A recent blogger railed against the new, post-lockout NHL, asking the league to "scrap some of these retarded rules and give us our game back." He goes on to say that it is "just as exciting to watch a 1-0 game as it is to watch a 7-6 game. Now all we can do is feel sorry for the goalies that have to put up with the speed and open play. And not to mention the fact that the defensemen are scared to push in front of the net for fear of a penalty." This writer wonders how many other hockey fans feel this way. It's a mixed bag for me. I agree that a 1-0 game is just as exciting as a high-scoring one-goal game, maybe even more dramatic. On the other hand, I like the speed and finesse of the game a lot more than seeing slow-skating defenders doing anything they can -- legal and illegal -- to neutralize the speediest players in the game. There's no talent demonstrated by clutching and grabbing, which steals the element of speed from the action. The middle ground for me would have been instituting the rules that now eliminate clutching and grabbing, but leaving alone the rules governing goaltending equipment and how far goalies can range from the net. They are part of the game, and they should be able to play the puck or screw up doing so, just like anyone else. There is a case to be made, however, that the rate of scoring had dropped far too low to keep the more marginal fan coming to games. The league believes that warranted all of the changes. The new rules certainly have had a payoff in terms of scoring. Last season, the first since the NHL lockout, produced 6.05 goals per game. That's the highest average since there were 6.29 goals a game in 1995-96. This year it's 5.81. In the final year before the lockout, 2003-04, the games averaged 5.14 goals -- the lowest mark since the leaguewide average was 5.07 in 1955-56. This writer believes eliminating clutching and grabbing would have been enough to alter the goal scoring. Others, including the blogger who prefers the old NHL, believe the restrictions against defensemen and all of the other changes have gone way too far in altering the game they love.