Anyone that watched Game Three of Edmonton vs. Dallas up in Alberta knows that a change is needed. I don't care which team is your favorite or how much you think that Edmonton was just unlucky. Here's the simple truth. Dallas is a better team then Edmonton overall, but the Oilers beat them in Game Three. They simply played better than the Stars and beat them. They weren't the team that needed fluky goals to win it either. However, I noticed that Dallas seemed to have scored more "official" goals then Edmonton. Every newspaper, website, and fan that I talk to claims Dallas won that game. How did the better team lose that night? Because of a couple of rules that will hopefully be changed in the near future, as in the end of the season.

First of all, there is a rule that states a goalkeeper is not "fair game" just because he is outside the goal crease area. A penalty for interference or charging (minor or major) should be called in every case where an opposing player makes unnecessary contact with the goalkeeper. What this means is that when someone, say... oh... Pat Falloon, chases after a loose puck and a goalie, let's just say Ed Belfour for example, charges 20 feet out of his net to try and "play the puck" before Falloon gets there and as they rush towards one another on a collision course, they make contact as they reach the puck... that's a penalty.

It's a penalty to hit a goalie that comes out to the faceoff circle in order to challenge you for the puck. Here's an idea. If the other team dumps in the puck, the goalie can go behind his net, collect the biscuit, and simply skate it out to the neutral zone at his leisure and wait until he decides to pass it off. Take your time Mar-Ten, no one is allowed to even make contact with you. It's a minor penalty if they interfere in ANY way. Deliberate or not.

This insane rule cost Edmonton a goal and took 16 years off Ron Low's life. It was also the absolute worst call I've seen in a playoff game ever. It was a nice touch that this was in the great two-referee system. Way to go, guys! Keep that 5'11", 190-pound goon Falloon away from poor old 5'11", 182-pound Belfour. Just because Eddie skated out in order to interfere with Falloon getting the puck was no reason for that thunderous, maniacal hit. He could have broken Eddie's jaw. I hope Bettman suspends Falloon. We don't want to see this type of brutal play in hockey. Send a message to the league, Gary. "There will be NO contact in hockey! Not under my watch."

The other rule that ruined Sunday's game was the infamous toe-in-crease rule. For those of you unfamiliar with this wonderful rule, it means that because Ethan Moreau's skate blade was in the crease before Todd Marchant's goal was scored it was disallowed. Just because he was on the other side of the crease and just because it was literally about four millimeters of his blade doesn't matter. No goal.

When I first heard of this rule I thought it was stupid. Then I realized that Football, Basketball, Soccer, and Baseball all have lines that define the "playable" area and that anything outside that area doesn't count. If you hit a game winning three-run homer into foul territory it doesn't count. Even if it's just inches away. If you make that last second catch in the endzone but your foot lands out of bounds, then it's not six points and you go home. It seemed to me that hockey was just following their lead. Besides, it was not always clear if someone was interfering with the goalie in the old rule. This was a distinct line that you couldn't cross. It made it much easier to follow the rules and decide if the goal counted or not. Fans might hate the rule for awhile but it would become part of the game and players would learn to check their feet for a crease violation. Also, there would be almost no bad calls as the video replay would give a definitive right answer. Sounds great right?

Here's the problem. Players cannot crash the net for a rebound unless they stop to check their feet as the puck leaves the crease. And I'd like to watch someone check his toes when there's a puck around the net and two defensemen closing in. Those toes would be the last thing he saw before he wakes up in street clothes in the locker room. And if a guy on the other side of the field is out of bounds when you catch that game- winning touchdown, it still counts. If you bury a long range three-pointer at the buzzer but your center is out of bounds when you released it... it still counts. Get the idea? Other sports don't give a damn what other guys are doing when they don't have the ball. They can sit out of bounds and paint landscapes for all we care.

The logical rule would be that the puck handler cannot enter the crease ahead of the puck. If someone else is in the crease ahead of time, who cares? As long as they don't physically interfere with the goalie I don't mind. If you want to stand next to Patrick Roy and tell him that you have carnal knowledge of his wife and sister just as Hull releases his wrist shot...go for it. Just don't hook his glove hand. And watch out for that stick. It's gonna find it's way to your crotch quickly.

Both of these rules are based on logic and seem correct on paper. However, they fail miserably in real games. If a goalie leaves to play the puck then he decided to play with the rest of the boys and he's fair game. Just like the rest of the boys. It's really a pretty easy thing to understand. If a guy has his toe in the crease when Joe Sakic slips in a nice wraparound, count it. If Sakic kicks Grant Fuhr's legs out of the way and slips in a nice wraparound, don't count it. This replay after replay of every shot that's in front of the net has to stop. It slows the game down and sucks the emotion from the game.

And please change a rule when the players, coaches, media, and fans ALL hate it. If Ray Ferraro and Barry Melrose call it "a bad rule," then it's a bad rule.

As for the Edmonton-Dallas debacle...

"I think that everybody who played in that game Sunday had kind of a heart-wrenching felling" - Ethan Moreau.

Sing it, baby.

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