The opening is framed by red-painted steel pipes that extend four feet vertically from the ice surface and are set six feet apart, connected by a horizontal crossbar. It’s the most important 24 square feet in sports.
On average, that 24-square-foot area is targeted anywhere from 25 to 35 times per game, per side, in the National Hockey League. Most of the time, the pucks are easily seen, easily turned away. Then, in a heartbeat, there’s a flurry of activity near the goal, and the puck is banging off skates and sticks and boards like a pinball game gone mad.
The goaltender is the loneliest man in sports. No one would trade places with him—no one in his right mind. He’s the beat cop at night in the most dangerous part of town, unarmed with only a bulletproof vest and a pair of handcuffs. His teammates walk around him carrying 10-foot poles.
Hockey talk is like a sauce in the pan before it’s reduced. The ingredients to it are things like plus/minus stats, how many lines you can roll, team speed, puck control, and special teams play.
Then it gets boiled down and you’re left w ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Greg Eno
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