DALLAS – Gary Bettman made clear yesterday that he wants to NHL to return referee’s judgment to crease infractions, and remove the absolute nature of goal reversals.
”I have a real question about about relying on replay too much and taking some of the energy and excitement out of the building when a goal is scored and people are worried about whether or not they can cheer,” the NHL commissioner said. ”We have been taking some very skillful plays that have resulted in goals and, in effect, disallowed them because of what some might suggest are things that are going on on the ice that are purely incidental.” *
While spending much time insisting that the Islanders will not be permitted to simply dump stars, Bettman did say the league will examine the AHL’s experiment of playing 4-on-4 in overtime. He said that with the winner adding an extra point, the decision rate rose from 30 percent to 61 percent.
Bettman also noted that there have been only six fighting majors called in 80 playoff games this year, compared to 93 in 92 games in 1990. He also said that only seven playoff games were not sellouts, which would mean that only two non-sellouts occurred outside the Devils-Penguins series.
On another front, the commissioner said that the NHL would not be starting a women’s league in the near future, although he said he is a believer in women’s hockey.