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Posted on 10/06/2011 5:10:58 AM PDT by airborne
NHL opens its 95th season tomorrow night with spotlight on Winnipeg return, B's Cup defense
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Rules revisions, rink modifications reflect League's focus on player safety
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NEW YORK/TORONTO - The first Stanley Cup banner raising in Boston in 39 years, the first National Hockey League regular-season game in Winnipeg in 15 years and the first NHL regular-season game ever played in Germany will be among the highlights when the NHL launches its 2011-12 season with a four-day celebration beginning Thursday night.
The 1,230-game, 185-day regular season gets off to a rousing start with a coast-to-coast North American triple-header that includes the Boston Bruins beginning their 2011 Stanley Cup championship defense against Philadelphia. The other games feature an "Original Six" showdown between Montreal and Toronto and a meeting between Pittsburgh and Vancouver.
The spotlight shifts across the Atlantic Ocean Friday and Saturday, when the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers play four games in three European capitals -- including the historic Sabres-Kings game Saturday in Berlin. The final team opener of the season will mark the return of the NHL to Winnipeg when the Jets host the Canadiens Sunday.
Amid the pageantry, the NHL's continued focus on player safety will be reflected by changes to the rules and the playing environment. Expansions and revisions have been made to the rules governing boarding and checks to the head, while the changes to the environment include the elimination of seamless glass and the introduction of curved glass at the ends of players' benches.
What follows is a synopsis of the major changes, highlights and important facts media and fans should know going into the 2011-12 NHL season:
(Excerpt) Read more at nhl.com ...
(let me know if you want on or off the ping list)
Go Bruins!! Do it again!
woo hoo drop the puck!
Bruins repeat!!
add me to the hockey ping list please.
Please add me to the list. I love watching hockey. Must be all that pent up anger and fury. LOL!!
1st NHL game played in Dec. 1917 (1917-1918 season)
No 2004-2005 season
2011-2012 is the 95th season???
I like Vancouver - the city, not the team so much.
I’d prefer to see the city remain unburnt and unpillaged, so the Canucks can miss the playoffs, AFAIAC.
(I’m not bitter about last season’s playoff meltdown - not bitter at all!) ;^)
Can’t wait to see that banner raised in Beantown tonight. Go Bruins!
Mike
I honestly didn't give it any thought - just "cut & pasted" the headline.
But you do have a point. Perhaps, even though they didn't play, they count '04-'05.
When we talk about the lockout, we refer to the "2004-2005 season", don't we?
Consider yourself added!
Welcome FRiend!
Real men play hockey!
Welcome to the party, mom!
GO HABS GO!
LETS GO RED WINGS!!!
What you mean "WE"? (lol)
Became a fan of Ranger hockey on the radio in 1953. Went to my first game in 1956, the day Connie Mack passed away. Attended many games in the 60's and 70's, even had season tickets through the late 70's. With the coming of cable TV in Manhattan, followed it through the 80's. The strike near the end of the 91-92 season ended my love affair with the NY Rangers and the NHL. When the Rangers won the Cup in 94, I didn't even bother to watch the third period.....I just didn't care anymore.
Not sure why but I love watching them in the penalty box. When I see the gloves drop... I say, “Here we go!” Yes, real men play hockey! I’ve seen a few games live and it still amazes me how fast they go! It also amazes me that such big guys can be so “graceful” on skates/ice. (perhaps graceful isn’t the best term but they make skating look easy)
A couple of guys I work with are ex-HS football jocks, big-time NFL heads. I tell them football is for guys who can’t skate.
You would have LOVED the old Madison Square Garden. The penalty "box" consisted of a single door in the boards and two short benches, one on each side of an aisle, in the second row of seats. Fans were seated immediately next to and behind those benches. If player rancor was especially evident, a square badger (Rent-A-Cop) would sit on the steps of the aisle between them.
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