In a hockey rink that stretches 200 feet long and 85 wide, 48 inches generally isn’t that big of a deal.
But during the summer when the NHL tweaked the “Goalkeeper’s Restricted Area,” and added 4 feet — 2 on each side of the net — to the trapezoid running behind the goal line it altered how the Blackhawks and other teams will do things at both ends of the ice this season.
Instead of 18 feet along the line to play the puck, goaltenders will now have 22, which should help them get it to teammates or clear it out of the zone themselves. If they play the puck outside the trapezoid a delay-of-game penalty is assessed. On the attack, teams will have to adjust how they advance the puck into the offensive zone.
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville called the new trapezoid dimensions “an important thing” and it is likely to change teams’ strategies. Like all teams, the Hawks either dump the puck into the offensive zone with a long shot from inside the red line or carry it across the blue line. Now, goalies who handle the puck well will have more room to do so and forechecking and breakouts will be affected.
“I like to play the puck so it gives me a little more space to give it to our ‘D,'” Hawks goalie Corey Crawford said. “Pucks (that) last year you weren’t sure (about), we’ll be able to get to before their guy (does).”
Quenneville said the Hawks’ frequency of dumping pucks into the zone won’t change much but they way they do it certainly could. For a team that thrives on retrieving the puck and then possessing it in the offensive zone to create scoring chances, it’s an important aspect of the game.
“You want to make sure you’re smart about it, whether you’re going to be chipping the puck in, putting it on the glass (or) trying to not get it where the goalie can handle it,” Quenneville said. “You want to avoid more touches (for the goalie).”
Just a week into training camp, the coaches haven’t gone over with players yet exactly how the team will adapt but it will be addressed and practiced before the Oct. 9 season opener against the Stars in Dallas.
While it may appear to be a small aspect of the game, the dump-in often can be a split-second decision that determines if a team gets a quality scoring chance or ends up defending one at the other end.
“You want your forwards to have the puck so you’re looking at all your options and if you have nothing by the time you get to the red line the safest play — the best play a lot of times — is just get it deep and try to get a good forecheck off it,” veteran Hawks defenseman Brent Seabrook said.
Easier said than done, especially with goalies now allowed more room to roam.
“One of the things when we try to dump it in (is) to keep it away from the goalie so they’re not getting a clean breakout,” winger Patrick Kane said. “You try to make him have to make a play. We’ll try to still keep it away from the goalie a little bit more and when we do dump it in. … Joel wants us to have a purpose where we can dump it (and) get it back easier.”
Firing the puck hard along the glass still will be an effective deterrent to goalies intent on leaving the crease to play the puck.
“That definitely keeps goalies in the net,” Quenneville said. “We always talk about dumping it in with a chance for retrieval with purpose. Sometimes, it’s harder to get it on the glass but goalies generally don’t come out of their net.”
That extra space will be enticing to netminders, who if caught in no man’s land after misplaying a puck or making an errant pass to a teammate will end up fishing it out of the back of the net.
“It could go either way,” Crawford said. “Maybe playing it too much is a bad thing or it could go on the good side, too, where you can play it a little bit more and give your ‘D’ time and space.”
Health update: Teuvo Teravainen, who hadn’t been on the ice since taking a crunching open-ice hit from Cam Barker during a scrimmage Saturday, practiced with teammates Wednesday at the United Center. Teravainen said he sat out more for precautionary measures and will not make the trip to Detroit for an exhibition Thursday night against the Red Wings. Joakim Nordstrom (upper body) and Kris Versteeg (flu) did not practice Wednesday.
Twitter @ChrisKuc
