20 Things You Should Never Say at an NHL Game

Hockey fans are often in love with their sport of choice.

While baseball fans recognize the flaws in their sport and will criticize the boredom and lack of action, hockey fans don't take kindly to critical remarks.

Not all who attend hockey games are lifelong fans of the sport. Some will go to their first game in their 30s, 40s, 50s or beyond. If you are unfamiliar with the subtleties and nuances of the sport, it's important that you get with the program and say the right thing when you attend a game in person.

If you want to fit in and not inspire the enmity of those sitting near you, make sure you don't say anything you will later regret when you attend an NHL game.

What Is This Offsides?

Don't show your ignorance when you go to the game. Understand some of the basic rules and realize that a player can't enter the offensive zone BEFORE the puck. The fans next to you will slap their heads in disgust if you don't understand this rule.

Why Can't They Speak American?

When you are watching a game from the Bell Center in Montreal, they speak French.

The goal announcements are made in French and if you are in a local establishment, you will see the game broadcast on RDS and they speak French on that network.

By the way, when you watch the game in the United States or a non-French speaking Canadian city, they speak English—not American.

Hey, That's Not the National Anthem

You may be sitting in an arena in Buffalo, Chicago, Boston or Detroit. But when a Canadian-based team comes to visit, the Canadian national anthem is played before the game in addition to The Star Spangled Banner.

Stand up and enjoy O Canada, perhaps the most beautiful of all the national anthems.

I Can't Wait Until Kickoff

The game starts with a faceoff, not a kickoff.

This is not football. This is hockey. The two centers stand opposite each other and the official drops the puck in the center of the red faceoff circle. The battle for the puck ensues and the game begins.

Don't call it a kickoff and don't call it a tipoff.

It's a faceoff.

I Thought You Can't Kick the Puck in the Net

You can't score a goal on a kicking motion with your skate, but if the puck happens to deflect off your skate and go into the net, it's a good goal.

He Can't Punch That Guy in the Face!

You'll really show your ignorance if you don't understand that fighting is a regular occurrence in hockey.

While players get penalized five minutes for tossing the gloves and exchanging punches, there are no other penalties or suspensions for an otherwise clean NHL fight.

It's 0-0. There's No Action to This Sport.

It's often difficult to get the puck past the goaltender. Low-scoring games are often the norm.

You may be at the most competitive 0-0 game and there will be plenty of action. It's just that the goaltenders are performing at a spectacular level and no shot has made its way into the back of the net.

Never equate a lack of scoring with a lack of action.

Power Play? That Sounds Unfair.

A power play occurs when a player on Team A takes a penalty and is forced to go to the penalty box. That gives Team B the man advantage. This gives team B an excellent chance to score.

In the video above, recently retired Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings blasts home a power-play goal.

Don't ever equate a hockey power play with a business move or a political maneuver.

Excuse Me, I'm Going to Light Up a Cigarette

Oh, no you don't.

You can't light up while watching an NHL game. You may have to go outside to the designated smoking area.

Through the 1970s, the cloud of cigarette smoke could be seen in arenas like Madison Square Garden, but thankfully you can no longer light up a cigarette—or anything else—in and NHL arena.

Maybe We'll Tie It Up in the Next Quarter

They don't have four quarters in hockey.

They have three 20-minute periods in a regulation game.

If you are at a regular-season game, you may see a five-minute overtime period, followed by a shootout.

They are called PERIODS. Never QUARTERS in hockey.

Shoot the Puck

As your team gets the puck in the offensive zone, don't start yelling for the players to shoot the puck.

They are working the puck around and trying to get it to the open man. By yelling shoot the puck immediately, you demonstrate your ignorance about the game.

Be patient and wait for the opening, and then the shot—and perhaps a goal—will come.

Hey, He Just Shoved That Guy into the Boards

Yes, it's a violent maneuver, but it's completely legal. It's called body checking.

If your opponent has the puck and he is skating near the sideboards, you can throw your shoulder into his shoulder or chest and crunch him into the boards.

What you can't do is hit him in the head, lead with your elbow or knee or commit any rule-breaking offense.

However, a hard shoulder-to-shoulder hit of the puck carrier is legal.

You Would Have to Be Crazy to Play Goalie

Just because you wouldn't do it doesn't mean that goalies are crazy and lack intelligence.

Goalies are protected by padding and masks, and they understand the subtleties of the game, how to position themselves and how to stop the puck.

Many, like New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, are very intelligent. They are not crazy.

I Can't Wait to See the Canadiens. They Are the New York Yankees of Hockey.

The Montreal Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups, more than any other team in history.

However, they haven't won the title since 1993 and they have fallen on hard times. The Canadiens finished in dead last in the Eastern Conference in 2011-12 and it may be a long time before they play for Lord Stanley's chalice again.

Why Do They Call Them Sweaters?

It may look like a jersey, feel like a jersey and smell like a jersey, but in hockey they call it a sweater.

Hockey players and coaches often refer to their uniform top as a sweater.

Why? That's what their fathers and grandfathers called it back in Canada, and the name has basically stuck.

Players used to wear actual sweaters, but thankfully they have been playing in more breathable material for many decades.

Who Was the Great Gretzky?

Wayne Gretzky was the greatest offensive player of all-time.

He is the NHL's all-time leader in goals and assists. Nobody is close to him in either category.

Gretzky played the first part of his career with the Edmonton Oilers where he teamed with Mark Messier to make them the dominant team in hockey. He was later traded to the Los Angeles Kings where he helped establish the game's presence in Southern California.

Many long-time hockey experts believe Gretzky was the game's all-time greatest player.

What Was the Miracle on Ice?

The Miracle on Ice had nothing to do with the NHL, but it was perhaps the biggest moment in American sports history.

The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team was comprised largely of American college hockey players. They had to compete against the best international hockey teams and they were expected to be little more than cannon fodder when they competed against the best teams, especially the dominant squad from the Soviet Union.

That team, which featured such brilliant players as Vladislav Tretiak, Boris Mikhailov and Valeri Kharlamov, had dominated against the NHL's All-Stars.

However, the team of underdog college players, led by goalie Jim Craig, speedy Mark Johnson and captain Mike Eruzione, scored a monstrous 4-3 upset over the Soviets.

The American team went on to defeat Finland for the gold medal and complete the Miracle on Ice.

When Will This Game Be Finished?

If you are lucky enough to attend a Stanley Cup playoff game, you may be at the arena for a long time.

There is no limit to the length of the game. If it remains tied after 60 minutes, the two teams will play on until one team scores.

There is no shootout and there are no ties. Games can continue on for three, four, five overtime periods or more. They don't care if you have work or go to school the next day.

They play until a team scores the winner.

Take My Picture in Front of the Glass

If you are lucky enough to get a seat in the first row behind the glass, sit in your seat and watch the game.

You may think it's cool if you can get a picture of you standing up and the action going on behind you, but if you stand up while the game is underway, you will get mocked and derided by your neighbors.

You have to sit down and watch and you can't get in the way of others watching the game.

Stand up and take a picture before the game, between periods or after the game, but don't stand up while the game is going on.

This Sucks. I'm Going to the Basketball Game.

OK, you have tried the sport of hockey and you have determined it's not for you.

That's your right. But here's some advice:

Keep your opinion of the game to yourself. At least while you are still at the game.

There are few things hockey fans dislike more than a fan who claims the sport is not as good as a sport like basketball. You will likely find yourself in the middle of a vicious argument if you attempt to assert your free-speech rights while criticizing hockey as you attend the game.

You don't have to love hockey. But don't criticize it in front of those who do.