Eric Bryan Lindros (born February 28, 1973 in London, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League. He was the first overall pick in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. During his career, he captured numerous individual awards, and competed internationally for Canada at many tournaments. While in his prime, he was a premier power forward in the NHL, but he suffered from many injury problems. He retired in November of 2007, after playing the 2006-07 season with the Dallas Stars. With his imposing physical strength and playmaking ability, Lindros established himself as the top player on a Flyers team that had perennially been in contention but always fell short. His time in Philadelphia would see him score points at a phenomenal rate (for much of his first 5 seasons in the NHL, Lindros hovered around 4th all-time in points per game) and become one of the most feared players in the NHL, eventually leading the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals in 1997 (which they lost to the Detroit Red Wings); he would also suffer frequent injuries and feud with general manager Bobby Clarke.

Along with John LeClair and Mikael Renberg he played on the dreaded “Legion of Doom” line. He scored over 40 goals in each of his first two seasons and won the Hart Trophy as MVP in the lockout-shortened season of 1995 by scoring 29 goals and 41 assists in 46 games. He led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup finals in 1997, handily defeating their three opponents along the way. The Flyers were overmatched against the Detroit Red Wings, however, and were swept in the series, with Lindros managing to score his only goal in the dying minutes of Game 4 to cut the score to 2-1. In 1998, Lindros was ranked number 54 on The Hockey News’ list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players of all time.

The NHL decided to go retro this year. That’s right. It’s not so much that they instituted new rules; rather they went back to some old ones. The hoped for result has happened–scoring is up 24% from 2003-04.

Is the game more exciting? It seems to be. Are goaltenders and defensemen at a greater disadvantage than they were the last time the league produced a season of hockey? Definitely. The game has opened up for numerous reasons. The prohibition of the two-line pass is gone and that has opened up more chances for exciting playmaking. Now a defenseman who is still in his own zone can now shoot a pass to a winger breaking across the red line who catches it and continues over the blue line, shooting the puck on net. In past seasons that winger would have been whistled for connecting with a two-line pass and the play would have been dead.

For off sides there’s the “tag-up rule”, which allows offensive players who have preceded the puck into the attack zone to tag-up or touch the blue line and continue with play. Before, if a player were off sides the play would be stopped immediately. The new tag up rule has meant fewer whistles stopping the flow of the game.

When players are allowed to continue a play, as they are with these rules, there’s the chance for more shots and more goals. The NHL has noted that the number of shots on goal is also up.

One decision that has opened up the game but initially also slowed it down relates to defensive play, specifically what a defenseman can and can’t do. Prior to the start of the season officials were told by the league to pay special attention to interference, holding, hooking–any obstructive play. Especially at the start of the season there seemed to be an almost constant din of whistles, but as teams adjusted to the tighter calls, defensemen started relying more on stick work and there have been fewer whistles.

Of course with more calls against defensemen the number of power plays, which open up play even more, rose, thus gives teams a better shot–literally and figuratively–at scoring. Some players, former players, and commentators have been extremely vocal about this change. They feel it’s almost as if the defense has to ask permission before it asserts itself.

The fact is that “goon” defenseman just won’t cut it in the league anymore. In order to be effective at stopping the offense, players now have to utilize finer skills such as poke checking.

Another rule instituted to dissuade obstruction of play states that anyone instigating a fight in the final five minutes of a game will receive a game misconduct and a one-game suspension. This rule enforces the desire of the league to keep play unhampered and the game moving.

Then there’s the incredible shrinking goaltender, who is now 11% smaller. Has truncating the net-minder’s equipment really had much effect? Overall the bulk of the goalie’s gear has been reduced by 11% and sweaters and pants are also less bulky. Pads have been reduced by an inch and gloves and blockers aren’t as large. When you think about it logically such a reduction probably hasn’t had much of an influence on the rise in scoring.

Consider the fact that NHL goaltenders are amazing athletes capable of going to the right, making a pad save and then rushing to the other side of the net to stop a wrap around. They’ll do the butterfly and immediately be back on their skates, ready for the rebound. They possess extraordinary reflexes, having to wait till the last millisecond before they react to a shot. If anything, the reduction of bulk may have made these denizens of the crease more mobile and more effective.

A decrease of size in goaltending equipment would probably have a drastic effect if the league went back to the 70’s and early 80’s when pads weren’t much wider than the tender’s legs and anyone who wore a mask looked like Jason from the Friday the 13th movies. Diminutive gear would certainly result in more goals and probably more injuries to goalies.

Goaltenders have been made more vulnerable to scoring because of the limits the NHL has imposed on handling the puck. If a goalie freezes the puck unnecessarily then he can be called for delay of game. Additionally, the NHL’s creation of a trapezoid area demarcating the only space behind the goal line that a tender can handle the puck means that shooters have more access to the puck and greater opportunity to make plays.

In past seasons goaltenders could handle and freeze the puck more often, which meant they could keep it away from the offense before a winger ever had a chance to shoot. Now net-minders must wait for the shot more often, making them more reactive than proactive.

Finally, along with the incredible shrinking goaltender there’s the amazing expanding offensive zone. Neutral ice has been compacted and the offensive zones have been extended by four feet, creating more attack space, greater offensive mobility, and a lot more ice for the defense to cover, especially on the power play.

This season the team that has really taken advantage of having more open ice and less opposition is the Ottawa Senators who have scored 185 goals in 44 games. The Senators could score 350 or more goals this season. That’s something that hasn’t been done in a decade.

The game has opened up and so too has the net. More scoring chances, fewer whistles, and ongoing play have combined to make life tougher for the defense and sweeter for the shooters. The result is fans are enjoying more action, which makes them the ultimate winners.

This article was written by Paul Mroczka sponsored by http://www.StubHub.com Searching for those hard to find tickets for the next NHL hockey game? Look no further than StubHub where fans buy and sell the hottest Sports Tickets. Reproductions of this article are encouraged but must include a link back to http://www.StubHub.com

Hockey is a highly competitive and challenging game. Hockey lovers consider hockey players as genuine heroes. The professional life of hockey players is very demanding. They have to perform extremely well even under pressure. They have to work irregular hours and must be able to follow instructions from coaches and managers. Hockey players should be physically and mentally fit for the sport and possess special skills needed for the game. Moreover, a lot of traveling is involved in his career. Injuries are common in the hockey players’ lives. Many players have injuries caused by player contact, falls, and contact with a puck or high stick.

Some of the most well known hockey players are Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard, Doug Harvey, Terry Sawchuk, Jean Beliveau, Bobby Hull, Eddie Shore, Jacques Plante, Guy Lafleur, Glenn Hall, Phil Esposito and Stan Mikita.

Wayne Gretzky is the most popular figure among hockey players. He holds and shares several impressive records with other hockey players. He started his professional career with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association in 1978. His most productive years were with Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League. He joined this team in the year 1979 and led the Oilers to four Stanley Cup championships in 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1988. He created several new records. Additionally, Gretzky won the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Lady Byng Trophy. He ended his amazing 20-year career with 2,967 points. During these years, he revolutionized the popularity of hockey while establishing himself as the greatest player of all time.

Gordie Howe is a famous hockey player and prolific scorer. He made his first NHL debut for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. In 1977, he became the first player to score 1000 career major-league goals. He spent more than 50 years as a remarkable professional hockey player. Mario Lemieux is another outstanding hockey player of Canada.

All of them have their own contribution to the popularity the game of hockey that we enjoy today.

Hockey provides detailed information on Hockey, Hockey Jerseys, Hockey Tickets, Hockey Equipment and more. Hockey is affiliated with Ice Hockey Goalie Equipment.

As a sport, hockey is exciting to watch. I have been watching it for 20 years. My son started at 5 years old and played right through high school. From what he and others tell me, it is more exciting to play.

This must be so because there are so many amateur leagues all over the world. I am lucky enough to be a timekeeper for one of these, once a week I get to watch 3 games. Yes there is bad hockey but for the most part the level of play is very good. In fact the players are dedicated to putting in their best efforts.

These guys play just for the enjoyment, they are not out looking for glory, it is the fun that attracts them. Currently our league has seven teams. Each team has from 12 – 18 players. Every one of them plays their hearts out every game.

I hope that if you are “into” hockey, you will find out if there is a league near you and get down and watch a couple of games. It is worth the hour, you will see a bunch of guys playing as if they were fighting for a playoff spot. In some leagues they are.

Our league plays 20 weeks over the winter and then the play offs begin in April. The league champions get a trophy, pictures on the website and bragging rights for the summer.