Comments on: Is obstruction back? Some Penguins say it is

By: dcent87

dcent87 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:08:43 +0000

maby, just maby, its just that the penguins are not as good as they or their fans ego think they are

By: johninpa

johninpa — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:32:50 +0000

Great comment, Pittman. I think most of us watching hockey enjoy watching good skaters do their thing, not watch a bunch of grabbing because a defensive player can’t keep up. Sadly, fishtacos won’t understand this.

By: bananaballs

bananaballs — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:45:32 +0000

I have noticed this the last few years and especially in the playoffs. It’s quite frustrating when it’s supposed to be against the rules but they’re letting it slide. By now it’s nothing new and the post lockout reffing is more foreign than the pre lockout style.

By: kotteintheslot

kotteintheslot — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:43:48 +0000

I hate the penguins but you cant argue numbers….

By: hockeyfan1701

hockeyfan1701 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:28:05 +0000

An interesting thought for sure.

By: pittman76

pittman76 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:54:01 +0000

Hey fishtacos4me, this isn’t just the Penguins, it’s a league-wide issue. Goal scoring has been on a steady decline the last 7 years as have the penalties. And the writer of the newspaper article that’s linked in this blog didn’t get the idea from Orpik, he went in the locker room knowing the stats before asking him about it. Orpik was asked some questions about it and he gave his honest opinion and the opinion is validated by the numbers. Maybe you ought to put away you Penguins hate and try to learn something that is a valid issue with the state of the game. These are NHL numbers, not just Penguins numbers:

PP opportunities: (per game)
05-06: 5.85
06-07: 4.85
07-08: 4.28
08-09: 4.16
09-10: 3.71
10-11: 3.54
11-12: 3.47

Goals per team: (per game)
05-06: 3.08
06-07: 2.95
07-08: 2.78
08-09: 2.91
09-10: 2.84
10-11: 2.79

By: guinsrule

guinsrule — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:47:02 +0000

Maybe the league is purposely trying slow the game down to decrease the growing number of head injuries.

By: fishtacos4me

fishtacos4me — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:41:35 +0000

This is all about setting the stage for the excuses when the Penguins get eliminated in the first round. Heard it all before fanboys….face it though…with or without the golden child, the Penguins are starting the excuses.

By: billvill

billvill — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:30:31 +0000

D’oh!

By: billvill

billvill — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:30:06 +0000

Actually reading the article is highly overrated.

By: billvill

billvill — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:29:56 +0000

Actually reading the article is high overrated.

By: richie500

richie500 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:57:37 +0000

Brooks Orpik doesn’t talk much, burt when he does it is thoughtful,intelligent comments. He sees the change happening, and I hope hockey doesn’t go back to the boring Devils play of years past!

By: travishenryskid

travishenryskid — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:45:58 +0000

Is this really even a question? The NHL has reverted back to a game that looks pre-lockout and it’s a shame. There are an awful lot of boring hockey games these days. Probably about 80% of goals are garbage goals. The NHL would be smart to address this problem.

By: jpelle82

jpelle82 — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:38:19 +0000

moron. they are talking to a defensman who aknowledges that he is able to hold and obstruct his opponents more…that would be to his advantage, not disadvantage. if he is complaining, the complaint would be that they should be penalizing defensman more…including himself.

“I don’t necessarily think the play has gotten cleaner,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. “(But) there are few power-play opportunities out there for every team.”

By: fishtacos4me

fishtacos4me — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:22:17 +0000

Leave it to the same team that employs crybaby Crosby to now start crying about obstruction. Perhaps they should focus more on their own inability to skate and score than crying to the media.