Habtastic- I could not agree with you more!!!!  It seems that some no brained idiot (hell Colin Campbell) in the NHL office woke up and thought that goalies were the cause of all that ailed the NHL. NOT! I have no issue with 2 rule changes. Smaller equipment (the only goalies this penalizes are cheaters...see Garth Snow aka Michelin Tire Man) and the smaller area behind the net to play the puck (really was tiring of the whole dump it in and watch the goalie fire it back up the ice). Having said that, the rest is just too dumb. Now big guys like Chris Neil or Tie Domi (who collectively have as much talent as a Pee Wee player) get to park in front of the net and the dmen cannot even touch or move them in any way. What that does is stick a garage door in front of the goalie and all he can do is hope it hits him. And from what I have seen so far, the blue paint in the crease is there for aesthetic purposes only. Looks pretty on TV.

Having said that, the refs have been brutally inconsitent. How Kovalev can be pushed into the goalie and be called for interference, yet Vermette can skate through Theo's crease, take his feet out and allow a goal to be scored is beyond me.