In The Crease

Give the NHL hockey operations department credit for reversing a
mistaken game misconduct penalty called last week on Senators
forward Colin Forbes after Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek
inadvertently hit him with his stick behind the Buffalo net.
When Hasek followed his clearing attempt by spectacularly
falling to the ice as if he had been checked, referees Paul
Devorski and Don Van Massenhoven blew the whistle on Forbes. The
league changed the decision three days later after Ottawa
coaches pleaded Forbes's case, providing videotape to back up
their argument. Three game misconduct penalties during a
player's career results in a one-game suspension, with the ban
increasing for future infractions...

Andrew McKim, who played in 38 NHL games from 1992 through '95,
filed a lawsuit against Kevin Miller, a former journeyman
forward with nine NHL teams, claiming Miller's hit from behind
in a Swiss Elite League game three months ago caused a severe
concussion that may end McKim's career. With all the dangerous
checking from behind that occurs in the NHL, how long will it be
before similar litigation occurs in North America?...

Last week Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur changed his leg pads
for the first time since entering the league in 1992. His new
pads are 2 1/2 inches longer than his old ones, and while the NHL
has no rules on the length of leg pads--there is a 12-inch limit
on width--some netminders are worried that the league will soon
regulate the length as well.