The Stanley Cup: Hockey's Greatest Prize

Fighting in Hockey Hockey is known for being fast, exciting, and rough. In fact, hockey is the only North American sport that allows players to fight. Some players, called enforcers or goons, are there to fight and be rough. A 1922 rule change determined that fighting players would receive a five-minute penalty. Some people think fighting helps stop players from taking cheap shots and using their sticks as weapons. They think that a good fight can inspire a team. However, others feel that fighting in the NHL is too violent and should be banned. Whether or not fighting continues in the NHL, it is important that kids and amateur players leave it to the professionals and never fight. Once the playoffs begin, teams must go through four best-of-seven rounds in order to win the Cup: the conference quarterfinals, the conference semifinals, the conference finals, and lastly the Stanley Cup finals, which pit the Eastern Conference champions against the Western Conference champions.