chenker, hope you dont mind if i post this here-- since games start on fri--
Taken from Detroit web site, article by their play by play guy- thought I would include this for everyone just to make sure they knew about some of the different rules in international hockey vs. the nhl
"Things to watch on the ice in Salt Lake City: Hurry-up face-offs. Teams have a limited amount of time to get in position, and if they are not there, the linesman will go-ahead and drop the puck. You can bet they will be there.
Automatic icing calls. Like college hockey. As soon as the puck crosses the goal line (not in the net) the whistle goes without a player first having to touch the puck.
Fifteen feet of more ice in width. More skating room will be there for quick teams, who are also supposed to have the benefit of more room to pass with the center-ice red line being used for purposes of icing only. This means you can pass from inside your own blue-line to a teammate already at the opposition blue-line, providing both skates are not already in the offensive zone when he accepts the pass. I say, teams are "supposed" to have the benefit. I've seen enough college hockey, and past Olympic games, that leaves me wondering how much the "no-center-ice" offside will open up the game. Teams will still trap and coaches are too smart. Defense still rules, NHL or Olympics, at least for now. That's why in Salt Lake City you probably won't see too much pressure on the fore check because teams know that with one quick pass they could get burned.
The dreaded shootout. When a medal-round game ends in a tie, there will be a 10-minute sudden death overtime. If it's a gold medal game, there will be a 20-minute sudden-death overtime. If there is no winner, then the shootout comes into play. Each team selects five players. The referee flips a coin to decide who shoots first. The players on each team alternate until the deciding goal is scored. If the score is still tied, the shootout continues with one player per side alternating in sudden death, or sudden-medal as the case may be.
And lastly how does this break affect the NHL? Well here's one conjecture: Brett Hull believes that once the Olympics are over, we will see better hockey league wide than we had seen all season. Here in Detroit, it's pretty easy to get spoiled. But Brett has a point, as he usually does. Remember only one-eighth of NHL players are participating in the Olympics. The two weeks off, especially for the grinders, will do them a world of good. And those that are going won't all be playing in five or six games, while those who are playing at a high level will have a carry-over. Look back to the great starts to the season, from the likes of Calgary's Jarome Iginla and Edmonton's Ryan Smyth. They took their participation at Team Canada's orientation camp in August and used it to hit a new level in their play."
good luck everyone--