If the puck comes back down into play then play on I say
I guess it gives people a moment to review a score and revel in a moment more than anything these days. It would be pretty cutthroat to continue, and might result in more net crowding
Because originally there wasn’t netting, and if the puck went where the netting is now, it would’ve been “out of play”.
The point of the netting is not to change how the game is played to be any different from how it was originally played, it’s just there to prevent spectators from needing facial reconstruction surgery when the puck goes out of play.
I remember seeing a woman take a puck in the face off a deflected Slapshot, before the netting was used. She might have ended up with a defensemans smile.
You were kind of expected to be able to take care of yourself if you had tickets behind the goal.
IIRC, at least one person has died from taking a puck to the head at an NHL event. Slapshots have been known to go over 100 mph. The players all have helmets and sometimes facemasks, it makes sense to protect the spectators, regardless of where they’re seated.
But the puck is kept in play with the netting… so why not keep playing
That would change the mechanics of the game. Why do you want to change hockey into a different game than it currently is?
It might improve the game, or it might not. It might provide new strategies for clearing the puck, for example, and maybe that will be good, or maybe it will be horrible. You’re welcome to find a league that is willing to try it if you want, but generally, people (and the leagues) would prefer NOT to change the game unless you can supply a convincing reason it should change. The game is fine the way it was before the netting, except for occasionally smashing people in the face with pucks. The netting prevents people from getting smashed in the face with pucks, and stopping play maintains the game exactly as it was before the netting was implemented.
From my point of view, that’s a win-win.
If you change the game because of the netting, then it turns into a win-maybe, which could either be a win-win or a win-lose. Since a win-lose would suck, and a win-win would probably be pretty similar to the current situation, I don’t see how your proposal improves anything it just adds the option for it to potentially suck. Stopping play and keeping the game the same as it always was is probably the right call.
People still get smashed in the face with the puck. Those passesbalong the blue line east/west that get deflected… I’ve seen people get hurt so obviously fan safety isn’t top priority.
Something else is up with these nets
They should remove the netting! That way when a fan gets unruly they can just deal with it.
For the same reason they don’t keep playing after someone scores in basketball. Or football. Or soccer.
