NHL adopts modification to face-off circle hash marks for 2014-15
The NHL made some minor changes to its faceoff-circle hash marks for the 2014-15 season. They'll now be five feet, seven inches apart.
By
Chris Peters
•
1 min read
The National Hockey League is always looking for ways to boost offense and that often comes in the form of rule changes. Some are more subtle than others, like the one the NHL and NHLPA are adopting for implementation this season.
Throughout the preseason, the league has been experimenting with altered distance between the hash marks on face-off circles. The hash marks, designed to separate opposing players by a distance of 3 feet, are now farther apart for the 2014-15 season. The league moved the hash marks to 5 feet, 7 inches apart, which is more in line with the distance between hash marks on international ice surfaces. And that's where they'll stay this year.
Here's how the new rule change reads in the official rule book under Rule 1.9 -- Face-off Spots and Circles:
The circles shall be two inches (2") wide with a radius of fifteen feet (15') from the center face-off spots. At the outer edge of both sides of each face-off circle and parallel to the goal line shall be marked two red lines, two inches (2") wide and two feet (2') in length and five feet, seven inches (5'7") apart.
The thought is that, however small, the distance between the hash marks gives an offensive player a little extra space to make something happen if he were to get the puck off the draw.
It's a small difference, but it might help set faceoff plays work a little better for attacking teams by giving the defenders a few extra feet to cover. Having been tested throughout the preseason, the league must have seen enough success in the change to warrant full-time adoption.
