World Championship thread.

[ashtonhutch05 0]

Seriously. I'm not denying Semin is good, he is a very skilled player and all, but c'mon. Obviously Ovechkins shot total pads his stats quite a bit, but he's still the best Russian on his team by FAR. Semin may develop, but right now, he's not on Ovies level.

I'm hoping Kovalchuk broke his streak of playing like ass this game. His only 2 goals of the tournament, but damn were they the most important. He hasn't been the same since his knee injury, maybe this is a boost he needed.

[RadioGaGa 162]

Did you guys think those should have been saves?

The one that tied it MAYBE, but the OT winner was pure snipe!

[adam14 182]

Kovalchuck played like shit all tournament, he scores two goals in one game (his only two goals of the tournament, at that) and hes amazing. he was lazy all game. didnt do anything. his first shot shouldnt have even been a goal, second one, ok but that was a dumb call. there is no way kovy > ovy. think logîcally people.

[JGraz15 53]

Kovalchuck played like shit all tournament, he scores two goals in one game (his only two goals of the tournament, at that) and hes amazing. he was lazy all game. didnt do anything. his first shot shouldnt have even been a goal, second one, ok but that was a dumb call. there is no way kovy > ovy. think logîcally people.

I am a huge Kovalchuk fan, but I have to agree. Ovechkin is a much better player all the way around. Kovy plays a lazy, men's league style half the time (although a highly skilled version).

[ashtonhutch05 0]

I know he played a shitty tournament, he's played shitty since his injury. Offensively, Kovalchuk is more skilled in every area, stickhandling, shooting, skating, whatever. Everyone seemsto forget that Ovechkin takes god knows how many shots per game. Besides, I'm talking strictly offensively, we all know Kovy can't D up for shit.

[habsfan87 0]

I agree they have to get rid of this penalty, I've always believed when it comes to the nhl that if they must keep it, lose it when the playoffs start. Nonetheless, Canada lost this game, they had it and lost it.

[hockeysc23 0]

I agree they have to get rid of this penalty, I've always believed when it comes to the nhl that if they must keep it, lose it when the playoffs start. Nonetheless, Canada lost this game, they had it and lost it.

Why lose it when the playoffs start? That would be weird changing the rules in the post-season. If you play a full 82 games with one rule that rule should stay for the whole season.

Thats part of the NHL's problem is their changing standards come playoff time.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Should be treated like an icing - faceoff in your own end, no line change.

[RadioGaGa 162]

Should be treated like an icing - faceoff in your own end, no line change.

I agree. Ron & Don were talking about it, and it makes no sence that you can purposely ice the puck and only suffer the non-change rule, but an accidental puck over glass is a penalty.

[habsfan87 0]

Should be treated like an icing - faceoff in your own end, no line change.

Thats the best suggestion I've heard

yes I don't like my sugestion of taking it out in the playoffs but I was just saying if they have to keep it take it out in the playoffs like the shootout.

[camhockey16 5]

here are the top ten plays from the tournament

http://watch.tsn.ca/international-hockey/clip52757#clip52757

[Next Sakic 0]

mike greens goal was sick. it will be interesting to see how the teams look when the 2010 games kick off

[hunterphfr 12]

Fu*#

[reaper07 0]

my country men have mad me proud. :)

and i might get alot of heat for this but i dont think we would have been having such a controversy over the puck-over-glass rule if canada had won the game

[adam14 182]

my country men have mad me proud. :)

and i might get alot of heat for this but i dont think we would have been having such a controversy over the puck-over-glass rule if canada had won the game

I disagree. i think it would have caused a favoritism controversy had that play not been called. i still think that one of canadas goals should have been a tripping penalty. but oh well.

[msander 0]

my country men have mad me proud. :)

and i might get alot of heat for this but i dont think we would have been having such a controversy over the puck-over-glass rule if canada had won the game

You won't get heat, but I will say I think you're wrong. A lot of us have been saying for years that this may be the dumbest rule that currently exists in any sport.

99% of the time this rule is enforced, the puck was accidentally flipped out because it was on edge or a player swiped at it. In what world does it make sense that when a player accidentally stops play (puck over the glass) the repercussions are more severe then when a player purposefully and intentionally stops play (icing).

It continues to blow me away that not only was this ridiculous rule created in the first place, but they continue to implement it, even though every person I know thinks it's pathetic.

What's next, a penalty shot for being offside?

[chippa13 1844]

There should be some consequence for putting the puck out over the glass, especially since guys like Blake and Foote were so adept at doing it to relieve pressure.

I like the idea of making it similar to icing where the offending team is not allowed to make a change.

[mrusse01 0]

There should be some consequence for putting the puck out over the glass, especially since guys like Blake and Foote were so adept at doing it to relieve pressure.

I like the idea of making it similar to icing where the offending team is not allowed to make a change.

It used to be that the ref could call a penalty on you if he thought you did it intentionally (although almost never called). I never heard anybody complain once about how that rule was being enforced, and while I generally don't like to give referee's discretion like that, in this case it is far preferrable to the current automatic 2 minutes.

Also why is the WHC 4 on 4 in overtime? Just cuz? Always seemed to me like something that was done when you didn't want the game to go on all-night, but really it's a gimmicky way to end a so-called 'world championship'.

And what are they doing having the championships at noon on a Sunday? What a joke, thanks for coming out IIHF, great way to drum up interest in an event. Whatever you do, don't schedule the final game for prime-time Saturday night with zero competition from the NHL, nobody would have watched it then.

[habsfan87 0]

I agree with you^^. It is a complete joke to finish a Championship game of any kind in a fashion that is different than how the game began. And yes if it's at noon whats the rush, I can maybe see wanting to dance around NHL scheduling, which most games did but common. I don't think fans would start leaving if it went into a second overtime.

[RadioGaGa 162]

There should be some consequence for putting the puck out over the glass, especially since guys like Blake and Foote were so adept at doing it to relieve pressure.

I like the idea of making it similar to icing where the offending team is not allowed to make a change.

It used to be that the ref could call a penalty on you if he thought you did it intentionally (although almost never called). I never heard anybody complain once about how that rule was being enforced, and while I generally don't like to give referee's discretion like that, in this case it is far preferrable to the current automatic 2 minutes.

Also why is the WHC 4 on 4 in overtime? Just cuz? Always seemed to me like something that was done when you didn't want the game to go on all-night, but really it's a gimmicky way to end a so-called 'world championship'.

And what are they doing having the championships at noon on a Sunday? What a joke, thanks for coming out IIHF, great way to drum up interest in an event. Whatever you do, don't schedule the final game for prime-time Saturday night with zero competition from the NHL, nobody would have watched it then.

4 on 4 isn't as bad as ending it in a SO (which is what would have happened if it stayed tied).

Possible that the time was so European Countries got to see it at a decent local time?? Play to it's biggest audience.

[#44wannabe 4]

The world is larger than America believe it or not.....

[chippa13 1844]

There should be some consequence for putting the puck out over the glass, especially since guys like Blake and Foote were so adept at doing it to relieve pressure.

I like the idea of making it similar to icing where the offending team is not allowed to make a change.

It used to be that the ref could call a penalty on you if he thought you did it intentionally (although almost never called). I never heard anybody complain once about how that rule was being enforced, and while I generally don't like to give referee's discretion like that, in this case it is far preferrable to the current automatic 2 minutes.

Also why is the WHC 4 on 4 in overtime? Just cuz? Always seemed to me like something that was done when you didn't want the game to go on all-night, but really it's a gimmicky way to end a so-called 'world championship'.

And what are they doing having the championships at noon on a Sunday? What a joke, thanks for coming out IIHF, great way to drum up interest in an event. Whatever you do, don't schedule the final game for prime-time Saturday night with zero competition from the NHL, nobody would have watched it then.

It was absolutely never called and I, for one, got tired of watching defensemen like the aforementioned doing it time and again in order to get a whistle to relieve pressure when they weren't in a position to ice the puck.

[mrusse01 0]

Possible that the time was so European Countries got to see it at a decent local time?? Play to it's biggest audience.

I guess somebody smarter than me must have figured this out, but I can't believe they get more total viewers worldwide by having the games in North America and holding them mid-week during the work day for most of the continent. I seem to remember in years past seeing this event in Europe and most of the time the arena's are like half full at best.

[chippa13 1844]

And what are they doing having the championships at noon on a Sunday? What a joke, thanks for coming out IIHF, great way to drum up interest in an event. Whatever you do, don't schedule the final game for prime-time Saturday night with zero competition from the NHL, nobody would have watched it then.

Because that puts it on a primetime in much of Europe, you know, the continent that tends to have a lot more interest in this tournament.

[mrusse01 0]

It was absolutely never called and I, for one, got tired of watching defensemen like the aforementioned doing it time and again in order to get a whistle to relieve pressure when they weren't in a position to ice the puck.

I agree 100%. But I also think a more logical solution would be to simply mandate the referees to call the penalty more often. It's not hard to figure out if a guy is under pressure in his own zone and just randomly shoots the puck into the stands.