There is no sound in hockey quite like that of vulcanized rubber hitting molded metal at speeds approaching 100 mph. In layman's terms, it is a hockey puck hitting a goal post. I don't think a post has ever been hit without the crowd letting out a collective groan,'' Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Marc Denis said. And believe me, the guys on the ice are thinking the same thing.'' During the course of an NHL game, the puck finds a post or crossbar at least a couple of times, and six or seven such collisions isn't unusual.
Players say it happens so frequently they're numb to it.
Don't believe them. If baseball and football are games of inches, hockey is a game of millimeters. One blip this way, and a goalie is staring at his glove and pads to find an excuse for the goal he just allowed. One tick the other direction and the shooter is checking his stick blade and cursing his luck. Very often it's a fine line between a goal and a nothing,'' Blue Jackets right winger Steve Heinze said.