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Rule Differences Between NHL and Olympics....Some of them Will Surprise You |
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Everyone knows the ice is bigger, but there are some subtle rules variations between the NHL and the International game. The ice surface is the obvious difference, but there are many small differences, some of which I found quite surprising.
Big Ice
Everyone talks about the big ice in the Olympics. They say things like "we have to take so and so because of his speed on the big ice." This, like just about everything people repeat so much you think it must be true, isn't exactly true. Or, it's at least a little more nuanced than you would expect. Speed on the big ice is a factor, but a close look suggests it may be a slightly overblown talking point.
The standard NHL rink is 200 ft by 85.
Internationally, ice rinks are not as standardized as the NHL. Internationally, the most common rinks are said to be 210 by 98. This makes sense if you think about it, since all these rinks are in different countries. In Sochi, they are 200 by 100. This may only seem like a small 15 foot difference, but it amounts to 3000 square feet.
Also, it has only been since the modern era where the NHL has been formally standardized. Formerly, rinks were just 'roughly' NHL size. The old Buffalo Auditorium was only 185 feet long. Every rink had its own strange features and hockey arenas were more interesting and much more like baseball stadiums in that each one was unique. While I roll my eyes at the ridiculous notion that hockey was so much better back when players chain smoked, didn't work out and didn't wear helmets, in my opinion the worst thing the Bettman era of hockey has brought us is the boring standardized rink. The Air Canada Centre, in Toronto, for instance has all the soul of a multi-plex in a shopping mall.
Besides the width of the ice, the placement of the lines is different.
In the NHL, you have 11 feet behind the net and 13 in the Olympics. The most surprising thing to me was that in the NHL, the offensive zones are actually bigger.
The Olympic offensive zone is not only shorter than the NHL one, but the extra two feet behind the net further compresses space between the goal and blue lines. The neutral zone is much bigger as well, so even if the ice is wider, hockey is a predominantly north/south game and the smaller offensive zones and larger neutral zones reduce at least some of the impact of playing on larger ice.
This is also because the large neutral zone and the wide ice tend to actually slow the game down. Or maybe it’s that coaches overcompensate for the difference and play a more attentive defensive game. It could also be that the large ice allows for better a zone defense. Hard to say; and everyone has their own opinions.
The take away I have is that Olympic games are not faster or more wide open than NHL games, and that if they are, it is probably due to the teams being stacked with allstars. The ice does change things, but not, in my opinion, to the extent we have been lead to believe.
Another reason for this could be that the dump in is a large part of hockey. And, once you dump the puck in, the ice is now actually smaller. If you pay attention to a hockey game, actual skating end to end with the puck is a rarity. They pass. The puck changes hands every two seconds. A lot of the time the puck is iced and then fought along the boards in one of the offensive zone, then its cycled. Then its shot back down the ice.
That isn't to say that big ice isn't a factor. Just that it might get overblown and certainly is more of a nuanced topic than is generally acknowledged.
Goalies
In the NHL, there is a very dumb rule that prevents the goalie from playing the puck if he is outside of the lines behind the net. This is often circumvented by having the goalie skate out past the goal line and play the puck before it goes into the corner.
Despite the specious reasoning that says the goalie not being able to go to the corner and act like an extra defenseman will somehow lead to more scoring, the actual result is that there are less errors and less excitement. And dumb penalties, very, very occasionally.
The Olympics do not use this whacky old rule and I haven't heard anyone lament this fact.
Benches
In the NHL You are only allowed to dress 18 skaters. In the Olympics you can dress 20. Considering that in the NHL, most fourth lines play about 15 of the possible 180 minutes allotted to forwards, you could very easily have 15 man rosters. You wouldn't want to, but you could. So, twenty is pretty ridiculous. I guess it doesn't really matter either way, but I am sure some players used to playing 20 or 30 minutes per game have trouble getting it going when they get barely half that.
Icing
In the NHL, they have Hybrid Icing. This is a very dumb rule that appears to have been invented by an arbitrator trying to keep everyone happy. This is the first - and I would bet last - year this rule has been implemented.
Internationally, the rule for icing is the one the NHL should and will eventually adopt. It’s called "No Touch" icing and all it means is that there is no race for the puck. The puck crosses the goal line and it’s icing. This rule sacrifices a slight increase in competition and excitement for player safety. It’s not much of a sacrifice, really.
Shootouts and Penalty shots
One weird quirk of the International game is that if you get a penalty shot, anyone on the ice can take it. In the NHL, it has to be the player the infraction was against.
As we saw today in the Russia/ USA game, after the first three shooters, in International Hockey, you can send the same guy out over and over again.
I don't understand the purpose of this rule and I think it’s a bad one. You are already deciding a team game with a skills competition, and with this rule, you reduce it to one guy.
Also, in the NHL Playoffs, there are no shootouts, because shootouts are weak. At the Olympics, even in the Gold Medal game, there might be a shootout.
Helmets and Equipment
In the NHL if you lose your helmet, and aren't the goalie, it's no big deal. In the Olympics, if you don't go right to the bench, you get a penalty. No playing without a helmet. The Olympics also requires you to wear a visor unless you were born before 1974. Petr Nedved probably doesn’t even have to wear a helmet if he doesn’t want to. In the NHL you only have to wear a visor if you are a rookie in his first 25 games.
Also, in the Olympics there are tougher rules regarding the curves on blades. The NHL allows for 30% more curvature.
The Goalie's Crease
In the Olympics the play will be called if you stand in the crease. In the NHL, as long as you don't bug the goalie too much, this is OK.
Fighting
Fighting in the Olympics results in a match penalty and a game misconduct. Anti-fighting zealots always use this as their trump card. They never consider that I don't care about that argument: I want there to be fighting because I like to watch people fight. Especially on skates.
In fact, if hockey fighting was an Olympic sport, it would easily be one of the best and most entertaining sports they have. And it would still be safer than the luge.
Faceoffs
There are subtle faceoff rule changes as well. In the NHL the person who puts his stick down first must be on the visiting team. Internationally it’s whoever is in the attacking zone.
In the NHL, if you use your hand to play the puck on a faceoff, you get a penalty. In the Olympics, they just call the play and start over, but you're tossed from the circle.
Also, in the NHL the linesman will want to show you who is really in charge. He will fake you out, and then kick you out and ask a winger to take the draw. This doesn't happen in the Olympics as often, as far as I can tell.
Overtime
Overtime rules get confusing in the Olympics because they keep changing throughout the tournament. In the NHL it’s pretty basic: in the regular season, you play four on four for five minutes then have a shootout. In the Olympics, that is also the case, but just in the preliminary round. In the medal round, there is a ten minute period and it is five on five. Then, in the Gold Medal game, they play five on five, but for twenty minutes.
Obviously there are no shootouts in the Playoffs, but when the games in the Olympics become important, they still have shootouts.
Highsticking
In the NHL, the refs let you get away with anything that occurs on a follow through or which is clearly accidental. If you take a slapshot, and a guy gets in your way, tough. In the Olympics, you are responsible for your stick, even if it hits another player due to his own stupidity you still get a penalty.
There are also some subtleties about where the faceoff occurs after someone highsticks the puck, but they aren’t really worth going into here, I don’t think.
Offside
The NHL and the Olympics both use the delayed offside rule which means that you can dump the puck back into the zone while you wait for your team to clear, and the play only gets called if someone touches it. A slight difference in the Olympic game is that if you take a shot on goal, it’s offside. In the NHL, you can shoot on the goalie from beyond the blue line if for some reason you wanted to.
Standings
The NHL has some pretty awful rules about who can make the playoffs and who can’t and about how many points are rewarded for each game. The Olympics seeds its medal round based on every game being worth three points, whether or not overtime occurs. This is clearly way better.
Conclusion
The NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation have a slew of subtle rule changes between their respective games. Most of these are obvious and well known, but I was surprised to learn about many of them. The ones listed above are not even all of them, as there are differences in snow clearing rules, line changes, video replay, and goalie pad measurements.
Note: The information for this article was taken from the IIHF and NHL websites.
Thanks for reading.
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