Penalties by the Replay and the Rule Book

If you watched theCaps game against San Jose on Monday, you may have noticed two occurrences thatwere a little out of the norm for a regulation NHL game. One that seemed totake forever and one that happened in the blink of an eye.

The first was thegoalie interference penalty against Joel Ward that was delayed for almost oneminute of play. Here’s how it began: Two minutes into the first period, JoelWard crashed into the Sharks goalie Thomas Greiss. (Speculation from Caps fanswas that Ward was actually pushed into Greiss by Sharks center Logan Couture;at least it looked like that to the Caps faithful watching the replay.) So, atthe 18:00 minute mark on the clock, the ref raises his arm to signal a penaltywill be called. So, why didn’t he just blow the whistle then instead of waitinguntil the 17:03 mark? Here’s why.

Perthe NHL rulebook:  Should an infractionof the rules which would call for a minor, major, misconduct, game misconductor match penalty be committed by a player of the team not in possession of thepuck, the Referee shall raise his arm to signal the delayed calling of apenalty. When the team to be penalized gains control of the puck, the Refereewill blow his whistle to stop play and impose the penalty on the offendingplayer or goalkeeper.

What this breaks downto is this; when the penalty against the Caps occurred, San Jose was inpossession of the puck, and upon review of the game footage, kept possession ofthe puck for another 57 seconds. It wasn’t until San Jose made an attempt ongoal that was deflected by Braden Holtby and Roman Hamrlik, that the puck was finallyno longer in San Jose’s possession. Yes, it seemed like the delay lastedforever. I actually rewound the DVR several times just to make sure my eyesweren’t playing tricks on me. So, while we all may disagree with the penaltyitself, the delay of the penalty for 57 seconds was by the book. The NHLrulebook, that is.

The second out of thenorm occurrence was the 10 minute misconduct penalty called on Joel Rechlicz.How can a guy who only played on the actual ice for 1:30 do something worthy ofa 10-minute penalty? To explain that, you need the replay and a little history.Joel “The Wrecker” Rechlicz is a right wing on the Hershey Bears and is knownfor the enforcer role he plays. (He even dropped the gloves with DonaldBrashear back in 2010 when Wrecker was playing for the Bridgeport SoundTigers). Apparently, Coach Hunter brought Rechlicz up from Hershey for thisSharks game to keep Brad Winchester from being a factor in the game, as he hadpreviously when he was penalized for charging on Alex Semin in January. PerDale Hunter after practice on 2/14, “The Wrecker eliminated any effect fromWinchester”; so, job well done.

But, as to the misconductpenalty, we really have to go back to the replay, because if you blinked – youmissed it. At the 16:23 mark in the second period, Ovechkin is skating alongthe boards when he comes in contact with Ryan Clowe. “Contact” meaning theusual forceful body hit from Ovi that sends Clowe flying. A few seconds later,Clowe tries to return the favor by slamming Ovi into the wall along the Capsbench. Now, you have to watch really closely to what see happens next. While thesetwo hits occur, you can see Rechlicz standing up from his seat on the bench.Just after the hit from Clowe, Rechlicz appears to take offense to Clowe’s hitand seems to be having words with him. Before you know it, the commentatorsannounce Rechlicz and been removed from the bench for a 10-minute misconductpenalty, and nobody seems to know why.

So, what constitutes amisconduct penalty?

Per the NHL rulebook:

75.4 Misconduct Penalty - Misconduct penalties shall be assessed under this rule for thefollowing infractions:

(i) Any player who persists in using obscene, profane or abusivelanguage directed towards any person after being assessed a minor or benchminor penalty under this Rule.

(ii) Any player who deliberately throws any equipment out of theplaying area. At the discretion of the Referee, a game misconduct may beimposed.

(iii) Any player who, after warning by the Referee, persists in anycourse of conduct (including threatening or abusive language or gestures orsimilar actions) designed to incite an opponent into incurring a penalty.

(iv) Whena penalized player challenges or disputes the ruling of an official after hehas already entered the penalty bench and play has resumed. 



(v) In general, participants displaying this type of behavior are assessed a minorpenalty, then a misconduct penalty and then a game misconduct penalty if theypersist.

While fans may neverlearn the full story of what exactly transpired, we could probably assume (iii)was the reason why.  But what may be moreimportant here is the affect The Wrecker had on the game. Looking back, tenminutes in the locker room isn’t too big a price to pay to ensure theopposition knows who and what they are dealing with.

Ladies, What Do You Want?

As some of you may know, I occasionally write posts for Scarlet Caps. Once again, they have asked me for a post submission. Knowing how a majority of my followers feel about the website and its posts, I thought I'd give y'all a chance to let me know what you would actually like to read on the Scarlet Caps blog. And, if you've never read any of the blog posts there, what would send you there for the first time?

So, serious question: Is there a topic you really want to know about? I'd love to hear any and all suggestions. I'd like to write a post for them that you all would actually read and maybe even comment on! If you really couldn't care less about the blog posts on Scarlet Caps, I totally understand, no problem, carry on. Just one thing though, as a writer for Scarlet Caps, I do not get any insider information, personal access to players or private interviews. It has to be about something I can research for you or something you always wondered about in regards to hockey, stuff like that.

And if you're thinking I'm being lazy about coming up with a topic myself, all I can say is...maybe.

So, since my usual signoff on posts is a sarcastic "Any questions?” this time I would really love some actual questions from you. Hit me with your ideas/suggestions/questions/comments in the comments, or on Twitter at @Caps_Girl or on Facebook (if you came here through there), or by email if you have my address, whatever. If Scarlet Caps is really about hockey from a woman's perspective, let's make it happen.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Can’t a female hockey fan get a little respect? Holy cow, it’s bad enough that the NHL Shop tries to convince us to buy and wear glittery pink hockey jerseys, but we also have to put up with snarky remarks from commentators too?

I’ve heard the little snarks before, but I just have to say, I’m damn sick and tired of it. What ticked me off tonight? Well, I’ll tell you. Here I am, calmly watching the Caps vs. Bruins game on my TV, when CSN decides to show a group of four female fans talking to each other in their seats at Verizon Center. Joe Beninati describes the scene in this way: “Ladies –chatting - I’m sure about the breakout, I’m sure it has to do with the breakout.” And then he and Craig Laughlin chuckle.

Now, some readers who may have seen this might just think “What? That’s nothing”, and you’re entitled to your opinion. But speaking as a woman hockey fan, who also works in a male dominated business, that was snark directed at female fans. Frankly, if I were one of those ladies in that group and knew this was said on television about me, I’d be irate. Just seeing it unfold on my television was bad enough. So, here is an open letter to Joe Beninati, Craig Laughlin and CSN:

Dear Sirs,

While you think it is entertaining to make any kind of comment about female hockey fans attending a game; no matter your intent; you are in fact perpetuating the absurd myth that women cannot be hockey fans. Shame on you, I hope Jill Sorenson, Julie Donaldson, or Kelli Johnson smack you upside the head. All jokes aside, any comment you make regarding any fan attending a professional sporting event should never have the slightest hint of ridicule, regardless of their gender. But, directing these type of comments to female fans in particular, smacks of narrow-mindedness and chauvinism. Your lack of respect towards female fans is not only rude; it is an antiquated view of women. I happen to have a great deal of knowledge about a hockey, and consider myself to be a serious fan of the game, as do many other women. We deserve to be treated with dignity, not derision. Also, these fans are the people you hope to attract to your broadcasts as viewers. You are representing your company, and doing it poorly. Fortunately, fans of professional sports have options when it comes to listening to commentators of a game. From this point forward, I think I’ll be exercising that option. Maybe you should just go back to talking about food? On second thought, how about just talking about the game?

Sincerely,

C_G

Any questions?

Great Expectations – My Reality Check

Upon further review of recent events by the Washington Capitals, I find it necessary to give my great expectations a little reality check.

Caps vs. the New York Islanders: Yes, that was a total stinker game, a shit show if I may be so bold. Caps looked like they either couldn’t care less or couldn’t get their shit together. While it was a train wreck to watch, I especially felt bad for fans at Verizon Center who didn’t even get to see one goal from our boys. Shutouts are even harder to watch then losses; shutouts feel like the team didn’t even show up to play, while a loss, hopefully, usually includes some viable effort. So, while it would have been nice to see at least one goal in that game, maybe the team wasn’t into it because they didn’t feel the need to be into it. My reality check: Maybe the team was thinking “Which is more important; we beat the Islanders or we beat the Habs?” I heard all the interviews after the game. Everybody saying how badly they played, etc., etc., etc. But what if  they were just focusing too much on the next game in Montreal? Not fair to the fans but certainly feasable. Dunno for sure, but a little reflection made me change my mind. A stinker is still a stinker though.

Caps vs. Montreal Canadiens: Much better effort here. So much so that the Habs fans were the ones feeling the disappointment of a shutout. But, at least they got to see their team fight and claw to the bitter end. But my reality check here concerns the desire to mete payback for the hit to Nick Backstrom by Rene Bourque on January 3rd. Hubs and I were betting on Erskine to dole out the punishment, but Matt Hendricks answered the call instead. We all knew Bourque would be expecting it and at the end you may say he prevailed, but payback was completed. My reality check: It’s a hockey game, not a 10 round title fight. Additional payback; while desired; is not reasonable. Yes, I have a high regard for Nicky and want to see retribution for those who hurt him, but if another member of the team had tried to punish Bourque again after the “bout” with Hendricks, we would have looked like a bunch of goons. But it does kind of validate my reality check from the previous paragraph.

Nick Backstrom’s injury: I seem to recall Nicky saying that he felt ok after that elbow to the head from Rene Bourque. I did hear that, right? So why is he still out? While concussions are no laughing matter, if he feels great, let him play is the common theme from some fans. Yes, concussions should take precedence, but what if there were more to the story? Could Nick also have an undisclosed injury that needs time for recovery? Many a time we have heard after-the-fact of players playing with an injury during the post-season. Naturally, these injuries would not be disclosed until later since opposing teams would obviously try to take advantage of them when a player does return to the ice. My reality check: IF the aforementioned WERE true, what better time to give Nick a chance to recover from an undisclosed injury while leading everyone to believe that his scratches are concussion related. Furthermore, we all know of Nick’s migraine problems, so let’s add this to the list of possible problems as to why he isn’t back in the game. As much as I miss Nick in the game (and I think the team misses him as well), if he needs to sit, he needs to sit, no matter the reason given. Get well Nicky and come back when you are 100%. (While I was writing this post, an interview from Sweden with Nicky was translated by Malin for Japers Rink. Frustration and headaches were mentioned, go read it if you haven’t already.) Have to admit, though, I am grasping at straws just a bit.

Player scratches and call ups: We’ve all seen it since Dale Hunter has become the coach. Certain players are being scratched game after game after game. Yes, I am talking about Jeff Schultz in particular. I jump to the conclusion that because he was obviously one of Boudreau’s boys from Hershey, he isn’t appreciated the same way now that Hunter has the reins. Ever since Hunter has arrived, we’ve seen the team try to become more physical, which I certainly appreciate. I’ve been asking for bodies against the boards for ages, so it’s great to see this addition to the Caps style of play. But if you’ve watched Jeff Schultz play, he isn’t a huge checker. And without Green to be paired with, he looks like he’s a little lost out there when he does get a chance to play. When Orlov and Kundratek got called up, many fans asked why, since we already had Erskine and Schultz. My reality check: I have absolutely no clue the exact reason why players are getting healthy scratches. Maybe that's ok. It is possible they just aren’t Dale’s or Jim’s cup of tea; it is possible they are having difficulties adjusting to Dale’s system, and it is possible that it’s none of the above. When it comes to Schultz, jump to the conclusion of a possible trade if you must, you could just be right. Since Jeff is technically tied up by contract for a couple more years, I’d bet on a trade by the end of February. (Since I’m terrible at gambling, don’t lay any actual bets on that statement, I’ve been known to be wrong.) This reality check is more of a shoulder shrug/meh/whatever for me.

Caps must win every game/all the time: Come on, really? Time for you to get a reality check if you really think that.

Since math really hurts my brain there are no stats to back any of this conjecture up, just a few reminders to myself that a good dose of reality makes watching the Caps a little easier at times. So, that being said; what color is the sky in your world?

Thank You, Love Caps Girl

Feeling grateful; so some shout outs of thanks…

First and foremost: a huge thank you to everyone who has ever clicked a link to this blog. Even though inspiration is sometimes lacking on my part; every reader, follower and comment is truly appreciated.

Secondly, some very nice people who have taken the time to link this little blog and send huge numbers of hits: all the folks at @JapersRink and @TedLeonsis. Just the fact that you took the time to read and decided a post was worthy of a link brings heartfelt gratitude.

Thirdly: all the fellow bloggers who have listed me on their blog rolls, most especially the Washington Capitals and Monumental Sports. I blush every time I see my blog listed on your sites. (Really)

I started this blog over two years ago, with no grand scheme other than to bitch and moan and sometimes share a few laughs along the way. From this, I have been able to further my own hockey education and hopefully further a few reader’s hockey educations as well. So, speaking of educating, I’d like to thank some experts who have helped educate me with their insight and by answering some sometimes stupid questions: @VogsCaps, @JohnKeeley, @ODPllc, @EdFrankovic, @CapsExaminer, @emcerlain , @pckhdsthghts , and @TedStarkey. Even though I’ve only met a few of you in real life, I owe you all at least one beer for sharing your wealth of knowledge with me.

I’d also like to thank some of my partners in crime: Leslie (@hockeymomva), for co-blogging on Scarlet Caps and fun shenanigans at brunch along with Liz (@DCSportsChick); and my fellow gchat snarkers: Dana (@YoCalleJo, who also shares Caps tickets cuz she’s just awesome that way), Katelyn (@dorcov), Stephy (@carrotbazooka), Julie (@dimickj), and Beta (@itsabeta), it’s always fun to be around these ladies.

Finally, thank you to everyone who follows and interacts with me on Twitter. I’ve said it before; I have the best Tweeps! Yes, I tend to get a little sappy at the end of the year, so thank you for indulging me, putting up with my blondness and shenanigans, and making 2011 such a great year. I love you all.

The Annual Caps JibJab Christmas Card

Cause we all need a little cheering up after a loss:

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

The Art of the RT

Time for another Social Media rant. And it’s about the one thing that puts most Twitter users’ teeth on edge, the “retweet” (or “RT” for those in the know). I briefly covered this in a previous Social Media post, but I guess nobody paid attention to it or forgot.

Some of this rant will be directed to my tweet stream as a Washington Capitals fan in particular, but I’m sure it can apply to every Twitter user, as the majority of Tweeps usually follow a certain topic/theme/interest. So, let the ranting begin.

Dear Tweeps,

Please use RT’s with care. It is not necessary to RT everything tweeted by the @washcaps account. They are followed by almost 70,000 people, so you can be pretty much guaranteed that everyone who follows you has already seen the news they just tweeted. The same can be said of any tweets or blogs posted by @TedLeonsis (who may only have 20,000+ followers, but that’s enough to ensure that most fans are already seeing the original). Maybe you think you are providing a service to your followers by doing this? Yes, that is so very nice of you. But you aren’t paying attention, are you? I just told you, I can pretty much guarantee that all of your followers have already seen the news. So, as nice as that seems; in truth, it is very annoying to those of us that follow both you and the team. We follow you for your own personal musings, not to see the same information regurgitated over and over and over.

Which brings me to bloggers and media type Twitter users. I know it’s tough to compete. Some of you make your living by being actual sports journalists, and that’s why we follow you; for actual sports news. Bloggers, your job is to put your own spin on that sports news. But how many times have we seen the same thing tweeted by both? Too many. You might as well just RT them, but then you'd piss people off then too. We are on to you; you really want to be professional journalists, don’t you? Well, until such time as you get hired by an actual media outlet and make the big bucks, please stop posing. Put your own spin on your tweets, we’d rather see you than some clone of someone else. That is why we follow you after all. And, this seems to be a good place to thank all of the bloggers who do this correctly; you make me want to click your links.

And speaking of following, let’s talk about #FF’s while we are at it. A lot of Twitter users like to give shout outs to Tweeps by giving them an #FF every Friday. People who receive these are usually very honored to receive the recommendation, as they should be. But by RTing that #FF recommendation verbatim to your entire follower base makes you come off as either lazy or egotistical. Let me remind you, when you RT a #FF recommendation to your tweet stream, you are sending it to people who already follow you! Yes, it’s possible that someone in the original #FF tweet doesn’t follow you, but those people already saw the recommendation for you when they were @’d in the first place! The correct response to a #FF directed towards you is a simple thank you.

Which brings me to people who ask for RT’s. How many times have you seen people either tweet a blog post, some silly or inane idea/comment or announce it’s their birthday and ask someone else for a RT? Yes, fortunately for them, some people they ask will oblige them. But in essence, what you are doing when you ask for the RT is begging for attention and validation. I feel kind of sorry for people who do this, how sad their meaningless little lives must be. (That is snark, people; don’t get your panties in a wad.) On the flip side, if you have a certain piece of information that you think would be beneficial to have RT’d for the greater good, such as a charity or cause, go right ahead and ask for the RT. This circumstance seems appropriate, and I hope that the celebrity who gets these requests consider actually following through with a RT. Now, that’s the way to use your powers for good!

So, like the earlier thank you to bloggers, I’d like to say thank you to all my Tweeps who do the RT the right way. You make it a pleasure to follow you all. To those of you who can’t seem to be Social Media savvy, you may have already been unfollowed for the sake of irritation alone, but you probably have no idea why. As for me, I expect to be unfollowed in 5….4….3….2….

Authors Note: Minutes after posting this with no linking to Twitter or Facebook because it really is just a personal rant, I was sorta retweeted by the @CapsBlogsRT. Yes, I am kind of embarrassed right now.