepted, ‘s hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen give a laugh.
Lehkonen still can’t explain where to go with the truth.
– Damn it, I can’t catch that topic at all. They have clearly set out to protect goalkeepers, but then there will be ones like this. Then find out about it. The goalkeepers have smelled that they are being protected and there are advantages from that setup from time to time. As a hockey player from the old league, it bothers me that I don’t seem to be able to do anything with the goal these days.
So what is the solution to find a consensus that permeates the entire league?
– Should we then make the blue area smaller and tell the goalkeepers to stay there during your goal? Their equipment is so big these days anyway, and that’s why there are always small hits in the goal defense battles. If the area is smaller, the goalkeepers stay on the line and know they are in trouble if they come off it.
Who surprised?
Dallas Miro Heiskanen is having a great spring – should I say it again. Heiskanen was already third in the 2019–2020 playoff points market when Dallas marched to the finals, and now his ranking is sixth. For a defenseman, this level of results in the NHL playoffs is hard to say, and Heiskanen, 24, is already the most effective Finnish defenseman in the NHL playoffs of all time.
Heiskanen shines on all sides of the field, sometimes as the spearhead of the attack, but often also the first in his own area.
– His Dancing on skates is beautiful to watch. He is constantly reading and scanning everything that comes across and goes away. The first steps are casual flying and a good example of that was great Mikko Rantanen purchased on Thursday through the jähy store.
– Heiskanen is also a player who never gets tired. Aerobic endurance is at the maximum level and breaks happen on the fly, not by forcing, Lehkonen praises.
The series between Dallas and Colorado will see the battle of two absolute top defenders, because Colorado Cale Makar is the best puck defender in the world right now.
– So far, Heiskanen and Lehkonen have taken that battle.
If Dallas advances to the finals and eventually becomes the champion, based on the evidence given so far, Lehkonen would choose Heiskanen as the most valuable player in the playoffs. A Finnish player has never been awarded the award named after Conn Smythe.
– Heiskanen is the MVP of that team.
Who cheated?
If there’s one thing that’s let the NHL playoffs down, it’s the line of refs. Already in the regular season, there was talk about the rude use of the cross stick, and there is still no reason to stop it.
In many places, it has been surprising how NHL referees allow hitting with a cross stick night after night. Some kind of anticlimax for this was obtained when after the final buzzer Vancouver Nikita Zadorov and Carson Soucy the two of them banged on the crossbars Connor McDavid. The latter hit him in the face with a crossbow.
Even the NHL intervened in this and fined Zadorov 5,000 dollars and suspended Soucya for one game.
– I can’t understand that, for example, the NHL players’ association doesn’t blow this game. However, it is about the health of the players. There is the liver, spleen, kidneys, spine and cervical vertebrae, which are beaten in terrible amounts.
– Why doesn’t the owner intervene in the fact that their hundred million men are being beaten with a stick? That is so wrong for a great sport. The purpose of the stick is to play puck, Lehkonen throws.
Another problem is whining. A descriptive example of this was also obtained in the series between Vancouver and Edmonton, when Vancouver’s JT Miller followed the Edmonton superstar Leon Draisaitl in the attack zone, giving him alternately a transverse stick and blows to the hands. The judges did not raise their hands.
Goal of the week
The goal of the week is this week’s tackle of the week, because that’s how much the board was excited about Dallas Esa Lindell from a tackle on Thursday morning by Colorado to Josh Manson.
– That’s when Esa came on the tracks and put Manson on a circuit around the country. It seemed to make Manson himself laugh too, Lehkonen laughs.
– Lindell is a great player to watch anyway. There’s something insanely cool about him. A heavy defender who plays hard and without ice and always appears from somewhere at the exact moment when the attacker imagines that he can score a goal.
What next?
What’s next for Boston, Carolina and Colorado, who are going into the weekend with a loss in their match series with 2-3 wins and thus one loss away from the summer holidays? Lehkonen approaches the matter from a Finnish angle.
– Now there is such a situation that Sebastian Ahon must be able to put the opponent’s top chain in the back pocket in the next game. of Florida Alexander Barkov must be able to subdue Boston Charlie McAvoy and other top defenders, Lehkonen’s line.
Lehkonen also expects more from his son Artturi Lehkonen, whose Colorado team is trying to turn a 2-3 loss against the Dallas Stars into a win.
A new episode of the Ikan änäri podcast is published every Thursday. You can find all the episodes at this link.