Day 78, Rule 78

The game: Anaheim vs. LA Kings.

Why I chose it: Starting goaltender and new bazillionaire with a brand spankin' new four-year contract Jonas Hiller rolls into LA to continue the party. Game on and no I don't care if you think LA's going to cook the Ducks for dinner. I'm all in for the cutie pie Swiss goalie/Olympian.

The peeve: According to the latest headlines, Ilya Kovalchuk is headed to the New Jersey Devils because a 12-year, $101 million deal wasn't quite good enough for him. One of the ways I plan to continue this blog is by learning the business of hockey (trade deadline, free agents, the draft, salary cap, etc.). I may not know a lot about hockey, but I do know this: If $101 million isn't good enough for him, I'll take it. In fact, I'm pretty sure anyone who works for a living and whose head isn't swelled to the size of a small planet would take it.

The rule: Section 10, Game Flow. Rule 78, Goals.

Number of sections in the rule: 6.

Definition: 78.4, Scoring a Goal. A goal shall be scored when the puck shall have been put between the goal posts by the stick of a player of the attacking side, from in front and below the cross bar, and entirely across a red line the width of the diameter of the goal posts drawn on the ice from one goal post to the other with the goal frame in its proper position. Yes you can score into your own net: "a goal shall be scored if the puck is put into the goal in any way by a player of the defending side."

Also important: 78.1, Goals and Assists. The Official Scorer awards goals and assists, notwithstanding the report of the Referee or any other game official. It is essential that the Official Scorer be thoroughly familiar with every aspect of this rule; be alert to observe all actions which could affect the awarding of a goal or assist; and, above all, give or withhold awards with absolute impartiality.

Highlights:

So this is how you move up in the League standings: 78.1, Goals and Assists. The team scoring the greatest number of goals during the three (3) twenty-minute periods shall be the winner and shall be credited with two points in the League standings. In the event a winner during the regular season is determined in the overtime period or the shootout, the winning team shall be credited with two points in the League standings and the losing team will be credited with one point in the League standings.

78.5, Disallowed Goals. Things for which goals are disallowed include:
(i) When the puck has been directed, batted or thrown into the net by an attacking player other than with a stick.
(ii) When the puck has been kicked using a distinct kicking motion.
(iii) When the puck has deflected directly into the net off an official.
(iv) When a goal has been scored and an ineligible player is on the ice.
(xi) During the delayed calling of a penalty, the offending team cannot score unless the non-offending team shoots the puck into their own net.

The final score: Ok, so maybe they did get cooked (Anaheim 6, LA 4). But still, the rally back from the 4-1 deficit to tie it up was still way cool. And I'm still all in for cutie pie Swiss goalies.

Morals of the story:

The game: The first part of the rule is a "no exceptions" deal, but of course it applies to the officials and not the players. I'm a supporter of fair play and enforcement of rules, because I don't like it when athletes win for the wrong reason, such as steroid use, any form of cheating, or only because of random acts or lucky breaks. I like it when teams have to claw their way into the playoffs and fight along the way to get the Cup or the Gold Medal or whatever. That's why I love Jonas Hiller's story. He once told an interviewer something like "you have to fight to be lucky." It's true. Luck doesn't come around twice and you have to work to earn it and to keep it.

Life: The disallowed goals is so like life. It's universally true that when life is going too well, something else comes along to balance the equation. Take, for example, my brief and notorious stint doing PR on Wall Street. I thought I had it made - finally had a decent apartment with a dishwasher and washer/dryer and everything. I was five minutes from the train station and the gym and my new commute by PATH train was 20 minutes. Door to door, it would only take 45 minutes, tops. My office was right down the street from the New York Stock Exchange. And every morning, I got to walk right under the Trade Center on my way to work. Pretty cool, right? Sure it was. As long as you leave out the part where the first day of my nice new shiny life started on September 10, 2001 and the luck lasted for all of 24 hours. Nobody gets lucky without fighting for it. And nobody gets to keep it forever. In some cases, not even for a day.

Up next on 2/6: Section 10, Game Flow. Rule 79, Hand Pass. Extra note: tomorrow it will be 7 days to the Olympics opening ceremony and there are 8 rules to go. Look for a double-header over the weekend so I can meet my deadline.