So now apparently there is a “code” in hockey, outlining how a player is allowed to score a goal when his team has a 7-2 lead with about eight minutes to go in a game.
Who knew?
Obviously not Tomas Hertl, whose brilliant between-the-skates breakaway goal against the Rangers and Martin Biron in San Jose on Tuesday night created a bit of hubbub across the NHL, with tired cries emanating from the peanut gallery that the 19-year-old rookie had somehow “disrespected” the game by showcasing his skill in that manner.
Of course, Hertl did no such thing. While serial headhunters such as Patrick Kaleta disrespect the game by routinely targeting defenseless opponents with sneak attacks such as the one on the Blue Jackets’ Columbus’ Jack Johnson on Thursday night, Hertl merely was putting the dazzling finishing touches on the NHL’s first four-goal game by a freshman in over a quarter-century.
Hertl did not embarrass the Rangers. The Rangers embarrassed the Rangers.
What Hertl did was to focus the national media and social media spotlights onto the NHL, and for once, for something other than a brawl, which, of course, is a time honored part of “the code,” don’t you know?
What’s the scoreboard threshold for scoring brilliant goals? Is is 6-2 in the second period? Does Sidney Crosby dishonor hockey by orchestrating a spectacular tic-tac-toe passing play with the score 5-0 in the third period?
Adam Oates, the coach of the Capitals, said he was “upset” by the goal, as quoted in the Washington Post. He wondered whether the teenager would have tried the trick play if he hadn’t yet scored in the game. Was it the score, was it the play, was it the insolence of youth; was it all of it?
Oates went on for a while, sounding more and more like a fellow who grew up listening to Bing Crosby and couldn’t understand how rock ’n roll could be called music.
Defenders of fighting in hockey inevitably justify their stance by referring to the excitement in the stands during a brawl. As of early afternoon Saturday, various clips of Hertl’s goal had attracted more than 1.66 million views on YouTube.
Maybe 1,000 of those viewing, maybe 100, or maybe even only one will tune into an NHL game for the first time to see Hertl. Maybe some of them will even buy a ticket to a game for the first time.
Maybe one of them will become a lifetime hockey fan, attracted by the skill it takes to play hockey at the highest level in the world.
Oh, and by the way? John Scott v. Phil Kessel? Fewer than 100,000 views on YouTube,
The notion a goal such as Hertl’s should draw retribution is part of the Neanderthal thinking that holds back hockey. Sharks coach Todd McLellan apparently believed his winger was at risk of such a response, for Hertl did not get on the ice again after scoring even as San Jose fans chanted his name.
Of course, if the Rangers had been offended, there was one remedy to have not made it necessary. They should have defended.
The NHL is blessed with an influx of skilled, creative, and yes, flashy teenagers. They and their personality are the future crowding into the present.
And the best thing about that is, they don’t speak in code.
Of course, one game later, Hertl was the recipient of a head shot from the Canucks’ Alex Edler. Yeah. Old school.
And what now for Kaleta, who has previously been suspended three times by the league — including the five-game sentence he served for boarding Brad Richards last season — in addition to having been fined more than once for head-butting?
Actually the better question is, what defense will the NHLPA feel compelled to mount for a recidivist whose serial assaults on his union brothers indicate no respect at all for their safety and well-being?
No doubt safety first is the priority and icing races had become too dangerous. But hybrid icing doesn’t look much at all like hockey, does it?
So Alex Ovechkin, the only player in NHL history to come within 100 shots of Phil Esposito’s 1970-71 record 550 with 528 shots in 2008-09, not only had 32 shots in the Caps’ first four games, but another 19 attempts as well, and only eight that missed the net.
Espo, who simply could not be moved from the front of the net — back in the day when cross-checks by defensemen were an accepted part of the game (and indeed, the cumulative effects of which drove Mike Bossy out of the game at the age of 30) — never had more than 426 shots in any other season.
Professional sports all-time No. 22s: 1. Bossy; 2. Dave DeBusschere, Knicks; 3. Jim Palmer, Orioles; 4. Bobby Layne, Lions.
Finally, who is more revered, Bobby Orr or Sandy Koufax?