Just three weeks into the current NHL hockey season, the trend of fewer fights in the professional ice hockey league has continued.
So far this season, there have been 35 fights on the ice across 154 matches, which is equivalent to fewer than one out of every four games. Despite the decline, players state that there is a place, and an important place at that, for face-offs in the modern game. And most fans certainly still seem to enjoy the excitement.
Fighting in ice hockey is considered an important part of the game, and not just a sideshow for the main event to get the fans riled up. A lot of the pre-game build-up will center on the possibility of a head-to-head fight during the match, and betting sites will also take bets on whether there will be a fight, and what the outcome of those fights will be. In this article detailing the best sports betting sites in Canada, betting expert Neil Roarty states that the NHL is one of the most commonly searched for sports on these betting sites. Mainly, betting sites allow sports fans to place prop bets, same game parlays and correct scores.
Proponents of fighting in the game state that it enables teams to protect their star players. Star players tend to get singled out for heavy blocking and hard-hitting. In these cases, teammates might step in. Or, a player on one team might instigate a fight to let the other team know that hard-hitting won’t be tolerated.
Sometimes, a player might instigate a fight in order to get his team worked up: effectively, as a means of boosting morale. And, it can prove especially successful, especially if the fans get behind the fighters.
Ice hockey is a physical, aggressive game. Sometimes, tempers fray to the extent that a fight breaks out, but they don't always fight aggressively. During a fight in one game in 2017, the players wore microphones. They could be heard calling each other “bud” during the fight, and in the penalty box after the fight, they could be heard discussing their summer plans and wishing one another well.
While it might be accepted, fighting during a game is technically against the rules. Any player involved in a fight is sent to the penalty box for five minutes. Rule changes also mean that if one player is deemed an instigator, they receive additional penalties, although these rules are somewhat controversial.
There are also unwritten rules that players typically adhere to. Fights occur between players of a similar size, especially when instigated by an enforcer, and both fighters should remove their gloves to prevent undue injuries. A player who removes their helmet, though, can face an extra two-minute penalty.
A decade ago, the figure was nearly 400 fights across the season. The number of fights in NHL matches has dwindled in recent years. In 2021-22 there were 331 fights recorded across the whole season. A year later during the 2022-23 season, there were 334, a slight increase from the previous year. By 2023-24, there were only 311 flights, and if things continue as they have started this season, there will be fewer than 300 fights in 2024-25.
Despite the drop in figures, most players accept that dropping the gloves is still an important part of the game.
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