Yokels

From now on, according to new NHL rules, a defenseman shooting the puck over the boards is only assessed a penalty if it's deemed intentional. I can hear Hal Gill sighing in relief from here. It's a kind of giant breathy Nordic sound. As far as shootouts go, each shooter's stick will be checked before their chance, and if the sticks don't meet requirements, the shooter must return with a legal stick before taking the shot.

I like the first one. The second one, meh, I don't know about. Maybe they should be ejected from the shootout or something. That seems right. Or maybe they should have to go to Modell's to get a new stick. And they should have to hitchhike there. Or maybe it should just be an automatic miss? In any case, I think this is a weak wink-and-nod for illegal sticks.