Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Play Could Be Even Quicker This Season

10/06/2015 at 5:53pm EDT

from the CP at The Chronicle Herald,

Drew Doughty knows that opponents who go into Staples Center expect to get hit early and often by the big, physical Kings. Los Angeles won the Stanley Cup twice with that hard style of hockey.

Now, perhaps, more teams have the antidote.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are on the front lines of the NHL’s trend toward smaller, faster more skilled teams that hit and fight less and would rather win by holding onto the puck.

“If they can’t catch us, they can’t hit us,” Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said.

Rule changes 10 years ago put the emphasis on skill over size, and in recent years more players like Tyler Johnson of the Lightning and Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames can thrive despite being well under six feet tall. While Martin St. Louis and Daniel Briere had to break the mould, players of their ilk are now far more prominent.

“It’s about if you can skate and play the game,” Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask said. “It gives more people the opportunity to play in the NHL. When you look at the kids, their dreams are not shattered if they don’t grow to be 6-2, 200 pounds.”

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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