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Sunday, October 20, 2002

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

It's all about speed these days in the NHL. There are hurry-up faceoffs, rapid line changes, quick transitions, faster conclusions and, above all, a swifter skating flow.

It's a wonder the league doesn't ask public address announcers to speak in Chipmunk voices, just to fit the frenetic pace.

"I can tell you we love it," Andy van Hellemond, NHL director of officiating, said Wednesday at Mellon Arena. "Hockey's meant to be a fast game with a fast feel, and we wanted to get back to that. I think we're doing it so far."

The most tangible evidence is that game times have been reduced by an average of 25 minutes, to roughly two hours, 20 minutes. The primary reason for that is the new rule that requires a faceoff to be held no more than 18 seconds after the previous stoppage.

But, as van Hellemond will delightedly point out, there are several other causes and effects that are more difficult to quantify.

He cited as a prime example a game Tuesday in Dallas between the Stars and Oilers, when play went uninterrupted for a span of nine minutes, one second.

"I've been in this game 30 years," van Hellemond said. "I've never seen something like that."

Obviously, the hurry-up faceoffs had nothing to do with that. Still, van Hellemond feels the league's new policies as a whole contributed to this oddity and to others he has noted in the season's first week.

"It's more like a mood that's being set," he said. "It just seems that everything's happening much more quickly."

The obstruction crackdown gets part of the credit.

For one, because interference is being called so tightly, there is more room to operate all over the rink. That means fewer offsides, particularly those caused by traffic at the blue line. It means fewer of those ultra-dull tie-ups along the boards, too.

"We're seeing fewer stoppages, especially along the side boards," van Hellemond said. "That's because guys can freely skate and get to the loose puck before it gets tied up, and that's because they don't have hands or sticks on them. The north-south flow of the game has been good."

For another, the crackdown has created a 180-degree turn in the way the game is played, especially by defensemen. Coaches are placing emphasis on one-touch transitions and nonstop skating. Even the most defensive players are being forced to move their feet more because they aren't allowed to hook or hold.

The faceoffs have played a prominent role, too.

Seldom is there time for the home-team coach to wait and see which players from the visiting team come on the ice to pick his matchup. Most often, he must tab his next line before a stoppage and stick with it. That keeps players on the bench just about as focused on the game as those on the ice.

"The old way, you had guys kind of standing around, and the game really kind of bogged down. That slowed the game down for fans and for players," van Hellemond said. "Now, there's less down time, and I think that affects the whole game. When players come on the ice now, they do it with a purpose. They're ready to play all the time. They don't have to rev it up after a long stoppage."

The effect which brings the widest smile to van Hellemond's face is the one he most wishes he had when he worked as an NHL referee.

"There's less time to debate things with the officials. You don't have guys loitering or coming into the faceoff and telling the linesman, 'I'll put my stick in when I'm ready.' You don't have a lot of time to argue with the referees about every little thing, either. You just go out and play the game."