Lacrosse Goals

Posted by Tom Jelinek

With Svechnikov finally pulling off in game action that Lacrosse style goal that until now has been exclusive to tricks done in practice, I predict there will be more of them.  Auston Matthews has come close, and others too, no doubt.  Seeing it has been done creates a certain expectation that it is feasible, so why not try.

There is now also debate on whether it should be legal.  Technically, it is, since the stick inherently stays below the crossbar, if the goal is to go in.  But it is worth debate, because it kind of changes the game.  Imagine basketball where traveling is legal.  It was never germaine in hockey before, because the puck was on the ice, and never glued to the stick, so to speak.  Lacrosse is more of a combat sport than hockey, because slashing is sort of the only way to dislodge the ball.  If it goes that way, stick work will increase that much more.

Goalies' reactions are mixed.  Andersen is suspicious about it, with the stick coming close to the head.  It hasn't been spelled out, but I will: The end of the stick blade will fit cleanly in the eye slots of the goalie cage.  Adding more wires would impede visibility.  Some goalies have commented how in the past they'd stand up more, so it would be less relevant (I think Fleury came closest to calling it), but they're afraid that would make them more susceptible 5-hole.  It probably never occurred to him that you're allowed to stand up with your pads together.  You can seal the side of the net completely that way, and make the concern irrelevant.  So here's my broken record rant:  On sharp angles, the butterfly is a liability.  The profile of the net is very narrow from sharp angles, so sealing a wide strip at the bottom is wasted coverage, and it comes at the expense of creating space upstairs.  The tradeoff is responding to passes to the slot, and someone would have to do the math, but it's not like goalies are that good today at stopping the one-timers from the slot, when the pass comes from behind the net.  

That aside, this could change the nature of the game, and it's worthy of a debate.